WW and MFP

blackkitty73

I’m currently doing WW but after 5 months and only losing 11kg I’m feeling a little jaded. I’ve started putting in my food into MFP instead of counting points. Discovered I was eating 1800 calories approx with WW free food a major culprit. So I’ve decided to ensure I’m only eating about 1200 calories a day and I’m feeling like there are results already. Is anyone else doing both WW and MFP or dropped WW in favour. I haven’t cancelled WW yet as I’m trialling MFP for a month first as a comparison.

NovusDies

blackkitty73 wrote: »

I’m currently doing WW but after 5 months and only losing 11kg I’m feeling a little jaded. I’ve started putting in my food into MFP instead of counting points. Discovered I was eating 1800 calories approx with WW free food a major culprit. So I’ve decided to ensure I’m only eating about 1200 calories a day and I’m feeling like there are results already. Is anyone else doing both WW and MFP or dropped WW in favour. I haven’t cancelled WW yet as I’m trialling MFP for a month first as a comparison.

Losing 11kg in 5 months is quite good. Unless you have more than about 22kg to lose that is a good rate of loss.

Eating 1200 calories is likely not a good idea. Please read this:

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

cmriverside

How much weight do you still need to lose to be at a healthy weight?

I think 11kg in five months is excellent. It does require different strategies when getting closer to a goal weight, and weight loss is supposed to slow down. What you don't want to do is lose too quickly when you are not that much overweight.

1200 is a dangerously low calorie level for most adults.

MySlimGoals

I did WW back in the mid-2000's and had a lot of success with it. They did not have free foods when I started. I left shortly after they introduced it as in the months following free foods all the people who had been doing well started plateauing or gaining. There were lots of complaints except from the new members who knew no different.

I think MFP is definitely superior these days. Back then it didn't exist.

Diatonic12

I have many relatives that are card carrying members of the WW club. I used to belong but one day I walked away. I joined the MFP and I've never looked back over my shoulder. My leader used to talk about food in such childish terms and I could no longer hack it. Today, I was a naughty, naughty girl and she was definitely a member of the over-the-hill gang. My sister and I went shopping, we ate cookies all of the way home but we counted up our points and blah, blah, blah. This was every week. I looked around and there were the same people sitting on the same stools that had been there for decades. Not one of them had ever graduated or reached their dream weight. I decided if The Leader of the Pack can't sustain it then I am definitely in the wrong place. I bolted out of there and cancelled those monthly hits on my credit card.

Designer20698

I'm a lifetime member of WW, that is long in the rearview mirror. I did have success back in the day with them, mid-1990's. But the rules change so often and the price if you are over goal is rediculous. I've been a member of MFP for a long time as well and have had some success with it. It all depends on how dedicated you are to your mission. I beleive the best "diet" is the one that works for you. JMHO

misclaire81

11kg is amazing! Be proud amd own it! That's a healthy and sustainable 0.5kg a week on average. I never liked WW, I prefer managing my self and being accountable to me. The idea of having to explin myself just annoyed me.

Lillymoo01

If you lost 11 kilos in 5 months then dropping an additional 600 calories a day will have you undereating and losing at least 1 kg a week which is too much for healthy, sustainable weight loss. It will result in extra lean muscle mass loss, brittle nails, hair falling out, and less chance of long term success because it increases the risk of a binge/restrict cycle.

I'd ditch WW personally because I am of the motto of why pay for something when you can get the equivalent or better for free. In saying that, some people around here do both because they like the weekly meetings and accountability that WW offers. With setting goals here aim for 1/2 kg or 1 pound a week loss as this is a much healthier and sustainable rate of loss.

blackkitty73

I need to lose and additional 35-40kg (78-88 pounds) to be in my healthy weight range for my height. So a long way off. I’m currently 95.3kg (210 pounds). I had a lap band in 2010 where I was only eating 600-800 calories a day due to restriction and lost max 40kg (88 pounds) but five years later and due to lap band failure I gained most of it back (I took multivitamins every day). I started tracking all my foods including free foods from WW and found I was eating 1500-1800 calories and higher amounts of sugars. Most of the 8kg loss occurred in first couple of months but it’s taken 3 months to lose 3kg ups and downs and stalled. Hence why I’m a little jaded. I like going to the meetings and accountability though but think MFP May be a cheaper option even if I paid the yearly fee. WW is releasing new options programs Monday because their current Freestyle program with lots of free foods has been unpopular so I’m kind of keeping track using both at the moment and using MFP has tightened up my eating habits. I’ve cut down on their free foods and that seems to be helping.

