Switching from weight watchers to MFP

Mdidi123

So I am considering switching from Weight Watchers to MFP. The one thing that I love about WW is that I get a weekly allowance of points that I can spend on any food I want. I eat 27 daily points of healthy foods. But I have a bank of 49 points each week- This allows me to have a few cheat meals throughout the week and still be on track.

I am female, 5'8 165 lbs. I am lightly active at work, plus workout 3-5 times per week. To lose 1 pound per week, MFP recommends 1560 calories per day (not including my exercise calories). Any suggestions on "banking" some calories for a cheat meal 1-2 times per week? What do you guys do?

moment_to_arise

MFP sets you at a deficit ANYWAY so if you eat over your calorie allowance once or twice, it's no big deal. if it helps, go to your settings and calculate what your calorie settings would be if you set it a maintenance instead of how much you want to lose per week. that way you know that you can eat up to that many calories without "worrying" about gaining weight. plus you need to each 3500 calories OVER maintenance to gain 1 lb of fat, so indulging every now and then is not a big deal. I switched from weightwatchers to MFP as well and never looked back.

arc8706

I eat at a slightly lower deficit if I want a "cheat" day/meal (100 calories under my MFP deficit, so say I'm allotted 1600 calories a day by MFP, I'd eat 1500 calories a day for 3-4 days, usually two days before and two days after, if I was planning in a cheat meal later that week).

I don't know if that's a GOOD way to do it. lol. But it is honestly what I do and it has been working for me. Up until this week which due to Thanksgiving I'm just planning on maintaining and not losing any weight this week, since I went so far over on Thanksgiving day that sticking to my deficit the rest of the week will basically just keep me from gaining weight. That's okay though because that was also planned. lol.

From what I've seen of WW (never done it myself but my mom has), it seems like they just simplified calorie counting. But it's really the same thing. If you are saving up "points", you are really just saving up calories in another form.

ETA: Really the best way to get away with "cheat" meals is to exercise your butt off and then eat back those exercise calories. With a 1500 calorie allotment, if you burned 300-400 calories with a really good workout, you would then get to eat almost 1900 calories that day. To me that's a lot of food! I usually don't burn more than 150-200 with my walking, though.

Arbeidslyst

I have my calories set at maintenace and then eat 200-300 under that.

Masonless

I have my calories set at maintenace and then eat 200-300 under that.

For 1 month I tracked both WW and MFP. The calories that MFP set me at was equal to the same WW points I was allowed. Best of all MFP is free. The only thing I miss is the weekly weigh-ins and group meetings. Best of luck to you

lynn_glenmont

I weigh in once a week, and I focus on meeting a weekly goal (1500 X 7 = 10,500 net calories for the week, rather than trying to hit 1500 every day). Some days I'm just not that hungry, or I'm busy during the day and too tired to eat in enough in the evening to make up any meals and snacks I might have missed entirely or for meals that ended up being more of a snack than a meal. Other days 1500 just doesn't seem like enough, so I eat if I'm hungry. I keep an eye on the weekly totals using the "reports" function, looking at the "net calories" report. You do have to add up the separate days yourself, as MFP doesn't do this for you. It works for me, but I know for some people it works better (in terms of control, logistics, etc.) to eat the same amount every day.

angelb1983

I go back and forth with what I like. I feel like MFP gives more room for junk food because it gives you free reign to eat whatever you want regardless of the nutritional value as long as it fits into calories. This could be good, or bad depending on what you are wanting. With the WW points that Im allowed, it is much harder to eat the less healthy foods and not to go over. I think both are good. I think if you can handle portion control and eating healthy foods without much support MFP would be a better option. If you need more restriction causing you to choose fruits or veggies, I would stick to WW. MFP is free and WW is pricey so it is all about weighing your options to whatever works best for you. I currently have both.

angelb1983

One more thing, as far as your extra weekly points values. You will do fine with the amount of calories MFP gives you, especially if you bank some exercise calories if you are wanting a "cheat" day.

Saramelie

I weigh in once a week, and I focus on meeting a weekly goal (1500 X 7 = 10,500 net calories for the week, rather than trying to hit 1500 every day). Some days I'm just not that hungry, or I'm busy during the day and too tired to eat in enough in the evening to make up any meals and snacks I might have missed entirely or for meals that ended up being more of a snack than a meal. Other days 1500 just doesn't seem like enough, so I eat if I'm hungry. I keep an eye on the weekly totals using the "reports" function, looking at the "net calories" report. You do have to add up the separate days yourself, as MFP doesn't do this for you. It works for me, but I know for some people it works better (in terms of control, logistics, etc.) to eat the same amount every day.

It`s the same for me, I cycle my calories and it works really well.

rlmassman84

I actually made the switch from WW to MFP a few months ago and so far I have liked the change. I still try to keep myself on the schedule I had with WW for weighing in and keeping focused on fruits and vegetables, but I do cheat periodically. I try to plan for it though and adjust the other meals I eat that day or try to get some extra exercise in. When I did WW I actually rarely used my 49 weekly points and usually only let myself use whatever exercise points I had accumulated instead.