Weight Watchers people

jenbridges

I do not follow WW, but I am thinking about starting. I know that some foods are considered "free foods" with WW, that are not "free" on mfp. how do you work around that? also, are you happy with the WW program? pros/cons?

stobieonekenobie

WW rocks. Its the same as this system, in that it counts the energy value of food.

Go for it!

jcombs67

I started my weight loss w/ WW. I joined for 3 months at a low cost (around $60 I think). Having to pay makes you (me anyway) more accountable & I was more likely to follow it faithfully. It was a good jump start and I was successful - almost all fruit and vegis are free & I filled up. Towards the end of my trial period, I did hit a block & my weight showed no movement (up or down) for about 2-3 weeks. That's about the time I bought a Fitbit pedometer & also joined myfitnesspal. Slowing down my fruit intake was weird .... but but I broke through my block & am back on the right track. Good luck!!

ElizabethRoad

I really don't understand doing both. Weight Watchers is trying to trick you into eating healthy by making vegetables free, while MFP is based on facts.

jenbridges

I really don't understand doing both. Weight Watchers is trying to trick you into eating healthy by making vegetables free, while MFP is based on facts.

I wouldn't do both, that seems like too much! I am trying to decide whether to stick with MFP or switch to WW.

ElizabethRoad

Oh, I thought you wanted to do both because you asked how to work around the incompatible features.

photojunkie28

I tried weight watchers before MFP and after coming to a hault on my own progress. Personally...it worked at first for roughly 5-10 lbs. Then I was stuck again. Weight watchers works for some people, but realistically it's much more short term in my opinion and the weight comes back. There is no such thing as free foods and everyBODY accepts foods differently. You don't learn as much about your body and diet as if you figure it out the hard way (with the help of MFP).

Personally I found myself overeating fruit and using it to fill me up (because i didnt have to count it) thus drenching my body with sugars that it didn't need. Among other issues.

I think you have to choose one or the other. Not MFP and WW. If you choose weight watchers and it doesnt work...MFP will always be here for you.

sarah3333

I started with weight watchers and I loved it. It's easier to stick to. It worked. I lost a lot of weight. I had to switch to calorie counting to lose the last pounds though.

angelashay42

I have a few friends on WW and they haven't lost much weight. One friend is 200 lbs and has only lost 10lbs in 6 months. The other friend started at 250 and a year later is around 220. So, based on my experiences with the program, it doesn't work.

In my opinion, why would you pay money for something similar to MFP when MFP is free? If you want support and accountability, get a friend to weigh you in every week. Why waste your money? Use it to buy yourself a new wardrobe when you lose the weight using MFP.

Mary831331

I do both WW and MFP too. I've been a lifetime WW member for over 3 years now, and I slowly gained my weight back. Since January I lost 11 and then since I've been on here (about 1-1/2 weeks), I've lost another 5. I track my food in my WW journal (points), and I track my food on here (calories, carbs, fiber, etc.). WW teaches you how to eat good, and yes, they do say that fruit and veggies are free, but they don't mean that you can eat fruit and veggies 24 hours a day. You kind of have to limit yourself. I haven't been to a WW meeting since I started MFP because this website is very motivating and supportive to me. We've gone through a couple different WW leaders, and I'm kind of tired of going to the meetings. Plus the original bunch of people that started with us over 3 years ago, are finally all gone, and the class got very, very boring to me. MFP totally motivates me to walk every single day, and it's working by exercising and watching what I eat. Love it.

normanmac

I did weight watchers. I like MFP better because I feel like it is more "true to life". You count points in ww...which are based on calories. It's like trying to fool yourself into thinking that something doesn't have high calories when it does. Likewise with the free food....it's not really free now is it? If you're eating it, it has calories unless it's water...What you need to do is make life style changes that work for you...weight watchers was not it for me.

jenbridges

Oh, I thought you wanted to do both because you asked how to work around the incompatible features.

i was just curious how others do it!

michellekicks

I started with weight watchers in January since I'd had success with it before; in 2002/03 I lost 60 lbs and kept it off until I had kids. However, I am a runner and found that I just couldn't eat enough on the WW program. It is, in essence, a low calorie diet. My daily points target was 28 and even after I'd run for an hour or so I'd only have about 40 points to eat for the day... a typical day following MFP for me to lose is about 58 points. So I just couldn't get enough to eat on WW and felt like I was failing even though I just need that much more food to fuel my running.

