WW...can't do the points!

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danche67
danche67 Posts: 37
in Introduce Yourself
I am done with WW. I just cannot do the whole counting points - just not for me. I heard a lot of great reviews about MFP - lots and lots of supportive peeps here! Can I get some support - sure could use some tips about nutrition. I am a beast in the gym but my downfall is bad choices with food. Hope you give me a try - I will support and motivate in return (scout's honor) - LOL I'm lame.

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  • AtlantaWriter
    AtlantaWriter Posts: 91 Member
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    I disliked Weight Watchers too. I couldn't get the points, either, but mainly I realized I was paying way too much for it, and also I was putting my weight loss program in someone else's hands. With MFP, I am in control of how I follow it, within certain limits, and I don't have to count points or anything like that. It's much more flexible and easy to follow. Best of luck to you!
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    I hated WW too... I felt like I was absolutely starving myself... but on MFP I don't ever feel THAT hungry (you can't loose weight with out being a little hungry right?)
  • Kellylicious01
    Kellylicious01 Posts: 71
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    I lost 124 pounds on WW. Big fan of theirs, sorry! :bigsmile:

    I learned many things on WW. What made it so successful for me is learning that losing weight is more then "eat this, not that". The meetings helped me learn control. I eat for so many reasons. Hunger was usually not my issue. I ate for enjoyment. For celebrations. Out of boredom. When I was tierd. When I was sad. When I was stressed. I could go on and on.

    Also, you would never know it since I was once 265 pounds but I am a picky eater. (Junk...namely chocolate, cookies, and ice cream is my downfall). When it comes to good healthy food there is A LOT that I don't like. I could never survive on other diets. I can look at a diet that has 100 meal plans and find maybe 10 meals that would work for me. WW allowed me to chose my own food and make it work. It also helped my to cut down on the junk food and trade off when I wanted to.

    I was at goal for almost 2 years (with a 130 pounds lost) but then life spun out of control and I gained 30 pounds back. WW then switched to points plus and it didn't work for me so well anymore. What ever they changed in the formula for calculations changed what macros I was getting in and my weight loss basically became nonexistance. I've been struggling on PP+ for over a year now and not getting anywhere so I switched to MFP. I still do WW meetings, though. It keeps me going each week.

    The other thing I dislike about WW is how they basically ignore working out.
  • beths53
    beths53 Posts: 10
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    I too was very successful on the old system on WW. I lost about 40# and felt great. When I tried the new system I seemed to stall - ie not losing any weight. My doctor recommended MFP about 3 weeks ago and so I've been lurking here tracking and trying to learn what I was/am doing wrong.

    I am a great supporter and motivator :)

    I'm looking for people who won't judge and are willing to be supportive with out being critical. I get enough of that everywhere else
  • carebearhere
    carebearhere Posts: 37 Member
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    It worked til I hit my healthy weight range, then my weight plateaued, and I'd never eat my weekly/exercise points, so, as soon as I found MFP, I joined, and it's definitely for me :) I think calorie counting can be a bit overwhelming for people who have never done a diet before, so in that instance, points are good. I also got fed up with being penalized for protein and fibre in certain foods, as you get so focussed on the numbers, you forget about actual nutritional value
  • karenwill2
    karenwill2 Posts: 604 Member
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    I booooo on WW too. I used it but it was far too confusing. I like the straight forwardness of MFP!
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
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    I felt like I was starving on WW... once I lost 60 pounds, my points were so low I couldn't handle their plan anymore and ended up eating back all the weight.

    Look at Scooby's calclator online (google). I found their calculator to be super helpful in setting my daily calories.

    Take what you read on here with a grain of salt. There are pros/cons to just about every side of everything and a lot of people are very opionated :) Learn to read through the lines and make your own decisions.

    Feel free to add me :)
  • Lipstickcherry
    Lipstickcherry Posts: 122 Member
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    I had done WW off and on since I was 9 years old to beginning this year (I am 44 right now). I have seen it change. I once lost 30 lbs. on it (the most I ever did on WW) back in 2004. The online thing helped me but I kept plateauing and it was kind of complicated.

    I am much more hopeful with MFP. I do my own version of Dr. Fuhrman's program (not to the letter if you look at my meals)..the main thing being I keep is to try to eat veggies and fruits, legumes. I try not to eat too many sugars/refine carbs/fats. I try to get some exercise.

    This place has everything I need...accountability, support and a way to easily track everything I eat. When I see my doctor next, I could even bring her a report of what I eat in a week.

