Weight Watchers--stuck in the middle...thoughts?

melissapoza

When I was on Weight Watchers I have to say I was miserable!! The point system drives me insane! I felt very restricted as others have mentioned. I don't know if it's all mental because the points tend to be a lower number than my 1200 a day calorie restriction, but I just felt annoyed by those points. Also, I keep in mind that MFP also gives you a limit on carbs and so forth so I also view that. I have done both and have always been very happy with MFP and lost more weight than I did on WW. A great point that was also mentioned was the price. I did WW online and was spending $17.00 a month which adds up. Also, for some reason I was always starving on WW but with MFP I stay full longer. Again, not sure if it's all a mind game with the numbers and I just feel more comfortable with MFP but use whatever works for you.

srathfelder

I joined WW on Jan 5th of this year and started MFP at the same time. I've lost 62 lbs in that time and am now on the maintenance part of my weight loss journey. I chose to go to meetings because I needed the accountability and am already fairly isolated because besides being the mom and I am also the full time caregiver to my 21 y/o son who has a form of muscular dystrophy and epilepsy. I made a total change in how I eat and found the MFP has shown me how to use those WW points to the best advantage -- 310 calories can be a In N Out cheese burger or a turkey sandwich on a sandwich thin loaded with veggies, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and fruit. That's 8 points for the burger and about 4 or 5 for the other. I really did enjoy that burger the other day, I just had to make some adjustments the rest of the day.

I don't buy too much of their foods, I have never taken my points calculator to the store, I do have my favorite recipes marked with the points values. I do measure everything and have had some surprises both ways. It is hard to eat out a lot and keep to the points, but once you figure out what to order it gets easier. Like any plan you choose to lose weight you have to learn to make choices, figure out what is important to keep in your life and what you are ready to let go of. I kept the half and half in my coffee, I tried the fat free stuff and I would give up coffee completely before I put that in my coffee on a daily basis. I don't miss tortillas at all, when I order my fish taco at our favorite Mexican restaurant I just don't eat it. Since it comes on 2 corn tortillas that's 6 points I am not eating. When I know I am going out I add a few minutes to my walk to give me the freedom to splurge a little.

My breakfast this morning was 5 WW pp and 274 calories and I am full:

6 oz container of Fage 0% Greek yogurt - 2 pp / 100 cal with 18 grams of protein and 20 grams of calcium
1/2 cup each strawberries and blueberries 0 pp / 68 cal
1 tsp honey 1 pp / 21 calories
1/3 cup Fiber One cereal 1pp / 40 cal with 9 grams of fiber to boot
Coffee (about 2 cups) 0 pp / 5 cal
1 Tbsp half and half - 1 pp / 20 cal
1 tsp Sugar in the Raw 0 pp / 20 cal

~Susan

CM9178

i tried weight watchers. I felt soooo restricted and I absolutely hated it. Plus it was just too complicated for me. I didn't really stay long enough to figure out the system though (about 2 months, if that) so maybe that's why it was so difficult for me to understand. I prefer MFP. Plus, it's FREE. Spark people is free too. I tried that as well before trying this site. Again, I prefer mfp overall.

Weight watchers can be free if you don't go there to get weighed. You only pay if they weigh you. But you can join for free and then do the program yourself if you don't want to pay.

CM9178

I was on WW starting January 2010 and lost 40lbs, but once they switched the plan in 2012 to add "free" foods, everything went downhill. :sad:

What I like about MFP compared to WW is that a banana (or any fruit/veggie for that matter) ....HAS CALORIES. The new way they set up WW with Points Plus I've had a real hard time sticking within the daily points I was given and I'd avoid eating another point by eating a banana or some other 0 point food...well....in the non-WW world...if you eat 3 bananas, you've just eaten 300 calories, but WW its 0. No wonder people have a hard time with it not losing anything!

If they woudn'tve changed it all around I probably would have stuck to it just fine (lost 40# the OLD way where ALL foods had points), but when they gave it a complete overhaul and started giving you "free" foods......it screwed me all up and I pretty much gained 75% of my loss back!


I've been with MFP since August 6th and have lost 7.9# so far

Edit: Oh and you're a tool girl like myself I'm constantly using the MFP mobile app. Works just like the WW app, but with calories instead

Or you could just count the calories for the fruit. Just sayin.

