does weight watchers work?

Does WW still count fruit as "free"? It's pretty easy to eat yourself into a calorie surplus even if you are within your points.

If it helps you stay on track, it can work. You can get that help for less money, IMO. Even so, that doesn't mean it isn't a good choice for some people.

I lost 70 lbs on WW. I did it for the meetings which at the time I needed. Life got in the way, scheduling changes, etc. So I quit WW and found MFP.

Some people have had a bad experience but I did not. I had an awesome meeting leader and a great group of people in my meetings. I was never pressured to buy their food. They will teach you portion control.

Whether you join WW or not I highly recommend getting a food scale. You will be amazed at the size of an actual portion. Teach yourself to cook. If you can follow directions you can follow a recipe. Pinterest is a great source for recipes of any type including WW friendly recipes.

In a nutshell, WW works but so does MFP. You get out of them what you put in to it.

Good Luck to you :flowerforyou:

I lost 20 lbs in 3 months on Weight Watchers and I'm still going. It's pretty non-restrictive. It'll bring you down slowly in terms of how much you can eat too (it recalculates as you weigh in every week). So it won't start you off on a the equivalent of a 1200 calorie diet.

I didn't know how to cook worth beans when I started WW. I could turn chicken into rubber. Actually, I could turn ANYTHING into rubber (if only I was in the tire business...). But most of the WW recipes are pretty simple (at least the ones I chose). You can also enter any recipe you CAN cook into their calculator (I like the 5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Recipes from Company's Coming - they're surprisingly hard to mess up) - I just make little substitutions. Like if it calls for shredded cheese, I'll use low-fat shredded cheese. If it calls for ground pork, I'll use extra lean ground beef or chicken. Sometimes I use a little less meat and "fill in" with mushrooms.

So it goes to show, you can't cook now but you can learn. Cooking is an acquired skill, not a born talent. You have to make an effort. And you need to just throw it in the garbage if it didn't work! I did that a few times. Restaurant foods are also in their database (though I find I can't always find the restaurant - which is where www.exercise4weightloss.com comes in - they have a fantastic WW restaurant database. They have great introductions to the program too and it's free so you might be able to find out your points goal before even signing up).

I would say that the thing I like most about WW is the fact that steamed and raw fruits and veggies (other than starchy ones like potatoes, corn, peas, etc.) are ZERO points. In other words, it really helps you STOP THINKING about every little thing you eat. You can snack on as many fruits and veggies as you want. It really encourages eating fruit and veggies more than MFP will. Which for me was probably the number one thing I changed which improved my health. If you fill up on broccoli before eating pasta, you won't eat as much pasta (even as a self declared pasta fiend).

When I came on here it's because I was using WW Online which does lack a little bit on the community support aspect. But I've found the MFP has not worked nearly as well as WW has. And it's annoying to try to remember how many carrots or blueberries I ate. WW Online is far cheaper than the meetings version, but it lacks some things too. Although I should probably mention that I went the super cheap route regarding Weight Waters Online... I pay for half of a friends online subscription (which comes to $11 a month) and log my points and weight in a spreadsheet I made in MS Excel that I have saved on my phone... I log into her account using a computer (I plan for the whole day all at once) and look up the foods and exercises, save my recipes with "K" at the front so we know who's recipe is who's. It works well for me since I'm way too cheap (clearly) to pay for data on my phone (But who else do you know who has a phone plan under $30 a month?). With no data comes... no WW or MFP on the go... haha.

But I agree with other poster, MFP, SparkPeople, WW, etc... all of them will work but you must follow it diligently. You're only cheating yourself if you don't. And ALL of them take a lot of effort to get used to because none of them will allow you the freedom to eat like you always have and still lose weight. But that's just a fact of losing weight (sadly).

Edit:

I just wanted to add a major difference between MFP and WW is that WW calculates it's points off carbs, fibre, fat, and protein. Calories are not involved at all. I've noticed that sometimes my WW points will barely bring me to 1000 calories a day but sometimes they will bring me to 1500 calories a day. It all balances out though. I also think that when they convert your exercise to points that they are FAR more conservative than MFP (which tends to over estimate). So it's harder to accidentally eat too much after a workout.

I started out on WW (lost 97 pounds in a year). I liked the program and the group aspect of it.

Just like any "diet" or lifestyle change, you get out of it what you put in. You can sign up, pay the fees, and not lose weight if you don't follow the program. Same thing goes for MFP: you can sign up (free), log your food, and still gain weight because you're eating a surplus. If you can afford it and like having the group, give it a shot. If paying for it or going to meetings as a group won't work, then start logging everything via MFP, and make sure you weigh your food.

As for their foods, they are hit and miss. I loved some of the stuff they sold and hated others. I ate their strawberry and cream oatmeal for breakfast everyday for several months. It depends on your taste and texture preference when it comes to their stuff.

I haven't followed WW for years. About a year ago, I looked up the program. I was not a fan of the new way they calculated points. I decided to stick to MFP since I was better able to see what I was eating and all of my macros.

Weight Watchers can be fantastic. I lost 50lbs on there 12 years ago. I know others that have lost a lot with them as well. I maintained my loss for about 6 years. I gained it back because of my own issues. I tried to go back, but I was sick of counting points, it was expensive and I needed a change to motivate me, which is how I am now here. Like others said, it is what you put in. You will lose if you follow the plan. Good luck to you!

Good advice so far! I've lost a lot both ways.

The act of paying for a program can sometimes make me take my eating a lot more seriously, even though it's not much money (like $45/month) so sometimes I go for a few months and try their new programs.

