MFP vs. WW

Janelle38
Janelle38 Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
This is only my first week doing MFP. I was down 3 lbs, now Im up the same 3, all within a week. (I suspect its water, as Ive been using more salt due to a soup I made)
When I did WW last year, I lost 6.4 lbs the first week, then .5-3 lbs each week after, for 16 weeks, and lost 30 lbs in that time.
The calorie intake was similar to this, Im at 1200 calories on MFP, and on WW I would be at 28 pp/ day (1pp is ABOUT 40 calories)
However there is a difference- most fruit and vegetables are "free" on WW, even bananas.... so I could eat more.
I think I lost more doing WW. (but its likely to early to say)
Anyone familiar with WW 2011/ 2012 points plus have any opinion? should I stop counting my fruit and veg?
I want the next 30 lbs to peel off a easy as it did before, but cant afford to continue ww meetings or pay online. I like being able to log my food here and connect with like-minded people who are on a similar journey.
Thoughts please :)

Replies

  • kimberliiw
    kimberliiw Posts: 242 Member
    I just lost more in one month on MFP than I did in three months doing WW. I don't think there's a right way or wrong way, it's really how you use it. I find that I track more precisely on here than on WW. Plus on here if you have one item in the morning and one item in the evening it's always the same number of calories, whereas on WW it could be a different number of points than if you had it all at one time. Good luck, I also enjoy the free aspect.
  • barbara4599
    barbara4599 Posts: 114 Member
    I did WW in the past and did lose weight, but didn't keep it off as I went back to my naught ways!. I really like MFP better and have honestly ate better here. It's a more supportive group and calories vs points is easier and kept me healthier in my food choices. Good luck whatever you do!
  • Yummamamma
    Yummamamma Posts: 79 Member
    This is strictly my opinion, and I was wondering the same thing to myself the other day.

    Why pay for WW when every tool you could possibly need is right here on MFP!

    I would suspect sodium is the culprit, this is why I log EVERYTHING. Even zero cal drinks. Then I can look at my dietary info and see why my weight is not doing what I want.
    Hang in there, and remember its not a race!
    Good luck girl :)
  • smiling_sushi
    smiling_sushi Posts: 46 Member
    I did WW ages ago (I think maybe 8-10 years ago now), mostly because my parents were doing it and I was in high school at the time, so therefore I pretty much ate what they bought and served. It was easy enough, I suppose, and I did lose weight, but gained it all back (and then some) when I went to college.

    One of the big differences between WW and MFP is that MFP really forces you to examine your macros (carbs/fat/protein) whereas in WW those values are sort of hidden. You could eat bananas all day long and be within your points, but completely miss out getting enough protein, or something like that.

    I think I ate a LOT more processed food when I was on WW. It was too easy - they sell all of those frozen meals and 100 calories snack bags and whatnot. And yeah, I could technically eat that same processed food now and log it on MFP, but I would probably notice how ridiculous my carbs and sodium values are.

    One good thing that I took away from WW and continue to use now is their cookbook recipes. My parents bought several of their cookbooks and I made copies of my favorite recipes. Many of the recipes make great meals and have the bonus of including all of the nutritional information.

    In the end, I prefer MFP because it's free, it has a great community, and the tracking system reflects reality instead of vague points.
  • kjw1031
    kjw1031 Posts: 300 Member

    One of the big differences between WW and MFP is that MFP really forces you to examine your macros (carbs/fat/protein) whereas in WW those values are sort of hidden. You could eat bananas all day long and be within your points, but completely miss out getting enough protein, or something like that.

    I think I ate a LOT more processed food when I was on WW. It was too easy - they sell all of those frozen meals and 100 calories snack bags and whatnot. And yeah, I could technically eat that same processed food now and log it on MFP, but I would probably notice how ridiculous my carbs and sodium values are.

    I completely agree with all of this.

    I did WW until a few months ago. It's a great program and you can lose weight. That said, I now prefer MFP.

    FOR ME, WW does not promote a balance of macros. I would seek out low point foods, no matter what they were, and avoid high point foods, even if they're healthy. I tracked both here and at WW online for about 6 weeks and I was really appalled at how high my carbs were and how low my protein and fat were. One day, my WW foods added up to 1100 calories and 12 grams of fat. Yes, that included my 0 point fruits and veggies.

