weight watcher vs MFP

rosaleigh510

I know the basic difference counting calories vs calculating points but what i dont understand is why on weight watchers is an apple free points but on here its 80 calories.... any input would be appreciated

peglorenzon

Hi! My understanding is that WW decided to make veggies and fruit zero points to encourage people to eat more of them than use those points on less healthier choices. Not sure how that affects one's weight loss or if it is so minimal that the benefits outweight the extra calories one might take in.

rosaleigh510

Hi! My understanding is that WW decided to make veggies and fruit zero points to encourage people to eat more of them than use those points on less healthier choices. Not sure how that affects one's weight loss or if it is so minimal that the benefits outweight the extra calories one might take in.

thank you so much

Jimaudit

Hi! My understanding is that WW decided to make veggies and fruit zero points to encourage people to eat more of them than use those points on less healthier choices. Not sure how that affects one's weight loss or if it is so minimal that the benefits outweight the extra calories one might take in.

Yes, this!

Another major difference is that most WW products use artificial sweetners. Some research has shown that AS can actually cause you to gain weight in the long term.....I think that is if taken in excess...but I see a lot of folks who have great success with WW then regain the weight once they get off of the regiment of counting points.

Good luck!

Fr3shStrt

Also, I believe you are limited. So one apple is 0 points... but if you eat 5 you need to count 4 (or something, not sure the specifics).

rprim326

A lot of people get tricked by that, it seems. Going straight by points rather than actually learning about the nutritional data of food is a dangerous approach.

I find that MFP helps you better learn about the sodium, sugar, and fat quantities- it really opened my eyes to how much sugar I was unconsciously taking in

hansea47

When I was on WW, the fruits and veggies were mostly freebies, but now I think they changed the points system (again) and some fruits are now counting for points. I have a friend that's on WW, and she was telling me about the change last year, but since I was not doing WW anymore, I didn't really pay attention to everything she said!

hansea47

A lot of people get tricked by that, it seems. Going straight by points rather than actually learning about the nutritional data of food is a dangerous approach.

I find that MFP helps you better learn about the sodium, sugar, and fat quantities- it really opened my eyes to how much sugar I was unconsciously taking in

This! And how much sodium I take in, too...hint: it's too much.

faireplay

FWIW I did Weight Watchers with great success for several years and never once did I have a meeting leader encourage me to eat their products. In fact quite the opposite, they tell you that you will get more food for your point value by cooking it yourself.

sugboog29

As a current WW member they want you to eat more fruits and veggies. Not all are free however. With fruits they must be either fresh, frozen with no sugar, or canned with no sugar to count as free. For veggies most are free, but NOT the starchy veggies. There is no specific amount to eat daily, but common sense tells one that if you eat 5 apples it is too much, especially natural sugar! If you choose to eat 5 apples, however, they still count as zero points.

One of the reasons I joined MFP was I had plateaued with WW. During the summer I eat a ton of fruit and was eating about 3-4 cups of watermelon a day....then I looked up the calories! And during that time I was eating at least 1 banana a day, sometimes 2. I started counting calories with MFP and broke my plateau. Why am I still a WW member...accountability for me. I enjoy the meetings and do learn things from them. Plus my goal is to lose this last 30 pounds and become a lifetime member....silly, but it is my goal!!

cwolfman13

Because an apple actually does have 85 calories. It would be difficult but not impossible to over eat even if your diet consisted largely of fruits and vegetables. My mom did WW for years and lost tons of weight but switched to calorie counting a few years ago...actually not so much calorie counting...she does, but it's not all that necessary for her at this point...mostly she just wanted to track her macros better because now she's a huge fitness buff...and is buff.

emmie0622

FWIW I did Weight Watchers with great success for several years and never once did I have a meeting leader encourage me to eat their products. In fact quite the opposite, they tell you that you will get more food for your point value by cooking it yourself.

Totally agree!! They encourage you to learn how to eat with real food, WW is not Jenny Craig. Most people keep Smart Ones or Lean Cuisines on hand for when they are short on time. I am going to a meeting tomorrow to check out their 360 program and see what changes there are.

