Weight Watchers...Whats Your experiences?

jenbooks

One time with weight watchers I lost 50 pounds - the point system really does work. I don't know why I quit going [2], but I slowly gained all of it back. Luckily, the "bonus" was a very small one.

I tried again a year or two ago, but quit fairly quickly. The problem with WW is the points are easy to game - you can look for the most processed crap to be able to stay within your ranges. I also found that in the meetings I went to there was a lot of inaccurate info given out about nutrition and weight loss.

On a personal preference level, the motivational style of the meetings I went to was not a good fit for me. In the first place, high pitched shrieky women's voices grate on my last nerve - which is what most of the leaders had. Plus, in my area they apparently phased out the "mommy and me" and "50+" meeting types - which meant there were often babies and toddlers interrupting the meetings in the first case, and in the second, the motivational leaders had lost a whopping 20 pounds, which was just annoying. [1]

So yeah, WW wasn't really for me. I like this place though - I can find the right people for motivation and the tracking tools are the best I've found of *many* sites.




[1] Don't string me up, I'm not dissing losing 20 pounds of course - losing and keeping it off is a fantastic accomplishment. It's just that for motivation I need to be able to look at someone who's lost a metric buttload of weight, not something I haul around in my backpack all day.

[2] Now that I think about it, it was probably not being able to relate to the rah rah rah mentality of the meetings. Sometimes I don't play well with others. :laugh:

Bergiere

I'm a member and find that when I stick to the plan it works. Not having to count my fruits and veggies is awesone and I love the support the meetings offer to me. :happy:

anglyn97

I started on WW Online before I signed up for MFP. Someone on their forum suggested that we double track using a calorie site if we wanted check how many calories we were eating. I find that the sites are pretty similar actually. Which kind of annoys me that I like this one better and i paid $50 for 3 months of their online program. I started losing a lot of weight when I started using MFP to track vs the WW program. I think once my three month membership is up, I will not renew with WW and continue with MFP instead. Their database is really limited and I find it annoying to have to add every single thing I eat. Where as MFP has pretty much everything I eat in the database. Anyways, its about the same. The only thing is you don't count the fruit and veggie calories on WW and this site is free not $18 a month.

gwenlindsay

I agree with all comments. I've lost 25 pounds on ww before points plus. Since the plan changed, I have not lost. any weight. I think every thing you eat should be accountable. With WW Points Plus, you don't count your intake of fruit and veggies. This is my first week on MFP and I looking forward t to weighing myslef in a few days. I think I've already lose weight because my clothes are lose. Stay with MFP before moving on to WW.

JustKat2020

I'm old enough to have done WW pre-computers when each week we weighed and picked up a little booklet and checked off the boxes. The point system never worked for me. I liked the old fashioned paper method (and I like my rotary phone too).

Whether it's WW or MFP the success is as simple as tracking food consumed and stopping when one has reached their limits. That stopping part seems to be the catch.

No matter what the program one must make a commitment to positive lifestyle changes to ensure long term success.

cmayfield3

Weight Watchers worked for me a few years ago when the points calculation was simpler. It used to be that you just needed the calories, fat and fiber and you could do the calculation on a slide rule that they gave you. Now there are four variables so you can't use a slide rule; you have to use an electronic calculator or a smartphone app.

I think they shot themselves in the foot with that update. If I'm going to use a smartphone app it may as well be MFP's, which is free! Points are just a proxy for calorie counting anyway. It used to be that they were a simpler way to count calories, when everyone used pen and paper, but now that apps like MFP have made direct calorie counting so easy, points are an extra unnecessary step. So I'd rather go the direct route and count calories exactly, since MFP's app makes it so easy.

I do think in-person meetings are valuable, but MFP has such great support (forums, friends) that I don't even see the need for those really.

Gordie580

WW worked for me once, but you need to pay for it all the time. You can't figure out point system anymore by ur self, and to hard to track. And the mobile app is crap. I like MFP a ton better.

beckajw

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

This is what happened to me too. However, in the newest version, they lowered the lowest points and I have started losing again. It could be the lower points, but I think it also has to do with the fact that I double count (I use WW and MFP). MFP's calories make me think before having that 3rd, 4th, etc. piece of fruit.

Kaleonar

I have done WW twice (old & new plan). I have had success both times but plateau quickly (20ish pounds). I think many of the concepts are the same--record food, get support from friends, etc. I think MFP pushes exercise more, which is crucial and MFP is free and easier to do, in my opinion.

shelbyfrootcake

Never tried any Weight Watchers plans. They do a tasty Belgian chocolate slice though.

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