Weight Watchers v MFP

bbrwneyes

Hi, is there anyone doing WW's and MFP and if so which one do you think is working better for you? I know MFP is free but I'm thinking that joining WW's will motivate me more since I'll be paying for it. Any advice will be helpful, thanks!

sthomse5

Hey! I was doing WW right out of high school, and it did work pretty well. Its a really great program for teaching you the basics of being healthy and the support you get is unbelievably motivating. I have struggled with my weight my entire life, and have recently found that permanent "power from within" to do it right this time. I rejoined WW and started using MFP. Honestly, I like MFP way better. I am doing the online WW this time, which isnt all that different from the meetings. But WW and MFP are 2 very different programs. WW uses a points system and doesn't decrease your calories as much as necessary to lose more than half a pound to 2 pounds a week, which I know is very healthy, but you have to work so much harder I think. MFP has been amazing for me since I am in college and have 2 jobs. I don't have time to go to the meetings and WW makes it hard to track things because they don't have a lot of foods in the tracker so you have to make everything at home and enter each ingredient separately. So it really just depends on what you want out of a program. If you are looking for ease and convenience, I would stick with MFP. If you want to spend $6 a week for WW and think the group atmosphere would benefit you, then go for that! Either way, if you stick with the plan you WILL SEE RESULTS! Best of luck to you, don't give up!!!!

AleksD3

I just went back to WW a couple of days ago.

I love MFP for the message boards, being able to track nutrients like sodium and the weight-loss ticker but for some reason I do better with healthy eating and food on WW. Maybe it's because I've done it before so I'm used to points? And it's worked for me in the past, I just wanted to try MFP for something new.

I think MFP is a great site but points just work out better for me. I plan on staying here though, I'm actually in a group for WW/MFP users.

Plus I have WW paid for until May so it forces me to work harder since I don't want to waste that money.

And I know MFP is free but something with calories just does not click for me.

I'm also really careful with the "free" fruits and veggies and make sure i don't go overboard with them.

Also, I do WW online, not meetings.

Hope that helps!

divaofebony

I am doing both and have just found success with both. With MFPs I stay connected with other people who are going through the same journey and share stories and tips and with weight watchers its just more of an accountability thing in addition to sharing in meetings things that work and don't work. I don't think its a lose lose situation. Just try it and see what works best for you. You can always cancel WW...maybe you can get connected with some different people and learn something new that you didn't know before. Hope this helps!

bbrwneyes

Thank You Ladies!

lin7604

how do they figure out how many points you get? i had heard that 26 pints is equal to 1200 calories or something. how do they determine if you get more then 26 or not?

AleksD3

You put in your weight, height, age and, I believe, activity level and website gives you your point amount like on here. And it goes down as you lose weight but not by much.

Right now I'm at 213.6 and get 31 points. Last year you weren't supposed to go below 29 points but they changed it slightly because not everyone was losing at 29 and now you have an option to go down to 26, depending on how much you weight.

That's the online version anyway.

You also get 49 weekly points to use whenever or not use depending on how you want to do it plus you earn points by exercising.

lin7604

is it hard figuring out what you are eating is how many point? not sure if i should change myself up to that or stick with this? i have struggled my entire time to loose...

AleksD3

It is a pain when you first get started. The database isn't nearly as full or great as here and it takes a bit to get the hang of it but if I can't find a food in WW I come here to the database and enter the info from here or from nutrition labels.

I also eat a lot of the same foods and once they're in the database you don't have to enter them again.

I don't want to sound like I'm trying to get people to leave here or anything so I hope it isn's coming off that way. I just prefer WW but this site is GREAT.

I spent a huge amount of time comparing the two and researching and experimenting and if this was working for me I would absolutely do MFP.

Plus, MFP is free and WW is not.

But for some reason points click better for me

lin7604

thx so much. and no you didn't come off that way... i am going to look into it/.

Partyofpugs

I am a 10 year WW veteran. I went to meetings regularly. You learn so much about yourself and how to eat healthy at the meetings. I am applying their principals to this plan. The basic principal is the same: eat less and move more. But it is a fantastic learning experience. I am in a clinical trial and have to track so they recommended this site. I'm not allowed to be in any other "diet" program. But I would do WW again if I could and modify to fit in here. My two best tools are tracking and friends to help support me. Take full advantage of both.

chach918

if WW works better for you , go for it. Good luck.

LPinTheD

I joined WW a few years back, and followed it religiously the first week... Imagine my dismay when I saw a weight gain of 3 pounds.

