Convert from Weight Watchers

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  • USMCnetty90
    USMCnetty90 Posts: 277 Member
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    I am 5'2 as well!!! I already feel like I fit in instead of being the "little" one....
    I however was not a WW member - I was always of the "I dont diet" group... and that has made me flabby -
    so healthier choices and a new app that keeps me accountable and easily monitors my intake -
    and new friends!
  • littlelady2b
    littlelady2b Posts: 104
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    The first time I joined weight watchers was in 1987 or 88 I can't quite remember and back then it was very similar to here. You had to fill out a diary of your breakfast, lunch and dinner on a diary sheet. You counted calories and you learned a lot about fats, carbohydrates, protein etc. I lost 50 lbs and kept it off for years. It was the best program and it taught you independence and to be able to walk away when you reached your goal weight and just come back periodically if you needed to because you earned your lifetime and your gold key. When I gained weight again I went back then I went back again totaling 7 times. When I returned the first time they had changed the program from calorie counting and weighing and actually teaching you how to make a lifestyle change so you can be independent to the point system. I didn't learn as much I didn't feel like I was in control, I kept gaining then losing then gaining then losing ending up no where. It was a program that had changed too much to work for me MFP is the old way combined with new friends and support and I like it. I can weigh myself when I want instead of standing in line waiting to face that scale that almost caused me an anxiety attack every week. Where I went our leader had changed from a wonderful woman who had been through everything we went through and truly understanding what it was like to lose a large amount of weight to a tiny cute lady who barely lost 10 lbs and was just reading from a script and had no clue what it was like to be in our situation. That also turned me off from that particular site for WW meetings. WW controls your weight loss and you don't become independent you become a lifetime member and if you don't continue with their program chances are great that you will regain the weight plus some. Of course it does work for some people and I commend those people for sticking with it and who are successful. Its just not ever going to be a program for me again. I want to control everything I want to know what is going in my body and I don't want anyone to tell me when I need to weigh myself. I will also say this many people's experiences are different because their meetings and leaders are different. WW was once a great program but for me that is a thing of the past but I will give them this the original program was the absolute best and taught me a lot. The meetings use to be so packed that if you didn't get there really early then you would be standing. Think of this does real food sell in points is it made it points no in calories, fat grams, sugar, etc. etc. I love it here and for those who feel they need to defend WW do so because it works for you not because you think it will work for everyone because it doesn't I'm living proof and so are many others on here. Besides its free here WW has become expensive from when I use to go. For someone on a fixed income like me its a no brainer.
  • loserlee123
    loserlee123 Posts: 109 Member
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    I did weight watchers many times and with any sort of diet if you don't stick with it, you will gain. I lost 50 lbs and gained it all back out of frustration when I hit a plateau. When I tried to go back I just wasn't committing to it and throwing away my money, month after month. I think I needed a change and MFP was it. I find it so much easier to count calories rather than points, I like to see the macro breakdown, and the data base of foods is great. The way the exercise buy back plan is a motivator for days I need the extra calories, the community support is great, the fact that someone might be reading my diary keeps me on point and I like seeing how many days I have logged in and committed to it. I just want to keep going and be successful.
  • dominiqueruns
    dominiqueruns Posts: 82 Member
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    I too have had great success in the past with WW but always seemed to gain the weight back. This time (and hopefully my last time) I'm choosing to focus on eating clean and increasing my protein intake as well as staying within a certain amount of daily calories. MFP is perfect for this! I can't believe all the food items in the database, and I LOVE the barcode scan feature for those things like yogurt and protein powder!!
  • churchchipmunk
    churchchipmunk Posts: 83 Member
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    Hi Kimberly and welcome! I would be more than glad to encourage you on this journey! I'm 5'3", 44 years old and my goal is to loose 30-35 lbs.

    I love MFP. It help me stay accountable at home and out to eat and the friends here are fabulous and very encouraging!!!!!

    Feel free to add me as a friend :)...Cindi
  • lcbowz
    lcbowz Posts: 39 Member
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    I, too am a WW convert. I did lose and get fit (following the "core" plan), but gained it back when I stopped tracking and exercising (go figure!). Tried adapting to the new points, but they always seem to come up with a new points system. I decided that since my metabolism has slowed down, that perhaps I should track calories and am thinking of a fitbit as well. Logging food is key for me; when you see what your goal is and what you've eaten plus your exercise in black and white it makes a difference! The basic factors and premise are good; setting goals, rewards, etc.

    Joined MFP a while ago, but just started using after gaining 3 more pounds; on day 3 of tracking and exercising! My first goal is 10%. I'm 5'2", 49 years old (on HRT also - of which I'm not sure how it affects the metabolism) and have 50-70 lbs to lose. After my 10% I'll set another to get to a healthy weight.

    I feel very inspired by one of the success stories - the woman who weighted 300 lbs and is now 130! You go girl!

