Weight Watchers: yes or no?

RestoringRyan
RestoringRyan Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m about 60lbs overweight and considering WW (formerly weight watchers.) But I’m concerned it may not be practical or sustainable. Anyone have an argument for or against the program? I could really use some advice. Thank you
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Replies

  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    I tried it several years ago. It wasn't sustainable for me. I found it difficult to take foods with labels showing calories and macros and convert those into points, especially in places where I didn't have internet access and do mental or paper tracking. Also, the free foods I think really set me back, because those still have calories that my body counts and I can still eat too many of them, especially when on a diet and feeling hungry/restricted.
  • Suuzanne37
    Suuzanne37 Posts: 114 Member
    I was with WW for a couple of years; I lost 40lbs and learnt a lot about logging and proper nutrition and received support from the meetings.

    If you can afford the membership and like meetings, then go for it. If the option is online; it’s better to stick to MyFitnessPal.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    There are a lot of WW folks here. If you do a search for WW, you'll find many threads.
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited July 2019
    I joined weight watchers in 2009 and lost 37 lbs in 3 months. I only counted points and went to meetings for the first couple of weeks though, and by then I had learned the portions control and habits that I needed and the weight kept coming off until I intentionally stopped losing.
    I kept it off for about 6 years until menopause and injuries derailed my exercise and eating habits. So yeah it worked for me really well. I found it easy to lose with it. It is harder for me now for whatever reason.
  • Watch_me_burnem
    Watch_me_burnem Posts: 8 Member
    Just cancelled my WW membership yesterday when I signed up for a year of premium here :)
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    Weight Watchers has the advantage of formal meetings and real physical connection, so if this is a motivator for you it is something worth looking at. MyFitnessPal has the advantage of being free (premium is always available).

    MFP holds a distinct advantage of accuracy as it tracks the listed calories as opposed to a point system. This also holds an advantage as MFP takes into account your activity.
  • thatsitgethealthynow
    thatsitgethealthynow Posts: 7 Member
    It’s not for me. The app is user friendly and I find it to be idiot proof, but I don’t like the points system and I found it harder when going out and what not. Most menus these days have calories listed and I found it easier to track later than WW.
  • Sunshine_And_Sand
    Sunshine_And_Sand Posts: 1,320 Member
    I did weight watcher after my first was born. This was back when you could choose between core and flex points. I found it easy and sustainable on the flex points system. Back them there weren’t nearly as many zero point foods, and points for treats weren’t over inflated compared to the calories in them.
    I haven’t really liked any system they’ve had since flex points though. Nothing since that has been sustainable for me. They used to do one free meeting to let you get an idea if you’d like it or not, so maybe see if that’s still a thing and check it out. This would give you an idea of what foods are high points and if it would make you feel like you are being punished for the foods you like.
    Also, WW is expensive so I wouldn’t commit to anything without at least finding out a little about it first.
  • jeannette7156
    jeannette7156 Posts: 1 Member
    Love this
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    I suspect if you are committed to change you can make WW work. If you are not committed to change nothing will work. You can easily get on MFP and game your calories with generous eyeballed portions and bad database entries and get nowhere.

    I have done both and I like the precision that calorie counting provides. It is just easier for me to relax when I know I am in a calorie deficit. I like that I can customize my own plan as long as I eat the correct number of calories each week.

    I also do not require extrinsic motivation so WW has nothing to offer me.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I think if you're at the start of losing a good amount of weight and you don't overthink it, WW works well. It's down the line it can start to be a bit too restrictive. It guides choices with its free foods, which could be helpful in developing a palate for what we might call "healthy" foods if you've got into some kind of habit or rut. At some point though you're probably going to want more direct control.
  • 150poundsofme
    150poundsofme Posts: 523 Member
    For me, I do not care for WW's food allowances - with all their "free" foods, you can eat too much of them. I would rather have had a plan that said "eat two fruits, 3 veggies etc. Better guidelines. I do not really care for the leaders that I have had. They do not understand or accept that some people have an eating disorder and they have one set discussion each week with no help for the binger etc. They can be pushy with you buying their snacks (which I do not deem healthy). When you weigh in - if you think you gained and want a free pass, they will give it to you and then hand you another one. Then I feel you are not being honest or accountable with yourself. Oh, and be careful, if you want to quit, you need to do so I believe at least a month before you want to quit because otherwise they will just keep charging you your monthly bill. Ok, so I am not a fan.
    On the plus side, the last time I joined it was just so I could get weighed weekly. So depends what you want out of it. You get weighed, a plan, maybe make some friends in a similar boat. It may be just the think you need for motivation. Oh and sometimes there are specials but they don't share this - like if you already know someone in WW, they can invite you on their phone - they would get a free month and so would you.
    Even with all my negative points, I would still say to you to give it a try. For you, it would be new, exciting and motivating. You can give yourself a month or two. Sometimes they have a 3 month sign up special.
    Good luck
  • thelandkraken
    thelandkraken Posts: 91 Member
    I tried it for a while a year or two ago, and I didn't get along with it.

    I hated how two things similar in calories (e.g. chicken breast, and skinless chicken thigh) were vastly different in points for the same amount (something like 0 for breast and 5 for thigh). Also, having 0 points foods really screwed with me, because I can easily overeat all of those things. So I could theoretically have 4 plates of plain chicken breast with veggies and it would cost me no points - but it would sure as hell cost me in calories.

