Weight Watchers

I've lost 40 since the middle of September on it. I like it, however, I'm not a meetings fan (too many whiny people that I've encountered). I do online-only. I'm honestly thinking of switching to this site instead when my billing period is up in May. I don't really have any complaints about it..., 90% of the time I do their Simply Filling plan, which is the new Core plan. I have the printed materials of what I can, and cannot eat. So, for me it's a bit of a drag to pay for something every few months that I already have, and that I can track here (or just write down).

I've done WW as well and I prefer MFP because I was sick of calculating the points. And then they keep changing the program, so it's pretty annoying.

What it comes down to is finding a program (i.e. lifestyle changes) that you can live with LONG TERM. No plan will work if you don't follow it. Staying accountable to any program will give you success in losing weight. A lot of ppl can do it without ANY kind of program besides cutting calories and exercising. I'm fairly type A, so I like a program that I can track my food, exercise, etc. WW online has that, but you have to pay every month. I was so happy to find MFP because it's essentially the same type of program, but without calculating the funky points and having to pay for the tracking and the community message boards.

Like this better.

So you think that WW is more cumbersome than MFP? I'm considering WW and was trying to decide between doing it solely online or opting for the more expensive plan that includes WW meetings as well as the etools and online access. What do you think? I had minor success with MFP and then got lazy about making/calculating daily entries so if WW requires even more complicated calculations, I may just be too undisciplined and lazy for WW!

Yup sounds like WW won't work for you then because its time consuming. If you can't keep track of points or calories though sounds like the problem is in motivation. I have a fitbit and I love it. Look into it, it may just be your solution, but you still need motivation. Good Luck

my personal opinion, I hate obsessing over every single morsel that goes into my mouth, and those freaking meetings " lets all clap for your 1 pound weight loss and spend 30 minutes talking about your obsession with the scale" I hated all of it. I rather just plan my meals, know what to eat and leave it at that. hated it! ( my personal opinion).

US news did rate it as the number 1 diet ( http://health.usnews.com/best-diet ) but honestly you can lose weight other ways, as millions of people have.

try it for yourself, that's the only way you'll know if it's for you or not.

I am contemplating on going to Weight Watchers. Is there anyone out there that has tried it & had success? What is your opinion of Weight Watchers?

My honest opinion is that it is a profit-making corporation which makes money from yo-yo dieters. Friends who have done it worked out they were eating about 1000-1200 calories a day and actively avoided protein because it had too many points. I've never met anyone who managed to maintain the weight loss long-term.

Yes, you can end up in the same cycle on MFP or any other diet, but there is information on healthier ways to lose weight. I maintained a 15kg loss for 4 years after a sensible weight-loss regime (healthy eating and a personal training programme) and eventually regained some of it when I had a long-term illness.

No, no and no! This is not true at all. The lowest I ever went was 1400 calories. On the newer 26 daily point limit it might be 1200, but don't forget you can eat your weekly and activity as well, so it still comes out to be more than that.

I eat more protein now than I did prior to WW, but I also admit my diet was pretty horrible then too. I also eat a lot more fiber, and just overall have a better sense of well being.

It literally changed my life, and I will never ever go off of it. It's a lifestyle - not a diet. No yoyo dieting here...

You can yoyo on MFP the same way you yoyo on WW if you quit logging your food.

I am contemplating on going to Weight Watchers. Is there anyone out there that has tried it & had success? What is your opinion of Weight Watchers?

My honest opinion is that it is a profit-making corporation which makes money from yo-yo dieters. Friends who have done it worked out they were eating about 1000-1200 calories a day and actively avoided protein because it had too many points. I've never met anyone who managed to maintain the weight loss long-term.

Yes, you can end up in the same cycle on MFP or any other diet, but there is information on healthier ways to lose weight. I maintained a 15kg loss for 4 years after a sensible weight-loss regime (healthy eating and a personal training programme) and eventually regained some of it when I had a long-term illness.

