Switching from Weight Watchers to Calorie Counting?

honeylissabee

I hastily decided to sign up for Weight Watchers without really considering the financial aspects of it, as I have been unemployed for the past 2.5 months. However, things are going surprisingly well with the plan, and I'm down 7 pounds in the past 3 weeks (I maintained this past week).

However, my online subscription will run out in about six short weeks, and I am not sure if I will have the finances to afford a renewal, so I need to prepare a back-up plan so I don't completely undo my progress.

I would love to start using MFP again, but I do have some concerns. I understand that in WW, fruit isn't "free." It's simply worked into the formula. So, while my daily target may be 31 points, it's really probably 40 or something points when you add in the 0 point foods. Still, I love being able to go grab a banana or a handful of grapes when I'm at an event where I don't want to spend too many points. I've been known to make gigantic salads on days I'm hungry, but with few points to spend.

I know fruits and veggies have calories, but do you know of any way to possibly adjust my calorie target so I don't necessarily have to track them? I figure that, in theory at least, if I set my calorie target to something that's a bit lower than what it SHOULD be, I can make up the difference in "free" produce. Any tips on that? I understand I won't be tracking all my macros correctly, but since my plan is to focus on higher protein and moderate fat- not necessarily worrying about carbs- I'm not all too concerned.

Any tips? Having the freedom to play around with fruit/veggies like I do on Weight Watchers is one of the reasons I'm so successful, and I really try not to overdo it on the fruit.

goodtimezzzz

wait?? whatttt....ask one simple question

goodtimezzzz

Confused....

GormanGhaste

The easiest thing to do would be to add up the calories from all the fruits and veggies you typically consume in a day, and then subtract those from your current calorie goal for your new target.

gayle4882

My daughter was using MFP and wasn't losing at all. Then she started weight watchers and lost 25lbs. Some people just do better on WW. There are plenty of Points Plus calculators on line and they are free. I would let your WW membership laps. Use MFP as a guide but still do your points. Also, could go to a meeting and get the book and the calculator. Once you have the WW tools you don't really need the membership. That's my 2 cents for what it's worth. Good luck!!

kirk_clawson

You likely won't blow your calorie goal on salads - an entire head of lettuce is only 100 calories.

clarkeje1

why not just log everything? that way you can make sure its accurate and will be more likely to get the results you want.

surfrgrl1

It's been a few years since I was on weightwatchers, but from what I recall, one point was equal to about 50-75 calories. I have always been a calorie counter, so I was pretty anal about tracking both points and calories. Don't know if that helps.

baileybiddles

I, too, used Weight Watchers when I started my journey and it was a great catalyst for my weight loss, it really was. However, when I came over to MFP I felt I was more successful. I did not find myself eating less because of the fact that fruits and veg were free on WW and they aren't here. I continued to eat the same amount of fruit and veg and just factor it into my calorie goal.

I don't think you'll have a hard time switching. I don't have any tips, per say, but I would recommend switching. Weight watchers is definitely expensive and I feel that you can do the same thing here and follow a less complicated process.

ckeatonrn

Track Weight Watchers AND MFP calories for a week and get an idea of how many calories you are really eating of fruits and vegetables. Then subtract that number from your daily calorie count and you'll have your number to shoot for.

That said...why do things the hard way? On MFP you track everything you eat, just like WW, but instead of PointsPlus you'll get calories. The benefit of using MFP (other than being free) is that you can figure out many of your nutrients too. You can adjust your diet if you are lacking in any area and WW doesn't help you so much with that.

You can still eat as many fruits and veg as you want. The more veg the better! You find out that veg have few calories and fruits can add up pretty fast.

If you're doing will on WW, you'll do well here too. It's about accountability and if you need that getting on a scale every week in front of someone else.

I've been WW for 2 years and lost over 60 lbs. I started MFP about 2 months ago and found that the added dimension of MFP has helped me hone my diet towards those areas I was lacking such as calcium and iron.

krisjohnson121

I have done weight watchers many times. I completely agree with the person who wrote that you do not need to be a member to follow the plan. There is an app that you can download that will give you all the points.

