What do you guys think about Weight Watchers?

I generally am not inclined to programs like "weight watchers" "Jenny Craig" "Nutri-system" because of how expensive they could be. I already pay a lot of money for a gym membership. But I just found out today that my employer has a relationship with Weight Watchers and because of that, I'd only have to pay $7 a month for a membership....so now I'm thinking, should I try it being that it's right there and basically, almost free compared to the $200-$300 a month people normally pay for those kinda things.

Is Weight Watchers really effective? Some opinions on this please

Replies

magerum

Weight watchers is counting to 20. Counting calories is counting to 2000. Save the money and count higher. Plus the whole idea of fruits and vegetables being "free" is asinine IMHO. Everything has calories.

MontanaStwbrry

WOW there are a few irresponsible replies on here. For $7 per month, I think you don't need anyone's input, especially the negative, because weight watchers may be YOUR life saver and prayer answer, I would not leave it to strangers to limit that decision for you, esp when you're talking about $7, plus the cost of a point calculator.... fairly minimal.

I have tried every diet under the sun including weight watchers, did it for 3 years learned how to eat healthy, learned how to snack healthy, learned that an evening out and splurging on my calories wouldn't derail all I had done, and yes, if you reach goal weight it's free, how can you knock that? (I only quit because of economic crash and husbands business closing... had to save cash....)
Sure WW has WW food, but it's there for convenience, not required to follow the plan.

For ME the meetings were imperative, I had IN PERSON motivation and stories and food tips, this site is great and all, but WW truely is so much more, but instead of taking any strangers word for it, for only $7, I'd say it's worth trying for yourself, what's the worst that can happen? It's not likely you'll GAIN weight. It's a no brainer hot stuff. Do it.

So you're out $7....

Andrea_Alexis_1980

I'm on weight watchers now and i have lost 40 lbs , I follow it online ( free ) i stay in my points and it works for me , really easy once you get the hang of it. You can eat anything you want no need to buy there food you just have to find out online how many points it is .... Good luck

Alissakae

I've done WW twice and lost over 40 pounds each time. But I got bored with the meetings and tired of converting stuff to points and quit...only to regain the weight plus more. Now I use the money that used to go to a WW membership for a monthly gym membership, and I have lost more weight more quickly than I ever did on WW (and as a post-menopausal woman I don't exactly see the weight "falling off" - I work for every single pound I lose). I actually found it very stressful to weigh in, and that contributed to my quitting. So for me, MFP and the gym are working. But WW is at least a healthy approach so it's worth a shot if you think it will help.

RunningRichelle

I generally am not inclined to programs like "weight watchers" "Jenny Craig" "Nutri-system" because of how expensive they could be. I already pay a lot of money for a gym membership. But I just found out today that my employer has a relationship with Weight Watchers and because of that, I'd only have to pay $7 a month for a membership....so now I'm thinking, should I try it being that it's right there and basically, almost free compared to the $200-$300 a month people normally pay for those kinda things.

Is Weight Watchers really effective? Some opinions on this please

I'd say it's effective but not sustainable. I'm a science girl. Calories in/Calories out is the best long-term way to stay at the weight I want.

tcunbeliever

I enjoyed WW and earned my lifetime membership, I went steadily to meetings for about 4 years, and I stuck to healthy eating and exercise even after they stopped having the meetings at work...it was easy, I like the weekly meetings with new tips for food and exercise and strategies for surviving office parties, etc...for me the social support was fun and helped to keep me motivated...for $7 a month, you don't have much to lose by trying it...

RoadsterGirlie

WW rocks. Period.

I'm Online only, since I have enough motivation already, and only need to be held accountable to myself. The plan itself is so very wonderful. I wasn't hungry on it, and not only have I lost weight, but I feel so much better.

It's not so much about depriving yourself as it is about making better choices.

RoadsterGirlie

Oh, my mom lost 65 lbs on it as well, and has maintained her loss as long as I have (almost two years).

