Weight Watchers?

kailysimpson

You know what they told me about the fruit? "No one ever got fat eating too many bananas." Which honestly, made sense to me when put that way. But geez!

kailysimpson

OK I just input my lunch for today into my Weight Watchers tracker on their website, and it was 17 points. Considering I have 51 per day that I am supposed to use, I beefed up my lunch with some cheese cubes. So I also logged here at MFP and the total calories for my lunch was 796!!!! WTF!? I had a ham sandwich on 45 calorie Sarah Lee wheat bread with 1 tablespoon of mayo with olive oil and 1 slice of reduced fat cheese, and a cup of chicken noodle soup, and cheese cubes. All I had for breakfast was a banana (I'm battling an epic cold so I was feeling crappy this morning). If 17 points = 796 calories the math on that would average me at 2338 calories per day. That's a lot isn't it?? MFP says I should be at 1750 calories per day, which would be closer to 38 points on WW, give or take. What gives????

I would skip the soup (high in sodium) and cheese cubes (high in calories and fat) and add a big green salad instead with light dressing. That will keep you full. I am doing Jenny Craig right now because I was finding it impossible to lose ANY weight, and you have only 2 fruits a day. Only non-starchy vegetables are included as unlimited.

While a salad makes logical sense, the funny thing about WW is that the lettuce and the veggies are 0 points, so the only points would come from dressing that you might add to it. But since I have 51 points I'm supposed to consume per day, eating a big salad doesn't even begin to cover that 51. Does that make sense? Or no sense, as it were lol.... it's baffling me and I'm close to demanding my money back.

Yardtigress

Keep on logging your food on MFP for a week and see how much you are really eating.

kailysimpson

Keep on logging your food on MFP for a week and see how much you are really eating.

I've been logging my food on the WW website since I joined that. I logged on MFP for 10 months prior to that. I have been logging for ever and ever.

sexikc

I dont think anyone HAS gotten fat eating fruit...I like that concept that friut is zero points....most fruits are high in fiber and although the have sugar, it is not the sugar in cake and candy that is bad for you. I have never understood why people say limit fruit,

I dont know much about your condition..(I will google) but if your conditions makes it hard for your body to process fruits that may be a reason to limit them but eating fruit will not make you fat. Veggies neither. THe sugar is fruit is what our bodies need.

I like what others have said about watching the portions..for these numbers to work they need to be as close to accurate as possible. I would have for you to be count something as x points but it is really worth 2x point, ya know? I know plenty of people who stuck with the program and had sucess with weight watchers. I hope you get it all figured out. Best wishes!

cmriverside

OK I just input my lunch for today into my Weight Watchers tracker on their website, and it was 17 points. Considering I have 51 per day that I am supposed to use, I beefed up my lunch with some cheese cubes. So I also logged here at MFP and the total calories for my lunch was 796!!!! WTF!? I had a ham sandwich on 45 calorie Sarah Lee wheat bread with 1 tablespoon of mayo with olive oil and 1 slice of reduced fat cheese, and a cup of chicken noodle soup, and cheese cubes. All I had for breakfast was a banana (I'm battling an epic cold so I was feeling crappy this morning). If 17 points = 796 calories the math on that would average me at 2338 calories per day. That's a lot isn't it?? MFP says I should be at 1750 calories per day, which would be closer to 38 points on WW, give or take. What gives????

This is exactly the point I was making.

Until and unless you track all your foods in a calorie-counting type journal (like here) you really have no idea what you're doing. Weight Watchers dropped the ball when the Internet became available and they didn't aggressively pursue calorie-totals.

That's why sites like this one are so useful. WW was great when there was no easy way to count input of foods. It may have worked well for people that wanted hand-holding and weren't able to figure out nutrition. But come on, we are smarter than that!