Meghannderson

My BFF is on weight watchers and told me that no one got fat because they ate too many fruits and veggies. Makes sense to me.

QueenofComeBacks

I just start weight watchers and i have to say that no every try to push me to buy any of the products they were selling. whole meeting was talking about healthy chooses and portion sizes. i have to say since i started my out look on food is totally different. and looking forward going back next week for the second meeting!

Dad_of_3

I follow Weight Watcher's points values (I am a member through my work) but I count and track on here, including "free points" on WW (like fruits and non-starchy veggies). I don't buy into the "apples are 0 points" thing.

melinda3792

I was a WW member, had my membership online, worse experience of my life. If you kept to yourself and didn't post on the forums you were good, but what is the sense in that right. I actually quit because of cyber bullying, yes you read it right. People on there, mainly lifers were HORRIBLE, they had nothing to do all day but bully at how, skinny I was and I shouldn't have a "weight" issue, but half of them only saw my face and not body.
Anyhow, glad I changed to MFP, people are nice here..lol and getting back to the point, the difference is everything here that you put in your mouth is accounted for unlike W.W where it was ok to eat two banana's even the the carbs in them are CRAZY *kitten* nuts..lol

azwen

I did WW a number of years ago, but didn't maintain. (Now I realize that was at least partly due to my lack of strength training.) I've been doing MFP for several months, but wasn't seeing success, so I tried WW online again for a couple of months. It didn't do anything for me MFP wasn't already doing, so I dropped WW, since MFP is free, and I actually prefer the message boards here over WW's boards. I also realize that it's possible to do WW and not get nearly enough protein, because WW doesn't track macronutrients. I really want to make sure I'm getting the protein to feed my muscles now that I'm lifting weights.

The one thing I really miss about WW is the weekly points; I could save them up to have a splurge once or twice a week (depending on how big of a splurge it was) without going off the program. I kinda wish MFP had something like that. Otherwise, when you do go out to eat for a special occasion, you just have to blow it that day, and start back up the next.

tndejong

i just dont agree with the weight watchers program. to me when you sign up for stuff like that you are paying for advice and a system. on mfp its free and has a ton of resources. it also lets you see what your eating and its nutritional value. i dont want to spend the rest of my life converting points and changes in a system and such. this is a better way of looking at what your doing and holding yourself accountable. this to me is a true lifestyle change. when i eat an apple i want to see the calories and im also diabetic, so it lets me track my carbs and sugars.

suzy1220

I like this program so much better than WW. I've done it but tracking on their system is a real pain. So far I have yet to find a food that isn't on the MFP database, and I love the recipe function where it figures the calories for you. Hands down, I pick MFP over WW. But if WW is working for you, that's great. I think it's important for each of us to find the system that works best with our lifestyle and the bottom line is getting healthy, no matter how you achieve it.

MBNagel74

I had done WW many years ago - both on my own and through work. I don't have anything bad really to say about them as they did try to teach healthy eating whether you cooked for yourself or were out at a restaurant. Each point typically equated to 50 calories, so it wasn't all that difficult to follow. Yes, they change and sometimes the changes were hard to follow at first, but that's what happens when a better way is found. Their support system online is very similar to here, so no real change there. Yes, there are benefits to going to a weekly meeting; however, I found the same could be accomplished with their online version just as easily.

Personally, I prefer MFP. The main reason is that I feel there is more accountability as anyone on your friends list can tell if you completed your diary or not. (I never once had them check at a WW meeting if I actually filled out my log.) For me, it's all about being held accountable. MFP does that more - or has the opportunity to - in my opinion. And, it is straight forward. You have 1600 calories for the day. An apple is 85 calories. Simple and black/white.

emmie0622

I just start weight watchers and i have to say that no every try to push me to buy any of the products they were selling. whole meeting was talking about healthy chooses and portion sizes. i have to say since i started my out look on food is totally different. and looking forward going back next week for the second meeting!