CM9178

I joined WW on Jan 5th of this year and started MFP at the same time. I've lost 62 lbs in that time and am now on the maintenance part of my weight loss journey. I chose to go to meetings because I needed the accountability and am already fairly isolated because besides being the mom and I am also the full time caregiver to my 21 y/o son who has a form of muscular dystrophy and epilepsy. I made a total change in how I eat and found the MFP has shown me how to use those WW points to the best advantage -- 310 calories can be a In N Out cheese burger or a turkey sandwich on a sandwich thin loaded with veggies, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and fruit. That's 8 points for the burger and about 4 or 5 for the other. I really did enjoy that burger the other day, I just had to make some adjustments the rest of the day.

I don't buy too much of their foods, I have never taken my points calculator to the store, I do have my favorite recipes marked with the points values. I do measure everything and have had some surprises both ways. It is hard to eat out a lot and keep to the points, but once you figure out what to order it gets easier. Like any plan you choose to lose weight you have to learn to make choices, figure out what is important to keep in your life and what you are ready to let go of. I kept the half and half in my coffee, I tried the fat free stuff and I would give up coffee completely before I put that in my coffee on a daily basis. I don't miss tortillas at all, when I order my fish taco at our favorite Mexican restaurant I just don't eat it. Since it comes on 2 corn tortillas that's 6 points I am not eating. When I know I am going out I add a few minutes to my walk to give me the freedom to splurge a little.

My breakfast this morning was 5 WW pp and 274 calories and I am full:

6 oz container of Fage 0% Greek yogurt - 2 pp / 100 cal with 18 grams of protein and 20 grams of calcium
1/2 cup each strawberries and blueberries 0 pp / 68 cal
1 tsp honey 1 pp / 21 calories
1/3 cup Fiber One cereal 1pp / 40 cal with 9 grams of fiber to boot
Coffee (about 2 cups) 0 pp / 5 cal
1 Tbsp half and half - 1 pp / 20 cal
1 tsp Sugar in the Raw 0 pp / 20 cal

~Susan

I agree that using MFP while doing Weight Watchers makes it a lot easier. Really, once you learn how to eat properly - which is what you should learn from Weight Watchers if you follow it properly, there is nothing complicated about it. Once you know what foods you should be eating/not eating and the correct PORTION sizes, you don't have to be constantly counting points. I can pretty much figure the points in my head for everything I eat in one day without having to use any kind of calculator (I still use it to be sure, but just making a point). The best thing about MFP, is there a Firefox add-in for your browser that will calculate your points for you in your food diary! How cool is that! So I enter the food I ate into my MFP diary and then I can see my points tally as well. That way, I don't have to pay for WW E-tools or write anything down. I can do it all in one place.

You should never feel restricted with WW if you are doing it right. I can't say this enough times. On Weight Watchers, you can eat ANYTHING. You just need to do two things - PLAN and eat the correct portion sizes. If you want a piece of chocolate cake, you can eat it. There is nothing you aren't allowed to eat. I eat everything I want. I have higher point days and lower point days. I eat when I'm hungry and always have enough available points. Again, if you think of WW as a diet, it will not work for you. It is a lifestyle change meant to last forever.

If you'd like to see my food diary, let me know. I'd be happy to share.

CM9178

Sorry for all of the posts, but I just read the OP's post again and now I clearly see the issue.

With the old WW plan, the points were calculated based on Calories, Fat and Fiber and Fruits & Veggies had points values.
The new Points Plus program calculates points based on Carbs, Fat, Fiber and Protein, and Fruits/Veggies are Zero points.

As a result of the new program, many foods are higher points than they used to be.
I don't know for sure if 26 points adds up to 1200 calories, but that definitely makes sense.

HERE IS WHY:
We should be eating at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day.
While we aren't counting points for them, we are still eating the calories - so this is where you eat the amount of calories you should be eating!!

If you don't eat any fruits and veggies all day (didn't look like you did from what you posted), then that is why you had used up all your points, but were under your calorie level. Eat some fruits and veggies, and you will meet your calorie goal for the day, and not go over your points.

