I might break up with Weight Watchers...

Hey Y'all,

I've been doing WW for about a year and a half now. I lost 30 pounds; but find myself getting sick of points tracking. I still have about 10 pounds to go for Goal and have yet to get there.

Has anyone decided to leave WW and found better success here? The message boards here, alone, seem a LOT friendlier than WW. One time, they were just snarky and rude.

I think it would be better to just track calories and excercise-instead of having to always figure out points.

(Plus, I did a 10K yesterday and the excercise function at WW groups certain speeds together. I should get more credit for walking at 4mph and higher, than a slower 3mph pace..)

Any advice or input you can give me would be great! Anyone who has tried both, let me know!

Maybe this can help me lose those last 10 pounds....
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Replies

  • pg3ibew
    pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
    Oh, It has gotten a bit snarky and rude in here as well. LOL

    I have never done weight watchers, but MFP has been like finding a hidden gold mine, with the gold sitting in neat little piles for me to walk away with. That is how good I think MFP is.


    EDIT: Good luck to you with the rest of your journey.
  • I love MFP SO much more than WW! It's easier, tracking is MUCH easier, and it's FREE!
  • Mere_the_Mermaid
    Mere_the_Mermaid Posts: 13 Member
    Ha, LOVED the gold mine analogy. :)

    I need to get one of those neat little weight trackers you have on your profile...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Oh, It has gotten a bit snarky and rude in here as well. LOL

    I have never done weight watchers, but MFP has been like finding a hidden gold mine, with the gold sitting in neat little piles for me to walk away with. That is how good I think MFP is.


    EDIT: Good luck to you with the rest of your journey.

    Never done WW myself...for the past few years just been reading articles about various weight loss/work out regimens. A friend of mine introduced to MFP and I really like it.

    Good luck! Feel free to add me if you like...
  • Mere_the_Mermaid
    Mere_the_Mermaid Posts: 13 Member
    Seahawk,
    Did you find yourself losing more on here? It seems SO much easier to just find calories. Tracking points for a year and a half can take up a lot of time. It's just more time consuming. :(
  • skrakalaka
    skrakalaka Posts: 338 Member
    I just cancelled my WW account. No weight loss in 6 months, then 2 lbs lost here in 6 days. And I'm not miserable anymore! Not to mention the extra$$ in the pocket.
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    I did weight watchers with little success before. I would tire of all of the points tracking... And couldn't figure out why counting points was supposed to be easier than just tracking Kcal.

    And I like it around here. Lots of good advice from MFPers. And it is FREE!!!!
  • T34418l3angel
    T34418l3angel Posts: 474 Member
    Ha, LOVED the gold mine analogy. :)

    I need to get one of those neat little weight trackers you have on your profile...

