Fairly new still and transitioning from WW to MFP

ShaylaWaruk

I've heard and seen so many good things about MFP. Don't get me wrong, WW is also great, love it. I lost 30 lbs on it, but then gained back 5 lbs with the Holidays. I'm still trying to recooperate from that! I just need a push and have been reading so many great success stories, including seeing some amazing transformation pics!!!

I guess I just need a good kick in the derrier and would love to meet new people on here who also share the same horrible addiction to chocolate!!!

agirlscamaro

I'm the same way. I haven't cancelled my WW yet but I am seriously considering it. I like the MFP food data base and online forums so much better than WW.

Kifissia

Welcome aboard ladies! I was on WW years ago. Though I appreciate WW's point system, it wasn't a good fit for me. What I like most about MFP is the food database and how detailed and easy it is to use. One can track Calcium, saturated fat and a lot of other things he/she may find interesting. The 'Community Board' is very good with mostly supportive and friendly people from around the world. I love the food journal and exercise board. There are a lot of well-informed, educated folks who know and understand nutrition. There are different philosophies for food and exercise from the Insanity, clean eating folks to 'I eat-my-junk-food-occasionally' folks. I don't know what WW is like now and maybe it's the same as MFP. It's all about what works for the individual. Good luck!

teachmom32

I did this in January. Since transitioning I have been losing consistently. My average is 1.1 pounds per week, and I'm not paying weight watchers anymore to do it. Plus, my calories have increased greatly so I'm no longer cranky and irritable. I've also been sleeping much better and I no longer dream about food. You can do this!

baileybiddles

Hey there! I am also a former WW subscriber. I lost my first 10 or 11 pounds with weight watchers, but I was losing money big time by subscribing. I love MFP. The database is much bigger and I find this website more user friendly.

I have not lost much weight since I switched in March, but I have also not been very serious about it since about two weeks ago, and I have lost several inches so far eating at my calorie deficit and working out five days per week. You'll have good success here!

ruckerbenton

Good morning. It's realistic to think that there are flaws in every tool. MFP won't be perfect but it's what you make of it. I have lost 25 lbs then lost some of my commitment and then gained back 17 lbs. Now I'm re-losing that. I have tweeked my MFP action plan a few times and will probably do so again. I'm working to identify what the issue was that got me off track. I have lost weight the last 2 weeks but I haven't been logging my food as devotedly as I should. The moral of this story is...take the tools that you gather and develop a plan that works for you--right now, in your world as it is. Tweek things as you go for the more exacting fit. Let others cheer you on and gather friends that will do that unconditionally and with rational thought. I hope you have great success. Friend me if you would like. Best wishes.

ken_hogan

I've heard and seen so many good things about MFP. Don't get me wrong, WW is also great, love it. I lost 30 lbs on it, but then gained back 5 lbs with the Holidays. I'm still trying to recooperate from that! I just need a push and have been reading so many great success stories, including seeing some amazing transformation pics!!!

I guess I just need a good kick in the derrier and would love to meet new people on here who also share the same horrible addiction to chocolate!!!

I did WW for several years and was pretty successful (lost 75+ pounds at my best.) Like any program, I got out of it what I put into it. I gave 100%, I was successful. I 'kind of' did the program, I 'kind of' got results. I finally got tired of paying for WW when I wasn't getting results because I was no longer giving my 100%, so I ended up dropping WW and started doing MFP.

daggett2266

Hi! I am also leaving WW to follow this program. I liked WW but found it just to costly. Like the fact this is free. The food database is so up to date. Hope to meet some new people here.
daggett2266

GFielding_56

Good for you - wanting to do it on your own - the great thing about MFP is you are not alone - lots and lots of other people in exactly the same situation want to lose weight and get fitter.

MFP allows you to do that - if you monitor your intake vs your output exercise wise it shows you where you need to 'up your game' either more exercise or slightly less food/portions

I combine MFP with a Fitbit one - fancy pedometer - I find the combination of the two works well and keeps me focussed.