NikkiLS28

I did WW faithfully for 3 months and didn't budge. They don't encourage balanced eating, even with the 'free' veggies and fruit. Personally, I'm carb-sensitive, so I really need to watch the carb intake (specifically refined carbs). WW didn't help me with this really. On here, I can see where my macro-nutrient proportions are at to make sure I'm getting enough of each one every time I eat.

jenbridges

Thanks for all the input!

:flowerforyou:

Mary831331

I tried weight watchers before MFP and after coming to a hault on my own progress. Personally...it worked at first for roughly 5-10 lbs. Then I was stuck again. Weight watchers works for some people, but realistically it's much more short term in my opinion and the weight comes back. There is no such thing as free foods and everyBODY accepts foods differently. You don't learn as much about your body and diet as if you figure it out the hard way (with the help of MFP).

Personally I found myself overeating fruit and using it to fill me up (because i didnt have to count it) thus drenching my body with sugars that it didn't need. Among other issues.

I think you have to choose one or the other. Not MFP and WW. If you choose weight watchers and it doesnt work...MFP will always be here for you.

I also found myself eating way too much fruit, and I think that's why I was losing slower, and alot of people in our class thought the same thing. I liked the old program alot better.

bikinibeliever

WW works. Our leader says not to call the fruits and veggies "free" but instead call them 0 points plus values. She goes on to say that you can eat too many. If you all use your points and then eat 6 big bananas you are going to have to count them. It's within reason. But if you are eating lots of power foods you aren't going to eat bunches of other high calorie foods. WW is easy to figure. I have compared them both since I am a WW and they come out about the same. I say go for it if that is what is going to help you. I like to go to the meeting I attend now, have met lots of great people, we socialize and keep each other going. There ae meetings and leaders out there that are bummers too. If one doesn't work then switch to a different. Good luck! Came back to say...They assume you are going to eat so many fruits and veggies and already calculate those into your points. I assume they go by averages.

anitdani

WW sets a base # of points for you to use daily. These are based on fat g, carb g, fiber g, and protein grams. Into the point calculations they built in a reasonable amount of fruit and veg consumption. This was because the previous program points were a lot lower but if your choice was between a candy bar or an apple and they were same points what would most people pick? So they re worked all their formulas to encouraged well rounded eating and encourage fruit and veggie eating. After the 1st year they adjusted the totals you were allowed because a lot of people were eating too much fruit and not losing as fast. The meetings are ok if you have a good leader. My dieting partner quit on me and it was rough going. I started back to WW for a kick start. You can use other diets while keeping track of points on WW but if you are happy with myfitnesspal stick with it until (or if) you get stuck.

leodru

In reality weight watchers is calorie counting. One point is 40 calories and there is some shaved off for fruits and veg to make them free. Both can work. I got my good eating habits from weight watchers. I did find once they added free fruit I stopped losing because I could live off fruit. As well there is a lot more info around about losing weight. I personally think both programs push you to under eat and slow your metabolism so I use Mfp but i set my own calories. I do worry about people I see on hear who under eat and have no one to guide them about the ong term effect of that ( muscle loss and eventually more weight gain) but then again that is what you pay for at weight watchers. I found at weight watchers some instructors are better than others - some give good advice and some don't. They don't all stick to the program, I got tired of listening to the same story over and over at weight watchers so I left. I also found that as a man the women there tend to ostracize you because they hate the fact you can eat more. All woman aren't like that but I did find it was a bone of contention that men got to eat more (like we have control of that?).

If you use Mfp you need to get a community- add friends that suppost you and encourage you- it will go a long way. Honestly people you don't know work best! I found the ww app was so poor I was using Mfp to track anyways as ww didn't have info info in it, good luck!

crownedbee

I did WW for about 4 months last year. It worked well for me, but I wasn't able to continue because of the cost. So I use MFP now and just don't track anything that WW would consider 'free' food. I don't load up on fruits and veggies, but I do try to eat more of them instead of proteins or carbs/starches. I also only have 1-2 servings of fruit a day, so I don't go overboard with that.

I don't miss WW this way, and I'm losing (again...gave up for awhile) just like I did with WW.

michellekicks

I also found that as a man the women there tend to ostracize you because they hate the fact you can eat more. All woman aren't like that but I did find it was a bone of contention that men got to eat more (like we have control of that?).

lol they were all bitter because they were undereating

jenbridges

:flowerforyou:

130annie

I loved it when they used to give you menus, that is some while ago now. ....On the menus, food portioning, which was a good way of teaching you.....

mcarter99

I have a few friends on WW and they haven't lost much weight. One friend is 200 lbs and has only lost 10lbs in 6 months. The other friend started at 250 and a year later is around 220. So, based on my experiences with the program, it doesn't work.

