Weight Watcher Question

tenshiblue

A couple of people I work with pay for the Weight Watchers online program. I've never done Weight Watchers myself so I'm curious how it works. It sounds to me like it's the same as myfitnesspal except they use points for food and as you exercise you can eat more. Either way you are still keeping track of your food intake and exercise. I'm not sure why they are paying money for it. If anyone has done Weight Watchers before I would love to hear your input on this.

African_Goddess

i've never done WW but I was guessing it was the same as MFP, im wondering about it also.

cashqueen33

It is basically the same thing....they count points, we count calories. I have a friend doing WW and I told her to stop paying for it, and use MFP.....I've done both, and I sure like not paying for it!

neuro316

I thought it might be useful to re-post what I just wrote on another WW thread:

Personally, WW didn't work for me, for several reasons. I should say I didn't try it for a really long time, but long enough to see that it wasn't ideal, at least for me. I should say, too, that I only used the online program, not the in-person meetings, which may be helpful for some people (but are not appealing to me).

First of all, it's set up on a weekly basis, with "weekly" points available to add in to your daily points for extra splurges. Sometimes that made me feel, though, that unless I started out the week on track, I was already off-plan, and I would then give myself license to wait until the next week to get back on track. So, it was mostly psychological, but it was enough to throw me off sometimes.

Second, some foods (mostly fruits and veggies) have 0 points, to encourage you to eat more of them. That's all well and good, but it doesn't take into account the fact that these foods still have calories! Eat five pieces of fruit, and you can easily eat 500 calories, but WW would tell you it's 0. Your body, though, surely sees it as 500, not 0.

My daily points limit was 29. When I started using MFP and checked my WW food diary on here, I was easily eating at my maintenance levels, even though I was "good" by WW standards. Related to this, when I tried some of the WW packaged foods, I was horrified by the levels of sodium. It just makes you wonder why a program that is claiming to be "healthy" would make such needlessly salty foods.

Overall, I find the "points" system to be gimmicky, and if you're just looking at the online program, I think what MFP gives you is much more useful and accurate, plus it's FREE! However, if you think the in-person meetings might be helpful for you, then it can't hurt to try it out.

JulieF11

I used to do Weight Watchers. It used to be more similar than it is now. Started out just counting points which consisted of a combination of calories, fat grams and fiber. Then they added a second option that was all you can eat, but only of certain kinds of foods (fruits, veggies and whole grains) and you counted only the other things. Then they changed it to just one program, I believe (I'm not in WW anymore) but now I think they have a certain number of points and as many fruits and/or veggies as they like.

It all boils down to calories in and out... and MFP definitely has what you need to lose any amount of weight you need to. After losing weight with MFP it's hard to think of a good reason to join WW online. I can see why someone might want to go to meetings, so they can befriend people and support one another, but the online option offers few benefits (recipes, stories, etc...) but you can get those on the MFP community board if you search for them, or ask for them.

Maryee71

I've done wt watcher meetings before. I tried on line once and I didn't like some of the responses that people made.
They want you to journal everyday just like mfp and they figure points in place of calories. I think mfp is easier because
you don't have to convert anything. Calories are calories. I prefer mfp and it's free.

abatista27

I use both because i like the recipes and meal plans on ww online, and the stupid little trophies and stars they give you help motivate me hahaha. i bought 3 months subscription to start and i will probably cancel at the end ot he 3 months becasue i like mfp better overall for the support network. mfp online is structured more like facebook and the positive feedback keeps me really motivated. ww online is more solitary unless you have a ton of friends or something. but idk, i bet ww meetings are helpful. i would feel too young and out of place to go because im 22.

SraArroz

I have a question... some of my friends are on WW and they talk about how many points a recipe is that they made... how could I translate that to calories if I wanted to do the same thing? I have the hardest time figuring out calories for a meal that I prepare at home... Any suggestions?

ElizabethRoad

I have a question... some of my friends are on WW and they talk about how many points a recipe is that they made... how could I translate that to calories if I wanted to do the same thing? I have the hardest time figuring out calories for a meal that I prepare at home... Any suggestions?

Use the recipe builder - Food > Recipes > Enter New Recipe. It basically just adds up all the ingredients you use.

ritaadkins2002

im doing ww now..i go to the meetings and do online. i like the online but myfitness is the best . i do online because i can make sure i put my points in and its quick instead of writing it down. but i do both ww online and myfitness pals. it gives me control to keep my foods intact on both ends. lol but i love talking and helping others, and myfitness pals are the bomb...love it

SraArroz

I have a question... some of my friends are on WW and they talk about how many points a recipe is that they made... how could I translate that to calories if I wanted to do the same thing? I have the hardest time figuring out calories for a meal that I prepare at home... Any suggestions?