    To get the weight tracker click on the "tools" tab :)
  • Josee76
    Josee76 Posts: 533 Member
    I'm a lifetime member at WW. Lost over 100lbs tracking points when I was in my 20's. MFP is free and not as complicated as point tracking.... this is where it's at! :)
  • I did WW for a very short time. It was okay. I don't think I ever gave it a real shot though. The biggest thing was how the points could fall. You could have one serving of something and it was 2 points or what ever. And then you think ok ill just double it to 4 if I want another serving and then you track it and it would come out to 5! I get that the points arnt perfect but I like having more specific numbers. I also like how MFP breaks down your day and that its free ;)
  • zigeuner62
    zigeuner62 Posts: 88 Member
    Hi and welcome. I did WW too but got tired of figuring out the points all the time. MFP is so much better for tracking your food.
    Much success to you on your last leg of the journey.
  • What I like better about this is that it is real.. there is no conversion required... Calories, fat, fibre, protein.. those are real calculations and knowing what you should eat and how much is important, not just converting it into points for the rest of your life... I have lost weight on WW before and I know lots of people love it, but for me, MFP was so much better.. and realistic. I also love the support I get here and it sure doesn't hurt that it's free either. :) Lots of luck to you.
  • mercy1mercy1
    mercy1mercy1 Posts: 3 Member
    yah i did weight watchers for yrs-i broke up with them as well....needed more protein for weight training -sometimes tracking calories isn't always easy...i just know there are things that i do eat and things that i never eat and try to keep track of my exercise
  • amh50530
    amh50530 Posts: 17 Member
    I did WW with my mom for around 2 years. I lost about 40 pounds and felt like it was really working. Then they switched it to the Points Plus. I don't have anything against WW, as I did lose weight following their points system, but I feel like it encouraged me to make some pretty poor food choices as long as they were within my allotted points for the day. I would eat a few slices of pizza and that would be all I would eat because I had used up all 28 of my points! I find that just browsing the internet looking for recipes, healthy foods, healthy substitutions for my favorite higher fat recipes, etc. is easier than tracking the points. I write in a journal what I eat, when i eat it, and what my workout is for the day. I actually started using MFP because I figured it is easier to actually type instead of writing it all! Do you have a specific workout you do or favorite healthy foods? I am always looking for new workouts and healthy recipes.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
    I joined weight watchers in June. My sister talked me into joining MFP, but I didn't really get started using it until early/mid August. I originally was going to see the difference between points and calories, and then stop using MFP. Well, I am now totally addicted to MFP. Weight watchers helped me a lot at first. I learned to pay attention to what I was eating, and going to the weigh ins held me accountable. But by tracking calories I started noticing that I was eating too little on WW. Unless I was absolutely perfect with my eating, I was getting below 1200 calories, and that was before exercise. So, I am about to break up with WW as well. I've still been going to weigh in, but I stopped tracking points officially 1.5 weeks ago. I track my exercises on MFP as well. And my local Y is getting ready to start a weight loss program in September that runs for 12 weeks. So I think Wednesday will be my last official weigh in at WW. I don't have a problem with WW. I just think this is a better fit for me right now.

    Good luck on your jouney.
  • sheluvshells2
    sheluvshells2 Posts: 8 Member
    I did WW for years on and off. This program has been much simpler by far, not to mention it's FREE!! I love it, love it, love it!
  • i am new to mfp i was on ww for about 1 1/2 yrs. & lost 87 lbs. 3 mos ago i stopped smoking & i gained a lot of weight because i was eating everything. my daughter-in-law introduced me to mfp. i really like it. best of all it's free & not to different from ww. been on it 3 days. already lost 3 lbs.
  • imaheal
    imaheal Posts: 63 Member
    I am a lifetime WW member. I did really well on their old points system. They lost me when they changed to the new points system. Eat all the fruit you want??? Yeah, right! I love this website, MFP. It has been great and I lost from 201.5 to 160 in about 6 months. 160 was my goal. ( I know that sounds too big, too. But I am older and do not look good under that!) Plus it keeps up with some of your nutrients. Has lots of advice from others and it is FREE! I think you'll enjoy the change!:drinker:
  • margojr4
    margojr4 Posts: 259 Member
    I did WW after my son was born back in 2007 per my endocrinologist's orders to help keep my sugar in check because it focused on 'good healthy guidelines'. I switched over to MFP to keep a better check on my carb and sugar intake. A point isnt a point when a calorie isnt a calorie. They both work in different ways.

    So with MFP I can track macros as needed, have easy to enter recipes, awesome support and its all FREE! haha

    Add me if you'd like :)
  • loretta5ue
    loretta5ue Posts: 16 Member
    If you already know what to eat (healthy, whole foods) and don't go to "meetings" save your money and break it off. Once you get to a certain level of fitness most of the staff (and website) doesn't apply anymore.

    Though it's nice to have "free fruit" it stops working if you have a food journal filled with fruits and vegetables.
  • lowerbsnow
    lowerbsnow Posts: 26 Member
    I have been much happier with MFP than WW. I lost 40 some pounds at WW, but wasn't all that happy there. I don't like weighing there and getting the comments from the person weighing me, who doesn't know anything about me. I like to be in control of myself. Feel free to read my profile.

