Ran here from Weight Watchers

Val_from_OH

Feel free to add me. I too am a former WW and had a lot of success there (lost 50#). The thing I love about MFP is that there are so many different opinions and you can pick and choose who you trust and what you want to try. WW leaders have to speak "corporate", so they're never going to tell you "Hey, you're pretty active, maybe you need to eat more", or "Try changing to a 40/30/30 macro profile and see if the scale starts moving for you again." And certainly not "So, you're 5 lbs above your max goal weight, but you're at 20% BF - you are successful!"

daniellabella986

Feel free to add me. I too am a former WW and had a lot of success there (lost 50#). The thing I love about MFP is that there are so many different opinions and you can pick and choose who you trust and what you want to try. WW leaders have to speak "corporate", so they're never going to tell you "Hey, you're pretty active, maybe you need to eat more", or "Try changing to a 40/30/30 macro profile and see if the scale starts moving for you again." And certainly not "So, you're 5 lbs above your max goal weight, but you're at 20% BF - you are successful!"

So true! WW focuses mainly on the scale #, not other measurements. So frustrating for me when I was up 2 lbs. once and the woman who weighed me gave me a dirty look & no encouragement!

loserlee123

I find that I am eating the same foods I did when I was on ww'rs but I find it easier to track calories vs points and this is free!

62karen

I was going to WW and couldn't afford it anymore, so I had to quit. If I tracked everything that I put into my mouth and stayed within my points for the day, I did lose weight. I did enjoy going to the weekly meetings. I felt it kepted me in check with myself. Sorry to hear it did now work for you. I too just ran here from Weight Watchers and am looking for friends to help keep me motivated. So, if you feel like chatting for moral support, I am here! Send me a message.

Savannah_416

rockmama72 said:
I lost baby weight very quickly on WW in the late 90's. And then tried again with WW Online a couple of years ago. I found that I'd learned a lot about nutrition and my tastes in a decade, and also had developed my cooking skills too. It is very tedious to figure points when you don't eat many packaged foods. I mean, it's a little tedious here too, but not quite as much. I've found MFP to be very liberating for that reason.

I also found the message boards there to be overrun with gangs We have them here, but over there it was like people were paying to get beat up by mean girls. At least here I get it for free. (And they're not as bad here.)

That said, I know many who have been successful with WW because it fits their lifestyle. And that's really the key, we all just need to find our home.

Absolutely agree. It really is about finding the program that works for you; it simply didn't fit with mine. Glad to have found MFP because it does!

Savannah_416

mumblemagic said:
...
/rant

Sorry, this has been bugging me.

Although the NHS has its faults, some of its advice is good. Its review of SW and WW said that they do not teach about calories and portion sizes so for a long term diet change are not good. I have noticed that some of the stuff they advocate is completely unscientific twaddle. The primary purpose of those diets is not to help people lose weight, it is to make money. This is probably why 80% of people on SW or WW do not acheive and maintain their goal weight over a 2 year period, and 86% do not over a 5 year period. It is not designed for long term healthy life change, it is desiged to keep people paying and coming back.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23463006

Wow, that is frustrating to have family members be on another plan that teaches differently. There is unfortunately a lot of information out there, but if you go to reputable sources (as you clearly have) you'll find information on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The angle I've personally taken is to eat as all-natural as I can in moderation. Instead of opting for the spray can of oil (which WW pushes), I prefer to use real olive oil because my background in Biology and public health, tells me that some fat is needed for the cells in your body. If I'm going to have them, I'd rather they be delivered as unprocessed as possible because I'm not sure what companies do to the products they churn out.

Your last paragraph is the truth. Ultimately, WW is a company that lives on profits, so the end goal is to really make lifetime members. It wouldn't optimize profits if members were able to sustain the lifestyle on their own. I can't blame them for that, it's how all successful companies operate. You will lose weight on WW's, but keeping it off is another matter.

They have a new Simple Start sub program that is a two week intensive diet of almost O point foods. The recipe's call for a lot of fat-free cheeses, reduced calorie breads, and fat-free Cool Whip for dessert (Cool whip by itself isn't natural, so the fat-free version is....well, less so). If I were to eat real cheese in moderation, and real bread, and a bit of real whip cream-- my points would be gone by mid afternoon.