My husband began in January and is down 15 lbs.

I enjoy food so much more these days and love how I am so much healthier all the way around.

Anybody who knocks it has either never tried it, or was just plain doing it wrong.

baileybiddles

Here's my take on weight watchers.

They encourage you to "eat whatever you want" and just track it. It's not effective.

I lost 11 pounds, but over a span of 6 MONTHS... I should have lost at least double that in that amount of time. That was with frequent exercise and healthy eating about 70% of the time.

I think even at the discounted price, it's not worth it. I quit WW and came here and I am losing more weight each week, experiencing less stress with the tracking and food is food, with this many calories. No more calculating points values. It's just stress.

Mads1997

All these programs work while on them it's when you stop is when the weight comes back on, normally + more than you started with.

LauritaS767

I did WW in 2007, this helped me lose an additional 70lbs to the 40 I'd lost previously. I mainly went because I'd been in a plateau for a year, and needed some accountability. I achieved lifetime, and went to meetings for about two years after that. I lost the weight on one of their older programs, but believe that if you focus on healthy choices you can lose weight and maintain it on the program. Just be weary of the 0 point foods (fruits especially). They can add up to actual points.
The meetings were great, I learned a bunch, the only reason I stopped attending was that it gets repetitive after awhile, and my goals were different than many that were in attendance (fitness wise).
Good luck to you!

Flintbeats810

I lost weight on WW and worked for them --- IMO, don't. Just don't. They are overly focused on the BMI, with very little focus on providing facts and accurate acknowledge about nutrition.

Their focus is to make money (ie keep you from your goals because then it's free). Use a free site and don't fool yourself into thinking fruit doesn't have calories.

I KNOW RIGHT!
I remember one of our leaders saying she had 3 bananas that day, I was like "Ummm that's like 300 calories??? How the hell does this equate to 0 points?"

This! Please don't think I'm knocking WW. I really don't understand the point system so I can't comment on it. it just seams like if you counting point and not paying attention to calories and nutrition how is that helping. Same thing here on MFP people just look at calories and then say "yes I'm under my goal of 1800 calories by 100 calories" then those that are fortunate enough to hav the graph macros breakdown of the mobile versions (I still don't think desktop has it) and see that 40 %of what they ate was fat and they barely had any protein ...that's a problem. Again I'm not knocking any program that assist anyone in anyway with weight loss I guess I'm just uniformed on this matter

zillah73

I want to preface by saying I have personally never tried Weight Watchers. I did, however, embark on my weight loss journey with two people (a man and a woman) who both did it. The woman did the meetings, the man did it 100% mobile. Both went to the gym regularly - 5x per week. Both lost a significant amount of weight although neither ever got to their goal weight. The woman regained probably 20-30 lbs after starting a new relationship with a chef. The man sort of plateaued and has been stuck there for a year and a half.

My impression of WW while we were all working together and I could observe them was that it did give them some good tools for learning portion control and counting calories, making better decisions in restaurants, stuff like that. I opted not to use it because I felt I didn't need it, felt all the tools at their disposal through WW were available to me for free if I just did the legwork/research and I was right. I didn't need WW to figure out my calorie and nutritional goals and I didn't need it to lose. Furthermore, of the three of us, I am the only one still losing weight and that may be because I didn't opt for a diet plan but, instead, viewed this as a lifestyle change from the start. *shrugs*

devil_in_a_blue_dress

I lost weight on WW and worked for them --- IMO, don't. Just don't. They are overly focused on the BMI, with very little focus on providing facts and accurate acknowledge about nutrition.

Their focus is to make money (ie keep you from your goals because then it's free). Use a free site and don't fool yourself into thinking fruit doesn't have calories.

I KNOW RIGHT!
I remember one of our leaders saying she had 3 bananas that day, I was like "Ummm that's like 300 calories??? How the hell does this equate to 0 points?"