    I love the support from my MFP friends!
  • I did good with weight watchers a few years ago. Then I got pregnant and quit smoking,so now here I am. I'm kind of doing the weight watchers plan on MFP. MFP is awesome because it is FREE!! I have been doing MFP for 3 weeks and have lost 9 lbs.
  • Just_Pam
    Just_Pam Posts: 23 Member
    I have done WW twice and both times I lost about 40-50 lbs and then gave up. Point counting is just not 'normal' lol I would not eat certain things because I couldn't find the point value and why convert CALORIES into points values (which isnt so easy now with pro points anyway) when you can just count calories?

    I haven't lost as much weight as fast in the last 6 months but after 6 months I also don't feel the need to 'take a break from counting' Its just part of my life now. I believe this time it really is for life. Its just so much easier!

    Calories in vs calories out, what could be easier?
  • I cancelled my WW and I love what I am doing now so much better.

    I have purchased and started using Fitbit a little over a week ago and the combination of tracking my food here and combining the Fitbit tracker has caused me an incredible sense of accountability and ease. Pror to the Fitbit I was using a pedometer and it was just tracking one small lthing. The Fitbit counts everything and it is so acurate!

    Fitbit and My Fitness Pal interact and it is as simple as syncing and you can get as involved as you want or simple as you want. It is totally awesome and helpful.

    I also love the boards on both.
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
    I left WW because I lost my job and it stopped working. I got 25 pounds off and I plateaued for 4 months until I joined MFP. I still get emails from them asking for me to come back like a drunk ex-boyfriend. :P
  • I broke up with WW as well. For me it was not so much about the tracking because you have to track on MFP if you want to be successful. For me it was more about learning how to eat. With WW I had the idea that I can eat whatever I wanted as long as I stayed under my points, and with MFP you are more cautious about what you eat because of the low calorie goal, not to mention that you are not only watching the cal count, but you are watching carbs, fat, protein ect. I am not knocking ww because It is an excellent diet, however MFP seems to be more real. I have only been on MFP a week and not discouraged and I can see myself sticking with this, as with WW, one week and I was pretty much over it. I lost like 4 pounds in the first 5 days here, so we will see where it goes from here. Another good thing is MFP is free.
  • jms3533
    jms3533 Posts: 316 Member
    I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers, and MFP is leaps and bounds better than WW. With MFP, you eat "real" food, and learn how to balance your lifestyle by counting calories and exercising. Keep it simple. Think of your MFP account like your bank account. You don't want an overage, so track everything that goes in your mouth.

    This site rocks!
  • herky
    herky Posts: 68 Member
    I have never done WW but a couple of my coworkers have been doing it, and it sounds like hell. True, they have been losing weight, but they are constantly worrying about every single point, even in things like a single M&M, and on days they have meetings, they don't eat at all in case they add an extra third of a pound to their weigh-in. MFP is FREE, and it makes more sense to track calories and nutrients (rather than points) so you can make a lifestyle change that you can keep doing. Good luck to you!
  • losinghollyann
    losinghollyann Posts: 9 Member
    I just broke up with Weight Watchers after one year, and 30 pounds too. I have been just paying the monthly fee, and not going, for about the past 3 months. I LOVE MFP, though, and find that using this and a Fitbit (which I use, synched with MFP), I am MUCH more involved in my weight loss and fitness goals. I love tracking calories instead of points, and it just seems a more honest way to lose weight. Good luck, and lose that last little bit!!! I, unfortunately, still have about 84 to go. But, I am so much better than I was a year ago and I know that I can do it. So can you.
  • skankamaggot
    skankamaggot Posts: 146 Member
    I was on WW for about 6 months before coming here. I switched because of the financial aspect and I'm glad I did. I was excited to see I could still lose weight OFF weight watchers and I've been steadily losing weight since exclusively using MFP. Also, their mobile app/barcode scanner is waaaaay better and easier to use. The MFP food database is HUGE compared to WW. I can find store brands of almost everything in MFP database whereas WW had *NONE*.