Some people get carried away with the whole "fruits and veggies are zero points" thing, so they end up eating too many calories and don't lose weight, and then wonder why.

nowakkk

I'm making the transition from WW to MFP right now and finding it very difficult to mentally use both programs. Starting to prefer MFP over WW, but I have noticed the weight coming off MUCH SLOWER where as on full time WW I would be consistently losing. I would tend to eat a ton more fruits on WW, but noticing how much of a sugar and carb intake I would get a daily basis, I started adding more protein since switching over to the MFP app and cutting back on the fruit.

Now it very well could be that since I'm almost to my goal it's definitely harder to lose the last 15 lbs, but now by using MFP I'm almost always going over my Weight Watchers points including all of my activity points that earn for that day. It's frustrating to see I'm eating healthy according to MFP's standards - staying under 1,200 net calories getting in my recommended macros and exercising, but I'm still 2 or 5 pts over my WW goal because I chose to eat a greek yogurt and almonds for a snack versus 2 cups of fruit which are zero points.

Could somebody please message me or add me as a friend and share their transition from WW to a full MFP user? Why did you decide to make the transition? Was it a struggle? Was it relatively easy to continue to lose? Why you prefer WW over MFP? Etc.

Thank you!

LouisaRoots

i have been yo yo dieting for the last 3 years, and at my heaviest was 18 stone, and joined rosemary conley and got down to 13 stones and felt amazing, all heading for a holiday went on holiday put on a stone and never got back into it

last year i decided to try ww, the new plan allowed me 29 points plus my weekly 49 points, and also being able to eat my activity points, i lost about 1 stone 4 on it, then again went on holiday and have since tried to get back into it but find the converting time consuming, the app is great on the iphone but again i have to pay for that, my trouble is that i love excercise and run a lot, and my activity perdometer would say about 3 points on a run where as my hrm would show about 400 cals, and they never really equated

they also introduced a plan where you could eat unlimited amounts until full of certain foods but as an over eater it didnt work for me
i also cant attend regular meetings as i work a shift pattern.
i had the same struggle as you, if i fancied a packet of decent crisps i would clock up 5 points which would be about 16% of y allowance and would feel really cross with myself and be left with nothing by tea time, yet on here its only about 8% of my daily allowance
i also often feel bad if i dont stick to something when ive paid for it, and turn to food
im loving the app on this with the barcode and happy zapping everything and have stuck to it for 3 days and normally now id be feeling deprived but on this im not
its a good plan if it suits you but if you find any difficulties or you question it maybe its not the one for you.
im a numbers girl i like creating calorie targets etc and seeing the results
good luck what ever you decide

plantgrrl

The thing about WW is it's trying to force you to weight cost/benefit on foods. So a food that is high in protein or high in fiber or magically both...? would have much lower points number vs. foods that have high calories and low protein or fiber. That's WHY WW works. And now they've modified it to allow MOST (not avocado and mango I believe) fruits and veg to be free. This is to make people eat more fruits and vegetables. It's a fact that people who eat more fruits and veggies and less random calories weight less. It's basically MAKING you make better choices. Higher nutrient density foods are what WW is trying to teach us about.

I love WW, I just wish it wasn't quite so expensive--I wouldn't be here. The only thing I wish it had had on the online was a sodium MG display, otherwise, A+.

chunkydunk714

I love weight watchers and lost 40 pounds counting points ....I never felt restricted because of the extra 49 points you get each week.

I love MFP because it breaks down the sugars, sodium, carbs, etc. and I felt thats what I was missing. However, I do feel restricted here.

Just today I started combining the two...counting points AND MFP...so wish me luck. As if counting calories isnt enough But my heart is with WW....I just got bored and needed a change.

CM9178

I love weight watchers and lost 40 pounds counting points ....I never felt restricted because of the extra 49 points you get each week.

I love MFP because it breaks down the sugars, sodium, carbs, etc. and I felt thats what I was missing. However, I do feel restricted here.

Just today I started combining the two...counting points AND MFP...so wish me luck. As if counting calories isnt enough But my heart is with WW....I just got bored and needed a change.

do you use Firefox? Check out the add-in for Weight Watchers points on MFP: http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/122949

It is truly awesome.

chunkydunk714

I love weight watchers and lost 40 pounds counting points ....I never felt restricted because of the extra 49 points you get each week.

I love MFP because it breaks down the sugars, sodium, carbs, etc. and I felt thats what I was missing. However, I do feel restricted here.

