weight watchers vs MFP

I am a veteran of weight watchers! I lost quite a bit several years ago, when they had their Core Program. I STILL Love that one today. But they renamed it and refenagled it to power foods ors omething or other. not sure what they call it now. I really liked weight watchers, especially the support I got. I went religiously to my tuesday noon time meetings, and I loved my leader. I think he helped me with my motivation and just overall morale.

Core was more a whole foods, eat clean (basically, no counting points unless you are eating outside of Core foods. So, it'd be comparable to Clean eating, paleo (maybe?), just good healthy grains, lean meats, lots of veggies and fruits. Nonfat dairy is the only thing I would greatly disagree with, even to this day. The points system is pretty easy overall. And things with same calories have different points, that just says there's difference in the other calculations, like FIBER or FAT. I wish they would consider sugar, but I don't think they've done that yet?? I'm not sure. I haven't been in about 3-4 years?

I loved WW when i did it. I did very well on it at one point. I think the support was more my boost though. If you were just doing weight watchers online, then I'd say just do MFP. If you were considering meetings, then i'd say go for it! Because you can't really get that kind of IN person support from the internet... Sorry guys! I'm just saying, having people directly in your life supporting your efforts, and giving you that boost or consoling on the gain due to whatever... or just that GOOD kick in the pants you need, It honestly can't be beat!

But I'd say, eat smartly, avoid processed foods overall, and try to find people in your life, not just here, to help with your efforts. That really is the only difference, if you aren't going to WW meetings.

I do both WW and MFP. I find that WW points and their informational tools ("cheat sheets") help me navigate decisions about food choices. They favor eating things that are filling, with low glycemic index, things that are not captured strictly by calorie counting. They encourage participants to eat more fruits and vegetables, less carbohydrates and alcohol (ok, an oversimplification, but you get the idea). In the past I focused only on calories, but then made poor food choices. I would stay within my calorie budget, but eat high calorie foods. I was always hungry because the food wasn't filling.

I still like knowing how many calories I'm taking in - it makes for an interesting comparison, so I am tracking both. Long term, I imagine I would stick with MFP once I reach goal weight.

Not better, not worse, just different.
If you need extra support and/or extra accountability, then the meetings are incredibly valuable. Not cheap though.
If you prefer the points system, it is very easy to do at home without paying for meetings or paying for the online stuff. There are a million free apps out there that will provide you with the points calculator. And you don't need access to their database, all you need is the calculator and you can figure out the points for anything (as long as the nutritional info is provided, of course). In my years at WW, I never bothered with their food database.
I have done Weight Watchers a few times. Twice I lost large amounts of weight. (I gained it back, but it wasn't Weight Watchers fault, it was mine, obviously).
I personally preferred it before they changed it (in 2010). To figure out points, it used to be calories, fat and fiber. Now it's carbs, protein, fat, and fiber. I liked the old way, just personal preference. And I don't like fruit and veggies being 0 points. I don't think that's a good idea. A friend of mine was doing WW and couldn't figure out why she wasn't losing weight...yeah, she was eating all her daily points plus 2-3 bananas, a bowlful of grapes, and a couple of apples every day.
Anyway, sorry for the rambling. I have nothing negative to really say about Weight Watchers, but right now I feel like MFP is the place for me.

I prefer WW because I find it easier to track, however some of your favorite foods will be more in points than in calories because WW is so concerned about fat. For example, easy for me to fit a chipotle burrito bowl in my calories, but at 15 points even for a healthy veggie bowl and only 26 pts a day on WW it makes it more difficult to eat that.

I also like that I can still eat fruits or veggies if Im hungry at the end of the day, where as on MFP, if you go over your calories no more food for you. That's hard for me, so I think it's just preference. I can tell you the message boards and user support is way better on MFP.

I think WW is good for somebody that was previously clueless about nutrition and needs help to get started. The point system probably isn't the best but it's very good for somebody that doesn't know better. Plus, many people need the group meetings for positive reinforcement. It's embarrassing to go and say... "I gained 5lbs since the last meeting", so it's further encouragement to stick with the plan. I think that in the long-term, most people will need something else to help teach them better nutrition for life.

Just my opinion... But I think the group atmosphere is what makes WW's better than MFP. Again, individuals feel some kind of accountability or at least the desire to avoid public humiliation in group. On MFP, people can report in and hide behind a monitor so it's not really the same, generally speaking of course.

I have done both and the main difference is that WW is strictly points and MFP is calories and macros. I found that I was not eating as balanced as I should on WW because I was going for the most bulk for my points and i was low on fat and protein, which I discovered when I lost about 1/3 of my hair. MFP works better for me because I can keep track of the nutritional value of my food better.

Well the only issue with Weight Watchers is you have to stay on that diet. Once you go off the diet, the results won't last. Where as if you can develop a plan that can fit your lifestyle for good, you will be able to use the common sense that you've learned for the rest of your life. For instance, I've gotten in the routine of eating oats and turkey on wheat, and fruits and veggies. Those are things I will use as go2 foods for the rest of my life, where as with Weight Watchers, it might not be easy to stay on that forever.

Do you even know what WW is? It is eating real foods in a real life setting and counting the calories by assigned point values. I think you are mixing them up with Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, and others that provide you with the foods you eat rather than teach you how to choose your own foods.

The points calc favors protein and fiber. It does penalize fat and alcohol. The program includes guidelines to include at least 2t. of healthy oils in your diet per day.

You can view the points formula in Wikipedia, if anyone has a lot of interest in it.

I have done weight watchers and found I was losing about 0.5lbs per week if any loss at all which I found a bit demotivating. You also have to pay!!!

MFP is free last time I did this after initial good losses I was consistently losing at least 1lb per week. I also feel more in control as I know exactly how much I am eating.

MFP also has a better database and the barcode scanner!!