Yeah, was a significant reason for my departure was the new "Points Plus" program. The meetings that I ran saw a marked decrease in progress when the shift happened. Marked. I'm not saying WW is evil or terrible -- but they are a BUSINESS that makes money when people have to pay. They are invested in people not having timely losses or sustainable goals.

I get that some people love the meetings and I think that's great -- but the "leaders" don't receive much, if any, education. I have zero background in nutrition and was leading meetings after 5 days at their "leadership seminar". Which was basically like "don't endorse products that are made by us" and "it's important you understand this is a business".

Ready2Rock206

I think the meetings can be great if you have a good leader. The online only version doesn't work at all for me - didn't lose a thing and MFP is better for that. I was there before the freebie fruit & veggie version, but when I was going and had a good leader I really liked it. I had to quit due to my schedule and like I said the online only just wasn't working for me and now that I have MFP I'm happy. I also went to a few meetings with different leaders and it just wasn't the same at all. So really it can depend a lot of the leader and the other people attending the meetings... I liked it when I had the great leader and was really sad to have to quit at the time.

tjk71

I tried W.W. and it never worked for me....not sure why. I like MFP much better and I feel it makes me more aware of the things I'm eating. Something w/ a point of 3 could be great point wise but not so great nutritionally. I think actually logging and seeing the nutritional value is alot better.

wiss22

I had success with WW twice. The first time I lost 27 lbs in 3 months, then I stopped my membership. (Got it for free through work - changed jobs.) I kept it off for a while, but eventually put the weight back on. Two years ago I did well again - lost 25 lbs. And eventually got off of the program and the weight creeped back on.

I wanted to sign up again this past January, but my frugal hubby encouraged me to try MFP first. I was enamored after the first two weeks. I saw great progress right off the bat, which of course was encouraging.

But what struck me the most was how EASY it was to count calories. I didn't have to calculate anything! Maybe I had to look up nutritional info on a different website if it wasn't in the MFP database. But that's it. Looked it up, found the info, tracked it.

No no, that's not what struck me the most. Equally was that I saw counting calories as something I can do forever. I don't need a special tool. I don't need to pay. I realized that with WW, the end was always in sight - not the end of healthy eating... but the end of paying for guidance. I naively thought that I could maintain on my own once the three month period was over. It didn't work. I can't say for sure if MFP will work for me for forever. It's too soon to tell. I've only been using the site since January.

FWIW, I hope that's helpful. :flowerforyou:

kathiag96

I generally am not inclined to programs like "weight watchers" "Jenny Craig" "Nutri-system" because of how expensive they could be. I already pay a lot of money for a gym membership. But I just found out today that my employer has a relationship with Weight Watchers and because of that, I'd only have to pay $7 a month for a membership....so now I'm thinking, should I try it being that it's right there and basically, almost free compared to the $200-$300 a month people normally pay for those kinda things.

Is Weight Watchers really effective? Some opinions on this please

I did WW online last year to lose almost 35 lbs. It's great (and better than just calorie counting, especially if you're just starting your weight loss journey) because it teaches you to adopt better eating habits. The points calculation gives you more credit (meaning the foods cost you fewer points) for eating lean protein and fruits and veggies vs. processed foods and simple carbs. It helped to retrain me (vs. just calorie counting where I still tended to eat "bad" foods, but in fewer quantities). I moved on from WW to calorie counting via MFP last fall because I got close enough to my goal weight that the leeway in the points v. calories was enough that my weight loss stalled.

sunnyhlw77

I think it's a good program but u can basically do all the same things on here for free.

I agree, I've done WW online (it is a great program as is this one) but personally I find this site easier to navigate and has a better database for foods.

