Weight Watchers...Whats Your experiences?

CatAbiOli

I too have done weight watchers which worked really well then got stuck at a specific weight!

I've started again with the new plan in conjunction with MFP, only started this week so we'll see how it goes.

pursuinghappy

I did Weight Watchers Online about a year ago to lose ~30 lbs of post-baby weight. I had really good success with it. Like any plan, you can "tweak" it to be unhealthy or full of processed crap and still lose weight, but I do think they place a lot of emphasis on getting active and eating healthy. The free fuit/veggies on the new plan made no difference in my weight loss, and I ate every single point I had coming to me (including exercise) and lost. Also, for me, having to pay for the plan made me more likely to stay accountable.
I definitely recommend WW to anyone who asks me about losing weight. I'm doing MFP this time around only because I'm pretty poor at the moment, and I really only need to lose another 10-15 lbs. It's more vanity weight than something I NEED to lose.

Leeanne1974

Like the majority of people on here i lost weight with WW BEFORE they changed the plan. I lost about a stone and a half in about 4 months. I then put on 4lbs the first week it changed and never went back!
I have lost 24.5 lbs with NO weight watchers this time in 9 weeks. (Lost 5lbs before i joined here) and its easier, the database is bigger and its far less demeaning on MFP. Oh and its completely FREE!!! YAY lol!
As long as you are honest with what you are putting in your mouth you WILL lose weight with MFP but you have to be determined and honest with yourself.
Good luck in your goals everyone x

briggsy13

It worked for me, but I got tired of having to pay each month. So I switched to MFP. Doing equally well on here.

mbilling

I lost 75# on WW and kept it off for many years. I'm actually a lifetime member. The plan is a bit different now, and when I went back to WW to loose the 20# I'd gained since quitting smoking and getting married I found it was a lot harder for me. That may be because I'm older and was hoping to have the same quick results I'd had the first time and didn't. I like MFP now because it's different than what'd I'd been doing all those years. The idea is the same: eat less, move more, but the tracking part, which I find to be the tedious part, is different enough to keep my interest. Oh yeah, and I like the whole free part of MFP.

LaurenMichelle004

I've lost weight on weight watchers with the old plan. About a year ago they switched plans and before finding MFP I tried the new version and actually gained weight on it. I have to say, I love MFP a lot more. It deals with straight calories where you don't have to then do some calculation down the line. AND its free. Although, not to completely bash WW, I think it works so well because its not an extreme diet where you can't have certain items. If you want a Big Mac, then adjust the rest of your day/week and sure. Overall, I feel like you can have the same amount of support on MFP, but if you want the in-person support, then I think WW is a good option. Good luck!

Raynn1

Im still currently a WW member, and decided to track in here to see how it compared. I lost 100+ pounds on WW prior to getting married 5 years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. Since then I had two children and of course the weight gains that came with pregnancy have been extremely slow to come off.
WW does work, and out of all the "diet" plans out there, it is one of the best ones out there. Its real food. Yes they have their own products to buy, but you do not need to eat any of them to lose weight. They also make you think more about your choices, choosing whole foods and lean proteins and fruits and veg. I eat way better now on Points Plus than I ever did on the older system where I lost all my weight on.

For me now, I struggle with needing to eat more because of the amount of activity I am doing. With WW, I struggle to eat my weekly points or my activity points on any given week, which then means Im not eating enough. I feel guilty almost when I dip into those extra points, even though I am supposed to eat them and not worry. Here at least exercise is added in daily as I burn, so it "forces me to pay more attention to eating those extra cals I need.

Regardless, WW does work. I certainly wish I didnt have to lose the weight a second time though..

hiswifetheirmommy

I lost 25 lbs on Weight Watchers and then I plateaued and felt like I wasn't eating enough so I pretty much just gave up. I liked the program and I LOVE their frozen meals/desserts. In fact, I still eat them even though I'm not on the program anymore.

nataliyalean

This is my first week back on weight watchers and so far i feel really good. I read some of the replies that say that ww gives you too many points to eat. I strongly disagree with that and just wanted to point out that you need to measure how much you really are eating. I was put on 26 ww points per day. Here is an example of a typical week day on ww for me: 1/2 a cup of oatmeal with 1 tsp of coconut oil in the morning (7 ww points). Green salad with 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of bapsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp of parmasean cheese, 1 tbsp of dried canberries, and about 15 raw almonds ( about 9 ww points). Low fat yogurt for snack (3 ww points). This leaves me 7 ww points to eat at dinner. And 2 cups of homemade soup are about 7 ww points so i have no points left for desert whatsoever. Now, i eat about five servings of fruits/vegetables a day so that belps a bit. Like i just ate half a banana and about 5 strawberries in my oatmeal so thats already two servings. But still, this is not a lot of food per day and i eat healthy. How in the world is this a lot of food?
I think people that say ww gives you a lot of points are either not recording everything they eat or they dont measure their portions correctly or both. For example, if u eat a bagel for brekfast, make sure to record the cream cheese or jam that you eat with it too, not just the bagel.
Anyway. I feel lime its going to work for me and i hole i become a lifetime member.

cinnamon43

I dont think it is alot of food either. and when u count the calories u will be surprised. I dont want to go in starvation mode.
I have to have my calories. or i have seizures. so i track.
Kim

padams2359

Nothing is free because nothing is free. That is what works.

shapefitter

I do find it strange that your gp suggested ww. My gp just wrote me a list of what foods to avoid. Simple really.

