Weight Watchers AND MFP

aimgirl · April 2013

Does anyone do Weight Watchers AND My Fitness Pal? I lost 30 lbs with MFP two years ago and have gained it all back. I'm having a hard time getting motivated and am going to joing Weight Watchers today. I've done WW in the past and find counting calories much easier than the points system sooooo...I will be using MFP for tracking.

Anyone care to share experience? Good, bad or otherwise??

Bonnieg318 · April 2013

I had been on the WW program for almost a year. Stalled out at 30lbs lost I haven't moved since Christmas. I found MFP and have lost a bit since starting. I find the food data base and community much better here. I have since given up my WW membership. I hope you find what works for you!!

Ras_py · April 2013

i use MFP and track my food and convert into my WW points. I dont pay WW i just do it on my own thru MFP.

thesinglecatlady · April 2013

I became a lifetime member after losing 50lbs with WW. I loved it. I had some things happen in life and years later, here I am again. I started MFP a few weeks ago I think and like others have said I also find it way more encouraging and very easy to use/access information. Price also motivates me, and even being "Lifetime" doesn't mean jack once you gain even a *little* over your goal back, and I'm WAY over that point! ha ha ha! I'd need to pay again, so I'm taking the things/resources I have (and learned) from WW and applying it to my FREE membership here.

just_fur_luck · April 2013

I thought this was going to be a Celebrity Death Match thread.

kts3639 · April 2013

I say do what works for you, but it seems as though many people I have known/seen doing WW have gained the weight back that they lost. As for MFP, I think it helps you to make a lifestyle change so that you are able to maintain once you've lost the weight. Also doesn't hurt that it's free

backpacker44 · April 2013

I had been on the WW program for almost a year. Stalled out at 30lbs lost I haven't moved since Christmas. I found MFP and have lost a bit since starting. I find the food data base and community much better here. I have since given up my WW membership. I hope you find what works for you!!

Were you at 27 points when you stalled?

Denise8P · April 2013

IMHO - WW makes things far too complicated. They change their points system every year or so to encourage people to pay, but it gets more silly each time. I eventually get sick of trying to figure things out as it makes me think TOO much about food and start going back to my old ways. The WW plan also acts like you can eat fruits and some veggies, etc. to your heart's content and the calories somehow don't count. WW is great if going to meetings and being weighed in regularly by a third party is motivating to you though.

When I started MFP I was keeping both a journal here and using WW online, but that lasted maybe a week before I realized its just so much more simple and rewarding here (for me). The community is awesome, the tracker is so easy to use and the database beats WW hands down. I plan to cancel my WW online sub after the month expires. You may find you need both to be successful and there is nothing wrong with that

xcarinarx · April 2013

i prefer mfp. i tried and failed miserably at ww. like others have said, calorie counting is much simpler and sustainable for me. how could ANY food be zero points??? doesn't make any sense. i just kept losing and gaining the same 5 lbs. and i absolutely HATED the meetings. i find the community here much more positive and encouraging. i also find that ww didn't focus as much on exercise, which for me, is a large part of being a healthy person.

apearson07 · April 2013

As someone that did WW years ago and lost a great amount of weight it was a success then. I have tried numerous times with WW and end up falling off the wagon per se. I like mfp its cost effective and I have fallen off of tracking a bit, but I feel if I fall off one day here, its not the end of the world like it is with weight watchers.

backpacker44 · April 2013

i prefer mfp. i tried and failed miserably at ww. like others have said, calorie counting is much simpler and sustainable for me. how could ANY food be zero points??? doesn't make any sense. i just kept losing and gaining the same 5 lbs. and i absolutely HATED the meetings. i find the community here much more positive and encouraging. i also find that ww didn't focus as much on exercise, which for me, is a large part of being a healthy person.

Foods that use up more calories during digestion, than they contain should be zero points. Weight Watchers did this to encourage people to eat fruits and veg. I mean, who is really going to waste 1 point on a freakin apple lol... I lost 30 lbs on Weight Watchers, and never had a problem. The points system keeps you at a low calorie intake (for me it was roughly 1200 a day) having the "free" fruits and veg brought my calories up to 1500-1600 which is where I should be. I stopped Weight Watchers because I was earning 70-100 activity points a week, so I could basically eat what I wanted. I came to MFP to track what I am eating. I didn't go to WW meatings, but I found the program to work for me. If you do it correctly, and don't eat 20 apples and 10 salads a day, it will work for you.

eag264 · April 2013

I was wondering the same thing. I tried to encourage other friends to join MFP and they just talk about WW and how it's the same. I don't think you realize the difference until after you tried MFP- although I never tried WW, the point system would def throw me off. Thanks for the post!

hinzee4 · April 2013

I did weightwatchers over the years on and off. I did well a couple times, then not so good. I'd lose 10 lbs. over two weeks and then go nuts again. I felt like I was addicted to weight watchers and couldn't do anything else. Well, I'm trying MFP now. MFP is much less restrictive. You can make it what ever you want. I'm not doing that great but am still wraping my head around the whole calorie counting thing. I found with WW new points plus system it was great healthy wise, but if you ate something they didn't deem healthy you had a penalty of extra points for that. I don't want to feel as if I need weight watchers to lose weight any more. It may work great for you!! I also didn't like the fact they were selling old stuff right up until the week of the new stuff and the old stuff then was obsolete for the people who just bought it. I think I would have quit right there!! What a rip off!! Anyways, good luck to you and hope you are successful!!!

