Ditching WW to try going it alone

ep922nj
ep922nj Posts: 11 Member
in Chit-Chat
I've been 'back' to Weight Watchers (this time) for about 5 months. I've only lost 15 lbs and it's a constant struggle. I track. I think I'm eating the right things, yet I lose tiny amounts for a few weeks and then put it all back on. I'm frustrated beyond belief. Years ago, I successfully lost 42 lbs on WW and became Lifetime. That was a totally different plan then. This one, it just isn't clicking with me.

So after going to a meeting this morning, which felt more like a sales pitch, I have decided to come here and see where all my calories are going. I will also truly log my activity. It felt awful to do a long brisk walk and then be told that I've only earned 1 or 2 activity points.

So I'm giving this way of doing things a month to see if I can do it, if I like it and if it's something I can do long-term. I still have 80 lbs. to lose.
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Replies

  • KCoolBeanz
    KCoolBeanz Posts: 813 Member
    I was miserable when I did WW. All I did was concentrate on what I couldn't have. For me, this works much, much better.

    I would say to give it longer than a month - give it at least a couple. :-)
  • Irish_eyes75
    Irish_eyes75 Posts: 475
    You can totally do this. The difference between doing it w/ MFP and friends here and WW is you're actually going to learn how to eat well for life - following points doesn't teach you anything!
    Welcome!
  • Skeebee
    Skeebee Posts: 740 Member
    I lost my first 20 on WW back years ago. The problem is it only tracks three things, really. It's a good program as a "base" for starting off. But, after that, you really need to start looking at EVERYTHING. WW didn't care about sodium, sadly....it was like as long as you had a high fiber volume, you were fine. So, that's why it works initially. When I gained a lot of weight back, I tried to do WW again and lost nothing. I lost much more on my own and tracking EVERYTHING on MFP.
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    I did weight watchers before, points and all, very hard to track. This is the thing that has worked best for me ever. I use what MFP sets out of me and I am doing pretty well. 87lbs since January
  • Skeebee
    Skeebee Posts: 740 Member
    aaand....I just noticed posting here, MFP has a big error. Says 13lbs lost in my ticker. That should be 43! Need to contact support. weird...

    EDIT: It's fixed! YAY!
  • VeggieKidMandy
    VeggieKidMandy Posts: 575 Member
    I HATE WW. Honestly, it is a sales pitch, and whats horrible about it is, someone is making money off of your success. I think you will do just fine on your own, I have lost 40 lbs ...consistent on my own program of regular logging and exercise. You can do it chicka! Just dont give up!
  • skrakalaka
    skrakalaka Posts: 338 Member
    I recently ditched WW online. I found I was scared to eat anything and spend my precious points. Didn't lose any weight either. Ex WW peeps feel free to add me and good luck, I think you'll enjoy MFP.
  • emnk5308
    emnk5308 Posts: 736
    Ditching WW doesn't mean you're gonna be alone!! =D
  • slowturtle1
    slowturtle1 Posts: 284 Member
    I have done WW a couple of times or more over the years and always had the same experience you just had. It just doesn't seem like a sustainable plan to me (whatever the plan of the month is). I discovered MFP by accident in March and I've loved it! I'm almost to maintenance now and I'm planning to continue because I like tracking my food and exercise. I've "met" some great friends on here and have learned so much! I hope you love it also! Good luck to you on your journey and feel free to send a friend request if you'd like some support. :flowerforyou:
  • kathyFS
    kathyFS Posts: 4
    I just joined this site a week ago. It is really amazing tracking your food. I have never done weight watchers, but there is a lot of support here. I will add you as a friend. Keep it up.
  • bimpski
    bimpski Posts: 176 Member
    i lost about 25 pounds on ww about 15 years ago. tried going back but wasn't very successful. and it did get a little expensive for me. much happier here.
  • ep922nj
    ep922nj Posts: 11 Member
    oh my gosh! Thank you!!! I got more feedback in 5 minutes here than I did my entire meeting this morning! :bigsmile:
  • Skeebee
    Skeebee Posts: 740 Member
    oh my gosh! Thank you!!! I got more feedback in 5 minutes here than I did my entire meeting this morning! :bigsmile:

    Cult members never share their secrets when they are still members. :laugh:
  • jazee11
    jazee11 Posts: 321
    I also ditched WW. I think that MFP is a much more realistic approach and I don't have to pay them to weigh in and use their food tracker.

