Weight Watchers Online?

jenmarie8784

I think I'm going to sign up Friday. Wondering if it's worth the money. Lol

TavistockToad

you didn't like MFP?

jenmarie8784

I didn't say that. I can do both. Lol

TavistockToad

jenmarie8784 wrote: »

I didn't say that. I can do both. Lol

why waste the money though when MFP works?

502Monica

It's not. I will die on this hill but WW is a business. They change up their plans every other year or so to keep up with current diet trends. If you track both calories and points, you will find that typically you will be eating too less calories. I also hate that WW doesn't restart every day so it's like, shaming you if you eat over your points one day.

New_Heavens_Earth

502Monica wrote: »

If you track both calories and points, you will find that typically you will be eating too less calories.

There is also the risk of overeating the zero point foods. They (WW) say you can't but there are members (I attend meetings my job pays in part for) where people gorge on eggs and fruit. Then complain about slow or no weight loss ir even gains. I could only make the plan work through tracking calories and using their plan as a healthy eating guideline.

If you decide to join I encourage weighing, measuring, and tracking everything even though they say you don't have to.

allisonlane161

Like the poster above me said, make sure you weigh and measure everything (but that's true for here too) but that'll keep you on the right portion size. Freestyle requires a higher vigilance with portion size since so much stuff I like is 0 points. I did online for a 50 pound loss and then went to meetings for goal and lifetime. I'm here now for tracking purposes as it's a bit "truer" for me and what I want to accomplish.

cheryldumais

I paid for WW online for at least 20 years. Never lost much weight. I left and came here over 2 years ago and I'm down 106 pounds. For the money you will pay them I can't say it's worth it but it's certainly your choice.

witchaywoman81

I was on and off Weight Watchers a bunch of times over the past 20 years, and I have to say that I really don’t like their new program. Giving me so many “free” foods while making everything else REALLY high in points is just disastrous for me. I find calorie counting so much easier AND livable. What you pay for mfp premium for a year would be eaten up in a couple months on WW online.

kayafit37

Nice enough meals but lacking in portion size

1houndgal

jenmarie8784 wrote: »

I think I'm going to sign up Friday. Wondering if it's worth the money. Lol

With so many foods being free, why bother logging? Plus MFP is free or cheaper (if you use premium). Jmo

Becoming_A_Butterfly

I never believed WW is worth the money, especially if you are doing online only. Their website and their app are terrible. There are few support features, no forum like the one here on MFP, just a part of the app where people can post images, but no in-depth interaction with other members. If you have a great in-person group, it might be worth it if you can afford it, but for what they charge, their online tools are greatly lacking.

ginjennie

I have done both ww meetings , online and mfp. Yes I did lose weight with ww and kept it off but it was easy to over eat and I myself had far too much processed diet ww food. Personally I prefer mfp features especially nutrutional and macros features which has really taught me about what I am eating.

BlessedMom70

I can't make it work. When a 200 calorie protein bar is 1/3 of my daily points, and an occasional piece of cheesecake is ALL of my daily points **plus** some weekly points...that's just setting myself up for failure.

I think if you are a super healthy eater and don't have a sweet tooth, it could work!

Poisonedpawn78

I kind of want to sign up and find the highest points possible per meal while staying in a calorie deficit, going to a meeting and hearing them berate me while i then step on the scale and lose weight. Then ask them to explain.

Just for funzies

stevephi01

I've never tried WW so cannot comment on their methodology, I do feel it's accountability due to having to pay?

I feel my time on MFP has given me a far deeper understanding, sure I've had some clashes in the fora, but that gave me strength to analyse what I was doing to be right and to challenge my Dr's with my MFP reports.
If it weren't for MFP, I wouldn't have known my electrolytes were low, a fact my Dr's didn't think it important to tell me. Well in my life it was, it transformed me, upping my Potassium, Magnesium and Selenium. No way would I have had that info on a closed system.

Al the best which ever road you take.

Danp

I can save you 50% on your Weight Watches cost.

Just pay me half what you'd pay them and I'll convert all the straight forward information MFP provides you with into a weird 'points' system that's slightly harder to use and quite a bit more confusing. I'll also add strange exceptions to your eating plan which are designed to reduce the effectiveness of my program just enough to prolong the amount of time you have to pay me. Just like weight watchers!