Use the recipe builder - Food > Recipes > Enter New Recipe. It basically just adds up all the ingredients you use.

Thank you!!! :bigsmile:

amdpei12

I think, generally, one point translates into about 50 calories

fitby28

It's not the same. yes you keep track of what you eat and track exercise, but WW inforces eating more fruits/veggies, making it a healthy lifestyle.. not just a lifestyle change. MFP is great for keeping track of nutritional info.... WW focuses on healthy oils, vitamins, and also allowing extra weekly point allowance for splurge if needed so you don't feel deprived. Both sites are great... I pay for it and love it and use mfp to keep track of sodium etc.

wendy19671

I did the weight watchers on line, but I like this website much better and it doesn't cost me. It seems easier, due to it seems more food are listed on this website.I have just started with the my fitness pal.

KristinLeAnn252

I'm actually a lifetime member at Weight Watchers. I love it. My mom did weight watchers years ago and lost 25 pounds. She kept most of it off but doesn't work out or anything. A few years ago, I decided to start going to meetings as well. At the time I weighed around 140 and my healthy weight range is like 95-130 so I set my goal to be 130. Once you reach your goal at WW, you're considered a lifetime member which means you never have to pay a weekly fee again EVER as long as you weigh in once a month and are no more than 3 lbs above your goal. I ended up going above my goal and have done it online myself a few times because my work/school schedule doesn't always coordinate well with meetings. Anyways, I really like weight watchers because you can eat whatever you want, you just have to watch your servings. Also, it focuses more on a lifestyle change instead of a "diet" which is a good mindset to have whenever you want to lose weight permanently. I don't know about any of you, but I'm in this for the long haul. Weight Watchers has taught me a lot about making healthy choices and how to not deprive myself which is sometimes tempting on a "diet."

patsy_gray

I am currently using WW online and I am successful with it, however I only found out about MFP today and started using it. I love the barcode scanner and I am very stoked that there is an on-line community because that is why I love WW on-line. To be honest, I think I'm going to cancel WW and go with the free MFP.

piercedanatomy

I liked WW and found it a bit easier than looking at calories, fat, carbs, and protein separate but am doing this now because of cost. On here I'm a little leery of the calories burned counts on the exercise. With ww I liked the meetings and the support they provided. I found that even when I was struggling people there saw me as an inspiration because the success I had and that gave me a boost of confidence.

MommyTKD

To me, the Weight Watcher program was always a mystery... how did they decide what made a point and then guessing what that meant in terms of overall nutrition. I did the online program, and am a lifetime member and firmly believe that for some people who are not as into "control", it's a great program. I, however, want to OWN my food and know exactly what it is that I'm choosing for myself and how it fits into an overall nutrition program. I think this program is much better.

commonly_unique

I used to be on WW and lost 70 pound on the (on-line) program. The points system just worked for me. However, this site is totally free and has a much larger database than WW does. WW site only had healthy things in it and sometimes I wanted a piece of chocolate cake dammit! Anyway, I'm loving this site and have told all my WW friends to quit paying every month and come join me over here.

nursinggirl64

ok im doing weight watchers now its still the pts but it examines the fat , fiber, protein, and carbs has nothing to do with the calories in the food anymore. it takes on all of those n how the body uses them to store fat....i get 26pts a day which is the lowest pts u can have u also get 49 extra wkly points u can use for holidays or special splurges u can eat ur activity pts also but, i chose not 2...ww on line is ok but i love going to the mtgs the best altho the msg boards u dont have 2 pay for its all free 2 anyone. the mtgs r so informative and u can hear how other people r having the same struggles as u and c how there dealing with them... i love ww i also do mfp all food have pts ...all fruit r free 0 pts..even bananas r free now n most vegetables so if ur out of pts for the day u can still have fruit.....

VIKES1

Hi,
Just to let you know weight watchers is a great program. Going to the meetings is were it really is. I found doing it on line, the accountability isn't there so it doesn't work as well,but as long as you have to weigh in and write it down what you eat and how much you exercise that's the real key. But I think this is about the same as the weight watchers program. There you use points which if you get 24 points it averages out to 1200 cal. if you have any other questions I can help. Laurie

piercedanatomy

With the new system the points don't equate to approximate calories anymore because it takes into account what kind of food it is as in carbs and protein counts. It used to be about 50 calories per point up to about 5 or 6 points but not anymore.

BioQueen

I personally never did WW, but my mom has. She did pretty well on it, and she liked how she had to be accountable in front of a group of people at the meetings. But she thought the point system was a little silly when it is loads easier to count calories. She lost a decent amount of weight, but then put it back on after an injury. She has lost 94 pounds (more than she did on WW) and in half the time using MFP. I would definitely try different approaches and see what works best for you!