My first week following MFP: I lost 6 pounds. And MFP is free!

Food is not comprised of points - it's comprised of carbs/proteins/fats and other nutrients. And that's what a person needs to learn to track to learn lifelong healthy eating habits. Points = gimmick.

Just my .02

srathfelder

I've been doing both. I started them both about the same time and since January 5th I've lost 18.4 pounds. The ww is working for me and it is interesting to see the points vs. calories picture. There are time when I have used up my points but still have calories. I think that is due to the fact hat as you lose, you get fewer daily points but the calories here don't change. I chose to go to meetings with some friends from church, I am already isolated enough being mom and caregiver to my son with muscular dystrophy and getting out is helping. I think the calorie picture is of more long term help, I hope I am not counting points forever. I find that the money is an extra incentive. If I am going to fork out $42/month I had better give it my all. They are both just tools to use on this journey.

TheBauhausCure

I was in WW since high school, and always had trouble with it! I've had amazing success with my fitness pal. I think the reason I'm having success here is because at weight watchers they made me feel awful for wanting to eat soy ice cream or other junk foods. Here I just eat whatever i want, and track it until I hit my calorie/sugar/carb max. It's much easier, and you don't have to worry about figuring out how many points food is.

krismb

I rejoined WW last week. Sunday was my first weigh in and I lost 5.4lbs! With that being said I had a really hard time with the new points system. I am a carb lover. The points are so much higher on the carbs and even though I was getting 32 points a day that was going very quickly with the points being higher. So I decided I would do MFP and still attend the meetings as I very much need the accountability from it. I also listen to what the members are saying and take their suggestions on how to eat better. On top of being a carb lover, I am also a veggie hater. This is what is working for me. I know people are saying but why pay for it when you can do this for free? I tried for 2 months to just do MFP alone and I guess I just didn't have the support from the meetings like I needed.

hannata86

I joined WW a few years back, and followed it religiously the first week... Imagine my dismay when I saw a weight gain of 3 pounds.

My first week following MFP: I lost 6 pounds. And MFP is free!

Food is not comprised of points - it's comprised of carbs/proteins/fats and other nutrients. And that's what a person needs to learn to track to learn lifelong healthy eating habits. Points = gimmick.

Just my .02

*nods* well said

Calories are SO accessible these days. On ww stuff like alcohol is obscure, based on alcohol sugars, which are never given on product, and ww themselves won't give up the calculation. Not every food is able to be exactly pointed (think your generic baker, won't have any information on the pack).

You have to sit and fanny about with an awkward wee calculator, and make sure you aren't bending the rounding rule and all kinds of minefields with ww. I like a lot of people didn't have a lot of success when the plan changed from the old system (based on cals) to the new one (based on the 4 macros) so I hopped from diet to diet til I got back here. The good old calorie is a scientifically proven measure, and the most accurate way of losing weight!

Plus gimmicks are harder to stick to in the long run... no one wants to be thinking about points for the rest of their life! I find I don't think about calories that much anymore... I just scan and log easy peasy.

alaw1119

I just rejoined weight watchers 3 weeks ago because I have been slowly gaining with MFP even though I'm always under my calorie goal! I don't know what it is but counting just calories doesn't work for me! I am down 5.6 lbs in 3 weeks and I really don't have much to lose that I was very happy with that! Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

sandown12

I love ww but the old points system not the new one I always lose weight on it and do it free as I know it like the back of my hand I lost 57lbs in 8 months in 2010 but hurt my knee and regained 42lbs
I came here as someone said try,I never do well on calorie counting I think I may under eat but I am doing this whilst I lose if I stop I will go back to ww old points as I have all the stuff I need

No one plan is better than another its what works for you best

The best thing about mfp is the people theres so many lovely ones its free and logs all your details x

thedeegan4

I am currently doing WW. I love it. Having the accountability of the weekly meetings is what works for me. I don't think one is better than the other. It's just what works for you.

ShellBelle6

I really miss my 0 point foods but I don't miss my $.
I prefer MFP in this economy.
Both systems have basically the same concept.

aj_gettingfit

I have a WW membership until mid March. I thought joining a tthe beginning of the year would give me the push I needed again but it hasn't. I lost 40 lbs on the old plan but this new PointsPlus program doesn't seem to work for me. It has worked for a lot and maybe its just me and I'm not being dedicated enough or something but I can't seem to make it work for me. I came back to MFP on Wednesday so we'll see if I can have some success on here.

lrichardson2360

I am doing both and have just found success with both. With MFPs I stay connected with other people who are going through the same journey and share stories and tips and with weight watchers its just more of an accountability thing in addition to sharing in meetings things that work and don't work. I don't think its a lose lose situation. Just try it and see what works best for you. You can always cancel WW...maybe you can get connected with some different people and learn something new that you didn't know before. Hope this helps!