The bonus is that periodically I'll take the system I've provided you with and change it so that it's really the same but just a little harder to use and even more confusing and tell you it's 'new and improved'

Disclaimer:
The weird points system I provide won't actually teach you anything so the minute you stop paying and using my system there's a better than average chance you'll gain all the weight back. But don't worry. I'll happily charge you another 'joining fee' and start siphoning your bank account again at any time. I mean it worked last time didn't it?

cebreisch

I signed up for online membership. I was a WW member more than 20-30 years ago when they had you track protein/carbs/dairy/etc. I still hate that they don’t do that anymore. Yes, you do get more food on their plan, so that’s my range....MFP for low end, WW for high end.

Also, I didn’t really join to be able to “count points” - I’m currently in the process of trying to get the lap-band and still have a hoop or two to jump through before doing it (and today, a wrench was thrown into it a little) - but the appointments with the surgeon are every month.

I’ve ended up going to the WW meetings so that I can weigh in each week instead of once a month at the surgeon’s office. It helps ‘keep me legal”. Otherwise, I’d have 3 weeks of gains and 1 week of loss or something doing the, “Duh - I dunno why I’m not losing more.....”LOL

It’s been worth the money to go have the weigh-in. They know who I am. I went in there back in April after having been gone for a few years, and one of the clerks who was weighing people in remembered me. They’re a fun group.

swimmchick87

BlessedMom70 wrote: »

I can't make it work. When a 200 calorie protein bar is 1/3 of my daily points, and an occasional piece of cheesecake is ALL of my daily points **plus** some weekly points...that's just setting myself up for failure.

I think if you are a super healthy eater and don't have a sweet tooth, it could work!

This is exactly how I feel. Eating a candy bar should not "ruin" my entire day when it easily fits into my calorie goals. Just speaking personally, that plan would set me up to binge because I've "already ruined it" anyway with something as simple as one dessert, when MFP shows me that I can easily eat the things I want in moderation.

I also think that unless you eat super healthy foods all day long (i.e. a normal dinner for you is plain chicken and vegetables) WW sets you up to undereat by deciding that certain "bad" foods are worth tons of points even if they're not that high in calories. This again sets people up to binge because they just get too hungry.

I could see the in person weigh-ins being motivating, but if you're just doing online anyway idk why you wouldn't just stick with this site for free.

ha9032761

Poisonedpawn78 wrote: »

I kind of want to sign up and find the highest points possible per meal while staying in a calorie deficit, going to a meeting and hearing them berate me while i then step on the scale and lose weight. Then ask them to explain.

Just for funzies

They would shut you down so fast this really happened in a class that I attended someone spoke up about calories do matter and portion control she quickly changed the subject

WAste of money imo

bobsburgersfan

I did WW for about 10 years but I quit when sugar became a huge part of their points calculation, because of the exact effect that @BlessedMom70 pointed out.

BlessedMom70 wrote: »

I can't make it work. When a 200 calorie protein bar is 1/3 of my daily points, and an occasional piece of cheesecake is ALL of my daily points **plus** some weekly points...that's just setting myself up for failure.

That said, WW was the first program that ever gave me any weight loss success. The current WW program is obviously trying to lead people to eat food that is more healthy: more veggies, fruit, lean proteins, whole foods, and so forth. If that's what you are looking for, or even if you just want a change, it could work great for you. Yeah, they are trying to make money, and I agree with much of what was said above, but there's a lot of negative feedback here and I wanted to point out that WW isn't ALL bad.

BlessedMom70

swimmchick87 wrote: »

BlessedMom70 wrote: »

I can't make it work. When a 200 calorie protein bar is 1/3 of my daily points, and an occasional piece of cheesecake is ALL of my daily points **plus** some weekly points...that's just setting myself up for failure.

I think if you are a super healthy eater and don't have a sweet tooth, it could work!

This is exactly how I feel. Eating a candy bar should not "ruin" my entire day when it easily fits into my calorie goals. Just speaking personally, that plan would set me up to binge because I've "already ruined it" anyway with something as simple as one dessert, when MFP shows me that I can easily eat the things I want in moderation.

