Weight Watchers vs MyFitnessPal

justnname

I lost 70lb doing WW years ago.. I gain the weight back plus more because I didn't learn how to eat health.. Is telling a obese person that its okay to eat french fries everyday cause it x amount of points really going to help keep the weight off.. Then you get so point obessive you stop looking at the nutritional values.

MFP as been amazing.. When I started logging what I was really eating. it changed my life. Being able to see how much protein, carbs, sodium and fat contents I am consuming helps me make better choices. Even going out to eat... I will preplan what I am going to order just to stay within my range.

Unfortuntately, we live in a media world. WW, Nutrasystems, JC, and all the other fads out there are pushing their products using celebrity faces. Why listen to what the doctors have been saying for 100's of years and what really works. So we have to listen to them complain how much $$ they are spending to lose weight.

They can't comprehend that if they used the money on buying healthier options instead of the meeting, or XXX companies food. They will save money and have better results.

End of RANT

bizgirl26

I lost around 60 pounds on WW back in 2007. I didnt follow the points program, I followed the old CORE program which is eating lots of fruit and veggies , low fat dairy whole grains etc. I was the ONLY person they knew of doing it that way. I think it was more of having someone weigh me. I thought MFP would be better for motivation and I have to be accountable to myself at the end of the day

jmatney79

Thanks for all y'alls input. I think that will help others as well!

realhousewife_windsor

I did WW for a while, i eventually left because the leader asked if i could make my then 6 month old be quiet! But found the point system wierd so ended up eating only ww branded products, some of which are really unhealthy, think they just make the portions really small to keep the calories low, but that dosent make it healthy. Think this system is much better, i make my own choices and dont have to worry about how much noise my children are making!

I had the same issue with my baby

realhousewife_windsor

I don't find ww a, life style change due to the points being bard to track. Calorie information is everywhere.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

I lost around 60 pounds on WW back in 2007. I didnt follow the points program, I followed the old CORE program which is eating lots of fruit and veggies , low fat dairy whole grains etc. I was the ONLY person they knew of doing it that way. I think it was more of having someone weigh me. I thought MFP would be better for motivation and I have to be accountable to myself at the end of the day

That's the program I liked the best, and then they had to go change everything up! I lost 68 lbs and kept it off for a yr before I started to backslide a little. Too much going on at home to stay focused. I definitely didn't starve, I basically ate what I'm eating now. The new PointsPlus program made it too difficult for me. I still post on one of their boards because I had made friends there, but MFP is much easier for me tracking-wise, and I love these boards and my MFP friends!

Vonnie2006

I did WW in 2007 and loss weight and kept it off until my diagnosis of Lupus in 2009. From there, I kept starting and restarting WW. I did face-to-face meetings, because I was one of those that needed in your face accountability. It just wouldn't stick, I wasn't making the healthiest choices for food intake and the cost was kicking my butt. I would tric myself into believing I was following the plan when I was really just doing JUST enough exercise to earn my ice cream or whatever other sugary snack I wanted that day.

The message boards were the worst. So bad that a group of us (maybe 30 women left to start our own message boards. Phew...anyway, when I first got to MFP I wasn't ready. I was depressed and still on the steroids, but baby, when I got off those steroids and realy started paying attention to what the women in my circle were accomplishing, it ignited something in me. I haven't shed a lot of pounds but the inches have fallen off and I've learned so much about eating right, exercise, portion control and forgiving myself for not so healthy choices. And it's FREE!

WW worked for me when I needed it and now MFP is my vehicle of choice on this journey to a healthy lifestyle change. I have friends that are still doing it and making great strides. I think everyone has to find their own thing and we should be supportive of that thing. No two journeys will be the same.

Lisac2344

Its so much easier to just count calories, rather than counting points! Its frustrating actually.

