So who's switched from Weight Watchers to MFP?

Icedcoffee29
Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
in Health and Weight Loss
I have hit a little stall in my weight loss, but had nice success with WW. I decided to give MFP a try and I really like the layout and plan so far. Anyone else switch from WW? How has it gone for you?
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Replies

  • Icedcoffee29
    Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
    bump :)
  • theodosiou23
    theodosiou23 Posts: 21 Member
    I did weight watchers for 8 months last year, I lost 19lbs, carried on for another 3 months losing nothing. I lowered my daily points and exercised more and still didn't lose any, I was disheartened and ended up putting on 10lbs. I started MFP about 20 days ago and I've already lost 14lbs. It's so much better and easier to track!
  • samantha1242
    samantha1242 Posts: 816 Member
    I did a year ago or so after my second go with ww. I'm now at the same weight that I had gotten down to with ww a couple years ago. I prefer seeing calories versus points and I also prefer free over not free :)
  • Icedcoffee29
    Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
    That's so encouraging to hear!!!
  • AmesMc1972
    AmesMc1972 Posts: 194 Member
    I have always had success with weight watchers. I am not a fan of meetings, and I like counting calories much better than points. I was very successful with MFP after the birth of my second son.
  • Icedcoffee29
    Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
    I do like this calorie counting thing! :)
  • lbride
    lbride Posts: 248 Member
    I did WW online after kids and lost 20 lbs. I've gained back about 8 so am doing MFP. Thus far, it seems pretty much the same, except that I'm counting calories instead of points. And it's free, even better!
  • salmonmama
    salmonmama Posts: 9 Member
    I'm a veteran WW member. Losing usually 10-15 pounds each time; also spending around $350-500 each time.

    I like MFP. It's free, calories are easier than points, the system is less buggy (the app and online software is SO much easier to use than WW; the WW website and app were always sluggish and buggy).

    The money I saved goes towards my exercise and my grocery bill (I can do drop-in classes for my favorite activities and even use a trainer for that extra boost).

    Money and time saved.
  • Icedcoffee29
    Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
    I am trying to figure out how many calories I should be eating to start losing again. I'm hoping I'm correct with what I'm doing. lol
  • Anitamarhea
    Anitamarhea Posts: 14
    I switched and I really like it!! I was rather shocked when I saw that my "free" apple from before (on WW) turned out to be 100 calories!! :noway: I DO like being able to add any friends for free, though and, to be honest, with the new standards on nutritional info required to be on all packages, it makes tracking a lot easier than with the points system. Even my kids understand the calories so they understand my lingo! I also like the exercise choices on here. I have always been disappointed in WW exercise info. The forums are wonderful too!!!
  • jules1202
    jules1202 Posts: 65
    There are some stickies (threads at the top of the list of topics ) at the top of this board that give some good info on determining how many calories you need to eat to create a deficit.


    I found the WW app to be very buggy too and free is a good thing!
  • amandavictoria80
    amandavictoria80 Posts: 734 Member
    In my opinion, Weight Watchers is such a scam. Weight Watchers = Common Sense.
    Instead of counting calories you count points. Essentially, it's exactly the same thing. Don't waste your money. Use it to buy healthy food instead. ;)
  • skrakalaka
    skrakalaka Posts: 338 Member
    I found with points plus that I was eating way too many "free" fruits and not nearly enough protein, all in an effort to hoard points. As a result I was hungry and cranky and didn't lose any weight. I`m much happier with MFP than I was with WW.
  • Nyx192
    Nyx192 Posts: 4 Member
    I've done WW on and off for the last few years now. Each time I plateau at about a 7lb loss. In the summer I managed 6lb with WW then plateaued and 8lb with slimming world then plateaued. Eventually I got fed up as nothing would shift it and I gave up. I'm loving MFP though! I lost 9 lbs my first week then had a bad week and didn't track properly for half the second week and lost 0.2 lb but back on track this week and hopefully have a decent loss :) I do hate adding fruit and veg calories though since I'm so used to them being 'free' :p but this is definitely the best way to do it in my opinion.
  • meredith1123
    meredith1123 Posts: 843 Member
    not only do I like MFP better, its FREE!
    I love being able to track everything and meet new people for support. Plus posted recipes etc....