But talking about switching - I thought that not having 'free' foods would be a hard transition but here is what I learned. Veggies truely are basically free so record them! Not all fruits are created equal. A banana is about 100 calories - so is 3 cups of watermelon! I will take the watermelon. Tracking all my food has really helped me to learn the difference between the foods.

Also I find that MFP puts more emphasis on working out which I think it crucial in developing a healthier lifestyle.n With MFP you still get the comradierie that you would get from a WW meeting but you get it every day.

It sounds like you have been doing great - keep up the hard work and save the money to buy a new outfit!

kprengaman

I recently made the switch from WW to MFP. For a month or so I tracked in BOTH WW and MFP to get a good idea what my average daily calorie count was on WW. I logged the fruits and veggies in MFP to get an accurate count. Each WW point seem to average out to about 40 calories. I read somewhere here that those 40 calories per WW point factor in the fruits and veggies.

I really wanted to continue having the fruits and veggies be "free", but I just wasn't losing. I was more likely to grab a piece of fruit for an afternoon snack when it was 0 points. Now I am tracking the fruit and making a point to eat some every day.

03221961

As a life time member of weight watchers I can tell you my fitness pal is much easier and better to follow then weight watchers. Yes the fruit will not be free any more but just incorporate it in your daily calories and you will still be able to enjoy them. I have been on weight watchers twice and i did not want to pay the money to go back so I decided in january to join mfp and i am down 14 pounds and if i lose more ok but i am happy here. I will never stop logging my food because it keeps you accountable for what you eat. Can't wait to have you as a member in 6 weeks.

honeylissabee

Right now, I am just tracking my non-fruit/veggie intake on both sites to see where th eat gets me, but I know that right now I probably eat a few hundred calories worth of produce. My brussels sprouts for lunch yesterday were over 100 calories, and I certainly had more than just that for lunch.

I've seen, so far, that when sticking to my daily target I seem to be averaging around 1,200 calories per day without counting produce, but that could change as I continue to track. If this is the case, I may transition to MFP by sticking to that 1,200 calorie goal plus free produce and then reevaluate as time goes on. If I start weighing/measuring/tracking produce, I'll start small by focusing on fruit first and still keep veggies free.

For the record, I am SPECIFICALLY referring to the 0 point fruits and veggies- not starchy ones like potatoes and plantains.

plynn54

You can still count your points and just not pay to attend the meetings,

Warchortle

WW is calorie counting FYI ---> Macro ratios are something completely different especially if you exercise.

BonaFideUK

WW is calorie counting FYI ---> Macro ratios are something completely different especially if you exercise.

WW moved away from calorie counting quite a while ago. They have a points based system where food and members are assigned points per day to allocate to food. No member calorie counts anything.

honeylissabee

You can still count your points and just not pay to attend the meetings,

I've tried doing it on my own before, and it just didn't work. I need the online tools to stay on track, and I honestly don't know if I'll be able to afford them when my subscription is supposed to renew.

Bernadette60614

I'd say:

Do both WW and MFP for a couple of weeks and see how the calories work out. It may be that even with zero point fruits/veggies you are eating within your MFP recommended range.

You've got a couple of weeks to make a transition and I think you'll find that what you've learned doing WW will help you to adhere to MFP.

WRXymama

I'll just keep this simple. Did WW, lost weight...got tired for figuring out the points, quickly gained back. Started using MFP, stuck with it longer than anything, lost, and able to maintain what I lost. Easier to log/figure out calories than figure out points. I just got to lazy trying to cacluate what each point value was. Calories...plain and simple. Free, awesome support, FREE.

foleyshirley

You have time to track both ways and get an idea of what you are eating on WW. You can use that info later. I did this. I found I was not eating enough on WW. But I am not a big vege and fruit eater .