mfp compared to weight watchers

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sharonmac
sharonmac Posts: 119
in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering if anyone in the past has tried weight watchers. If so which was more helpful. I'm torn f I should try weight watchers again or stick with mfp. I tried mfp back n September and stuck with it for about six weeks but didn't lose any weight

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  • netter43
    netter43 Posts: 110 Member
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    I have done weight watchers in the past - I didn't do bad on it, but actually found counting the points a lot harder than just logging my food on MFP. I did not like our meeting leader either; all she did was talked about what she did on the weekends. I was looking for motivation and ideas and that is exactly what I find on MFP without the cost and I can do it from work or home and feel just as accountable to all of my support team on MFP as I did doing the weekly weigh-ins at weight watchers and actually feel like I get way more support with MFP!

    Bottom line is, you get out of it what you put into it. If you are not going to keep your eating under your alloted points and/or calories AND workout at least some you are not going to lose the weight. I personally find MFP much more enjoyable.

    Best of luck with your decision!!
  • karenmi
    karenmi Posts: 242 Member
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    Hello! I did Weight Watchers in 2002. I lost 42 lbs in a year and kept most of that off for almost 5 years. Unfortunately I gained back all but 10 lbs over a couple of years but have lost 43 lbs since February using MFP. Only about 15 more to go!

    Personally I think that any program will work if you stick to it. WW is a very healthy, safe way to lose weight, and if you need the "public" accountability of a weekly meeting weigh-in to be successful then go for it! Some people find the meetings very helpful, and I did for the first 2 years but after that they just got repetitive.

    Again, I think the key to success is staying with the program: not becoming obsessed with it but being consistent. I have logged every morsel I've eaten since joining MFP, even the "bad" days, and find that is enough accountability for me. I allow myself to indulge on a regular basis and I don't go crazy with exercise but consistently do an hour at the gym 4-5 times a week.

    I find WW and MFP to be very similar but I do find logging calories instead of Points much easier.

    Good luck, whatever you choose!
  • katlou2
    katlou2 Posts: 199 Member
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    I've tried weight watchers several times and always seem to be hungry all the time and can't stick with it. I've had more success just using MFP and since it's free that helps too. The last 2 weight watcher classes I tried I wasn't real thrilled with the instructors either.
  • sharonmac
    sharonmac Posts: 119
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    I agree. I really do love the support on here. Just got very discouraged because I tracked my calories but wasn't losing the weight.
  • LainMac
    LainMac Posts: 412 Member
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    I've done both. I had sucess with both. But MFP has lasted the longest so far.
  • jenricher
    jenricher Posts: 32
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    maybe you should try increasing your exercise and see if that helps you start losing. Maybe it will jump start you!!
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    I started on MFP November 2009 and used it for about the first 6 months without losing any weight. I was faithful to log every morsel in those months though. Looking back now Im glad I stuck with it because that is how I learned a lot about myself, about my emotions, my eating habits, and my personal demons!
    I needed this time to see how my habits and choices affected my weight. I learned MUCH more about myself from those days, and from "bad" days and/or choices than anything else.

    Be seeing those numbers in black and white on a daily basis, seeing the weekly/monthly reports of my nutrition it helped to bring me to my "ah ha" moment in May 2010.

    I have lost just about 50 pounds since the end of May and have completely changed my lifestyle so I know I will never gain it back. The support and encouragment from my MFP friends, coworkers, and family was also instrumental in my sucess.

    You have to do what works for you, but remember, as with anything else what you put into it is what you will get out of it. I actually made a challenge with my Mom and we lost weight together . . . all electronically as we live about 8 hours apart. If you need the "face to face" support and encouragement go with Weight Watchers, but if you have someone you can do it with to challenge and motivate you MFP is an amazing tool that DOES work.

    Good luck!
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    I've done WW before (old points not new) for FREE and it was fun and easy however that was when I was in university, before I actually learned about nutrition and the importance of proteins and complex carbs to prevent insulin spikes from sugar-filled white bread and all that good info.

    On WW I often starved. 18-23 points was about 800-1200 calories daily (again, original WW not flex points or extra 30+ points kind of rules that came out in past years). Their new Points Plus system should rectify that by finally including protein and carbs into the equation.

    I still like to review my end of day cals/fat/fiber and put it in my notes section here. Now that I've bean eating extremely well for the past few years I actually eat 20-26 WW points a day but am always under my cals on MFP so I choose MFP

    The WW calculator site I like is http://www.spruce.ca/health/wwcalc.html I like this one since there is no fiber max unlike other calculators so I can enter the day as a total rather than individually (which means points may be off by a maximum of 1 working it out as a total rather than individually but I like my odds - I counted both for a month and can confidently say error is only 1)
  • psychicreader80
    psychicreader80 Posts: 43
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    I have done both. They both have worked somewhat. Problem is that weight watchers is harder to count . I didnt like the meetings and this is much better in my opinion.
  • francescorkill
    francescorkill Posts: 36
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    I think MFP is WAAAAY better. I don't feel restricted on what I can and can't eat and I can guarantee that I am getting all the proper nutrients for my body. It also forces me to work out to make that deficit in calories. I just think all around this is a better tool.
  • hjy319
    hjy319 Posts: 269 Member
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    I've done WW 2 times, lost 30, gained back 40 1st time, 2nd time the leader was just not that great and I stopped going. I find I like this style better, as i found out today, when you need help, just post on the boards and you will get a ton of support. I always felt that at the WW meetings I was just another person in a big room, not much personal attention or help. On here even though I haven't meet people face to face, I've friended them and we cheer each other on daily. Its the little motivations that sometimes add up to the best help!
  • Sharont213
    Sharont213 Posts: 323 Member
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    I did WW several years ago and got down to top end of what is recommended for me, hitting goal and getting lifetime status. My biggest problem is that I felt like I was dieting and hated having to calculate points. I have been here consistently for 6 months now and love it.. never feel like I am dieting .. I think you have to find what works for you.. one thing WW will teach you is the right foods (because it isn't just calories).. good luck .. either way, I wish you sucess.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,350 Member
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    Just wondering if anyone in the past has tried weight watchers. If so which was more helpful. I'm torn f I should try weight watchers again or stick with mfp. I tried mfp back n September and stuck with it for about six weeks but didn't lose any weight