Savannah_416

I did WW for 2 yrs and lost 70 lbs until finances finally forced me to give it up. I went to meetings faithfully and never once was I encouraged to eat processed food. 3 ozs of plain grilled chicken is only 3 points a small pita is 2 points. Not much of a difference if you ask me. Furthermore, I have found that the points plus and calories were pretty comparable. Meaning lower calories = lower points. I do hate that I have to count the calories in my fruits and vegetables now when before I could eat them with abandon. Finally, there are plenty of other ways to get your protein. Vegetarians have been doing it forever. With any weight loss program it is a lifestyle change. Whether you are counting points or counting calories you should be learning to eat healthier.

I know there are plenty of people who do enjoy/appreciate Weight Watchers, but I was feeling very poorly every morning when I was on it. I tried upping all the 0 points fruits and vegetables that I could to maximize what I ate, but they didn't keep me full for long. It was just demoralizing to enter hummus and have it be 4-5 points, that's a lot when you're on just a 27-29 point diet.

sargessexyone said:

Yes it can be and I do find that I am eating foods now that I wouldn't have when I was on WW. I realize that WW is not for everyone and I am just saddened that you had such a bad experience because it is an awesome program (at least for me). In any case, the important thing is you didn't let it deter you from your journey. Good luck to you.

Ahh, and the thing is, the foods I would have had to cut out are good for you. Yes, some of them have oil, but some oil is needed to keep our cell walls plump and functioning, and our organs robust and strong.

I also think WW has changed as of late. They have a new Simple Start sub program that is a two week intensive diet of almost O point foods. The recipe's call for a lot of fat-free cheeses, reduced calorie breads, and fat-free Cool Whip for dessert (Cool whip by itself isn't natural, so the fat-free version is....well, less so). If I were to eat real cheese in moderation, and real bread, and a bit of real whip cream-- my points would be gone by mid afternoon. I'd simply eat more of real, natural foods because we truly don't know what companies do to the foods they process.

thekeelbystamps

I did WW for 2 yrs and lost 70 lbs until finances finally forced me to give it up. I went to meetings faithfully and never once was I encouraged to eat processed food. 3 ozs of plain grilled chicken is only 3 points a small pita is 2 points. Not much of a difference if you ask me. Furthermore, I have found that the points plus and calories were pretty comparable. Meaning lower calories = lower points. I do hate that I have to count the calories in my fruits and vegetables now when before I could eat them with abandon. Finally, there are plenty of other ways to get your protein. Vegetarians have been doing it forever. With any weight loss program it is a lifestyle change. Whether you are counting points or counting calories you should be learning to eat healthier.

Here Here

Savannah_416

I refuse to eat the processed foods WW suggests-- I try to eat clean and as close to nature as possible which is why suggestions to eat fat free cheese, reduced carb bread, and fat-free cool whip were not acceptable to me.

geebusuk
I'm not a fan of weight watchers, but also... this amused me.
Is it those products, or the fact they are fat-free/low carb which worried you?
Because the vast majority of the 'processing' would also be in place for the 'normal' versions.

I would suggest there's also no decent evidence for 'clean eating' bar the basics of getting appropriate amounts of nutrients.

Oh, I'm sure there is processing at hand for the other items, but one main reason I try to consume 2% milk products verses fat-free is because fat in limitation is needed for your body to function. Your cell walls need it to stay plump and functioning, your organs need it to do their jobs...etc, etc-- I just prefer to eat as they did in the past. Another reason? I have worked in the field of public health cancer control and prevention and am concerned about how much higher cancer rates are in the U.S. than in other countries. Do we know why? No. But I figure, eating the way our forefathers did might be good since their rates were low as well. (Naturally, there are other factors that could be causing the higher cancer rates like environmental toxins, but we can only control so much).

lilbearzmom

I refuse to eat the processed foods WW suggests-- I try to eat clean and as close to nature as possible which is why suggestions to eat fat free cheese, reduced carb bread, and fat-free cool whip were not acceptable to me.

I'm not a fan of weight watchers, but also... this amused me.
Is it those products, or the fact they are fat-free/low carb which worried you?
Because the vast majority of the 'processing' would also be in place for the 'normal' versions.