    I can even check my vitamins and minerals each day. I need to make sure I get enough iron and protein since I tend to eat plant-based. I don't recall WW having this feature but who knows, maybe they copied it from MFP...
  • Ellas_Time_4_Change
    Ellas_Time_4_Change Posts: 171
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    I hate WW too, I lost heaps of weight on the old points plan but gained most of that weight back because it just was not sustainable long term (high carb, low fat) so I was sick and tired of starving all the time, binging later...I also lost a lot of lean muscle on that old points plan and áctually think their new one is even worse.

    Anyways, Welcome to MFP, I'm sure you'll love it here :wink:
  • greatdanebabies
    greatdanebabies Posts: 42
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    It worked til I hit my healthy weight range, then my weight plateaued, and I'd never eat my weekly/exercise points, so, as soon as I found MFP, I joined, and it's definitely for me :) I think calorie counting can be a bit overwhelming for people who have never done a diet before, so in that instance, points are good. I also got fed up with being penalized for protein and fibre in certain foods, as you get so focussed on the numbers, you forget about actual nutritional value

    I noticed I'm in the red on protein a lot. Seems like everything has protein in it so if you actually eat any boom your over. Is this a bad thing. I would hate to give up my chicken and turkey? I'm trying to learn to eat healthy so just wondering.
  • beekuzz
    beekuzz Posts: 428 Member
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    I almost rejoined WW before finding MFP. no sense in wasting the money when it can go for buying better food.
  • aksimmo
    aksimmo Posts: 3 Member
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    No doubt about it, if you stick to the program WW works. I lost 72 pounds on it 9 years ago and quit once I made goal because of the expense. Gradually I have been putting it back on. I can't afford their meetings, so I joined TOPS instead. It's only $28 a YEAR and I can lose weight any way I want as long as I do it sensibly. MFP seemed like an easy way to track my calories and exercise so I am giving it a try. I love the huge database of foods and the ability to just scan a product's barcode with my smartphone to add it to my food diary. I've lost 8.5 pounds in 2 weeks so I must be doing something right! I hope your journey is successful too!
  • MiaOrange
    MiaOrange Posts: 151 Member
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    I never did Weight Watchers, I did join TOPs over 3 yrs ago. I was 197 now I'm about 147 +/-. I've been doing MFP a little over 1 yr and lost 18 lb. I had lost 22 lb at one point, but gained it back, yo-yoing, some of which is stress related.
  • rvf21402
    rvf21402 Posts: 9 Member
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    I started WW last year and was able to lose 19 pounds in 5 months. Not too successful! I stopped the program because I couldn't really stick to it all the time. But I like MFP much better. I think I will be more successful with this.
  • Bunnaliqua
    Bunnaliqua Posts: 17 Member
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    I was successful in WW on the old plan, with the new plan I wasn't. Then I blew all the hard work I did and gained a bunch of weight back.

    In Feb I decided to get back on track but the new WW system just wasn't working for me. I decided to not do WW and use the money to join some fitness classes. Now that I've found MFP I'm REALLY back on track. It's helped me so much and I LOVE it!

    It's great to have so many food items in the data base. On the WW online tracking system, it seemed like if it didn't think you should be eating that food, it didn't exist in their tracking system.

    I also like that with MFP you can see what you're friends are up to and they can see the hard work I am doing too! It's all very encouraging! :)
  • Lipstickcherry
    Lipstickcherry Posts: 122 Member
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    Warning...random thought...

    I just had this thought...

    When I met my beloved, it was through okcupid (I have been with him for 1 year and half). I tried other online dating profiles. I noticed since I was on them a lot, that the ones you paid money for did not seem to have all the feature the FREE ones like plenty of fish and okcupid had. It seemed that the FREE sites tested out features, then the ones that charged got wind of those features and incorprated them in. The Christiancafe.com really sucked for me the most.

    Weight Watchers to me monetizes outside of ads, you pay upfront, so there seems to be less incentive to be different, innovative anymore. They WERE different when they started out back in 2002 or so with the website logging online (used to be you had to fax in a copy of your meetings ticket thing to prove you attended meeting to get a discount, which I did at the time). I think the people running this website care deeply about the experience and they are looking everyday to add new innovative ways to help the user experience.

    That all said, if WW works for anybody, my hat's off to you. I just like this place better 10 x...and it's FREE! :smooched:
  • SMJ1987
    SMJ1987 Posts: 368
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    WW worked really well for me- I lost about 40 lbs in 6 months. That being said I was in university at the time and kept to a very routine schedule so it was easy to plan my points and what not. Now that I am working out a lot I need to eat more and can no longer follow the points system. Both MFP and WW are good...it just depends on your situation.

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