Weight watches question

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darrensurrey
darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know WW say you don't need to count vegetables. Why does it work for many then? Do they encourage really low calorie eating via the points system?

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  • beckytcy
    beckytcy Posts: 135 Member
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    From their website: "The idea of the "free" fruit and vegetable was created to give members a break from counting these very low-calorie foods that "generally did not contribute to weight gain." I think giving vegetables a points value of zero makes your life easier, so you might as well try it. If however, you aren't losing weight, you might want to use MFP's tracking system instead. Some vegetables, such as peas and green beans, *do* have a significant number of calories, so... I dunno. I think it depends on how much weight you have to lose. I lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers using their point system, though, so I don't see anything wrong with the zero-points-for fruits and veggies. Since I am now trying to lose additional weight and am lower than my Weight Watchers Lifetime weight, I now track everything on MFP to be completely accurate. Good luck!
  • mschicagocubs
    mschicagocubs Posts: 774 Member
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    If you are on WW and JUST eating fruits and vegetables ... it is not the ideal weight loss system for you.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
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    Stay away from WW. It's a con. Charge you money for either nothing or smaller portions (no reduction in price mind you).
  • mschicagocubs
    mschicagocubs Posts: 774 Member
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    Stay away from WW. It's a con. Charge you money for either nothing or smaller portions (no reduction in price mind you).

    There is nothing wrong with WW. While, MFP is very similar and FREE ... WW does provide things that people need. Some people need structure, point system, recipes, meetings, etc.

    I was on WW and lost 50lbs.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    I know WW say you don't need to count vegetables. Why does it work for many then? Do they encourage really low calorie eating via the points system?

    Weight Watchers does not encourage low calorie eating. The basis of the program is portion control. I think having a scale is great but I don't use a scale because I learned to portion control my foods from Weight Watchers. I lost 32lbs on the program. I came here because this is a free site. If this site didn’t exist then I would have stayed with WW. The zero point is applied to fruits and veggies as long as you eat a reasonable amount such as one or two serving per meal. What I noticed as I tracked was if I gone over a serving size or two with fruits and veggie then the system added one point. The program was changed over the last year so I don’t know if it’s the same way.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    So the reality is that they agree you can overeat fruit and veg then?

    (I'm trying to learn more about it but by avoiding their marketing gumpf.)
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    It encouraged me to eat far more fruits and veggies than I did before I started their program. With that being stated, you could achieve the same results with MFP and save your money. The bottom line is the appropriate calorie deficiency that you set for yourself be it WW or MFP.
  • christina2012
    christina2012 Posts: 8
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    When I was doing WW - another reaso for 0 point fruits and vegetables is also to encourage the individual to eat lets say an apple vs a low calorie snack - like the 100 cal bag of baked lays - they may be equivalent calorie wise but the apple carries more nutritional value for your body

    On old style of WW when fruits and veg carried points some peoples mentalities was if an apple is 2 points and i can have a not so healthy snack for 2 pts they would go for the not so healthy snack.

    When I was doing it I was very observant of how many servings I had - although I didn't get overweight by eating too many apples - I didn't want to slow down my losses with filling up on too many apples and not eating other nutrient rich foods and being afraid of using my points and only filling up on "0 point" foods
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    I didn't know they changed things. I see why now. I'd have both the apple and a packet of crisps. Which is what I will do later.
  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
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    Stay away from WW. It's a con. Charge you money for either nothing or smaller portions (no reduction in price mind you).

    A con? Then it's a damn good one... Their con got me lose over 100 pounds and keep it off for 4 years.

    And for the record, I use MFP because of the zero point fruits and veggies. It's a great concept to get people started (to make healthier choices, choosing fruits & veggies over pre-packaged snacks), but it will cause a person who is close to goal or at goal to gain weight if they overeat on the sugary fruits (such as pineapple, which was my downfall).

    I love WW, but it does have some major drawbacks for people maintaining weight because their isn't as much support or materials to help members maintain. The leaders do their best, but corporate doesn't make money if people stay at goal (because of Free Lifetime Membership). WW is a business, plain and simple. But the local centers are run by former members, so they know the struggle and the problems and do their best to help the current members.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I know WW say you don't need to count vegetables. Why does it work for many then? Do they encourage really low calorie eating via the points system?

    It works for WW (from what I've read) ....because the daily calories (before fruits & veggies) is very low. Eating them (and not "counting"....just gets you back to calories of other programs.
  • Iknowsaur
    Iknowsaur Posts: 777 Member
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    I don't understand why people pay for weight watchers.
    Their program, points system, and recipes are posted all over the internet for free.
    Even then, counting points is no different than counting calories, except maybe that it's less accurate.
    Fruit can be very high in calorie. Just sayin'.

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