MichaelFunaro

As someone who has used both WW and MFP a lot I can say they are both very good. But for me what makes them good are the communities and the support and sharing you give and receive at both sites. Why I left WW was because I like tracking my foods and seeing the calories and the way MFP projects five weeks out for you at the end of the day. WW is fine, but why spend the $$$ when MFP is just as good, or in my opinion, even better than WW. They have to pay for their celebrity endorsements and commercials. MFP is the way to go and while I made some good friends and such on WW, this is the place I have found that works best for me.

auuudriana

I started doing Weight Watchers back in the beginning of January and I have lost 21ish pounds since then...About 2 or 3 weeks ago, I started doing MFP as well. I find when I log my points on WW and my food on MFP, the calories come out to near where they are supposed to be. I guess it just depends on how strict you are with yourself and how badly you want it. It's different for everyone.

nannabannana

bump so I can read later.

crudd123

I did ww and their food database is not as good as this site and this site is free! With what I paid for the monthly pass to ww I used it to join a gym and now I exercise instead of sit in a meeting talking about food! This site is way better than ww ever was!

JeanineGiorgi

Hi guys, I have tried WW & Jenny Craig & Lite N Easy & the only MAJOR weight loss was my wallet so I have come back to the MFP but this time as a team player not just on my own. Although it did work before I think I need the motivation that comes with seeing other people getting there!! Having said that my sister has lost weight with WW (25 kilos) I think with any of these ones if you have the money & can totally change your lifestyle & have no underlying health issues they can work. I have a ****y thyroid & early menapause (finished at 40 yrs old) What I like about MFP is you make it fit your lifestyle not the other way around which means you will stay on the wagon. You can still meet friends for lunch, dinner etc you just check your days takings of calories & make yourself accountable for what you are going to eat!! You can up the exercise on the days you know you have eaten more etc. You have the control & empowerment not just blindly following a menu & with them if something comes up that you have to eat & drink weddings major birthdays etc. It is impossible to work out how to go about fixing the damage over those few days. With MFP you can track & adjust the next few days to get back on track The money saved on this you can indulge in some reward as you get your little targets achieved instead!!
Cheers
Jeanine

stephie4111

i have been on ww for one year I have lost 40 pounds and i love the program. Im a lifetime member so its free so Im not gonna cancel anytime soon

SunnyAndrsn

While I had success with WW and could tell you points value for most foods, I took out a lot of foods from my diet. I used butter substitutes, which tasted terrible, and ate very little protein. No nuts, no peanut butter, and very small portions of lean chicken and other meat. It was just too many points, and points were all that mattered to me. In the meantime, my hair got thin and brittle from too little fat in my diet, and I was miserable because I was depriving myself of foods I enjoyed.

In other words, I didn't learn portion control or moderation. When I snapped, I snapped BIG. It simply wasn't worth it to me to get back on the wagon. This was the fundamental problem that I had with WW. I don't think that WW is lacking in the program, it is a very good program and works for many, many people. However, I took what I wanted which was "Stay within your points and you'll lose weight", and threw out all the nutritional aspects.

I need the the nutritional breakdown that MFP offers. It works for me, and it's FREE which makes it a no-brainer for me. I likely COULD have better success with WW NOW, but I no longer need to pay or drive 30 min to a meeting to work through this process.

jmatney79

Love all the input and opinions! This will help a lot of people in the community!!!!

MzMandi1025

My mom had been pushing me for a while to do WW. I didn't want to spend the money since I was already spending so much on my gym membership & training sessions. I realized that I did need to get my eating habits under control & was about ready to buy a Calorie King book. My trainer had given me the information to this site a while back, but I was too lazy to look into it. At the beginning of March I decided to finally check it out & now I'm kicking myself in the butt because I didn't start sooner. Once I got comfortable with it, I gave my mom the information & she decided to skip WW & start up an MFP account. I've never done WW, but I really like this site & have gotten some good results with it.

Drenz0725

I love WW before they changed the program. I was able to lose the 30lbs I gained from college using it but for whatever reason when they changed the program I just couldn't get back into the swing of things and ended up gaining most of my weight back. I just started on MFP yesterday and I am excited to see if this can help me get my groove back!

isaacsmom99

I've done both. MFP ALL THE WAY!!!

jaytur

even though I have use WW myself, I have a co-worker who is currently with them and all day I here, do know how points are in that or how many points are in this not to mention the WW meals that she buys (added cost) .....with MFP it's I'll have that for lunch and this for dinner and then I'll add a workout session here and it all even outs, also after awhile you get to know roughly what you can have within a day so you don't exceed your calories....I love the freedom you have with MFP. I have never really taken losing weight seriously until I joined MFP