    Good luck to everyone. Feel free to add me!
  • JuneBabyJeannine
    JuneBabyJeannine Posts: 15 Member
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    Hi. Newly converted from WW, as well....for many of the same reasons already discussed. I have returned to MFP just today, and can already see that the tracking tools are much more detailed and easier to use, together.

    Have a great day, everyone!

    Jeannine
  • jragolia
    jragolia Posts: 1
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    Hi Everyone,

    I am a lifetime WW member and have plateaud for so long since they changed to Pro Points and made fruit 0 points. I found on the old system I lost my 45 lbs and was very successful, and then when they changed the plan I failed myself miserable. I am now 15 lbs over my goal weight. I still go to the meetings but can't bare to get on their scale and pay $18 every time I do. So I absically go to the meetings and thats about it.

    My husband introduced me to MFP and I am loving it!!!!!! Is anyone else FLOORED by the amount of calories and sugar in fruit? I mean, I knew fruit was high in calories, but didn't think I was eating 400 calories a day in "free" fruit, and exceeding my daily sugars by DOUBLE the amount I was supposed to. I had told my Leader for the longest time that I knew the free fruit was sabotaging me. Even 3-1/2 cup servings per day I still wasn't losing the weight and my belly became flabbier and flabbier. I am now down to one fruit a day with MFP because I am trying not to exceed my daily sugar limit.

    Searching for foods on here is WAY easier than calculating WW points values, and to be honest I love that everything is here all in one forum. Looking to lose my 15 lbs and get back to my goal weight of 140lbs.

    Glad there are support groups and message boards! :)

    Juliana
  • karenertl
    karenertl Posts: 270 Member
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    For a while, I was considering joining Weight Watchers but never really felt like going to meetings and weighing in that often.
  • riel1991
    riel1991 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hello. I just joined this site as well! I am 22 years old and very over weight! I have always struggled with weight my whole life.. But never gained this much. I have 75 pounds to lose. And I have soo many times just quit trying, because it seems soo impossible for me! But I need to get motivated again, and do this!
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
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    Well, hello everyone. I just cancelled my membership at Weight Watchers because
    1. there was no meeting in my neighborhood or locality that I could get to (and I live in Pittsburgh, hardly a small town)
    2. the point system masks the amount of calories I'm eating
    3. the tracking system does not keep track of nutrition information.

    So, I could be on an all-beer diet and still be under my point quota, but have no idea about what kind of food I am eating, how many nutrients, fats, sugars, salts, carbs, and proteins I'm getting each day. .

    Also,
    4. you can't easily track exercise along with food as you can here of myfitnesspal, and the little device you're supposed to keep on your body falls off so easily that I kept losing it.

    and finally,

    5. I found it was too easy to "cheat" with the point system because there are so few foods listed in its database.

    So, I'm starting over with myfitnesspal, and this time determined to stick to my plan to lose 2 pounds a week by eating a limited number of calories.

    I'm looking for friends, and here are a few facts about me: I'm 52, about 30 pounds overweight (something I never thought would "happen" to me) and struggling with quite a bit of stress in my life.

    Hoping to hear from some of you.

    Warmly,

    Kimberly

    I lost 30 pounds on weight watchers. It was great. But I learned nothing about nutrition. Just learned how to work the system so I could still eat crap and stay under my points. Shock of all shockers, I regained all the weight back, and then some. For all the reasons you listed (points system masks true intake, doesn't give nutrition info, etc.).

    Welcome to MFP. We are all losing weight differently (some are doing low carb, or clean food, or vegetarian, or whatever), but getting similar results. As I recently read, the secret to weight loss isn't a secret at all. Eat less. Move more. Preferably both.

    Enjoy the forums, but grow a thick skin because sometimes folks are a little harsh on here. But largely the people I've come across are honest and genuine in their desire to help.

    And take the suggested macros/calorie totals suggested in MFP with a grain of salt. For example, fruit has tons of sugars, but not all sugars are equal. And 1200 calories a day for a woman isn't necessarily what's best. I suggest you find out your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) numbers and create a calorie goal based on TDEE minus 15 or 20%. You will find calculators online.

    Or, you could ignore everything I say and follow your own instincts. That's what I love about MFP. We're all doing it differently, but WE'RE DOING IT!!!!
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
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    I bagged WW too. Back here, works well for me.
  • sparrow0716
    sparrow0716 Posts: 28
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    I'm a convert, too. I am through with the points system. Anything that encourages me to seek artificial sweeteners and fillers for fat-free food to stay under a seemingly arbitrary daily goal is not for me. I lost weight on it a few years ago, but now I know more about eating REAL foods and not the fake stuff. I have given up all sodas, as much HFCS as I can track (better for my kids' behavior, too), and fat-free for the sake of being fat-free. I don't even like the way that stuff tastes anymore. I do still use Crystal Light/Mio more often than I'd like to admit, but I use a packet designed for 20 oz. of water in about 75 oz., so I'm cutting that, too. I'm trying to switch to just lemon/lime juice this summer. One step at a time.