    I have stuck with WW for about 6 to eight months at a time and I always end up losing very little if any weight at all. A coulple of times I ended up. I have been struggling here also but at the end of 9 months I am down, so that is better than I have ever did at WW. I have never lost 24 pounds with WW.

    MFP is good if you work it. I may be dead wrong but I always felt you ate too much food with WW also. I think it works for many and it is better than programs where you have to eat their products but it did not work for me. WW is good for sure if you work it but I guess I was never able to work it. For some reason it is easier for me to work MFP.

    The other good thing about MFP is it is absolutely FREE......:-) And I get support and I am getting healthier. We support each other and we don't pay a dime for it.

    So when I compare MFP to WW, I am sold on MFP for sure. See I know it is going to take me 2 to 3 years to reach my goals and then I want to maintain my goals also. At $10 a week vs $0 a week I say what is there to compare.......:-)

    You know there are some members that do WW in conjunction with MFP. Not sure how they do it but I know they do it.. And one more thing and this is strictly my own opinion, I feel WW is designed for ones with 50 or 60 pounds to lose. Not sure it really works for Morbibly obese and for Super Morbibly obese.

    I had a WW leader tell me that many years ago. She was the 1st person who introduced me to weight loss surgery and she persisted in recommending to to me when she saw me struggling at 600 pounds plus. She worked with a doctor in the Biartrics field. She beleived in WW and WLS. If it had not been for her I would have never researched WLS. I owe her a lot.
  • cobarlo14
    cobarlo14 Posts: 582 Member
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    And one more thing and this is strictly my own opinion, I feel WW is designed for ones with 50 or 60 pounds to lose.


    Mollie - Agree with you 100%.

    So, I also have alot 200+ of weight to lose. Yes, I have done WW lose alittle but I bail because the the fact that I may not have the funds or just find that I am "living" on thier snacks/bars/food, if I miss a week I have to pay for that Boooooo.
    That is soooo not realistic either- you don't go to Weight Watchers to do food shopping...

    I like that calories are now everywhere and make better choices that 20yrs ago - you couldn't find a nutritional packet anywhere..I can even made bad choices and compensate for the rest of the day and STAY within my DAILY CALORIE INTAKE.
    Much prefer logging into MFP vs writing everything down.

    There's a psych element there for me too I guess. I find that MFP puts alot MORE into perspective.....Amount of intake and how in the future I will cope with that calorie number going down. Long term food consumption....

    My tactics as dicussed with my Dr & Nutritionist (love them!!) are alittle weird. I have not excersized at all. Housework/Garage organizing is it for now - I know I will have to in the future & will then. For now, I need as much weight off so I can not twist anything and go limping around. Call me whatever.....

    So far so good :) stay focused
  • Gargwin82
    Gargwin82 Posts: 152 Member
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    I did WW online for almost a year and went from 230 to 183 then really bottomed out. It got very tedious trying to guess the point value of items on the spot or that weren't listed on their site. I ended up stopping for Oct/Nov and when I went back everything had been changed so I would have had to start from scratch.

    My choice is MPF because
    -If someone enters a food it's available to EVERYONE
    -GREAT support system
    -Doesn't change everything overnight
    -FREE
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    I agree. I really do love the support on here. Just got very discouraged because I tracked my calories but wasn't losing the weight.
    If you weren't losing weight, then I would say that the numbers you used weren't accurate. Remember that most of the numbers here are estimates. The calories burned during exercise are definitely estimates as is the number it calculates for your BMR. Your actual numbers could be higher or lower. You may have to play with the numbers to make them work out...

    I know when I first was logging my food every online site including this one was over-estimating my BMR. That means they were telling me to eat more than I should. I had to just ignore their recommendations for daily calories and use what caused me to lose weight. For example, MFP said I should be losing 2x as much weight a week as I was.

    The other thing is that the exercise calories that it calculates were higher than what my HRM said. (Except for running. That one was too low.) So, if I'd gone by what MFP calculated for me for exercise, I'd be eating too many calories.

    But once I lost weight, I had built up enough muscle that the online sites now tell me to eat too little. They are calculating my BMR as about 100-200 calories less a day than it really is. So I have to play games with the activity level to get MFP to recommend the right number of calories to maintain. At least the exercise calculations are more accurate now!

    As for WW vs. MFP, I don't think of them as being the same thing. WW is an entire program with meetings and products and a system for weight loss. MFP is a site to log your exercise and calories but you can use it anyway you want. You could even use it while on WW!
  • lilrhody
    lilrhody Posts: 84 Member
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    I recently gave up WW and decided to track only on here. I found that counting points was driving me mad - I hated that I couldn't just look at a package and know that it was X calories and therefore Y points. I also found that I wasn't losing consistently at all - even when I was well within my points. Since switching to here, I have been able to pinpoint why I didn't lose in a particular week with much more ease.

    All that being said, WW can be good for teaching nutrition, giving you ideas for healthy low calorie meals, etc. I still think it is a great program - but it just isn't the program for me.

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