Weight Watchers..paying for it, help you stick with it?

this is anecdotal but every person i have met personally that did weight watchers never seemed to lose any real weight.

find some supportive people on here and have them help you set up a plan and track your calories.

good luck!

It depends on the person. I was a WW member for like 8 years. I find MFP to be much simpler, and I like it a lot better. I think WW can be frustrating because it focuses too much on the scale, sometimes you are losing fat and it doesn't always reflect that on the scale. WW also does not help you learn about macros, which I believe are important. The points that I was allotted were also WAY to low in calories. I would still be starving on 1000 calories a day if I was continuing that route. Using MFP properly teaches lifestyle, not "dieting".

I lost weight with weight watchers before when I was heavier. I wasn't a big fan of the changes they made (fruit =0 pints+=zero weight loss for me). Also the database is way better here. Paying for it didn't make me stay with it any better. The "friends" features/activity, and more active message boards on MFP help me stay more motivated then paying for it did for WW.

I lost a good deal of weight with WW. I bounced though, once I realized they care not about improving one's health or fitness, but just losing weight.


Paying for it did NOT motivate me to stick to it. My desire to no longer be fat and lazy did, though.

It depends on the person. I was a WW member for like 8 years. I find MFP to be much simpler, and I like it a lot better. I think WW can be frustrating because it focuses too much on the scale, sometimes you are losing fat and it doesn't always reflect that on the scale. WW also does not help you learn about macros, which I believe are important. The points that I was allotted were also WAY to low in calories. I would still be starving on 1000 calories a day if I was continuing that route. Using MFP properly teaches lifestyle, not "dieting".

I totally agree with you!!

I have SERIOUS motivation issues. I know lots of folks here don't like or don't advocate weight watchers, but..I would like to hear from anyone that has done WW.
Did paying the money every month help motivate you to stay on track?
Thanks

If you aren't motivated now you won't be motivated even when paying someone to track your food.

I have done WW and you still need to have your own motivation. If you don't, you won't stick with it.

If you lack motivation it might be best to take a break and not try to lose weight until you do have the motvation you need. No one can motivate you but you.

I paid for WW for about 2 years, went only the first 6 mo or so. I lost 15 pounds, and then gained it all back by being slack about tracking.
I didn't like the shift to Points Plus either, and I didn't like any of the "leaders" whose meetings I attended: so middle-aged, middle-class judgmental. I have done MFP for only a week, and I find that it promotes a LOT less protein (which I like: living lighter on the planet) and more complex carbs. I think WW is easier in terms of points tracking, but I feel I am more accountable for EVERYTHING I eat and ALL the exercise I do on MFP.
I had tons of excuses for contining w WW even though I wasn't attending, so for me the issue of $10 a week wasn't really a factor in motivating me. They really focus on food and less on exercise and I am interested in being more fit through working out.

I have not personally done WW but I feel like it's your mindset. I also think it's probably a lot easier to figure out what you're eating in a new environment, since by counting calories you soon come to realize how much is a serving size/how many calories it may have. WW you HAVE to rely on the points system and you have to pay as well.

Save your money for a gym membership, or some new clothes once you've lost the weight. That will help you keep off the weight for good. Feel free to add if you need support.

I know a lot of people who have done really well on WW...but they went to the meetings. I never lost anything because no one could really explain the weekly points to me. Eat them or don't wasn't the information I was looking for. In fact, I gained inches when I was working out and going to WW meetings. If it is working for you, I would stick with it, but I think it is the meetings not the points that help people.

Also, I felt like I wasn't big enough to see a hugh difference with their system. Everyone who has lost a ton at my meetings was either post-partum or making MAJOR lifestyle choices. Not that I don't have a good amount to loose, but I already know how to eat. I was just looking for a tracking system. Also, I don't feel like the points system really teaches you about nutrition.