    cant beat it!
  • MystikPixie
    MystikPixie Posts: 342 Member
    I've known people who have lost weight with WW, but nobody who was able to keep the weight off. They all gained it back and then some, that alone convinces me I would never lose weight with WW. I think if you have the money to spend then just spend it on a good gym with an on-staff trainer.
  • allisonlane61
    allisonlane61 Posts: 187 Member
    I started Weight Watchers in 2010 and in that year, lost 72 pounds. I did take a break and put some weight back on, but without returning to WW, I am only 6 pounds from that (total loss is 66 pounds). I did, for the most part, keep the weight off. WW was great, but I do not believe it is the best program for me. I think I'd like to eat the way our digestive systems were set up, so I'm eating high percentage raw food, very low carb and low glycemic index foods, eat very little dairy, and eat meat but only maybe once or twice a week. I'm a green smoothie lover.

    I love the food journal here, and that, to me, is what keeps my rear in gear. Seeing it all laid out in print is a good motivator. I'm now going to try to avow myself of the messageboards for any additional motivation and support. Also, I've recently gotten a personal trainer and he uses MFP to see my food journal and develop plans based on that.
  • micervera
    micervera Posts: 114 Member
    I am actually doing both. I track here and I track on WW finding that they are about the same. However when I stayed away from WW I found that I wasn't accountable and MFP is good for trecking and much easier to use. Also this website is so user friendly.
  • currierand
    currierand Posts: 155 Member
    I tried WW for 3 months and lost a total of 5 pounds. I came here a little over 3 months ago and have lost 6 pounds. But to be fair, I lost 5 of those pounds in the first 7 weeks. (I have hit a serious plateau). Anyway, I prefer MFP because:

    1) calorie counting VS points is easier to wrap my mind around
    2) the database has WAY more products listed
    3) the community here seems to be far more knowledgable
    4) although I have the money to afford it, why pay for something I can get for free?
  • CKJ118
    CKJ118 Posts: 54
    I did WW back in 2009 and lost 67lbs and then gained it back in 2011. I started off not "dieting" this time, but changing my whole lifestyle to be centered around healthy choices rather than how many points of food I could eat in a day. I found it difficult to transition into maintaining after WW because I did not change most of my eating habits, but slimmed down my portions to fit within the points for the day. This go around it has been 11 months and I am down 94lbs and I exercise almost every day and keep strict count on my calories instead and it has worked out great since I am beginning my maintaining. Good luck!
  • KathyPBiles
    KathyPBiles Posts: 292 Member
    I have done WW more than once (actually used to work for them as well). So, basically what I am doing on here, is practicing what I learned with WW and using MFP as my accountability and support. I LOVE IT! Even though I have known all these years the right things to do, I wasn't practicing them, because I wasn't making myself be accountable. Now, thanks to MFP, I am. I bite it, I write it!
  • dominoid747
    dominoid747 Posts: 33 Member
    I've gone from Weight Watchers to MFP too. So far had two strong loss weeks since starting and I'm eating largely the same foods as before so it all seems to be working. I liked the WW concept but other than a few token gestures, it feels like they're largely uninterested in men so meetings feel quite uncomfortable and I was doing everything online. I was also starting to find it quite difficult to find some foods in the database, especially new things. I was using a third party app with a barcode scanner like the MFP one but that wasn't very good with finding food available in Britain so I ended up having to put full info in for lots of food and it was getting fiddly and annoying so I decided to switch to MFP and I'm very glad that I did.