If someone said to you pay £80 to lose 2 stones of weight in 5/6 months would you do it? I did and have! - bought my Fitbit for £80

Good luck - user name on MFP is Fat_bloke_56 or http://www.fitbit.com/user/244BVK on Fitbit

tallvesl99

1. This is free!. 2. E A S Y. I love it! You go at your own pace...People support you and give you great ideas!!! I had given up losing weight because I was over 50....Now I have lost almost 18 pounds and I'm really excited!!! It works!

cupcakes_and_cardio

Hi, Shayla. Welcome to MFP. I actually just joined myself almost a week ago and I'm loving it so far. Everyone is so supportive and I think it's easier to (and better in some ways) to track your cals, carbs, etc., than to do WW. I was on WW's for awhile, lost 30lbs, but got sick of tracking points and I didn't get to eat much each day. I find that with MFP I'm eating more and more motivated to keep going. I hope all works out (for you and I both) and I'm here if you need me

kimckelleher

Happy to see you on MFP. I'm also a WW fan. Until MFP I thought WW was the only place I could successfully lose weight, but never quite made it to maintenance in the 20 years I had gone off and on to WW to lose the same weight over and over again.

I'm also a chocoholic.

Some of my frustratiosn with WW is that I would be working the plan well and than in January they changed it up and it always threw me off kilter. I also felt the pressure to be in the standard weight categories they promoted over the years. I found it difficult to maintain 155 and it always seemed impossible to get down to 130 or 145 as I aged. I finally lost 45 pounds when I was 48 at WW and loved that I wore a size 12 but could not get myself to go to the doctor to get a note to tell WW that I wanted my goal weight at 165 so I started to flounder at WW. Than I had a health issue that required me to have a hysterectomy and the weight started piling on. I stayed at WW another year, paying a lot of money, and gaining weight. I have been very discouraged the last five years about ever being able to lose weight. I stumbled onto MFP when a local health club recommended this free weight loss site. I am so happy. I started losing the weight right away. Logging my food in is easy and I am consistently losing one pound a week.

some of the things I love about this site is that I am in total control of my goals. I want to get back to 165 and a size 12 and than I can easily go to maintenance by changing my goal setting from losing one pound a week to maintaining my weight. I'm also more motivated to exercise. If I want to eat a littly more, than I go for a quick 20 mintue walk. It's that simple. And there is also support if you want it. The best part is that it is free. I've spent a fortune over the years at WW. Before I found MFP I had debated for 4 months about going back to WW and I just couldn't justify the expense given the current economy.

Hope you find MFP equally helpful and supportive. Feel free to friend me

CCusedtodance

I too have done WW, both online and at the meetings. I was tired of paying someone to tell me that my weight was not what it should be. I knew it, and I knew that I was the one that had to make the changes. I did not want to spend the rest of my life counting points and then a friend told me about MFP. After reviewing the program and message boards I was THRILLED. The people on here (for the most part) are very supportive (unlike many of the ones with WW online), I have lost 16 pounds while EATING MORE than I ever did at WW and I have found exercises through this site that I actually enjoy.

Binkie1955

I made lifetime on WW and have nothing but respect for that program and what I learned there. I returned to MFP becasue I recognize the importance and the value of WW but I have nothing but good things to say about WW. congrats.

Gmaybee

I'm also doing both. Trying to see where I'm going wrong. Love WW but I have to pinpoint why I'm haven't been losing in months. Lost over 65 lbs on WW so I know the program works. A co-worker introduced me to MFP. She lost half her weight on this program. So it doesn't hurt to try it.

PosterPens

i LOVED ww, cause it taught me how to eat normal portions again. so i thank them tremendously for that. but after i relearned how to eat, ive cancelled my ww membership and have been here logging foods everyday.

tschaff04

I cancelled my WW membership and joined MFP about 6 months ago. Best thing I ever did. I am doing pretty much the same thing I did on WW, for FREE! Plus I have learned to look at food in a whole new way. Looking at the fats, calories, sodium, carbs, etc. in foods rather than just seeing it as a point.

bethlaf

I've never like ww points and so many foods don't count... With points. That's always set wrong with me.. and
So mfp has no weekly dues all food counts and I get as much support here from my fl as you get from we online..

wanttoloseweight4

hey im on ww and here i use both the only difference with me doing ww is i count my fruit as points!

03221961

Well I am a fellow chocolate addict and I love my chocolate and eat it daily. Being on a eating plan of any type is no reason to give up the dark stuff. Here is my advice to you try switching to dark chocolate it can be done I am a perfect example of that and allow yourself 1 giradilli dark chocolate square a day not only are you satisfying your chocolate craving but switching to the dark chocolate you are reaping the health benefits. By the way down 14 pounds since January and pretty much at goal. Good luck and don't give up chocolate it I called it my healthy antidepressant.

HeidiCooksSupper

I have done Weight Watchers, each time successfully losing weight, in the 1970s, the 1990s and the 2000s. I heartily recommend WW for those who need to learn the basics and to become, perhaps for the first time, aware of different food values and the discipline of weighing and measuring portions. I am now using many things I learned at Weight Watchers and other things I have learned over the years to maintain what is a healthy weight loss plan.