I also think that unless you eat super healthy foods all day long (i.e. a normal dinner for you is plain chicken and vegetables) WW sets you up to undereat by deciding that certain "bad" foods are worth tons of points even if they're not that high in calories. This again sets people up to binge because they just get too hungry.

I could see the in person weigh-ins being motivating, but if you're just doing online anyway idk why you wouldn't just stick with this site for free.

Exactly. And I agree about the meetings probably being helpful to many. I live in the sticks (nearest meeting 4 hours away), so that won't work for me either. I think a wise "diet" plan is to eat what you want, in moderation. And with MFP, you can do that. It just makes more sense to me.

BlessedMom70

bobsburgersfan wrote: »

I did WW for about 10 years but I quit when sugar became a huge part of their points calculation, because of the exact effect that @BlessedMom70 pointed out.

BlessedMom70 wrote: »

I can't make it work. When a 200 calorie protein bar is 1/3 of my daily points, and an occasional piece of cheesecake is ALL of my daily points **plus** some weekly points...that's just setting myself up for failure.

That said, WW was the first program that ever gave me any weight loss success. The current WW program is obviously trying to lead people to eat food that is more healthy: more veggies, fruit, lean proteins, whole foods, and so forth. If that's what you are looking for, or even if you just want a change, it could work great for you. Yeah, they are trying to make money, and I agree with much of what was said above, but there's a lot of negative feedback here and I wanted to point out that WW isn't ALL bad.

I agree...I do not think WW is 'all bad'. I think it works for many people. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. I am training myself to eat the foods I like, only in moderation. WW restricts too much. I can fit a bowl of ice cream into my day easily with MFP. Not with WW...too many points. I don't stress now when friends want to go out to dinner. I can eat exactly what I want and not have to spend an entire day's worth of points.

Bottom line: we all have to find what works for us. For me personally, counting calories just makes so much more sense.

allisonlane161

bobsburgersfan wrote: »

I did WW for about 10 years but I quit when sugar became a huge part of their points calculation, because of the exact effect that @BlessedMom70 pointed out.

BlessedMom70 wrote: »

I can't make it work. When a 200 calorie protein bar is 1/3 of my daily points, and an occasional piece of cheesecake is ALL of my daily points **plus** some weekly points...that's just setting myself up for failure.

That said, WW was the first program that ever gave me any weight loss success. The current WW program is obviously trying to lead people to eat food that is more healthy: more veggies, fruit, lean proteins, whole foods, and so forth. If that's what you are looking for, or even if you just want a change, it could work great for you. Yeah, they are trying to make money, and I agree with much of what was said above, but there's a lot of negative feedback here and I wanted to point out that WW isn't ALL bad.

What happens is those not successful on WW will not like it, those like me who were (lost 96) will swear by it, but it comes down to what it is you will stick with. Losing weight requires burning more calories than you are taking in. If WW keeps you at a calorie deficit and you can stick with it, it will work. And you probably will receive your nutrients and maintain your health provided you don't fall for the processed junk foods that fit into your daily points. If Keto keeps you at a deficit and you find you can stick with it, you'll lose weight. If eating 5 snickers bars as your only meal keeps you at a deficit and you can stick with it, you'll lose weight (and be missing a lot of vital nutrients).

It all comes down to what way of eating you can stick to that results in a calorie deficit. But I don't want a temporary "diet"--I want a lifetime way of eating. I think WW does a good job of providing that. And then I tweaked it and moved here. Anyone who has tried WW will have an opinion (and some who haven't also will). I don't remark on the validity of Keto because I've never done it.

I did MFP many times over the years and basically could not stick to logging calories everyday. I could stick to WW points for a variety of reasons. Now, I'm in a different place and get more benefit from logging calories.

Fitnessmom82

You have to go with what motivates you and works for you. But I'll say this...
I have never done ww. I've had great success with mfp. My friends doing ww always seem to be struggling, or they feel guilty using their points ect...they are not losing weight and feel bad about paying and trying to manipulate a point system to be able to enjoy food. I don't understand the system, but ww is a business and like all businesses, they want you to return. It feels scammy to me. Maybe try one month of MFP, see how you do. Then try a month of ww. Could help you make up your mind?!