I would suggest there's also no decent evidence for 'clean eating' bar the basics of getting appropriate amounts of nutrients.

Except for the fact that most reduced/fat-free versions of anything have more sugar and artificial sweetener than their less processed and more "original" form counter parts.

This x10. When the natural fat or sugar or "bad" ingredient is taken out, something artificial usually takes it's place or it is processed even more in order to remove that ingredient.

Savannah_416

I've was on Weight Watchers for the past week and ended up hungry, cranky, and light-headed. I know-- it was only one week but that was all I needed to realize how unrealistic and frankly, unhealthy the plan is. They are right, you WILL lose weight on Weight Watchers, but only if you're willing to eat processed foods and very few proteins.

I refuse to eat the processed foods WW suggests-- I try to eat clean and as close to nature as possible which is why suggestions to eat fat free cheese, reduced carb bread, and fat-free cool whip were not acceptable to me. So when I added 2% milk to my coffee, or ate 2% Greek yogurt-- it took away a lot of my allotted points. When I addressed this on their message board the only response I got was, "Umm, eating 2% is not part of the plan".

That freaked me out, but also made me realize that those on it, use it without critically thinking about it.

In addition, I'm nutritionally educated enough to know the importance of protein, but WW doesn't seem to feel simillarly. Three ounces of plain, grilled chicken was worth more points than one large round of pita bread. Really?? Without enough protein, I'm never full for long so when I Googled, "still hungry on Weight watchers", the suggestions I got were to fill up on a lot of fruits and vegetables and...(wait for it) WATER.

What?? How is this a lifestyle change if people are asked to fill up on fruits and vegetables, which are GOOD-- but aren't filling. The human body needs protein, but I felt penalized any time I added a protein into my food log--and it makes you want to avoid them so you aren't left with very few points to eat at the end.

Sorry that my introduction began as a rant, but I'm still cranky from not eating enough on Weight Watchers, lol. When I entered what I ate into My Fitness Pal, I was permitted 400 more calories!

katmix

It is possible you didn't get past the initial weigh-in and intro meeting (if you only did WW for one week)... Have never heard WW (at any of the many times I've attended) promote and encourage processed foods. I personally quit WW because I didn't want to pay the fees.

But then, I've had an acquaintance say that MFP doesn't work, either...well, duh! When you give up too soon or eat everything you think you're entitled to eat (in whatever quantities) NOTHING will work.

I strongly considered this and wanted to hang in there-- but got so sick by this Saturday that I had to quit for my well being. I was eating within the confines of the plan, but I have heard that in the past year they've reduced the number of daily points and encouraged eating fat-free items. This was my first time using WW so I can't speak to how it was in the past. I will say that they really push this new "Smart Start" plan which pushes a lot of 0 point foods that are fat-free and carb free in order to encourage rapid initial weight loss. This is to keep customers with the program, but this isn't healthy. Since I tried to use full fat cheese (in moderation) and regular bread, again in moderation, my points were eaten up.

Because I eat the real thing my weight loss will likely be slower, but I'm okay with that if I'm eating unprocessed foods. Regular cheese tastes better and you really don't need a lot of it to taste it.

strangeone25

Frankly I have never tried weight watchers but it is expensive and MFP is free so an easy choice for me

michiganderrdh

I did WW several years ago and while I lost 35 lbs, I was not eating "food". I hated that they pushed smartones and all of the WW processed junk. This I didn't really realize until I started having GI issues and learned to control with REAL food - fruit,veggies, etc.....

If you're looking for support, please message me or friend me . I'm am now a personal trainer/group fitness instructor

seashell709

i was on weight watchers before for about 3 months and didn't have to many problems with it. I didn't buy into there brand stuff. I did lose weight but i didn't keep it off after I got off.

I like MFP because I can see the calories i'm consuming instead of points and it's free. I did like how in WW veggies and some fruits were a free for all.

Feel free to add me for support if you want.

mg_89

I think everyone has to decide what works for their body and stick to that... for some, WW works great.. for others, something else. I'm glad you found MFP and hope you're able to find the balance and support you need!