If you want to learn a healthy way to lose weight for the first time and do not want to or cannot spend the individual time it takes to learn the basics of planning a healthy way of eating independently, then Weight Watchers meetings, materials, and weekly weigh ins are a great way to get started.

On the other hand, Weight Watchers also markets a great many products. You do not need to buy any of them to be successful using their program. The only one that is very useful is their points calculator. The food and other things are not at all necessary and may get you off track for learning how to maintain healthy eating habits without crutches.

ken_hogan

I have done Weight Watchers, each time successfully losing weight, in the 1970s, the 1990s and the 2000s. I heartily recommend WW for those who need to learn the basics and to become, perhaps for the first time, aware of different food values and the discipline of weighing and measuring portions. I am now using many things I learned at Weight Watchers and other things I have learned over the years to maintain what is a healthy weight loss plan.

If you want to learn a healthy way to lose weight for the first time and do not want to or cannot spend the individual time it takes to learn the basics of planning a healthy way of eating independently, then Weight Watchers meetings, materials, and weekly weigh ins are a great way to get started.

On the other hand, Weight Watchers also markets a great many products. You do not need to buy any of them to be successful using their program. The only one that is very useful is their points calculator. The food and other things are not at all necessary and may get you off track for learning how to maintain healthy eating habits without crutches.

I couldn't agree more with you than the way you worded this!! I think I learned a lot from when I did WW that I can apply here now. I know that WW is in the business to make $$$, but some of their stuff seemed to cost a little too much to me.

lolyno

I just joined MFP too and I was doing WW I loved it for a while but was at a stand still since joining here I'm done 11 ponds supper happy

sugarchic64

i worked for ww for over 15 years and life happened... so i got tired of the bs as with any job and well no longer work for ww!!! i think its a personal preference on what u like and what works we all know in order to be successful at losing weight and keeping it off is a life style change and creating good healthy habits everyone needs to be accountable, u eat less move more and ta----dummm u loose the weight!!! this is wonderful web site!!! it feels all new to me so im excited!!! and its working!!! so happy loosing everybody!!!! if u bite it write it just be good to urself set your mind to it and get off the booty and MOVE!!!

EllytoSkinny

Welcome! I am very much like you and just cancelled my WW membership last week because I found I was getting the support and tools I needed here. (I was doing the WW monthly pass and am paid up through mid-June.) Both WW and MFP are great, just different ways to track your food and exercise, and get support. I think whichever one works for you is one you should stick with, and what works for some won't work for others.

I love WW because it really helped me to take a look at what I was eating, what kinds of foods I was eating, etc. Now I reach for a banana instead of a 100-calorie pack of Lorna Doones. (I do still have some Doones, though, just not as many That being said, I never had a full understanding of how many calories I was consuming, what my breakdown of protein, fat, carbs, was, and sometimes converting a food to points was confusing (even though I had the app to do this.) I would much rather count calories. I also found that I was becoming obsessive with points and food and it was overwhelming.

I really liked WW because I knew once a week I had to weigh at the meeting and that helped me stay on track. After spending time on the MFP site and starting using these tools (vs. doing WW points) I found I was using MFP more and didn't see why I should continue spending money on WW.

I hope you will find the transition easy. They are many people on this site who have done both and the support here is amazing.

tenpoints4u

I did WW 4 times over the years. I always got to 30-35 pounds and stopped. I was always eating points that were points but didn't go with the category. I'd get frustrated, stop and gain back 45. This site has been the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. It's easy to log in and if you have the chocolate cake at the restaurant it doesn't sugar coat the value. It' will tell you it's 1057 calories. Then it's up to you whether you eat a taste, 1/3 or all of it.
My anniversary was two weeks ago and we went to Chris Ruth's steakhouse. I had the steak, asparagus and mushrooms, but they wanted to give up a piece of cake to celebrate. The cheesecake was 1057 calories and the chocolate cake was over 1300 for A SLICE!!! I told them to give us the cheesecake. I had 300 calories left after logging for the day, so I cut the cake in four pieces. My husband ate two of them and I had one that night and one the next night that was still inside my calorie count. I felt rewarded for the 33 years and in control of myself to only eat the small piece but I was fully satisfied.
This is a wonderful site and the folks I have friended are the absolute best in the world. They have given me such encouragement and during this past week, I have had such stress, but knowing there was a little corner I could go to, log my food in and someone would send me that little hug from afar kept me on track. I never got that with WW and here it is free.
Friend me if you like.