    If you like flavored-water-type things, you should try brewing iced herbal teas. They have lemon ginger or lemon lavender. Most, if not all of them have health benefits -- especially green tea!
  • NewMama221
    NewMama221 Posts: 22
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    I'm also a WW convert. My mom & I did WW back in the day when you tracked calories/fat/fiber .... I did GREAT! Well, we both did. I lost approx 30 pounds and was comfortable with my body. The program changed & it all went down hill from there. I started gaining when I wasn't tracking calories anymore and then I had lots of stuff going on in my life so the weight just kept going up up & up. I've also recently found out I have an allergy to wheat & dairy ... and that's mostly what I was eating, so probably was part of why I wasn't losing any weight.
    Now I'm eating foods that my body isn't freaking out about and I'm counting calories - also the folks of MFP are great and so supportive. It's such a big help.

    You can never have too many friends! Feel free to add me!! :)
  • katiej080810
    katiej080810 Posts: 42
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    To me it just wasn't practical to pay money for something that I can get for free if I am willing to count calories rather than points. Certain aspects of it I enjoyed like the free fruits and veggies and the meetings. At the same time sometimes I hated getting up on saturday morning and driving across town because that was the only time my favoritie leader taught. I think it is a healthy plan and you get what you put in. If you like sweets and have a tendency to binge eat it is hard to stay on track, at least for me, because the weekly points allowance made me feel like I had some leeway and then I would binge and it would all be gone in a couple of days and then I would binge more out of a panic. Now I know that if i eat over my daily calories I can start over tomorrow and just know that it is my daily choices that add up to weight loss. With WW I felt that if I had screwed up my weekly points I couldn't start over until my weigh in day so the rest of the week would become a free for all. It just wasn't feasible for a person like me, although I know it works for a lot of people.
  • Cedarwren
    Cedarwren Posts: 73 Member
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    I also recently left WW online. But not because it doesn't work. I think I just got bored, and I also got tired of paying for it. I find it easy to track on MFP and seeing all the success stories is so motivational.
  • avvalynna
    avvalynna Posts: 32
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    Weight Watchers 5x- lost 70lbs- gained it all back and then some.
    Jenny Craigs 1x - worked well....actually lost weight and my hair along the way. My body went into starvation mode.
    Atkins x1
    Slimfast x 3

    so far, THIS is working for my perfectly. I'm learning healthy ways of eating, about my daily intake and how exercise effects your body in regards to how it uses calories as fuel. I really think that this is it and I'm never going back. It's like a light bulb that went off.

    Always looking for friends. Feel free to add. Have a great weekend!
  • lovesretirement
    lovesretirement Posts: 2,661 Member
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    Ditto for me.
    I have joined WW so many times that I should own stock in the company! I remember when you were required to eat liver once a week.
    I just rejoined the online program in April, counted points for three weeks, lost 5 pounds, and got bored. I decided I needed to go back to basics...calories in, calories out...so here I am.

    I LOVE tracking my food and exercise on MFP! I eat a heavy plant based diet...some egg whites and cheese, but generally fruits and veggies. I love the carb, fat, protein, sugar and sodium tracking. I'm hopeful that this way of tracking will finally get me where I want to be. It's hard work, but it does not "mask" what you're eating, AND it's free.
  • dellaquilaa
    dellaquilaa Posts: 230 Member
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    I'm a convert too -- for all the same reasons! I started educating myself about the "right" kind of foods and even though they may be higher in fats or sugars, they're still good for you! - i.e. low fat cream cheese and sugar from fruits.

    I struggled a lot with WW allowing "lower points" on foods just because they were "fat free." That never made those kinds of foods better for me. In fact all the sugar-like chemical additives made them worse!

    I'm using MFP now to support my clean eating efforts and really track my calories in and out.

    If you're not on a multivitamin, I'd recommend taking a daily one ASAP so you get all the other vitamins and minerals you need. It really helps meet that weekly quota!

    Best of luck to all those coming over from WW country!!!

    ^^ that! I tried WW last summer and got really tired of it - I was still losing weight, but I hadn't really changed any of my habits because it was way too easy not to. I think MFP is far superior because it gives you a breakdown of food consumed, not just points.
  • frugalafterfifty
    frugalafterfifty Posts: 240 Member
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    My SIL lost 70 pounds on WW and is a counselor and my best friend just lost 100 on WW and is becoming a counselor. I tried it and it just wasn't for me. I'm 52 as well and have 30 pounds to lose. I like MFP because it's FREE (I hate when places take money out of my account - it always seems to come out when my account is low) and I get great support on here. I just had a discussion with my WW friend about how many WW fruits and veges are zero points when they actually do have calories. (Probably why i never lost on WW plan).

    Anyone please feel free to friend me. I'm on every day and working towards day 70. Struggling with a sluggish metabolism and trying to get it going through eating healthy eating and exercising.....oh, and maybe some good red wine on the weekends :blushing:

    ~ Terri

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