The doctor put me on Optifast before I joined WW and I hated every minute of it.

I do eat slightly more than 1200 calories it wavers between 1200 and 1400. I’ve also decided to do 12 hour fast. Another words my last meal of the day is between 6-7pm and I eat breakfast after 7am in the morning. Which I often do naturally anyway but it’s to ensure I don’t sleep on a large meal.

I eat pretty healthy as I cook and prepare food and rarely eat a lot of processed food.

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

apullum

blackkitty73 wrote: »

I need to lose and additional 35-40kg (78-88 pounds) to be in my healthy weight range for my height. So a long way off. I’m currently 95.3kg (210 pounds). I had a lap band in 2010 where I was only eating 600-800 calories a day due to restriction and lost max 40kg (88 pounds) but five years later and due to lap band failure I gained most of it back (I took multivitamins every day). I started tracking all my foods including free foods from WW and found I was eating 1500-1800 calories and higher amounts of sugars. Most of the 8kg loss occurred in first couple of months but it’s taken 3 months to lose 3kg ups and downs and stalled. Hence why I’m a little jaded. I like going to the meetings and accountability though but think MFP May be a cheaper option even if I paid the yearly fee. WW is releasing new options programs Monday because their current Freestyle program with lots of free foods has been unpopular so I’m kind of keeping track using both at the moment and using MFP has tightened up my eating habits. I’ve cut down on their free foods and that seems to be helping.

The doctor put me on Optifast before I joined WW and I hated every minute of it.

I do eat slightly more than 1200 calories it wavers between 1200 and 1400. I’ve also decided to do 12 hour fast. Another words my last meal of the day is between 6-7pm and I eat breakfast after 7am in the morning. Which I often do naturally anyway but it’s to ensure I don’t sleep on a large meal.

I eat pretty healthy as I cook and prepare food and rarely eat a lot of processed food.

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

You don't need to pay for MFP unless there are specific premium features that you want. Many people have lost weight just fine with the free version.

There is no need to fast for weight loss. You can eat any time you want, unless eating before bed makes it hard for you to sleep. Myths about late night eating being bad for weight loss are just that--myths.

Losing weight doesn't have anything to do with what time you eat, whether you eat "healthy" or "processed" food. Weight loss is 100% about consistently being in a calorie deficit. You can ensure that you're in a calorie deficit by weighing all of your food using a food scale.

neugebauer52

Yesterday evening I met some people who pointed at different food items exclaiming: "THAT'S 3 POINTS!" etc. Over the years they have amassed a mental encyclopedia of food stuffs and the relevant point system of a certain weight loss company. But at no time did I hear: That's bigger / or smaller than an "average" size, the points need to be adjusted. And what is an "average size" anyway? Obviously I explained the brilliant MFP system as well. Seems to me, as long as you believe that a certain system works for you, for your health, run with it. Well, MFP works for me full time - and all those supportive members are so very important to me as well. 575 days gone, 43 kg. down.

cmriverside

blackkitty73 wrote: »

I need to lose and additional 35-40kg (78-88 pounds) to be in my healthy weight range for my height. So a long way off. I’m currently 95.3kg (210 pounds). I had a lap band in 2010 where I was only eating 600-800 calories a day due to restriction and lost max 40kg (88 pounds) but five years later and due to lap band failure I gained most of it back (I took multivitamins every day). I started tracking all my foods including free foods from WW and found I was eating 1500-1800 calories and higher amounts of sugars. Most of the 8kg loss occurred in first couple of months but it’s taken 3 months to lose 3kg ups and downs and stalled. Hence why I’m a little jaded. I like going to the meetings and accountability though but think MFP May be a cheaper option even if I paid the yearly fee. WW is releasing new options programs Monday because their current Freestyle program with lots of free foods has been unpopular so I’m kind of keeping track using both at the moment and using MFP has tightened up my eating habits. I’ve cut down on their free foods and that seems to be helping.

The doctor put me on Optifast before I joined WW and I hated every minute of it.