The meetings are good for education and support and accountability. And recipes and food ideas. It's nice to have a 'pro' for advice for things like plateaus. They won't feed you b.s. like 'starvation mode' and 'building muscle', in my experience.

I don't like their web site or cookbooks.

If you don't/can't cook, their new Simple Start program might actually be good for you because it gives you a booklet of simple meals to fix and eat the first few weeks, so almost no counting or planning.

Your base points aren't really a feasible calorie level without several portions of fruit, so overeating by overdoing fruit isn't all that likely, unless you really try. For example, if I just ate my base points, I'd only be eating around 1000 calories so if I eat 300-400 calories of fruit a day, I'm right up to a healthy calorie level that still has a deficit. And it's nice to have a world of snacks that you don't have to track. It sure encourages you to eat more produce.

I started WW in October 12 weighing in at 230 left WW in June of 13 weighing in at 172. Started actively here around the time I left WW and have lost roughly 15 pounds. Just using the rough estimate of numbers that I gave you shows that , for me, WW works far better for me then MFP has and probably ever will. I also find that the support for WW and the number of people doing WW is far greater then MFP. If money is an issue stay with MFP if not I would recommend WW for the structure and discipline that it takes. I am not saying that MFP will not work or hasn't work for many people it just hasn't been what I was hoping for for me.

I've never used it but I have several friends who have. Personally, I think it's a waste of money and a sales pitch. Skip the 'point' system and just log food on here. This worked for me:

Log your food. All of it, for 2 weeks.
Look at what you're eating. Cut back to the amount of calories that MFP says you should be eating. You wont be eating much, because what you have been eating is packed with too many calories. You then have to figure out what you can eat that will keep you full and satisfied.
Make one change, such as skipping that morning doughnut and having something healthier for breakfast. I make oatmeal made with whole rolled oats, fresh fruit and Splenda. It takes 3 minutes to cook, while I make my morning coffee! I put 1/2 cup frozen berries in the microwave, with a little sweetener, just until thawed well. I boil the oats on low for 3 minutes. Mash up my berries with splenda, then add my oats. Toss in a few nuts or dried fruit, but measure them as they have more calories. It's easy, and delicious! I found that I was full until lunch time, instead of starving 1/2 an hour later. After that one change, I eventually started cooking omelets, scrambled eggs, etc. I still prefer that oatmeal though!
If you're not already, commit to walking (or whatever) at least 30 minutes per day, minimum of 3 times per week, but you will lose weight faster if you can exercise some how, daily. Lifting on non-walking days is a great way to get into shape. Go at any pace, just do it! Eventually you'll feel better and start going longer, faster, or trying different exercise. Walking is also free! I now walk and run both and I'll be 53 next month!
Then look at your lunch meals. I was eating canned, frozen, prepared 'diet' meals that had about 5 Tablespoons of food in them, and tons of sodium. I found a better and more filling alternative with 2 slices of Healthy Life bread (35 cals per slice!) turkey, lettuce, tomato, and great value spicy mustard. I sometimes put avocado on it. Yum! I add as many fresh, chopped veggies I want to go with that, and a few Tablespoons of ranch for dipping, if I'm in the mood for it. Again, just like breakfast, I was now full and not hungry until dinner time!
Dinner. Grill it. Grill it all. Bake it, Prepare it every couple of days, such as bake or grill chicken so you can make many meals with it. I buy frozen chicken breasts and cook them from a frozen state in the oven until cooked. I then use it for wraps, stir fry, homemade soups, chicken salad, salads, and even to put in pasta. Skinnytaste.com has a LOT of healthy recipes that taste REALLY good and are so much better for you. Most of them are revamped, regular recipes that most of us are used to having, and the recipes are FREE! Eventually you'll get used to cooking.
Grill kabobs with red peppers, onions, mushrooms, and the lean meat of your choice. Serve it with brown rice (or even the instant, 90 second pouches of brown and wild rice, etc.)
Snacks: If you need any, eat a boiled egg, just the whites if you want to feel full with fewer calories, jello with REAL redi whip, fresh fruit, a banana with 1 tablespoon of almond butter. What I try to do is eat something that will satisfy hunger, cravings, yet nourish my body. Even carrots taste super sweet, once you cut out the sugary crap you've been used to eating.
Weigh your food! Don't just measure it! Scooping 1/2 cup of oats into a measuring cup vs. weighing a serving, can make the difference between 50 extra calories you can use for something else.
Once a week, I eat some garbage. Yep, high calorie crap. It may be a Butterfinger blizzard (small or medium), it might be a chocolate covered doughnut, an ice cream cone, a candy bar, a serving sized bag of chips, cookies, etc. Just don't buy a WHOLE package of the above! Stop at a store and buy ONE single serving!

Sorry for such a long rant, I just wanted to show that you can eat healthy foods, have the occasional 'treat' and still lose weight. You don't need weight watchers, fads, or have to work out every single day.

I hope this helps. YOU can do this!

WW absolutely works. I lost 50 pounds a few years ago with WW. Where I messed up is once I became a Lifetime Member, I quit going. Wrong!!!! So now I have to start over, but that's my fault; it would have been free for me to keep going!

WW was great for me because it held me more accountable. When you know someone else is going to be weighing you in, you are more likely to "be good."

By the way, you don't have to cook to diet. I cook on Thanksgiving day...that's it!! I lost the whole 50 eating out every day. It's about portion control and good choice as with any plan.

My favorite part of WW is you get more food. With there system all fruits and most veggies are FREE, so you aren't counting those. Basically you can snack on them anytime you are hungry without going over your daily allowance.