    Welcome to the boards.
  • betternowthanlater
    betternowthanlater Posts: 34 Member
    I've been 'back' to Weight Watchers (this time) for about 5 months. I've only lost 15 lbs and it's a constant struggle. I track. I think I'm eating the right things, yet I lose tiny amounts for a few weeks and then put it all back on. I'm frustrated beyond belief. Years ago, I successfully lost 42 lbs on WW and became Lifetime. That was a totally different plan then. This one, it just isn't clicking with me.

    So after going to a meeting this morning, which felt more like a sales pitch, I have decided to come here and see where all my calories are going. I will also truly log my activity. It felt awful to do a long brisk walk and then be told that I've only earned 1 or 2 activity points.

    So I'm giving this way of doing things a month to see if I can do it, if I like it and if it's something I can do long-term. I still have 80 lbs. to lose.

    You can do it the way that will last a lifetime here.
  • Skeebee
    Skeebee Posts: 740 Member
    I've been 'back' to Weight Watchers (this time) for about 5 months. I've only lost 15 lbs and it's a constant struggle. I track. I think I'm eating the right things, yet I lose tiny amounts for a few weeks and then put it all back on. I'm frustrated beyond belief. Years ago, I successfully lost 42 lbs on WW and became Lifetime. That was a totally different plan then. This one, it just isn't clicking with me.

    So after going to a meeting this morning, which felt more like a sales pitch, I have decided to come here and see where all my calories are going. I will also truly log my activity. It felt awful to do a long brisk walk and then be told that I've only earned 1 or 2 activity points.

    So I'm giving this way of doing things a month to see if I can do it, if I like it and if it's something I can do long-term. I still have 80 lbs. to lose.

    You can do it the way that will last a lifetime here.

    Couldn't have said it any better. :drinker:
  • bizorra
    bizorra Posts: 151 Member
    I lost 35 lbs with WW about two years ago and kept it off.. what I liked about it was the focus on building good habits, something that I've kept with me. I had a great leader, and a really fun group of women in my meeting. When I moved I tried the new meeting and just didn't feel it. Without the fun meetings and good leader, WW was meaningless to me. Plus the online tools are TERRIBLE compared to this site!

    One thing I hated about the new points system and the online tools is you were inputting all of the information (protein, carbs, etc) and there was emphasis on eating protein, but then you couldn't go back and check how much you've eaten. The graphs and stats on this site make it awesome (plus, the tracking of things like sodium)

    Welcome to MFP! Take the time to read a lot of the resource on here and play around with your calorie target to figure out what works for you.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    The point system I used to lose weight by WW online in 2006 was a little more forgiving. You could guesstimate points based upon calories and fiber alone. The new points plus system makes you hopelessly dependent on their conversions to figure out points. It adds another step, and makes you needlessly dependent upon them, when simple calorie counting will do.

    Oh yeah...plus I totally hate all the clapping, stickers, etc. Leave me to my slow methods here which are tolerated by my friends here.
  • arcticfox04
    arcticfox04 Posts: 1,011 Member
    You don't need anyone to lose weight but yourself. When you realize your the most important in your life then you'll have the drive to lose weight. Just log everything make sure you get 10 cups of water a day. I found that planning your meals the night before is the best way to go. Add the foods you like and adjust them to fit in your daily food goals.
  • Nicolelovestocook
    Nicolelovestocook Posts: 12
    I love Weight Watchers but it's not what helped me to learn how to eat and when to eat what. I actually had to drop it because it was too expensive, $42.95 a month. But I didn't realize I could add all of my friends on here, still track my points on paper and still have the support I need on here. It's also kind of neat to track both ways - to see how different calories are than points plus. Also, because you don't get those "extra" points as calories. If you mess up a little bit one day, so you mess up, but it doesn't affect your entire week. At least I feel that way. It just affects me that day.
  • nursevee
    nursevee Posts: 344 Member
    WW worked for me years ago... but I had to carry the lil book around everywhere (this was before the online tracking took off). I did eat a lot of their pre-packaged foods though so t was probably that more than anything. I went off it, gained it back and 2nd time around it just flopped. I came to MFP because it's free, no one tries selling you stuff (it's against the rules), you make great, supportive friends you can be accountable with and once you start to scrutinize your meals and workout, you really catch on. I love the tracking here. I have tried stopping and it doesn't work, I need the food diary otherwise there is no accountability. I swear by my kitchen scales. Good luck... MFP is a great way to go. Throw yourself in the deep end!!!
  • Masq
    Masq Posts: 191 Member
    I lost about 25 pounds on WW .... in 10+ YEARS. Granted, I didn't follow it faithfully all of the time.... I really would like to have that money back that I spent with them. :huh: The final straw was the points plus.... it just didn't click with me.

