Weigt Watchers vs. MFP.....any thoughts?

Beckycm1971

I lost most of my weight on WW and it really helped me to focus on the different groups of food I need. MFP is free, and the people here helped me to focus on exercise. I have achieved many goals exercise wise here. I recently was doing both tracking WW points and Calories, and found that as long as I wasn't overboard with stuff that had little nutrition, my calories evened out with my points. I definitely have far more support here than I ever had going to meetings or anything.

ptbodacious

I have been doing both since June of last year - down 63 pounds. It's been interesting to log on both places and observe the differences between points and calories - some days I'm WAY over on calories and just fine on points (usually due to fruits and veggies), others way over on points and barely over on calories. MFP has more items in their database, is free and has a more user-friendly website, but I tend to get a little OCD if all I do is focus on calories, so find WW more comfortable. Not a real "user community" - focused kind of person, so the differences there make little or no difference to me.

kimberliiw

I lost 34 lbs on WW several years ago and got to goal. After putting 22 of that back on I rejoined last year and only lost 2 lbs in 4 months. I find it's easy to fudge the points. You want something to be 3 points instead of 4, then just eat a bit less of it. You might just be cutting out 20 calories, but the way the points calculate it rounds down a point. Considering a point is approximately 40 calories you're going over by 20 calories, do that 10 times a day then you're over 200 calories. Counting calories is concrete, no need to calculate, no creative handling of points.

I don't think WW is bad, I just think personally I take more responsibility for what I eat doing MFP.

missy0307

Same for me! I did we'll until they moved to the points plus plan!

Off_The_Record

After doing WW for a couple of week I figured out there formula.. 1point=40 calories pretty much... This just made me feel like they were complicating a something simple. It's easy enough to track calories but if everybody realized that they wouldn't make any money..

meghan_lovely

I've done WW in the past and have always had a tough time sticking with it.... and I do think it is because of the points. When you don't know how many points something is you need to put it in the calculator and after a while I got sick of always calculating points.

MFP is more straightforward. People here seem more supportive too!

KC7997

I have done WW in the past and I think overall it is a great program. However, there are definitely pros and cons--just like with anything.

I thought the program itself was really easy to follow. You get so many points a day and here is how you calculate points--easy.

Also, I disagree with the people who say it doesn't teach you the difference between good/bad/healthy/unhealthy food and just general food knowledge. I think they do a pretty good job of that, actually. I remember they had "Good Health Guidelines" (I think that is what they were called.) were they taught specifically about choosing whole grains, getting your water and dairy in, etc. Also, I think there is an inherent sense of how "good for you" (in essence) something is in how many points it has vs the portion (not always...some foods like nuts, which are good sources of protein and aren't necessarily "bad", but should still be eaten in moderation, etc.) That is true for calories counting, too. If something is high in calories/fat/whatever, we naturally questions its nutritional value.

I especially liked the the extra points each week (for special occasions, etc.), but found myself often using them as an excuse to eat more and indulge too much. (That's my fault, though, not WW....)

Also, I agree with another poster who said WW starts to feel like a part time job. I often felt the same way. It was such an effort to get to the meetings and I didn't usually find them all that useful or "community building" in the sense that everyone seemed to stick to themselves or with the people they came with. Maybe I just didn't find the right one?

Speaking of meetings, a real pet peeve of mine are the staff that weigh you in at the beginning. I always managed to get the one who can't help but comment on the progress...out loud. ("Up a little", etc. Grrr!)

For me it came down to cost. WW gets really expensive, really fast.

MFP is free and the community and inspiration I get here (especially from the boards) is 10x better than anything I got from WW.

I hope this helps some!

Happy losing to us all. :-)

lyndabyh

I lost 41 lbs on WW a few years ago and put 12 backon. I rarely went to the meetings but did like the accountability of weighing in every week. Someone else was going to see my weight it better have gone down!! However once I reached my "goal" I figured why spend my money I can do this on my own. It worked for a while but counting points gets old.

MFP. I've been on here since Sept/12 and have lost 6 lbs. However I've engaged in more discussions then I had the entire time I was with WW. I also like the focus on eating helathy and exercise. I found with WW I didn't eat as healthy just as long as I hit my points.

I prefer MFP, to me its more of a lifestyle change which is what I personally want. That said WW started my journey and was great in terms of kickstarting my knowledge of portions and tracking. Long term though WW became a diet not a lifestyle and that's not what I want.

Good luck with whatever route you choose

justtodayjen333

I think WW has a lot of good to offer. I got good information and motivation from the meetings. I have three kids, and life has gotten more busy, so it was harder and harder to get to meetings. Now I take that time to get my workout in. Also, for me, one of the strengths of using MFP is all of the support from the online friends. I never found this kind of motivation and support at WW--but I never really used their online program, so it might be there as well. I have done both and succeeded, and both and not succeeded. You have to do the work either way, and you have to do what works for you! Just my two cents.