Coming Over from Weight Watchers

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JennieT7161
JennieT7161 Posts: 20 Member
in Getting Started
Just a quick question...I have done Weight Watchers for a while now but need to use the $45/month towards something else.

I'm used to not having to worry about weighing & adding fruit & most veggies to my daily tracker. Do most people here track those foods?

Replies

  • jennikoudela
    jennikoudela Posts: 2 Member
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    Yes, absolutely track those items. All fruits and veggies have calories in them and need to be counted towards your daily goal.
  • jennikoudela
    jennikoudela Posts: 2 Member
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    P.S. Good luck! You'll love MFP once you get the hang of it.
    (Former WW member speaking here) :smile:
  • stormlover23464
    stormlover23464 Posts: 3 Member
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    Its so true...Everything has calories, so they need to be counted...WW works for lots of people, but there are many on WW that "fill up" on foods that don't "count" as points....Then they wonder why they're not successful....300 calories of apples is better then 300 calories of cake (for your body) but they still count...
  • witchaywoman81
    witchaywoman81 Posts: 280 Member
    edited July 2018
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    Another former WW member here. I much prefer mfp, especially with the recent WW program changes. Track EVERYTHING you eat and get a food scale. Calorie counting has been eye-opening for me. I had no concept of how many calories I could/should actually eat.
  • longbranch92
    longbranch92 Posts: 22 Member
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    A current WW member but really like MFP as well. I find that my calorie allowance is high enough that counting fruits and veggies isn’t a problem.
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,255 Member
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    victoriak21 wrote: »
    I did MFP and then weight watchers successfully a few years ago. After months and a 60lb loss with MFP, I was stuck at a plateau and someone suggested I start weight watchers. In hindsight, I was exercising too much and not eating enough. I remember the first week on weight watchers, I felt like I had to eat sooo much food to meet my points. It helped, I lost another 15 lbs, I hit goal...

    And then it all came back.

    I feel like if I had stuck to counting calories with MFP but had better advice, or known better, I wouldn't have gone over to weight watchers in the first place. I'm back to trying to lose, and I started with the new weight watchers plan. I already eat mostly salads and fruits and veggie snacks. I have met my points for 4 months and I've only dropped 2 lbs. I signed up to MFP last week and deleted my WW app that just kept crashing. I dropped 5.6 for my first weigh-in. I'm definitely one of those people that the free points for healthy foods wasn't working for.

    Anyway, this is way oversharing. But I have trouble swallowing it, too. I think MFP's system is easier to track, and actually a lot more accurate.

    Good luck!

    That is not the reason you plateaued. People do not plateau from eating too little for their exercise expenditure. Depending on the length of the plateau, either it was water weight (I ‘plateau’ for a week and a half every month due to TOM) or your logging was out.

    If your logging was out, then you’re likely to run into the same problem again - whichever system you use. Unless you get some help with that.
  • Kim_S_G
    Kim_S_G Posts: 120 Member
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    I track everything (except spices). I have recently started weighing fruits and veggies - but I don't always weigh lettuce and tomatoes. I know that the time will come that I will need to be more accurate and might need to weigh those. But right now, I have a lot to lose, so I can get by with what I am doing. I am losing about 1 pound a week.
  • allisonlane161
    allisonlane161 Posts: 269 Member
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    I'm a WW Lifetimer and still go to weekly meetings and monthly weigh in, but I only track here and I track everything. All calories matter.
  • xxstevienicksxx
    xxstevienicksxx Posts: 1 Member
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    I lost 140 lbs on weight watchers but I am finding it hard with the 0 foods. its an eye opener when you start weighing chicken and veg ect, I see now why I wasn't losing as I was eating to much of it cause it was "free"
  • Saraw0520
    Saraw0520 Posts: 15 Member
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    I have also had to cancel my membership recently. I do track everything, fruits and veggies, as they do have calories and add up quick. The reason we didn't need to on WW is because the points we were allotted equaled a lower calorie count than we need, so any fruit and veggies consumed make up the difference in calories. I have heard numerous people complain that they were not getting enough calories in on WW when following the points. But when asked if they were eating 0 point foods in addition to the points, that's where they were falling short. Sorry, that was a bit off topic. But also remember to count any sauces, dips, yogurts, or anything else that we didn't necessarily need to track on WW due to 0 points.
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,593 Member
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    I am also a former WWer. I track all my fruit and veggies as well. I'm one of the few here that don't use a scale. It definitely is more accurate, but I prefer to measure by volume. It's working for me so far. If I stop losing weight, I'll consider a scale for more accuracy.