Just rejoined myself yesterday, love the addition of 360, loads of good information!

trickycoolj

I've done WW@Work since October 2011, by Feb 2012 I had met my first goal of 10% lost (167 down to 150lbs). I was so proud of myself I stopped tracking but still went to meetings to weigh in. By September 2012 our awesome leader who was so real with us (she struggled with going to the local artisan ice cream shop just like we did) had some life changes and moved back to her hometown across the country. The new leader wasn't as inspiring and our @Work group was mostly gals in their 40s-60s with tweens and teens at home, they're totally sweet and I love meeting with them but my struggles as a single 28 year old gal hanging out with my friends that are mostly 30something boys really didn't match up, work got busy and I felt guilty leaving for such long lunch breaks for meetings and stopped in September of 2012 around 160lbs. Now they started a new session for the new year and I committed to signing back up and going, the workload issues have largely dissipated and I've communicated to my team in a staff meeting that that was my goal please schedule around it. I just looked at my graph and see how it steadily climbed and I had to get the size 10 pants back out.

Fortunately I found MFP around the same time as researching a fitbit and found a great friend of mine who has been having some amazing success was also on MFP! I almost feel like she's my sponsor. LOL I love how MFP tracks the macronutrients, while my points and calories aligned even with my free fruits as snacks during the workday (addicted to clementines right now!), I found out I was only getting 30% calcium and 60% iron, both very bad nutrients to be deficient in as a young woman! I will stick with tracking in both programs until the 13 week @Work session ends, but I can already tell I like MFP better. The online tools are by far tons better, the database is quick and thorough, and the community is so friendly! Maybe I'll keep up with WW at the same time to try and get lifetime, we'll see.

deb2799

I signed up last week and HATE it. I find the website annoying to work with, the database isn't as great as here. the forums are terrible, they can't even tell you the "point" number of the recipes or items they eat. I also find it harder to calculate the points when I am out, calories are much easier, but that is just me. I actually req a refund since the agreement says I can within 5 days and I am within that

BorgieMN

WW worked well for me. Lost 250 pounds on it. It did teach me how to eat again. I've been off it now for about 4 months counting calories. I have not gained any back, and have lost inches and gained muscle in the meantime.

It works well for some people, others don't like it. Like anything if it works for you stick with it. If it doesn't try something else.

musenchild

The one thing I really miss about WW is the weekly points; I could save them up to have a splurge once or twice a week (depending on how big of a splurge it was) without going off the program. I kinda wish MFP had something like that. Otherwise, when you do go out to eat for a special occasion, you just have to blow it that day, and start back up the next.

On the app, but not the website (as far as I can tell) you can look at your weekly net. So, if you are under a bit every day, click on weekly to see how far under your weekly goal you are; there's your saved-up splurge.

sam5412

I have been a member of WW off and on for a few years and the meetings always drove me crazy so I stopped going and ended my membership. I joined MFP last week and found it to be helpful with counting calories however, I knew that my food intake was better than it had been in years and I had a CLEAN DAY, but by my afternoon snack I was out of calories to use and I was VERY VERY hungry. At that time I pulled out my WW info and counted points according to the points plus program that allowed me to have FREE FRUITS &VEGGIES and I had 9 points remaining to use for the day and no BIG RED -110 calorie sign flashing at me. I have returned to the plan but I now follow it on my own and I am not a paid member. I am proud to say that I have lost 6 pounds in one week.

sam5412

Also this is my 2nd attempt at MFP. So i think i will stay involved for the support.

North44

I did WW online a couple of years ago and had a lot of success with it. I am doing this now for the simple reason that it is free and since my problem is maintenance, not weight loss per se, I can do this indefinitely.

I think both programs are good.

Synapze

I just came from WW. Ive always used it. 2 years ago i went from 140-82kg in a few months following their old points system.

I swear by it.

But with saying that, i decided to swap for MFP for

A) Calorie Counting. Making me be more aware of what im consuming. More responsible. More accountable.

The whole app thing. Being able to track everything abroad. Connecting Runtastic ect. Its just perfect.

I also know im very green around here, but to pull me away from WW, which i regarded as the pinnacle for many many years, after i researched dozens of other plans, this site must be doing something right.