This ^^^ I'm doing both, I like both and since September I'm down 31 lbs.

sparkly96

I did weight watchers and lost 39lbs a few years back. I tried it again a few years ago and it was different. I got tired of hearing at meetings "why are you even here". I'm 4'11 and weighed in at 156 thats why im here. Of course the people who said this to me had more weight to lose but it was annoying. So i tried weight watcehrs online which was good. It's a good program and i was successful but find that i learned everything there is to learn from meetings. Anytime i needed to lose weight i go back to what i learned from them and it seems to work with out spending the money or hearing stupid comments. The online program can get costly. MFP is great because it offers the message boards, food and exercise diaries like weight watchers online BUT it's free.

thedeegan4

I joined WW a few years back, and followed it religiously the first week... Imagine my dismay when I saw a weight gain of 3 pounds.

My first week following MFP: I lost 6 pounds. And MFP is free!

Food is not comprised of points - it's comprised of carbs/proteins/fats and other nutrients. And that's what a person needs to learn to track to learn lifelong healthy eating habits. Points = gimmick.

Just my .02

If you only stuck wiht it for a week, that might be why you are so against it. I have learned so much from WW...more than I learn on here. Food isn't all about calories either. My mom has lost over 50 pounds on WW (and kept it off for many years). I lost 26 when I joined the first time (and kept it off). I know many other people as well that have had a lot of success with WW. To each his/her own.

MrsSherrill

I have done WW before and honestly i hated that i had to pay for it, it didnt motivate me and i was in school so i didnt have the time to go to meetings or time to cook things at home since i was never there so i had to buy all ww frozen or premaid foods which were ok but never really filled me up. and even that got expensive. again, maybe its because i didnt have the time to do it the right way but honesly since day 1 on MFP i LOVE it. its free and soooo easy. i have learned so much and know how to eat correctly. i know how to eat normal and everday foods based on calories NOT POINTS, which i never understood how that worked. Also, the stuff on ww kept changing, like the box would have a certain amount of points on it then when i entered it into the system on the computer it would be a different amount than what they had on the box. it kept chaning to much so it wasnt consistant. for me its easier to just learn to eat nautral foods with calorie counting vs points because i would probably have a hard time figuring out points even after i would be off the program ... just seems like extra work. why worry about points when calories are so much easier to keep track of. my again, thats just me. different things work for different people. i like the freedom i have with my food and workout choices that MFP gives me.

dawnstrassburg

I did WW and lost about 7 pounds in a month, but constantly calculating all the poitns was a pain and I gave up, that was 2 years ago. I started MFP on Jan 3rd, since then I have taken off almost 20 pounds and show no signs of stopping!!!!

lovinmysoldier

I say if you are looking for something new and WW seems right for you then go for it. I LOVE WW! I did it a year ago (along with many other times) and it really got me off to a good start. After about 6 months I got burned out and found something new. It was great place for me to start to get my eating under control and then mentally I just needed something new. I have tried multiple different approaches and honestly they are all based on the same principle. You won't know until you try. Be sure to make yourself commit to at least doing it for a few weeks to a month before you decide it isn't for you to give your body time to adjust.

richelliott1

My Wife is doing WW and started the same time as I started (again) on MFP. She has lost 25lb in 5 weeks and I have lost 18lb in 5 weeks.... HOWEVER

I don't think I like the PRO-POINTS system, I like the fact that you can eat any foods but for me that just would not work. I love the way MFP you track calories directly and not via a points system.

Each to their own though so its whatever works, having your SO on the same journey though is fantastic!

fitzie63

bump for later

cPT_Helice

I love, love, love WW and recommend it to anyone and everyone who wants to not only lose weight but keep it off and learn how to eat healthy. It is a lifestyle change and not just a diet. Yes, it can make you feel like you shouldn't be eating junk (as some other commented pointed out she was tired of feeling bad for eating stuff that is bad for her anyway). You know why? Because, for the most part, you shouldn't be eating junk. As for the comment about it not having the points available for your local baker. Neither does MFP have the cals for that. In fact, many of the values on here are wrong for both cals in AND out (burned). WW is accurate and it works if you work it. Period! There is a reason it is consistently rated so highly.