    So I ditched them around May of this year and I'm very happy with MFP! I love that it syncs to my phone and fitbit, I love that it's free, and I love the friends I have made here.

    Feel free to add me... I log everyday and am supportive.
    :flowerforyou:
  • BelindaDuvessa
    BelindaDuvessa Posts: 1,014 Member
    oh my gosh! Thank you!!! I got more feedback in 5 minutes here than I did my entire meeting this morning! :bigsmile:

    There's lots of good sites for losing weight "the right way". This happens to be one of them. There's also good support on Sparkpeople.com and Livestrong, apparently. I've never really gone to Livestrong except to read articles. And I don't like Spark's Food tracker. This site is good. I've made alot of friends through the forums.
  • letsgetserious
    letsgetserious Posts: 140 Member
    Welcome to MFP!!!! Yes you will get a lot of support here!!!!!

    Feel free to friend me if you wish... we can do this together!!!!
  • Gabster25
    Gabster25 Posts: 6
    I did the same thing a few months ago. Left WW to do this, since it was free and my sister turned me on to it. The money I saved on the WW fee I now use for my gym membership so that I can do Zumba classes and work out 3 - 4 times per week. I have lost some weight and I am finding MFP easier, because I just look at the straight up calories and count. The bar code scanner is also a lot better on MFP than WW. It seems to have everything, including generic brands of food. I have been doing this for about 5 weeks now and have lost 5 pounds. Better than the up and down a pound every week at WW.
  • babingler
    babingler Posts: 1 Member
    Hi. I'm new here too, been to WW and everywhere else. Hang in there - WW was a good fit at one point in your life, now onward and upward. I have a few friends that love this. Good luck!
  • bluedecor
    bluedecor Posts: 28
    @Railr0aderTon: Don't shortchange yourself, 87 pounds lost since January isn't doing pretty well - it's terrific progress!
  • heatherAnnXOX
    heatherAnnXOX Posts: 56 Member
    i'm scared to stop WW. been doing that since May 2011 and this site since like June 2011. didn't do this as much until after january. i only do WW online. went to one meeting and honestly, i didn't really hear anything i didn't already know. and i don't really need any stickers, thanks though. this is my second time doing WW [started it in 09 for a while but lost my job at the time and needed to save monies] and i think i am just dependent on it, or at least i just think that i am. but the thought of not counting points freaks me out ha. i still have almost 20 lbs to go. i keep saying that i am going to stop WW and try just MFP for a couple months. i need to stop saying it and just freakin' do it. ugh but honestly, it truly scares me to be without my points lmao.
  • Alicia7519
    Alicia7519 Posts: 160
    Another WW dropout here. I have joined WW at least four times.The most I have every lost by going to WW was 35 pounds. I don't like the point system. I would rather keep the food diary. I like to use Sparkpeople as a reference for how to do exercises and for recipes. I like MFP because it is simple, and it's easy to log your food intake and exercise in the diaries.
  • Jalare
    Jalare Posts: 103
    I joined WW online a couple of times but keeping track of my food diary and the points was too cumbersome to me. Even though I hated tracking my food, I needed to know my calorie intake, so I decided to give MFP a try. I love this site, I love the app on my phone, and I've met some really nice people here. MFP goes with me everywhere! Give it a try, you might like it. But don't just try it, explore it. There's a lot more here than what you see at first glance.

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