I have lost 100s on weight watchers but I had to develope my own eating plan and points system for it to work. I do and don't follow the old system and I do it allllll for free. I have a phone app and anything that I want to know is online for free. To start calories are calories, an apple is 1 point and a high fiber cookie is 1 point. Second, exercise points are banked, for every 100 calories burned it is 1 point..I figure out my exact calories burned on freedieting.com. You can carry them over but only to Sunday, come Monday you have to start over..Third, eat your median points, if your range is 26 to 31 then you eat 29 points. Forth only drop 1 point per 10 to 20 pounds lost not 2 to 3 points..fifth, if you over eat, workout, burn the amount you over ate back to your max points..say I ate 33 points and my max is 31 I need to do 30 minutes more walking to burn those 2 points, makes you more accountable. Sixth, keep track and account for everything MFP is great for that..Hope this helps you and good luck

When I made Lifetime in May of 2011, I was asked 'how long did it take you to lose the weight?' I answered with all honesty, '25 years but results aren't typical.'
I first joined WW as a 17 year old, returning from my year in Israel 25 pounds heavier. I didn't lose any weight with that first time and I didn't lose any weight in the numerous times I joined and rejoined and joined again over the years. Why didn't I lose? Because I wasn't ready.
I gained another 25 pounds during college and the first few years of marital bliss and I stood in the WW registration line a few more times but I never got very far. The simple fact is that I wasn't ready and motivated to make a change. I would get all excited to start the diet, as I thought of it, and then I would lose interest after a week. I tried Sugarbusters, Fit for Life, Atkins, Suzanne Somers....
It was only six years ago that I made the decision to change the way I ate because I was suffering from GI issues. I lost 18 pounds in four months and soon started exercising a few times a week. Over that time, I would see the scale go up, only when my head wasn't in the game and I was thinking of it as a diet. It was only when I accepted it as a lifestyle that I got 'it' and I've been able to keep it off. I go to weekly meetings for the accountability and the support. I know I could weigh in once a month but I need to go regularly or else I will get into that place where I think I can push off a 'bad' weigh in or try it on my own for a change. I used to hate tracking but these days, I do it and I have no issue with it. It keeps me accountable and honest. And I am saying this as a Lifetime member at goal for over 1 1/2 years now.

I can't answer about weight watchers but this is a variation of the gym membership sales pitch. You know, if you shell out all that money you'll most definitely use it because it's just a waste if you don't. How full are the gyms in January? How full are they by mid February?

This line of thinking may work for some people but for most I don't imagine that it does.

No, strangely it didn't...no idea why as it seems logical that it should. I also used to get very down when I hadn't lost but had stuck to it, whilst others who gigglingly admitted a whole host of bad eating that week, had lost. I much prefer this (free) site and am constantly inspired by others' stories and encouragement. Good luck with your journey whatever way you choose.

A man I work with lost over 200 lbs on weight watchers. He tracks everything he eats right into his phone. I tried it and lost about 7 lbs and got stuck there for months. I went in for my annual check up and my triglycerides were 491 and everything else was bad, too. I have struggled with my lipids over the years and my doctor told me I have metabolic syndrome and to avoid carbs, so I did until ww. Once on ww, my carbs increased. It was fun eating bread and popcorn again, but my system can not handle carbs. I went to an endocrinologist and he told me I am pre-pre-diabetic and put me on Metformin. He said my pancreas is working overtime producing insulin and although my blood sugars are normal, all of that insulin makes me hungry and also, my pancreas will eventually become exhausted and stop working--causing diabetes. So I tried the metformin and I am not very hungry at all anymore. I have lost 7 lbs in 2.5 weeks. I am now 12 lbs down from where I started.

I have rejoined the Y and I am making myself go there 5 days a week to burn at least 200 calories a day.

I sent ww a note asking if they had special help for someone that needed to avoid carbs and I got back a form letter telling me to join a meeting. I dropped weightwatchers and was looking for a program that will help me track carbs. I found this and it looks so much like the weight watchers program in the way it tracks but this program also tells me how many carbs I am eating. I am very excited about the program and I have shared it with my daughter.

So as for motivation, it was very motivating to tell me about the carb/diabetes problem I have and the outcome if I do not do something. Between the Metformin and this program, I think I can do it!