Weigh and measure all your food for a couple weeks, do it religiously, like your life depended on it - Because It Does!!! Stick with the 1750 cals MFP says to use. Watch the miracle happen.

adianeschu

bump for later

abern921

I did WW a few years back and lost 25lbs. Since then I have had a baby and gained back what I lost. I went back to WW and started losing the baby weight and then they changed the points system. Once that happened I did noting but Yo-yo. I switched to MFP about a month ago and I've lost 5 pounds. I've found from talking to various people that the new point system either works for you or it doesn't...there is no in between. My mom is doing WW and has lost 26lbs in the last 3 months. In my opinion they took a system that worked and made it more complicated to the point where people get frustrated easily and give up.

gvheintz

Perhaps changing the types of exercises you do for a while would help. Our bodies tend to become "efficient" at the exercises we normally do.

LMPMOM4

My advice would be to log here and not on WW. You need to know exactly how many calories you are eating. Just try to get in a mindset that logging here will help you and it's not a nasty chore. You are doing it so you can reach your goals.

hottiebikerchick

I bet if you accurately track here and at WW there will be a HUGE difference in points vs. calories- not all foods are the same....

smiley245

51 does seem like a lot of pts. When I joined WW they had given me 38pts and I had about 100-120 lbs to lose. of course age and what not is factored in.
I was with them for about 9 months, I had some success at first, what I call "shock to the system" success and lost 16lbs, then it stalled and I yo-yo'd the 1lbs back and forth.
When it was time to pay again I said forget it. This was right before they readjusted the points in Jan 2012.

No, Noone ever got fat eating a banana. But if you eat 5x 0pt fruits a day that could be an extra 300-500cals (or more).
Maybe limit the amount of fruits you eat in a day?
Id lower the points you are consuming for a while, try a few weeks at 30-40pts
Don't eat back activity points or "extra" weekly points
Some people have had great success with WW and im very happy for them, But for me it was a waste of money

LeslieC1970

I would suggest looking at how much simple carbs you are eating. When I did WW I stuck to low point options but that usually led to simple carbs and I was overloading. This really slowed down my results. Once I switched to more complex carbs, the weight did come off at about 1 - 2 lbs per week.

hottiebikerchick

I bet if you accurately track here and at WW there will be a HUGE difference in points vs. calories- not all foods are the same....
Also- I did WW and only lost 5 lbs in 5 months...the loss is soooo slow

heathersmilez

If 17 points = 796 calories the math on that would average me at 2338 calories per day. That's a lot isn't it?? MFP says I should be at 1750 calories per day, which would be closer to 38 points on WW, give or take. What gives????

But didn't you say you had 150 lbs to lose? Calc your BRM and TDEE, 2338 does not sound like alot for someone who is 300lbs for example.

emmie0622

I just left WW for MFP - 51 does seem like a lot of points although they changed their points system and everything went up in points values. If you want too keep doing WW you could try lowering your points down every day by 3-4 for awhile and see how that does. Also watch the fruits, I would only have 1-2 fruits normal portion sized and the rest veggies. It could also be their database, they updated it and it was a huge disaster which is what me leave, info in their system could be wrong. Are you going to meetings, you could ask your leader for suggestions. Personally, I liked their old system best , but regardless it does work for most people. My niece is never able to loose weight on WW, it could be it just does not agree with your system.

kailysimpson

Thank for all of your responses, I think I am going to ditch WW b/c it's a PITA and it's not helping. I agree about the hand-holding. I KNOW how to eat healthy, I just don't... always... do it. LOL You know what I mean... we KNOW the difference between healthy choices and not healthy choices, we just say "f-it" and that's how you end up... here. LOL. So I think I'm going to ditch it b/c I'm just over it at this point.

plus, you people are so helpful. People on WW forums are like... brainwashed. Everything you post, they're like "trust the system... use the system... the system is your God..." haha

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I don't eat a lot of carbs, so I'm finding it hard to get to my 51 goal for the day anyway!! I try to avoid carbs b/c even though my Dr says I don't have IR with my PCOS, I know that carbs are still bad for PCOS'ers. I eat a lot of protein, and the biggest fruit item I eat is bananas. But since they are 0 points on WW it's weird b/c bananas are pretty calorie dense!

Your Dr should have told you that if you have PCOS and carry your weight in the mid section or are pear shaped, you are insulin resistant and must watch the amount of carbs and sugar that you eat ALL the time.

emmie0622

You know what they told me about the fruit? "No one ever got fat eating too many bananas." Which honestly, made sense to me when put that way. But geez!

