Misinformed Weight Watchers

I had fabulous results from Weight Watchers when I did it years ago. They put everything into a package that makes it easy for people to make small changes for a better lifestyle, and provides a lot of support during the change. I think the nutritional information that MFP offers a more accurate picture and drives a truly healthy lifestyle, but I wouldn't knock WW.

One of the great things about WW is that nothing is forbidden, you just need to account for it in your points, so I don't know where she's getting that wild hair about nuts or beef.

I think that if she is going to give you a hard time about what you eat then you have two choices, stop discussing your food choices with her OR the next time a discussion comes up, and she pitches a fit about your choices tell her "im not on the same "lifestyle" as you. I am not judging your choices so please dont judge mine, what i am doing is working for me"

I think you just need to stay strong with what you know works best for you!! keep up the great work!

WW is a whole different system, but it's a good system; most nutritionists agree on that (see ratings for diet programs). She'll learn as she goes; the meetings cover a lot of good nutritional information.

I agree with WW on this: nobody got fat from eating too many fruits and vegetables. But if you're counting calories, you count them anyway.

As a former WW, I've seen this before. In fact, I've been guilty of it. I don't fault WW for it (this is definitely NOT a bash of the program, it served me well once, and I'd have a lot more to lose if it weren't for my experience with WW) it is just the way some individuals see things. Points makes things easy to count, but many times it doesn't show you the whole picture. And I, and many others I have known, made some poor choices because of points. For example, I would choose a 3 pt bag of popcorn as a snack rather than 9 pts (if that is the correct calculation) worth of nuts. Popcorn isn't bad, per se, but the nuts are an overall healthier option in most cases. They just didn't fit into my points without giving up something else that I already had planned. Or, I'd have to keep the amount so low to keep the points equal, that I was left unsatisfied. WW never told me to do that, it was just how I saw it at the time. I left WW not because IT didn't work, but because I needed a fresh look at my habits.

I would guess your co-worker may have a bit of the same mindset I had. She's not seeing the whole picture, just the "points" or, in the case of fruit/veg on the new plan, lack there of. That may cost her in the long run. It certainly did for me. I failed miserably on 'free' fruits because I overate the "0" and under-ate good foods simply because I didn't like the look of the points value.

At the end of the day, counting points or counting calories often shakes out the same, but sometimes we miss the forest for the trees. I'm not sure what the best way to handle that would be other than to say choose your battles. If it is worth the debate, have it. But if you're happy on your path and she's happy on hers and you are both finding success, maybe you can get her to agree to disagree and just be happy for each other's success. :-)

First of all, please don't bash on a program that you don't know because someone is not representing it properly.

I'm not seeing bashing.

I love Weight Watchers and think they have an excellent program; unfortunately most people do not do the program correctly.

Not all veggies are 0 pts. Starchy veggies (potatoes, peas, corn for example) have pts values to them. All FRESH fruit may be counted as 0 pts. however WW does not say that just because something is 0 pts. you can eat as much as you want.

Their healthy guidelines say 5 servings of fruit or veggies a day, not as many servings as you want. They'll also tell you that if you are doing all or mostly fruit and your weight has stalled or you are gaining, it may be time to eat more veggies and cut back on the fruit.

I feel sorry for your friend, she's missing out on a lot of food that she could be eating on WW. Turkey burger can have as much fat in it as regular hamburger. Cheese, nuts and an apple are a snack for me. She needs to re-read her material.

Course some of the blame can be the leaders; there were times I wanted to just take over the class as my leader would seem so wishey washey with the new program. But she never said to eat all the 0 pt food you want or avoid nuts and hamburger.

Let her know that if WW workks for her that is good and if this is working for you that is fine also. I know WW goes by points and veggies are 0 points and you meet certain points depending on your weight. I was on WW and it is a good plan but I like this better because it is free and hate going to their sessions where they all jump up and down bragging about how much they lost, making you feel horrible. The reason she says that about the nuts and beef is because they are worth more points than other stuff. Just ignore her if need be. She is only trying to make herself look good by putting youo down. Chin up and surge ahead.