Just today I started combining the two...counting points AND MFP...so wish me luck. As if counting calories isnt enough But my heart is with WW....I just got bored and needed a change.

do you use Firefox? Check out the add-in for Weight Watchers points on MFP: http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/122949

It is truly awesome.

I dont have firefox

xxvogue

I did WW for awhile, and lost some weight (but it was too expensive once I started my non-paid internship). I do lose weight on it.

Your diet is definitely off for WW, you would need to look into eating differently (WW uses more than calories). My breakfasts were usually 0-4 points. Then you get 40 flex points (okay, I'm not sure that's right, but you do get them).

Plus, if you add in fruits and veggies you should hit your goal.

Ultimately, though, WW wasn't right for me because there was just too much effort involved, I had no money, and I just wasn't ready to commit.

CM9178

I did WW for awhile, and lost some weight (but it was too expensive once I started my non-paid internship). I do lose weight on it.

Your diet is definitely off for WW, you would need to look into eating differently (WW uses more than calories). My breakfasts were usually 0-4 points. Then you get 40 flex points (okay, I'm not sure that's right, but you do get them).

Plus, if you add in fruits and veggies you should hit your goal.

Ultimately, though, WW wasn't right for me because there was just too much effort involved, I had no money, and I just wasn't ready to commit.

Trying to lose weight is going to take a ton of effort and dedication, no matter what method you decide to use. Has nothing to do with Weight Watchers. It takes just as much effort as any other method.

xxvogue

I did WW for awhile, and lost some weight (but it was too expensive once I started my non-paid internship). I do lose weight on it.

Your diet is definitely off for WW, you would need to look into eating differently (WW uses more than calories). My breakfasts were usually 0-4 points. Then you get 40 flex points (okay, I'm not sure that's right, but you do get them).

Plus, if you add in fruits and veggies you should hit your goal.

Ultimately, though, WW wasn't right for me because there was just too much effort involved, I had no money, and I just wasn't ready to commit.

Trying to lose weight is going to take a ton of effort and dedication, no matter what method you decide to use. Has nothing to do with Weight Watchers. It takes just as much effort as any other method.

Yeah that's basically what I said. If you're willing to commit WW works, I was not, so it wasn't going to work for me. Now that I am ready to commit I don't (personally) seem to need WW.

misskarenq

I liked Weight Watchers when they had the straightforward points plan. Then they changed to 'Pro points' and it just didn't work for me any more - also ran out of points before dinner and had to spend my weekly bonus points just so I wasn't starving, and that meant no points left over for treats! Give it a miss.

njohn1967m

I track on both MFP and WW. I am going to look into the addon to show WW points on MFP.

sarahg148

I was JUST thinking about going back to WW last night! I was even lurking on the message boards. But I also was thinking about price and being totally committed to doing it. I need to just stick to THIS program and give it more of a chance. I've been going thru stresses with my father dying and having my period basically 3 times in 6 weeks due to the stress...that's a LOT of hormonal eating!!! So I changed my weight loss/wk to be .5 lbs. This way I can eat a bit more and still have the option of eating back my exercise calories if needed. I thought about how many points I'd have per day again and also felt like it's too annoying to try and figure out point values for foods...esp those eaten in restaurants. I just need to stick to a certain caloric intake and keep up the activity. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I also have the MFP mobile on my Droid...use it a lot.

jcmartin0313

Having now lost a large amount of weight I am a firm advocate for no gimmicks and simply doing whatever it takes to end up with a calorie deficit at the end of each week. However, WW is the most clinically successful diet and is a good program. It may not work for everyone but it does work.

gingerCE

Hi--I like WWs system as well as MFP. Both work well and if money is an issue, you could just stick with MFP. It is also a pain to log into two accts and track foods on two separate programs. I think both make you accountable for what you eat, which is a huge step in weight loss. Don't forget with MFP and WW you earn calories (or pts) with exercise and I eat mine back. You also get WW 49 weekly pts (not counted as daily) and WW encourages you to use them. In the beginning I didn't but it was not enough food so now I add 7 pts to my daily to even out my weekly--so when I'm at 26 pts daily, it would be 33 pts plus whatever I exercise and fruits and veggies (I eat a lot of fruits and veggies and count them on MFP but not WW).