    I do believe I'm eating more healthy here. I'm losing about 1 pound per week eating foods that I can continue eating for the rest of my life.

    WW does have it's strengths, but so does MFP. Everyone is different and should go with what works best for them. If you were able to eat more and lose with WW, go for it. You know the points system and can probably track those yourself. I find that I eat much more and more satisfying foods with MFP at this point in my life.
  • Nerdybreisawesome
    Nerdybreisawesome Posts: 359 Member
    This is only my first week doing MFP. I was down 3 lbs, now Im up the same 3, all within a week. (I suspect its water, as Ive been using more salt due to a soup I made)

    Why are you weighing yourself more than once in a week? Choose a WI and day just go by that weight.
  • staciw
    staciw Posts: 58 Member
    I've done both. Lost 32 lbs on WW, and gained it back. Lost 16 on MFP then gained a lot of that back. And now I've come back to MFP to work on the rest. However, I think that MFP is a better choice for me. When I've done WW in the past, I've been obsessive about food. Always worrying how many points Im eating. Afraid to eat out if I didnt have my point calculator with me. As far as success goes, I think they both work - if you follow them. I agree with previous posters - I eat food that it healthier using MFP. I tend to focus on proteins that hold me longer rather than low point rice cakes that have no nutriional value and make me crave more carbs later. Couting calories is easier than tracking points, I think. No doubt, WW works. But this does too - and it's free and I think it helps me eat smarter. Good luck!
  • ktweld
    ktweld Posts: 28 Member
    I tried WW in the past and failed. WW is a good program especially if you attend meetings with a group of friends (that competitive reason is what was attractive to me) but as friends drop out and life gets in the way, the meetings became more of a chore and that was the end for me. I looked into trying the on-line method when I came across this site and all I can say is WOW! Why would I possibly pay for WW when I can get this for free. I have a community of like-minded folks and I log everything. This is my 1st real journal that is "in my face" and it is an eye opener and creates accountability - at least for me. I enjoy logging in and I love lurking on open diaries to find food choices. I am starting to pay attention to my other nutrition factors and am trying to find a way to export my weekly data to excel so I can see my weakness (currently sugar). Everyone also tells me that the site is constantly improving so its a no-brainer for me. I am new but I plan on being here until my goals are met and maintained.
  • jodie091
    jodie091 Posts: 46
    I have tried WW numerous times (well 2 or 3) and found that yes I lost the weight then gained it back again, the new Propoints plan just didn't work for me at all hardly lost a thing.

    One interesting thing I have found that is a big difference between WW and MFP is that one meal of theirs was 8 points or 9, can't remember, which was a good third of my daily points but was only 300ish calories which is about 20% of my daily calories. I felt ripped off by that.

    MFP is much more comprehensive and teaches you to eat correctly and not rely on prepackaged foods and snacks.

    Well thats just IMHO anyways

    Cheers
  • tiffanympm
    tiffanympm Posts: 62
    A coworker was on WW and she lost 35lbs in the first month. She recommended it to me.

    I don't think I'd get what I need on WW. I need to learn how to eat. I need to learn to eat better. WW teaches you a way to lose weight. It doesn't teach you to eat better.

    Just my two cents.
  • togden
    togden Posts: 324 Member
    I literally just canceled my account effective October 12th (this Friday) .... i personally am not sure it is very accurate because WW gave me 67 points a day to eat when i logged in 67points worth of food into my MFP account I was eating almost double the calorie intake MFP allotted ..... I then decided to track the food i are with MFP then transfer to WW and found very consistently i was eating approximately 33 - 37 points worth if food a day and the weight started peeling off ..... I'm currently only weighing once a month but for 2 weeks of July, August and September I'm down 19lbs using the calories of MFP!

    PS ..... when i get home i can share with you a link to a WW calculator that is currently accurate for pointplus values which is FREE! Another reason to cancel a WW account .... :-)
  • togden
    togden Posts: 324 Member
    HOW TO FOLLOW WEIGHT WATCHERS FOR FREE!!!!

    http://freckleberryfinds.com/2012/01/how-to-get-weight-watchers-for-free-really/ :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy:
  • xtrout
    xtrout Posts: 193 Member
    Both are good ways to lose. I personally am sticking with MFP as I lost more weight in the 2 months of following it than I did in 6 months on WW. Because the fruit is "Free" and you have the extra points, the WW weight loss is too slow for me. I need to see results to keep me motivated.