Good luck!

lisabinco

Sorry you seem to have had a bad experience. I lost about 50 pounds twice on WW so I have to disagree that it is not an effective weight-loss plan. It taught me what a balanced meal should be and how to portion out food. I never felt pressured to eat pre-packaged "food" of any kind. I don't do meat and not much dairy so I individualized their plan to fit me, and I eat pretty "clean" (my definition). I cooked stuff from scratch and enjoyed lots of vegetables and fruit. What's wrong with filling up on vegetables and fruit? That's the best kind of real food. I find vegetables and fruit quite filling and I get to eat all I want of them, too. I personally found a better plan nowadays, and I use MFP for tracking sodium more than anything else, because WW doesn't address that at all. I don't find MFP perfect, either. I just use the tools that work for me, and pass on the others.

tpfoodie

I'm actually getting ready to go back to Weight Watchers. I've found that MFP hasn't been a really effective tool for me. I lost 45 pounds on Weight Waters in 2006-07, so I'm hoping for similar results! Best of luck to you using MFP though.

oneloopygirl

I lost weight on WW and kept it off. I'm here because I don't want to pay for WW long term. I'm trying this community out to see what I think. WW works, but you have to work it. I never bought any of their food, activelink, etc. I worked the program my way. I would alter my daily points to levels that worked for me. I did not go to their minimum to lose. I kept my points a little higher and found that I still lost successfully. I don't know anything about the new SimpleStart. I was at maintenance before that came around and did not try it. I did online only for WW because the area I live in has limited meetings and they don't suit my busy schedule. So, I can't speak to how pushy they are or aren't in meetings. However, I know a lot of people that tried WW and tried here and weren't successful... Mainly because tracking, whether it was points or calories, were not their thing. I communicated with people online in the WW community, some did meetings, some were online only. Those that were successful generally had learned that you work the program to suit you, which is what many that went to meetings had been encouraged to do by those meeting leaders. Maybe you had a poor leader... That can happen, unfortunately. I do like MFP, but it's something you have to work just like anything else.

sjp_511

I did WW for 3 months in 2012. I find it to be very simlar to MFP.

- On WW, you have your daily allowance of points; on MFP you have your daily allowance of calories.
- On WW, you earn more points by exercising; on MFP you earn more calories by exercising. On both plans, you can decide how much of your points/calories you want to eat back.
- Deciding what to eat to stay in your daily allowance is flexible and completely up to you. Both WW and MFP have clean eaters. Both programs have people who eat a lot of prepackaged diet food. It is what ever works for you. At WW, some meetings are run by the former, some by the latter. On MFP, it all depends on which forum posts you agree to.

My biggest gripe with WW was I thought that the point calculators were a bit punitive for high protein. There were many days that I went over on points due to it.

What I loved about WW is the flex points. They teach you that it is okay to indulge sometimes as long as it isn't everyday. It let's me have a big meal out at a restuarant and make up for it the other days of the week. Some people I have encountered on MFP are a bit too focused on their calorie and macro goals for each and every day.

CindyB97

Former WW here too. I lost 45 pounds last year, but was always uncomfortable in the meetings. The leaders always, always pushed the unhealthy highly processed crap. I NEVER bought any, and even refused to accept the free samples they often passed out to us. The meetings almost always devolved into discussions of the point values of meals at local restaurants, or which brand of cookie or brownie was lowest in points. Really, people? Are any of you even serious about losing weight?

I lost the weight because, in my opinion, I was weighing, measuring, and tracking my food. I ate every single point almost every week, and was still hungry much of the time. I finally quit because I decided to adopt a more paleo, clean foods type of eating philosophy, and it was putting me waaaayyyy over points every single day, so I figured why waste any more money and put up with the nonsense in the weekly meetings.

I found the leaders to be good at parroting what corporate teaches them, but beyond that they had no more knowledge of nutrition than I did. It was really more like going to a weekly MLM meeting like Mary Kay or Avon, with the way they pushed their products to get those sales up, up, up.

Again to repeat what someone said earlier, not every plan is for everybody. I'm happy for those who have found success at WW, but as for me I learned what I could about myself while doing WW and now it's time to move on.

Amitysk

I did Weight Watchers several times and was never able to last longer than 3 months or lose more than 30lbs. It always felt so restrictive to me.