No, no and no! This is not true at all. The lowest I ever went was 1400 calories. On the newer 26 daily point limit it might be 1200, but don't forget you can eat your weekly and activity as well, so it still comes out to be more than that.

I eat more protein now than I did prior to WW, but I also admit my diet was pretty horrible then too. I also eat a lot more fiber, and just overall have a better sense of well being.

It literally changed my life, and I will never ever go off of it. It's a lifestyle - not a diet. No yoyo dieting here...

You can yoyo on MFP the same way you yoyo on WW if you quit logging your food.

MFP is not a diet plan, though. It is a tool which you use as you will. People use it to lose weight, gain weight or just monitor what they eat. That's the difference.

As for activity, even if you eat your activity points, you actually only get 40-50% of your calorie burn back so it's actually building a bigger deficit.

Weight Watchers is NOT a charitable organisation. It is a corporation whose business is making money out of people who want to lose weight.

But for me, counting points was a pain in the *kitten*, and a lot of hocus-pocus math that gets to the same goal as MFP: eat less, move more, log what you shove in your face, and be realistic about your expectations and goals.

I also REALLY got tired of the second-hand pop psychology. We regularly had a couple of members who used WW sessions almost like group therapy, and the leader did nothing to limit their constant whining about what their significant other "made" them eat, or all the stresses in their life that were making them stress eat. Hire a damned shrink already!

There's still lots of whining and pop-psychology on MFP, but at least I can choose to ignore it if I choose (and I usually do!), and I get what really works for me--namely the logging

I can TOTALLY relate to this!!! :drinker:

I'm a WW drop out and when I did have success on it was when I was on the old plan at 19 pts per day. This was about 19 pts per day, then I lost weight and they took away a point :noway: :noway: I was really cranky when that happened :laugh:

After a while, it just wasn't for me. It was a lot of hocus pocus and lacking transparency, it was difficult to tweak the plan if it wasn't working, I was paying for it too, pffft. Ever since I found MFP, I've found that I had everything I needed & far more information I could use.

Also, a point doesn't necessarily translate to 50 calories. It was a lot like monopoly calories too :ohwell: I know there's a way you can track WW points on MFP, I did it just to see. It was eye opening :huh:

Info is within the first page
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/822197-how-to-track-weight-watchers-points-on-mfp

I agree -- to an extent!

I'm on WW too, have lost over 40 lbs (32 since January) with about 25 more to go to get me into the 130's comfortably. And while I have long loved WW and sworn by their methods... once I took up running, and once I started training for a half marathon, I began to feel as though WW, and its members, and its often not-that-knowledgable leaders, to be practically hostile to vigorous exercise.

If I run at a pace above 5MPH, WW gives me the same AP per minute when I run 5 miles in an hour or 8. There is a HUGE caloric difference there -- but it's not reflected in WW's APs. Ask a WW discussion group and they'll tell you to "find what works for you," aka the members and leaders both have NO idea how to respond to someone whose exercise level exceeds running two miles a few times a week.

It's gotten increasingly frustrating -- I eat only 26 PP a day and half my activity but I'm stalling on weight loss! HOW?! So I turned to MFP and started counting calories and paying attention to macros and the weight has fallen off.

All of this is to say: WW is an AMAZING program for people learning to take control of their health and depending on how much weight one has to lose, you are SO right that if one is disciplined and follows the program it ABSOLUTELY works. But for those really close to a genuinely low goal (for me, 130) the amount of points I received to lose weight at 160 pounds (26) simply can't still have the same caloric deficit now that I'm close to 150 pounds, nor will it at 140, 135.... And in that respect, I think WW runs out of steam for me. Add to that my qualms about athletics and ways to safely nourish a body that NEEDS simple carbs for going on 10 mile runs and, well... I have been frustrated.

And so here I am, om MFP, checking out while still tracking over at WW. Like you, I seek to find a plan that's sustainable for life. I think MFP might be my best tool in doing so!