    Having said that, my wife is still doing WW and has upped her weight loss by not eating the extra points and also not including points she earns from exercise.

    Both teach you about portion control and calorie counting. I think it comes down to preference. I see WW as more as a visual thing. How the points are processed in your mind just works better for some folks.

    So at the end of the day, do what works for you. There are many ways to the same goal.
  • EatClean_WashUrNuts
    EatClean_WashUrNuts Posts: 1,590 Member
    Never judge a program within it's first week. Run the course of a similar time frame. 6 weeks vs 6weeks, or 16 vs 16. Ensure that you are comparing apples to apples and not apples to apple pie.
  • theoblivion1968
    theoblivion1968 Posts: 9 Member
    I used ww and now on mfp, I find its the lack of an android app that does it for me, only has an iphone app and since theres now more android phones they dont seem to cater for the masses,
  • PandaLinky
    PandaLinky Posts: 4
    Both are good ways to lose. I personally am sticking with MFP as I lost more weight in the 2 months of following it than I did in 6 months on WW. Because the fruit is "Free" and you have the extra points, the WW weight loss is too slow for me. I need to see results to keep me motivated.

    Having said that, my wife is still doing WW and has upped her weight loss by not eating the extra points and also not including points she earns from exercise.

    Both teach you about portion control and calorie counting. I think it comes down to preference. I see WW as more as a visual thing. How the points are processed in your mind just works better for some folks.

    So at the end of the day, do what works for you. There are many ways to the same goal.

    I never thought about adding the 49 points!! I've been wondering why my daily calorie goal, which is 1520, is so much higher than my daily points allowance, which is 31 points. Each point is about 40 calories which would give me 1240 daily calories... it was making me really nervous that I was going to be eating more calories now than I had been following weight watchers but I just divided up the 49 points which is an additional 7 points a day which would total 1520 daily calories... its exact! Wow. Although you said your wife has upped her weight loss NOT eating those points lol. Just glad to know I'm not going to be eating way more than before.

    I'm really loving all the feedback to this questions because I've been wondering the same thing as I've been a WW follower for quite some time, but I really like the concept of MFP. Change is always scary though!
  • missy5277
    missy5277 Posts: 88 Member
    I did WW about 6 months ago and personally i prefer MFP. I am more accurate and careful with what i eat on MFP than WW and i dont know why, however the one thing that i took away from WW is that i will eat fruits any time i feel like eating something for "free" i still look at them as free foods because it is a healthy snack, if i think of it as a banana is 90 cal why not eat chocolate for 90 cal i would be in trouble! i'm not going to punish myself for eating a healthy thing.
  • stljam
    stljam Posts: 512 Member
    I would suspect sodium is the culprit, this is why I log EVERYTHING. Even zero cal drinks. Then I can look at my dietary info and see why my weight is not doing what I want.

    I do the same and have noted a bit of a sodium corelation.
  • Crayvn
    Crayvn Posts: 390 Member
    This is only my first week doing MFP. I was down 3 lbs, now Im up the same 3, all within a week. (I suspect its water, as Ive been using more salt due to a soup I made)

    Why are you weighing yourself more than once in a week? Choose a WI and day just go by that weight.