CHRISTTY33

Go back to the 80,s way of weight loss WW and Richard Simmons...Woo Hoo!! Honestly one of the other posters are right unlimited fruit =sugar, too many calories...you stay here on Mfp and we will be here for you...

Ready2Rock206

WW can be good if you can attend the meetings and have a great leader. If you're planning to just do the online program I think MFP is tons better. When I was going to meetings I lost about 30-40lbs with WW. Then my schedule changed and I couldn't attend. I gained it all back. I tried doing the online and didn't lose even a ounce. Came here and started losing again and wouldn't even consider anything else right now.

Qski

a lot of this thread is super old, and even those old replies some people are referring to years ago when they went to weight watchers. I am on weight watchers now, and I am tracking my calories. I actually ate less before I started to track my calories (just using ww points) but now I am doing both and listening to both guidelines and things are going fine.

What I have noticed - MFP seems a bit more fair. What I believe weight watchers is trying to do is give you good habits, by making healthy clean less processed options very low in points and weighting points against what they think is unhealthy quite heavily. For example on days when I have chocolate or candy I usually only have a few calories (maybe max 400) of the high sugar stuff within my allowance - but it makes my ww points sky rocket.

At the moment I am averaging around 1500 calories a day and that equates to about 32/33 weight watchers (360 Australia - which as far as I can tell is similar to the previous version called pro-points in Australia). My allotted ww points is 29, and I eat my activity points and usually use some of my weekly bank of 49points on days I don't exercise.

If I have anything weight watchers thinks is bad - chocolate, cake, candy, duck fat potatos (yum!), beer etc the days points gets to about 45-50 even if the items are still within reasonable amounts and within my calories for the day.

I think the forums here are a bit more active than the weight watchers Australia ones, and I attend my meeting every week and have picked up some good tips from other members as well as great recipe ideas.

Also my leader has hinted to weight watchers decreasing the free fruit rule. Saying that the recommendation (which used to be *at least* 2 serves a day) is now *only* 2 serves a day (so some members have started adding points for every fruit serve over 2 serves) - She also said though that if eating more fruit is not affecting your loss, keep at it, but if it does affect your losses, try sticking to 2 a day only.

Like everything I don't every word my leader says as gospel (or members either). But I do find that meetings and the group dynamics helps me and overall is matching to my calorie goals.

If you are trying to milk the program rules for every free thing you can get, then it's obviously not going to help in the long run, but it did a lot to educate me, and so has MFP.
If I were to choose one over the other I would choose MFP - it's free how can you go passed that? but I think they both have value and if you can afford weight watchers it can be helpful.

akdollie

I lost 52 pounds in about 6 months on it several years ago- After I stopped the program I gained back about 30 of those. One thing I really don't like about it is that while they teach journaling and portion sizes they do not focus on proper nutrition. That is a major factor in re-gaining for me. I have done much better with a total diet change. Eliminating most processed/ packaged foods and eating more organic and whole foods has made a huge difference for me. At least now when I stop focusing on my intake I only gain about 5-8 pounds back. At the time it was a life saver for me and was a good way to get me to realize that I could make a change in myself so that was a positive. It is a great program for many people so I'm not bashing it at all but just saying you can eat all the artificial crap you want and still stay in your points. The encourage artificial sweeteners- the water mix ins- and such which are known to be catalysts in many health problems. It really just depends on what level of support you need. I find MFP a much better option for myself.

MrGonzo05

WW worked for me before the plan was changed to make most fruits and veggies 0 points. I lost about 30 lbs the first go around. Then I quit because I plateaued. Then, I went back while it was the new Points Plus system and I lost maybe 8 pounds and then leveled out. Fruits and veggies have never been a problem for me so I was eating a ton of fruits and veggies (mainly fruit) which was a bunch of calories but no points. Plus I was eating my regular points. When I did the math, comparing it to MFP, WW just had me eating waaaaaaaaaaay too many calories. I've done a lot better with MFP

LOL @ "points"

RachelRuns9

It totally changed my life.. I used it before and after the "change" and I always lost very consistently. I prefer MPF because I now want to control all of the macros more closely rather than just talking in terms of "points." I also prefer MPF because it's free. In general it's all very similar. If you need structure in your life, use MPF. If you need structure AND to be told what to do, use WW.