In my opinion, why would you pay money for something similar to MFP when MFP is free? If you want support and accountability, get a friend to weigh you in every week. Why waste your money? Use it to buy yourself a new wardrobe when you lose the weight using MFP.

I think a good reason to pay WW when MFP is free is because WW has a formal plan and MFP has a lot of misinformed people parroting myths and half-truths and just bad advice.

WW is also good for those who don't know how to eat right. It teaches you about a healthy balanced diet and it has components to deal with all the rest that comes with it-- exercise, mental/emotional barriers, etc.

And points is an easier concept for a lot of people. Look at all the confusion here with BMR and TDEE and netting and calorie goals and 1200. It's simple to just tell someone "You get 28 points. Here are the points values." Then late at night when they're wondering if they have 'room' for that second beer, they can just think - "It'll cost 4 points. I'm at 32 already. I better not." Instead of, "It's 135 calories. I'm at 1679 already. That would put me at... oh hell, I'll figure it out tomorrow, gimme the beer."

brittldb78

WW works, but it's not cheap. MPF is free.

montana_girl

I really don't understand doing both. Weight Watchers is trying to trick you into eating healthy by making vegetables free, while MFP is based on facts.

There are quite a few people on here doing both. I'm not sure of their reasons, but mine is quite simple. I lost 113 pounds on WW following their program. I love the philosphy behind the program, I love the meetings (and my awesome WW Leader), and I like that I am accountable and have to weigh in.

For me, I struggled when I got to Lifetime. I struggled with the fact that even at Lifetime I still had to accountable, track, and extercise... after 6 1/2 years, I wanted to be done. I just didn't have the right mindset. And about this same time they changed to the new Points Plus program and I had problem adjusting to the new program. Again, just me, not the program. So someone suggested counting calories. I found I enjoyed MFP, so I cotinue to follow the WW program with the exception I am counting calories instead of points. It worked to get me back on track and I have been able to maintain my goal weight for two years.

bananaface222

ww works ive lost 3 and half stone with them and still losing it doesnt feel like a diet like this as u do get a lot of 0 pp= weeklys you can have takeaways and wine and still lose its a liveable plan healthy eating plan for good not a diet

mocha106

I am a lifetime member of WW. I lost 76 lbs in one year using their program. WW teaches you about making smarter decisions when it comes to food and controlling my portions. As they change their plan from time to time, I found that I wasn't able to lose weight like I originally did. I don't have any ill-feelings toward WW but I am enjoying MFP. I am glad that have WW background to guide me.

mcarter99

I actually logged here and in my PointsPlus spreadsheet for the past 7 days, just to see how many Points I was eating. I did the new program for 8 weeks last year and only lost 2 lbs. and gave up. But I really liked it and thought it was just too many points for me. I'm going to double log again this week and then pick.

It's really no big deal to double log because I have to use a foods database to look up the macros anyway to calc the points. And I batch-cook for the week so I have a lot of repeat meals all week.

kaitiebeth89

I'm doing weight watchers and tracking my calories on MFP. I've been in ww for two months now and have lost about 25 pounds. For me, it's a good option because I'm learning about the right foods to eat. I love going to the meetings (my leader is great!) and socializing face to face with people who are in the same boat as me. I also find it helps keep me more accountable to eat right and exercise because 1. I have to weigh in on monday nights (no splurging on the weekends!) and 2. because of the cost (but to me it's worth it). I far as the "free" foods go, nothing is really free. You just have to be smart about it. Have an apple a day, maybe a banana with your breakfast, and veggies with your lunch and dinner. Just because fruits and veggies are considered free on ww, doesn't mean you can go crazy with them, especially fruits! WW also has a simply filling plan where you only eat foods considered power foods, and you don't need to track those. Hope I answered some of your questions.

coachkitten

I totally agree with what montana_girl said. It is like she took the words right out of my mouth!

I lost 108 lbs on Weight Watchers Momentum program which I loved. On that plan fruit had points to them but veggies were still mostly free. The new Points Plus program is good but when they told me fruits were free I honestly went a bit too far with that. Weight Watchers says that it is acceptable to eat 1 1/2 cups of strawberries and I was eating the whole container. It wasn't until I joined MFP that I realized actually how many extra calories my fruit "binges" were costing me. I know that no one ever got fat eating fruit but the calories still add up.

I have a ton of positive things to say about Weight Watchers and it was the structure that I needed when first starting my weight loss journey. But now I find that using MFP has been more helpful than Weight Watchers as I work on maintaining my loss. I have gained 19 lbs back and am slowly starting to get that back down and have found that counting calories at this point is working better.