MFP works so much better for tracking for me and I love feeling as though nothing is really off limits. I find counting calories to be much more intuative than counting points.

tracywintn

I too feel WW and MFP are pretty similar. You get to eat whatever you want with both programs (one you track points, the other calories but each gives you an allotment per day). I started with WW but felt I needed more restriction because I was eating way too much fruit (because it was "free"). I also didn't like the weekly extra points-because I felt it was giving me too much leeway. I found I ate fewer carbs and more protein/fruit/veg on WW and I do the same here. I think they are both good programs and they in no way encourage you to eat processed foods. The whole point of it is to eat whatever you want (just like MFP) but you have to learn to use your points wisely (the same as you do with your calories here). My weight loss has been slow/steady with both programs. I think just find what works for you and stick with it. It doesn't hurt that MFP is free though:)

Savannah_416

oneloopygirl said:
I lost weight on WW and kept it off. I'm here because I don't want to pay for WW long term. I'm trying this community out to see what I think. WW works, but you have to work it. I never bought any of their food, activelink, etc. I worked the program my way. I would alter my daily points to levels that worked for me. I did not go to their minimum to lose. I kept my points a little higher and found that I still lost successfully.

I never even considered upping my points to fit my lifestyle..interesting. I have really enjoyed MFP so far-- tracking my foods is actually wonderful and it's made me see that I have been eating way too much. I had a semi-indulgent lunch just now (Boss ordered pizza), so it's great to look at my tracker and see that I need to be sensible at dinner time.

Savannah_416

sjp_511 said:
I did WW for 3 months in 2012. I find it to be very simlar to MFP.

- On WW, you have your daily allowance of points; on MFP you have your daily allowance of calories.
- On WW, you earn more points by exercising; on MFP you earn more calories by exercising. On both plans, you can decide how much of your points/calories you want to eat back.
- Deciding what to eat to stay in your daily allowance is flexible and completely up to you. Both WW and MFP have clean eaters. Both programs have people who eat a lot of prepackaged diet food. It is what ever works for you. At WW, some meetings are run by the former, some by the latter. On MFP, it all depends on which forum posts you agree to.

Interesting. I truly did not feel physically well at all from being malnourished on WW, but I'm not sure why my experience was so different. Perhaps my problem was that I stayed strictly within my points and struggled because of that. I did find it interesting that my first day on MFP I tracked my diet on both WW and MFP and found MFP permitted me 500 more calories/day. That's when I realized MFP may be better set for me.

My biggest gripe with WW was I thought that the point calculators were a bit punitive for high protein. There were many days that I went over on points due to it.

I know, and I still don't understand why they would punish you for this. It was head scratching.

bhorsoft

Did WW twice (meetings the first time and online the second) and lost 30 pounds both times. Gained it all back and more when I stopped. Trying to calculate points was/is more difficult than counting calories and just wasn't sustainable in the long term. I also didn't like that they change their points and plans every 3 years or so. First time I tried I was limited to 22 points/day. 3 years later a different plan and I got 35 points/day for the same starting weight.

sjp_511

sjp_511 said:
I did WW for 3 months in 2012. I find it to be very simlar to MFP.

- On WW, you have your daily allowance of points; on MFP you have your daily allowance of calories.
- On WW, you earn more points by exercising; on MFP you earn more calories by exercising. On both plans, you can decide how much of your points/calories you want to eat back.
- Deciding what to eat to stay in your daily allowance is flexible and completely up to you. Both WW and MFP have clean eaters. Both programs have people who eat a lot of prepackaged diet food. It is what ever works for you. At WW, some meetings are run by the former, some by the latter. On MFP, it all depends on which forum posts you agree to.

Interesting. I truly did not feel physically well at all from being malnourished on WW, but I'm not sure why my experience was so different. Perhaps my problem was that I stayed strictly within my points and struggled because of that. I did find it interesting that my first day on MFP I tracked my diet on both WW and MFP and found MFP permitted me 500 more calories/day. That's when I realized MFP may be better set for me.

My biggest gripe with WW was I thought that the point calculators were a bit punitive for high protein. There were many days that I went over on points due to it.

I know, and I still don't understand why they would punish you for this. It was head scratching.

On WW I was eating a few hundred less calories than MFP has me set at, but I was also losing faster. I am horribly confused as to what my BMR is and TDEE. I have tried the various calculators people have posted in the forums and get a wide variety of results, but the MFP default number is in the middle.