Then it is your leader, my leader kept repeating to us all watch the fruits 1-2 normal sized servings it is not a free for all or you will gain

beckajw

If 17 points = 796 calories the math on that would average me at 2338 calories per day. That's a lot isn't it?? MFP says I should be at 1750 calories per day, which would be closer to 38 points on WW, give or take. What gives????

51 points is about 2040 calories (about 40 calories per point).

I'm not sure why the MFP goal and the WW goal are so different. My WW goal was lower than my MFP goal. Generally, I would expect WW to be lower, because you also get the weekly points.

PayneAS

I've talked to my Dr.... she says I'm perfectly healthy and to just "keep trying."

If you really are (which I'm not going to doubt you) following the plan, then I would find a doctor that would actually perform tests and not just keep telling you to keep trying.

The thing I don't like about WW is the "free" points. Nothing is free. And convincing people that things are is a recipe for failure. A banana is ~100 calories. You eat 5 of them because they are "free" and that's 500 calories. That's more than my larger meals!

kailysimpson

I've talked to my Dr.... she says I'm perfectly healthy and to just "keep trying."

If you really are (which I'm not going to doubt you) following the plan, then I would find a doctor that would actually perform tests and not just keep telling you to keep trying.

The thing I don't like about WW is the "free" points. Nothing is free. And convincing people that things are is a recipe for failure. A banana is ~100 calories. You eat 5 of them because they are "free" and that's 500 calories. That's more than my larger meals!

Exactly!!!! I'm just SO glad that I'm not the only person going WTF about the WW program.

slboling

I lost 110 pounds in 2011 on WW. I regained about 30 of it after getting frustrated. I knew about MFP, but had not joined completely. I left WW and gave my full focus to MFP. 6 weeks now totally focused - 12.5 lbs lost. The database and support here are amazing.

PisceanDream224

Why don't you just switch to the "Simply Filling" plan?? You can eat all of the POWER FOODs you want to, and only count the points that are not on the Power Food list.... That seems to work for a lot of people, plus it will lower you points for tracking.

slimhooper

Hi,,
We are in a similar place. I tried WW a few times over the last couple of years with no success. I am not sure if it is for everyone. I have no idea why I have gained 40 lbs. in les than two years. Doctors have said that I am healthy and assuming I must be closet eating of something. They have supposably checked my blood work and found nothing, thyroid, checked, hormones checked, etc. I've met with a nutrionist who said that my eating was awesome and had no suggestions for me. I am now on my way to my OB/GYN to see if she thinks its hormornal or something. Frustrating yes but I am not giving up. I feel so much better when I workout and eat well that I refuse to stop even though I keep gaining insteaf of losing. I am married with three kids and can not afford to slow down ...lol they won't let me. I am prayerful that I get an answer soon.
Be encouraged and keep fighting for your answer. If I find out anythign on my end, I will let you know. Oh yeah, I also have PCOS symptoms, never really a diagnosis.
Hang in there!!

slimhooper

AWESOME!!!

n_rockey

I did weight watchers 10 years ago just before I got married, and lost over 75lbs. That was on their old program where you had to count points for fruits & veggies. Unfortunately I had some health problems, a child, and 10 years later the weight was all back plus some. My insurance company says I have to do Weight Watchers or a walking program (which they pay for) until my BMI is 30 or less, or pay higher deductibles so I joined again. I had already been doing MFP, and lost 50 lbs here in about 8 months. I tried their new Points Plus program, and found that to reach their target points (I'm at 30) I was eating WAY too many calories. Like you, I eat a lot of fruits & veggies- 300-500 calories worth per day. I tried Simply Filling and found that to be a little better, but still not a great solution for me. After two weeks I started tracking with both systems, and 9 weeks in I stopped logging with Weight Watchers, and I'm back to exclusively tracking on here. Now I just go weigh in every week to make my insurance company happy, read through their literature to see if there are any great recipes or tips that I haven't thought of, and them pretty much ignore everything else. If the insurance wasn't paying for Weight Watchers for me I wouldn't be going.