    ^^^this
  • morgaine108
    morgaine108 Posts: 53
    I lost over 100 lbs on WW about 10 years ago and now I am doing mfp. I think WW can teach you to eat better, but not in any way really that mfp doesn't do. I agree that you end up eating too many carbs with WW. I do wish sometimes though that I could have all those free fruits and veggies! Plus with WW it would have you check off eating fruits and veggies, and although I do fairly well with that on mfp, I know some days I should eat alot more and if I had a check off for that here, I think it might help. I think this is a little more sustainable and transparent and helps you learn more about the content of what you are eating. I tended to eat alot more low fat stuff on WW because it was low points but that has alot of added sugar, and your body needs some of those fats! I rarely go over my fat allotment on here and I generally don't worry about how much fat I'm eating and it turns out fine. I eat ALOT more protein here and that is going to help me keep going. I did like the in person meetings and having a cheering squad of people that you actually meet and talk with in real life, but it's not worth the extra money to me.
  • shirleygirl910
    shirleygirl910 Posts: 503 Member
    WW is a healthy "diet" plan, but MFP seems to be a life style change for me. One of the ladies I work with has lost about 60 lbs, she looks great and I hope she can keep it off. Right now she's fighting them over where she should be at maintenance. One of the things I love about MFP is that you get to choose what is healthy, you don't have to go strickly by the BMI chart. MFP also encourages a lot more exercise. I want to be firm, not just a certain weight. No one is going to know my weight unless I tell them or jump on the scale in front of them. When they look at me and see the toneness, it speaks for itself.
  • smudgeroo
    smudgeroo Posts: 45
    A friend of mine has worked very hard at WW and lost 4 stone (56 lbs) so far. She is loving it and I applaud her success. But me, I'm a control freak. I know that for me the points system is too vague - I want to know EXACTLY how many calories I'm eating, and then I know I have to lose weight.
    Added to that, the MFP community is so supportive, and it's become part of my life now to log my food and exercise, and check in with my buddies online every day. And as I have My Fitness Pals all over the world, there is always someone awake and online to encourage me or help me through a sticky spot. If I went to WW, I would meet a much narrower demographic, and only once a week. I'm just doing what works for me!
  • LittleMissDover
    LittleMissDover Posts: 820 Member
    On WW I had a tendency to eat junk as long as it fit into my 'points', I know I could do that on MFP too but I don't tend to as I can see the other macros and it makes me think more.

    Do what suits you although 30lb over 15/16 weeks is a little unrealistic anyway and not sustainable IMO, 1lb a week is healthy, steady and will help you keep it off in the long term.
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    I've done both WW (old points) and MFP and been successful on both, although with WW I did initially lose a lot quicker (fruit wasn't free just certain veg, I was heavier than now and walked 3 miles a day because of work), but it's about even. However I've stuck at MFP for a longer period of time, it's just easier and less faffy, so MFP works for me and most of all ITS FREE!!! I'd rather spend the money on Zumba classes.

    But if you found yourself being more successful on WW maybe go back to that, just do whatever works best for you. :) I still apply some of the things I used to eat on WW to this diet, like butternut squash wedges and padding out meals with loads of veg.
  • jmudukz
    jmudukz Posts: 2 Member
    I'm a repeat offender at WW and new to MFP. I can tell you that I've tracked/journeled more in my short time on MFP then I ever did in WW. Not sure why, I suspect it's b/c I'm seeing real calories and not points and to ME, that makes a difference. My biggest concern with WW is how easy it was to still eat empty calories. WW no longer uses calories to figure out points, it's all fat, protein, carbs and fiber. Therefore, it's possible to eat a lot of things that are high calorie, but with enough fiber to lower the point value (if you've ever read the back of a weight watchers product and compared it to a non-WW product, you'll see the difference!!). At the end of the day, it's still calories in/calories out that helps you lose weight. Also, all those "free" fruits and veggies DO have calories and those can add up (if I eat my 32 points in "real" food and then another 1000 calories in "free" food - I'm not losing...) Just my 2 cents....
  • kjw1031
    kjw1031 Posts: 300 Member
    I'm a repeat offender at WW and new to MFP. I can tell you that I've tracked/journeled more in my short time on MFP then I ever did in WW. Not sure why, I suspect it's b/c I'm seeing real calories and not points and to ME, that makes a difference. My biggest concern with WW is how easy it was to still eat empty calories. WW no longer uses calories to figure out points, it's all fat, protein, carbs and fiber. Therefore, it's possible to eat a lot of things that are high calorie, but with enough fiber to lower the point value (if you've ever read the back of a weight watchers product and compared it to a non-WW product, you'll see the difference!!). At the end of the day, it's still calories in/calories out that helps you lose weight. Also, all those "free" fruits and veggies DO have calories and those can add up (if I eat my 32 points in "real" food and then another 1000 calories in "free" food - I'm not losing...) Just my 2 cents....

    I must agree. I was just arguing over on the thread that's talking about cake that is 0 WW points.

    Really? 0 point cake? What is happening to the flour and sugar that's being eaten? Is it just disappearing in the stomach?

    It's just too easy to "work the system" with the current WW program. I have loved WW for a long time, but this is one of the reasons I prefer MFP right now. There's no way to try to get something for nothing.

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