Thorbjornn · April 2013

I started WW Jan. 2, 2012 not as a resolutioner, but because it was the right time... coincidence. I lost 30 lbs in 6 months, let it go for the next 8 months because I had a bad rotator cuff tear, couldn't work out, got peed off and let things go to hell. Anyway, when I tried to get back on this past Feb. or Mar., I just couldn't. I discovered MFP through the guys at bodybuilding.com I like that I can track my macros and calories better in MFP rather than just watching points. Btw, a point is 40 calories. I could get the same number of calories through my Daily, Weekly and Activity points as I calculated here, but I had no idea how much of what macro I was getting.

WW *is* a good plan for weight loss, not necessarily fat loss, and a good way to jump start. But it doesn't teach you how to eat for your own goals. All they have to go by is the BMI, which they admit. My goal is 165 lbs and 14% body fat (male fitness), but I am 5'5". That makes me "obese" by the BMI. I'd need a doctor to certify I'm not obese at that weight. I have 25 lbs to lose, but I don't think I look obese in my avi. Moreover, the meetings were simply group therapy sessions. I don't mean to sound bitter, but it just wasn't worth it. I haven't been to a meeting, except for one, since October or November. To pay $43/month for that is silly.

lieselLalor · April 2013

I never tried WW myself but from what I have heard many people really prefer MFP. WW doesn't seem to be a long-term plan since they seem to keep dropping calories instead of adding calories like many people on MFP suggest. So this way you may lose a bunch of weight but many people have said they were miserable and always hungry. I also have a friend who is on WW and I saw her trying to add her food for the day and it seemed SO much more difficult than MFP.

You will have to find what works for you but I personally am in love with MFP and have NEVER found it so easy and rewarding to lose weight. There is so much information here and a great community and it's 100% free. How could that be any better?

subacca · April 2013

I lost 10 lbs from June until January on WW. I was frustrated with the meetings and how little support I felt I got. So I joined a gym, got a personal trainer and started MFP. From February until end of April I have lost 7 lbs. I feel I get much more support at the gym and like counting calories better than points. The one thing that I do like about WW are the recipes. I still use the cook books. They also gave some good insights into eating behaviors and how to cope. There is a good support system there if you find the right meeting. It may be worth the money for you. I learned by going that no matter what I do I need to be accountable to me.They are a tool, not an answer. Good luck in you weight loss journey.

tekwriter · April 2013

Having found MFP i will never go back and waste money on WW again. The support here is superior and I am losing just as fast. I don't always follow the plan on WW either. I find being accountable to my friends on here just as motivating and I am saving 50. a month.

sancach · April 2013

I have done WW several times in the past and was a lifetime member and gained it all back and then some! The last few years I haven't had any luck losing any weight on WW and found that I wasn't getting as much support as I do on MFP, not to mention the money that I wasted!

perficktangel · April 2013

I do WW and keep track of everything on MFP. I was on WW a year ago & had to cancel when my husband lost his job. I know how the plan works & I'd saved a lot of info while I was still subscribed online, so I have all of that to refer back to. I put down my food in my food journal here & figure out the PP I've used, by using an app that I have on my phone. I keep track of my remaining daily points & remaining weekly points, as well as the points used for each mean, in the Notes section of the food journal. I was happy doing WW & I'm glad I was able to start up again. Today is the last day of my first week back on track and I'm so happy. I love being able to eat all the veggies I want & not count points for it (other than any oil or dressing I may use). But I guess it isn't for everyone.

Mamasota · April 2013

I was doing reallly well on WW until I stalled for 3 months. My group leader told me to just keep following the program. I got tired of paying each week with no results. Hello MFP.

Melissa22G · April 2013

I've done both.

I lost weight doing WW as most have said. The more weight you lose, the lower your points. So as a 30 yr old woman, 5'4 at 212 I started at 32 points then decreased to 29 points. I found at 29 points I was eating 900-1000 calories a day. Scary. Then they changed it to the Points Plus system that made fruits and veggies "free" which was better, but not by much IMHO.

Also, on WW you get 45 weekly points that can be used in addition to your 31 (or 29) daily points. This can be used for bread, wine, cake, etc. I found personally I would strive at the 29 points and filling up on as many fruits and veggies as possible cos I didn't want to waste it on 7 points of my beloved almond butter. (Hello, Mexican on the weekends!)

Bottom line is this- look at my diary- I eat my almondbutter every morning that is very satisfying and filling. I eat fried foods, eat out, enjoy my Mexican food, pizza, wine, and margaritas and am losing MORE weight and consistently than I was when I was on WW.

In addition- Unlike the meetings where you have a 15 minute window to discuss "BRAVOS", you have daily people that are involved in your diary, your NSV's, to talk to than at WW where people come in, sit for 45 minutes then go.

My friends on MFP (I have the best list of encouraging people you could imagine), not having to worry about doing math at restaurants, accountability, and the free factor are all why MFP is the #1 choice for me. But truthfully, anything gets you motivated about losing weight will work for awhile- but will WW be there like you MFP friend's list at goal? Are you likely yo sit in meetings when at goal? Probably not.

Weight Watchers AND MFP

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