RachelRuns9

I lost 52 pounds in about 6 months on it several years ago- After I stopped the program I gained back about 30 of those. One thing I really don't like about it is that while they teach journaling and portion sizes they do not focus on proper nutrition. That is a major factor in re-gaining for me. I have done much better with a total diet change. Eliminating most processed/ packaged foods and eating more organic and whole foods has made a huge difference for me. At least now when I stop focusing on my intake I only gain about 5-8 pounds back. At the time it was a life saver for me and was a good way to get me to realize that I could make a change in myself so that was a positive. It is a great program for many people so I'm not bashing it at all but just saying you can eat all the artificial crap you want and still stay in your points. The encourage artificial sweeteners- the water mix ins- and such which are known to be catalysts in many health problems. It really just depends on what level of support you need. I find MFP a much better option for myself.

good point -- you can get away with eating more unhealthy food since you don't pay attention to macros on WW. But if you are really struggling with MPF, WW could be a good gateway to this.

Sylvitryinghard

paying money

greenmonstergirl

I gained weight on weight watchers...so much bad food, it was more than I was eating to start with when I WANTED to lose weight. It didn't work for me, however everyone is different so maybe it will work for you! I wish you luck!

myleadutcher

I absolutely loved weight watchers when I did it in the past. It helped me lose 30lbs. However, I honestly feel like My Fitness Pal offers the same concepts without the group meeting. In Weight Watchers you count points, and you can earn extra points by exercising. With MFP you count calories and can earn extra calories by exercising. If you need a in person support group, or the accountability of getting on the scale for someone else then WW will work for you. But if you are planning to just fo WW online (which is what I did) then you might as well keep MFP since its free. Hope this info is helpful.

hoyalawya2003

I lost 30 lbs. on ww then they changed the plan. I gained and lost the same five pounds over and over. The new points plus plan didn't work for me. They changed it again only a year later, but that one doesn't work for me either. That's why I'm here. The database is much larger and with more info on MFP. Your doctor is working off of old info.

Same here. My husband and I both lost on the old plan, but the only way I lost on the new plan was by ignoring the "extra" points. I finally realized I was paying for a plan I wasn't even following, so I canceled, put that money toward a gym membership, and started using MFP. I have been pretty steadily losing .5 to 1 lb per week here, and I feel so much more in control. It is hard to calculate WW points on the fly, but lots of restaurants and all packaged foods have the calorie count right there, so I can stay within my allowance without guessing.

healthy4three

Eight years ago, I lost around 20 pounds on weight watchers, but I quit going to the meetings because life got in the way. I found it inconvenient to get to the meetings (still do). I've tried their online program a few different times in the past, but I really didn't feel any accountability or that I had any support. So it wasn't worth it to me to pay monthly. I can track my calories and everything on MFP for free.

paintbrush1966

I had lost 60+ pounds on WW. I didn't mind the points but as I reflected on how and why I lost that weight this is what I noticed:
I had someone for support who I could call when I wanted to binge, we exercised together regularly- pretty near daily, & we were each others cheerleader....until she up and left the neighborhood without so much as a peep.

What I have learned is I need to figure this out for me, by myself. WW is not cheap & the money you spend monthly on dues alone can be spent on getting a gym membership. This is what I have done and while I am still working on figuring this whole thing out with a crazy life, I feel I have a better grasp on eating healthy. That doesn't mean I don't make bad choices, but I am eating real food- not spray butter, and I do know that portions & exercise are my biggest downfall.

I do think you can get all the support and information you need here on MFP for free. This however is just my humble opinion....

rrsuthy

I lost on the old plan and didn't have difficulties following the plan. I too, dislike the new plan. I hated having to re-enter all my foods, because thier e-tools aren't nearly as robust as MFP. However, I also went through a divorce and ate my way (weigh) through it and gained back 15 lbs. I'm a lifetime member, and have recently started going back to a monthly meeting, but I still use MFP for tracking; I like MFP much better for tracking.

kwest_4_fitness

I went to WW several years ago and am currently using their methodology in conjunction with MFP and it’s working rather well for me. I’m not doing the new Points Plus, so I’m not sure about that system. I was never one for meetings, but I know a lot of people like them for the accountability and the sense of community.

DebbieLyn63

I lost 42 lbs on WW back in 1989. They still had the exchange system, so you stayed within your macros as well as your calories. Pretty much like MFP is set up. I kept that weight off for several years, because it taught me to eat veggies more, (there was a list of 'free veggies', but fruits were limited to 2 servings per day).
My exchanges were:
6 protein
3 breads/starchy carb
3 fats
2 dairy
2 fruits

Worked great at the time. However, years later when I tried it again, they had gone to the points plan, which I refer to as the 'donut plan'. Where you can eat whatever you want, as long as you have the points. This was basically only focused on calories and they didn't care of about Macros. Then when they added fruits as 'free' it got even worse. I was never able to lose more than the initial few pounds the first week. Then I would plateau quickly and get frustrated.

They need to go back to the exchange plan, or some variance of that, where you stay within a balanced diet and get enough protein.

Maryaly40

I lost 50lbs on WW, then they made fruits and veggies free and I lost at such an annoyingly slow rate. So, I've yo-yo'd for about 2 years. I've re-committed here on MFP counting calories but I also count my WW points too. But what I started doing is giving my fruits a point value to keep my points/calories about the same. And exercising. I've begun to lose again. WW taught me how to eat healthy, control my portions and to never deprive myself. I'll be forever grateful to the program for that.

walkingforward

bump