    The neat thing about entering the data is watching the nutrition info. I love that MFP tracks where I am on so many nutrients. It's fun for me to look at the impact that some of these 0 point foods have to the nutrient calculations. I love it when MFP tells me that I've met my goal for a specific macro or nutrient immediately after entering the data.
  • Seiglerjeanette
    Seiglerjeanette Posts: 1 Member
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    I gave up Weight Watchers because I was gaining weight from too much fruit.. it was to the point where I was mainlining sugar. It works much better counting calories...all calories
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    ceiswyn wrote: »
    victoriak21 wrote: »
    I did MFP and then weight watchers successfully a few years ago. After months and a 60lb loss with MFP, I was stuck at a plateau and someone suggested I start weight watchers. In hindsight, I was exercising too much and not eating enough. I remember the first week on weight watchers, I felt like I had to eat sooo much food to meet my points. It helped, I lost another 15 lbs, I hit goal...

    And then it all came back.

    I feel like if I had stuck to counting calories with MFP but had better advice, or known better, I wouldn't have gone over to weight watchers in the first place. I'm back to trying to lose, and I started with the new weight watchers plan. I already eat mostly salads and fruits and veggie snacks. I have met my points for 4 months and I've only dropped 2 lbs. I signed up to MFP last week and deleted my WW app that just kept crashing. I dropped 5.6 for my first weigh-in. I'm definitely one of those people that the free points for healthy foods wasn't working for.

    Anyway, this is way oversharing. But I have trouble swallowing it, too. I think MFP's system is easier to track, and actually a lot more accurate.

    Good luck!

    That is not the reason you plateaued. People do not plateau from eating too little for their exercise expenditure. Depending on the length of the plateau, either it was water weight (I ‘plateau’ for a week and a half every month due to TOM) or your logging was out.

    If your logging was out, then you’re likely to run into the same problem again - whichever system you use. Unless you get some help with that.

    Soooo.....

    You don't exactly plateau from eating too little, sort of.

    When you eat too little however, your body starts trying to keep you alive. It will drop your metabolism, and increase your appetite. What usually happens is that your TDEE drops (CO), and your logging becomes a little questionable (CI). You essentially knock yourself out of your deficit both by dropping your NEAT, and cheating a little on your logging (consciously or not).

    Eating a little more does a few things....You replenish your glycogen stores, you feel better, so your NEAT increases (CO). Usually your logging becomes more honest. (CI). Usually the first week of eating a little more also flushes water weight, so you see a weight drop (from fat loss which you actually accomplished when eating in the deficit, just not showing on the scale).

    There's a good thread on refeeds on the Maintaining Weight/Bodybuilding Section.

    Obviously, refeeds are only for a short time (usually no more than a week), if you want to continue to lose.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
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    There's no such thing as a free lunch. Track everything. You'll have a much better shot at getting there and staying there.
  • kardsharp
    kardsharp Posts: 618 Member
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    I am a former WW member, I never did well on the free style. With MFP, I am more accurate on portion size. I am seeing results quicker than on WW.
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,255 Member
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    annaskiski wrote: »
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    victoriak21 wrote: »
    I did MFP and then weight watchers successfully a few years ago. After months and a 60lb loss with MFP, I was stuck at a plateau and someone suggested I start weight watchers. In hindsight, I was exercising too much and not eating enough. I remember the first week on weight watchers, I felt like I had to eat sooo much food to meet my points. It helped, I lost another 15 lbs, I hit goal...

    And then it all came back.

    I feel like if I had stuck to counting calories with MFP but had better advice, or known better, I wouldn't have gone over to weight watchers in the first place. I'm back to trying to lose, and I started with the new weight watchers plan. I already eat mostly salads and fruits and veggie snacks. I have met my points for 4 months and I've only dropped 2 lbs. I signed up to MFP last week and deleted my WW app that just kept crashing. I dropped 5.6 for my first weigh-in. I'm definitely one of those people that the free points for healthy foods wasn't working for.

    Anyway, this is way oversharing. But I have trouble swallowing it, too. I think MFP's system is easier to track, and actually a lot more accurate.

    Good luck!

    That is not the reason you plateaued. People do not plateau from eating too little for their exercise expenditure. Depending on the length of the plateau, either it was water weight (I ‘plateau’ for a week and a half every month due to TOM) or your logging was out.

    If your logging was out, then you’re likely to run into the same problem again - whichever system you use. Unless you get some help with that.

    Soooo.....

    You don't exactly plateau from eating too little, sort of.

    When you eat too little however, your body starts trying to keep you alive. It will drop your metabolism, and increase your appetite. What usually happens is that your TDEE drops (CO), and your logging becomes a little questionable (CI). You essentially knock yourself out of your deficit both by dropping your NEAT, and cheating a little on your logging (consciously or not).

    Eating a little more does a few things....You replenish your glycogen stores, you feel better, so your NEAT increases (CO). Usually your logging becomes more honest. (CI). Usually the first week of eating a little more also flushes water weight, so you see a weight drop (from fat loss which you actually accomplished when eating in the deficit, just not showing on the scale).

    There's a good thread on refeeds on the Maintaining Weight/Bodybuilding Section.

    Obviously, refeeds are only for a short time (usually no more than a week), if you want to continue to lose.

    Right... so what would be your response to annaskiski’s statement that they plateaued from eating too little and exercising too much?

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