    I agree with Anita too. I think the whole "free food" concept on WW can be a bit of a misnomer as you get closer to goal: I was getting through 400-500 calories on fruit before. I know it's not a lot in the grand scheme of things but now I'm down to under 2000 calories, it's a quarter of my daily targets! Also, it puts you in the mindset of "good" and "bad" foods and as I've been reminded by a doctor recently, there are no good or bad foods, only good or bad diets and everything can be eaten as long as you're keeping aware of what things to be more sparing of.
  • Icedcoffee29
    Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
    Want to hear something crazy. I inputted a couple days of my WW meals and found I was only eating about 1000 cals per day. :O Holy cow! I am very active, I work out cardio 4-5 x a week and run/walk.
  • Icedcoffee29
    Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
    I did WW back in 2009 and lost 67lbs and then gained it back in 2011. I started off not "dieting" this time, but changing my whole lifestyle to be centered around healthy choices rather than how many points of food I could eat in a day. I found it difficult to transition into maintaining after WW because I did not change most of my eating habits, but slimmed down my portions to fit within the points for the day. This go around it has been 11 months and I am down 94lbs and I exercise almost every day and keep strict count on my calories instead and it has worked out great since I am beginning my maintaining. Good luck!

    WOW congrats!!
  • princessage117
    princessage117 Posts: 171 Member
    I just quit WW. I lost about 27 pounds with them the first year. Which I didn't think I would ever be able to lose. Then I struggled to get to goal for another full year.

    Got 3 pounds away at one point last summer but then had some tragedies and set backs. (Need to lose about 10 pounds to get to max recommended weight by WW's standards.)

    I like MFP but am still struggling with these darn last 10 lbs. But at least it's free. I feel like I wasn't learning anything new from WW after being on it so long. But I loved the accountability at the meetings. Did not like how food obsessed I felt on it. I guess I have mixed feelings.
  • Icedcoffee29
    Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
    There are some stickies (threads at the top of the list of topics ) at the top of this board that give some good info on determining how many calories you need to eat to create a deficit.


    I found the WW app to be very buggy too and free is a good thing!

    Thanks!
  • mbaker824
    mbaker824 Posts: 16
    A few years ago (well, more than a few; it was 2002 or so) I had great success with Weight Watchers - I lost 135 lbs over about a year and a half. I still hadn't quite achieved my goal weight but I stopped going to meetings and over the next few years put about 70 lbs back on. Subsequent tries with WW weren't all that successful, although that was primarily a motivation problem, I think. Now that I'm motivated again, I find that MFP works just as well as WW. Better, actually, because MFP allows users to enter food in the database, which means most anything I eat is already in there. Since starting on MFP about eight months ago I've lost about 45 lbs, and I hope to finally get to my ultimate goal weight.
  • Icedcoffee29
    Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
    A few years ago (well, more than a few; it was 2002 or so) I had great success with Weight Watchers - I lost 135 lbs over about a year and a half. I still hadn't quite achieved my goal weight but I stopped going to meetings and over the next few years put about 70 lbs back on. Subsequent tries with WW weren't all that successful, although that was primarily a motivation problem, I think. Now that I'm motivated again, I find that MFP works just as well as WW. Better, actually, because MFP allows users to enter food in the database, which means most anything I eat is already in there. Since starting on MFP about eight months ago I've lost about 45 lbs, and I hope to finally get to my ultimate goal weight.

    So awesome. You're doing great!!
  • AmesMc1972
    AmesMc1972 Posts: 194 Member
    Oh, and speaking of free....I haven't done WW in years, so they may have the app now, but if you have a smartphone the MFP app is AWESOME!
  • Icedcoffee29
    Icedcoffee29 Posts: 139
    Oh, and speaking of free....I haven't done WW in years, so they may have the app now, but if you have a smartphone the MFP app is AWESOME!

    Yes this is another plus for me. MFP has a Kindle Fire App! WHOOT!

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