DekkaTwoOneWizzy

Its just a means of qualitatively and quantitatively assessing your consumption much like MFP. I have a coworker, Female caucasion, 5'4, who lost 94lbs in a year. She has an absolute aversion towards exercise and did none. Does she look good? No. Does she look better than she did at 240+? Yes. But on her body its very clear what happens when you do not exercise or strength train during your transformation. Shes oddly shapen with no visible muscle tone. Skinny fat is the visual. WW + hardcore training would elicit amazing results im certain....

traceytwink

It does work and I know many who have lost going to weight watchers but then they always seem to be starting again, why waste your money when you've got this app for free, it's so much better and you get lots of support from people on here, save the money you would spend going to weight watchers then when you reach a mile stone in your weight loss go treat yourself cos your going to need new clothes xx

Inshape13

I lost 65lbs on WWs 4 years ago and then gained that plus some back(so did the other 5 people that I worked with once they stopped meetings) when I started maintaining. It is good for losing weight, but if you do not change HOW you eat....only manipulate your food choices to fit points.....then it is not sustainable long term. The best thing is to choose whatever you can continue with successly in the long term and counting points seems like a headache to do forever.

cappri

Anybody who knocks it has either never tried it, or was just plain doing it wrong.

I love WW, I've lost all my weight with it. I was online only for 9 months and then started meetings in December to get to the top of my healthy range and earn Lifetime status, so now my etools and meetings are free. The online community on WW has been fantastic and I'm really starting to build the same kind of support system at my meetings, it's just slower because we only see each other once a week and there isn't a whole lot of interaction between members.

The WW points system is just like counting calories with MFP, it's really not that complicated or as hard as people imply. Just like some people on MFP only focus on calories not caring about their macros, while some people are at different places in their health fitness goals and focus on their macros. The same is true for WW points. Whatever "program" you use, you get out what you put into it. If you stop following it, it stops working.

Now I will say that MFP's food data base is far superior to WW, which is kind of annoying. I do often look stuff up on MFP and then figure out the WW points to track it, but this doesn't bother me. Of course I also double track everything with both WW and MFP, so I'm probably just weird!

ryry_

My opinion is that it is a less accurate and more expensive version of calorie counting

ETA: If you think the meetings and support that come from weight watchers from real life people is beneficial then it might be worth it.

bekah818

I read all of your posts!! Thanks for the feedback. You all gave me great feedback.

Much appreciated!

RoadsterGirlie

So much misinformation in this thread it makes my head spin!!!!!

Ugh. It is NOT just about counting points, and it does not allow you to eat whateverthehell you want as long as you track it, as one poster put it. You have to get all of your good health guidelines in as well - that includes 5 to 6 servings of veggies and fruits a day, 2 to 3 servings of lean protein, 2 dairy, and 1 to 2 healthy oils. If you do this, it's the equivalent of meeting your macros on MFP.

To be honest though, I have never found an instance of on the points system where it does not equal one point for every 40 calories, unless it's something really decadent like a big gooey cinnamon roll. Therefore, instead of using the points calculator, I simply divide the amount of calories by 40 to get the points.

As far as the zero point fruit is concerned, it's there to encourage you to eat an apple instead of a cookie, when the two items have equal calories. It did not hinder my weight loss at all.

I will acknowledge that most people who stop the program gain the weight back. The same goes for MFP. If you quit tracking and begin to eat garbage again, the weight will come back on. That's why I plan on tracking my food for the rest of my life. It's a habit now and it's like brushing my teeth. If money gets tight, I will bite the bullet and switch to MFP since it's free. I'm just used to counting points instead of calories, so I find it easier.

kellymoconnell

It's less than $20 a month for an online membership. I was successful with it. They don't require you to buy their food like Jenny Craig, nutrisystem, et al. I'd recommend it if you're just getting started. It works if you work it.

JeneticTraining

I think it's like any other diet. Try the WW recipes. Search online and its free.

belleparis

Ive only done the online version. It works..like everything u have to stick to it. I find that MFP is better in that s free and I can actually count the calories. The point system s good, its just not everything s labeled in points...whereas calories r easier to track. Whatever u choose...i think s better if u pick just one...otherwise it might drive u insane. Good luck!

cappri

So much misinformation in this thread it makes my head spin!!!!!

It's like banging your head against a wall.