I do eat slightly more than 1200 calories it wavers between 1200 and 1400. I’ve also decided to do 12 hour fast. Another words my last meal of the day is between 6-7pm and I eat breakfast after 7am in the morning. Which I often do naturally anyway but it’s to ensure I don’t sleep on a large meal.

I eat pretty healthy as I cook and prepare food and rarely eat a lot of processed food.

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

Okay, thanks for the additional info...

So I started just about where you are, at 210-215ish. I also started at 1200, because, "Hey, lose 2 pounds per week, that's what I want!!" I am retired, so I chose "Sedentary" as my Activity Level.

Honestly I only stuck to 1200(ish) for a very short while because I started exercising almost right away and that earned me more food. On Myfitnesspal, the numbers are set up to have you log exercise on the Exercise page and the calculations adjust to give more calories for your added energy needs. I always ate 300-500 calories more per day when I exercised. Eating 1200 and eating 1500-1600 are worlds apart. I lost weight on target doing that.

It was pretty easy for me at first. I didn't even have a body weight scale, but I weighed at the gym once a week.

1200+ Exercise cals worked until I got to about 180, then I began having all kinds of problems. No energy, irritable, couldn't exercise, I was sleeping a lot, my hair was thinning, my nails were peeling. Time to eat more, so I did. I went to 1500/1600 PLUS Exercise calories and that worked all the way through till my end Goal which is now 140-145. So on most days I was eating 1800-2000 and still losing. When I got to within 20 pounds of my goal it was really important that I closely monitored my food so I bought a food scale and I started eating almost every meal prepared by me.

I've been maintaining for 12 years, I lost around 80 pounds total. Calories calories calories, exercise, logging food, good(ish) nutrition, enough protein and long-term consistency.

bethjl96

I am also considering ditching WW....it has worked for me in the past but lately the scale just has not moved. I’m only on my second day and have already lost 1 pound....I was so happy to see the scale move!
The other thing that bothers me about ww is that I think their “healthy range” is unrealistic. The last time I was within range it was very hard to maintain.

blackkitty73

I’ve now changed my calories to 1350/ day on MFP. I don’t lose weight with anything over 1500. As I have Hashimotos thyroid disorder it’s quite difficult, even with the medication, to lose weight.

In Australia we have now all the new WW plans. My weight loss stalled and kept hovering at the same point. I’ve changed to green plan which has less ‘free’ foods (I still don’t think bananas should be a free food). This seems a much better accountability option and portion control.

Interestingly since I track on both WW smart points green plan and MFP they both come up as around 1200 calories. Less if I didn’t eat the ‘free’ foods on WW. But I can overdo the sugars if I stuck to WW on its own, as I’ve found too many fruits and carbs can increase it.

procolorer

I did WW earlier this year. And I did lose like 50lbs in 4 months but I found it unsustainable in the long run. It promotes some healthy options but also promotes lots of fat free stuff that I didn’t enjoy.

So I’m back to MFP too!

frksfrau

I’ve done WW over the years with differing success. The last time, I lost 58lbs. But then I was up and down and couldn’t get to goal. So I stopped. I gained some back but now I started with MFP and hope to lose 20 by June.

The logging of food is what I need. I do miss the feeling of community but I don’t missing paying.

Please feel free to add me as a friend.

jrochest

I'm a former WWer starting MFP again -- lost 55 pounds (from 206-150) in 2018, but stopped keeping track and have gained 20 back. So gearing up and getting back on the horse.

I'll never do WW again, though. It's expensive, and Freestyle manages to be simultaneously too restrictive and not informative enough; it's just too easy to eat 2000 calories of 'free' food, and the points values of sugars/carbs are completely unplugged from their calorie count. I reached Lifetime back in the early 2000s, but the programs stopped working for me as soon as they increased their 'free foods' list.

sharon9028

Hi. I am a returner also, this time doing it with hubby because he needs to lose about 3 stone for his health. I am ex WW, lost 85 lbs with them in 2010, gained a bit as I found maintenance on that plan difficult in real life. Agree with the WW comments on here, that free food is a killer on the scales! I am wanting to lose a stone or so to keep in trim, so here goes for us both!

nurees

I cancelled my WW yesterday. Frankly I can’t afford it right now. I actually found I was eating too few calories trying not to gorge on the free foods trying to stay under points.