    I followed it rigidly, ate within my points or free foods, and I put on weight with WW. Shifted to MFP and I'm slowly losing weight now, because everything has a value so everything has to fit in my goal.
  • megamom
    megamom Posts: 920 Member
    edited July 2019
    I do WW and MFP and have for almost a year. I had never done WW before so can't say if this program is better but I hear they are more focused on healthy eating habits. I did on line only the first 9 months and just joined so I could do the meetings about 3 weeks ago since I am about 5 pounds to goal and when you make goal you get lifetime and free. I find the meetings have helped since I know I will have to go weigh in, accountability helps since getting this last 5 pounds off has been a bear. I had to tweak WW a little because I found I was working out so much but had zero energy when I was strictly on plan. I had to add some carbs and fats in to get my energy back. For me it is working doing both. I seriously think I would slowly go back to old habits without WW since it keeps me so aware. When I do reach lifetime I will probably do it for the rest of my life where as here I have quit and started several times over the years because really, who knew and who cared, right!. Do what works for you.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited July 2019
    JeBeBu wrote: »
    Suuzanne37 wrote: »
    I was with WW for a couple of years; I lost 40lbs and learnt a lot about logging and proper nutrition and received support from the meetings.

    If you can afford the membership and like meetings, then go for it. If the option is online; it’s better to stick to MyFitnessPal.

    I am not being "judgy", honestly questioning why this would be flagged? I want to make sure that I am understanding the rules!

    @JeBeBu per https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/1697770-how-do-i-report-inappropriate-forum-posts-or-spam- it shouldn't have been flagged for Spam as that flag is only for bots and that was clearly written by a human.

    Per https://www.myfitnesspal.com/community-guidelines it's not Advertising either.

    If whoever misflagged reads this they can unflag by reflagging.

    If anyone wants the flag cleared, they can Flag > Report > Other and note that it was "Misflagged for Spam."
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    RestoringRyan wrote: »
    I’m about 60lbs overweight and considering WW (formerly weight watchers.) But I’m concerned it may not be practical or sustainable. Anyone have an argument for or against the program? I could really use some advice. Thank you

    I did WW back in the 90's. I had an in-person meeting at my workplace, and a nice discount from my employer. I liked all that, plus the public accountability. I found the psychological/behavioral parts helpful.

    In 2012 I thought I would sign up again, and when complaining to my sister about how expensive it was, she told me about MFP, which I vastly prefer. It's free and no one is making value judgments about what I eat (arbitrarily awarding foods higher or lower points based on whatever the current point scheme happens to be).

    I think WW had its place before there were free tools like MFP, and now, in the hope of staying relevant, they need to continually change their program, which would annoy the heck out of me.
  • walkingfit2016
    walkingfit2016 Posts: 5 Member
    Freestyle the current program works if you have a lot of weight to lose and you are willing to pay attention to portion sizes even on the 0 point foods.If a person thinks of them as all you can eat foods it's not going to work.
  • idioblast
    idioblast Posts: 114 Member
    I did WW back in 2005 and it worked for me. I didn't really know anything about calories at the time and as I learned more going through the program, I switched over to MFP because it was free and I liked seeing the actual calories versus points. I did WW a few times over the last 5 years through work (although I still logged in MFP for the accuracy), but quit altogether when the new WW plan was announced. I'm pretty moderate carb and most of my normal snack choices (which I can eat and lose weight fine when logging in MFP) now have a crazy point value on WW because they really penalize carb heavy foods.

    For example, the other day my co-worker (who is currently doing WW) was hungry and I offered her a Larabar. She scanned it for WW and it was 8 points. EIGHT POINTS and her daily allowance is 24 points. She is the same height and about the same weight as me (maybe a little more). If I was doing WW and I ate 3 Larabars in one day (which I sometimes do because I like them), it would be my entire point allowance but only about 660 calories. Craziness!

    So yeah, I guess I'm no longer a fan of WW or think it is helpful in any way.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited July 2019
    No for me, possibly yes for someone who wants some structure and accountability and likes the kind of structure WW provides. I'm known to overdo "free" foods, and I dislike the high point cost of some foods that I can easily fit into my diet when I'm calorie counting. I also don't like that the same point count can vary in calories so there is a lot of uncertainty. I like numbers and accurate data, and I like that calories are easy to calculate. No convoluted point conversions.
  • chavala24
    chavala24 Posts: 2 Member
    edited July 2019
    Hi, I wanted to comment from a slightly different perspective, as someone who isn't actively using MFP but is currently using WW. I like to track data, but found calorie counting to be stressful, time consuming, and obsessive. It was depressing to only get 1,200 calories every day, and I struggled to accurately track calories. When I set out lose weight this time, I knew I wouldn't stick with counting calories, but I also knew that tracking helped me, so I gave WW a try. It's working for me for exactly the reasons that calorie counting didn't -- it's less exacting so I can stay on track by making a reasonable estimate when needed. It's forgiving, so if I have the pizza and beer I can track it and know the point system will provide the guide rails for making up for it over the next few days. It lets me eat anything but steers me toward vegetables and fish and reminds me to cut back on cheese and sugar. I don't have a problem with the zero point foods system because I know that I can't gorge on healthy foods and expect to lose weight. Instead, I find it a helpful prod to snack on vegetables if I'm hungry between meals. I find it easier to remember how many points my favorite foods have than calories, so I can quickly estimate how much of something I can eat and stay within my points. And while a free program sounds better than one you pay for, I'm actually more likely to be committed and accountable if I have to pay (I pay ~$13/month). I don't go to meetings or eat WW foods, just use the app.

    As a couple of others have said here, I think it just depends on what works best for you, which is why I wanted to share why WW works for me when MFP didn't. In general, I find the types of programs where you keep track of what you eat (WW, MFP) to be more effective for me than the kind where you eliminate food categories from your diet (low carb, keto, etc). So, in comparing WW or MFP it seems to simply boil down to how precise you like to be in tracking your food intake.

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