Weight watchers Online

Truly? I did it, and I'm having way more success using MFP. I have lost more weight and kept it off using this site, rather than WW. AND, MFP is free. It's ultimately up to you, but this site is more user friendly and does everything that WW's paid site does.

I enjoy a lot of the recipes the WW community shares. Its also a much more supportive and positive thinking community than MFP

The only complaint I have about WW is they tend to push pre-processed foods and sweets which are oh so yummy but stop me from losing weight. So if you join take all the pre-packaged stuff in tiny doses. Whole foods and protein/veggies are the way to go!

Note: I did WW about 4 years ago. I think the program has changed now to a focus on more "real food" items so they may have improved this.

I agree with Alatariel75. I too did it for a long time (just WW online). I tried the meetings, but for me that was not a great option. I think if you found a good leader and group, it may be a better experience. I did lose 60 lbs in almost 2 years, but it was not sustainable for me. WW did point me in the right direction, it just was not sustainable for me. I started to think about food all day trying to figure out points. So far with MFP I have not obsessed, I'm feeling like this really is sustainable. Another happy note, it's free to be on MFP : )

I wasn't too keen on the meetings, either. I didn't like having to live or die by weigh-ins and sit down with a bunch of women confessing their food sins over the week. It just felt too "AA" to me. (No offense to anyone who has been through AA or similar programs; I know people who have turned their lives around with them. They're just not for me).

I know so many people who are serial WW re-joiners it's not even funny. How do you think they stay in business?

I agree with Alatariel75. I too did it for a long time (just WW online). I tried the meetings, but for me that was not a great option. I think if you found a good leader and group, it may be a better experience. I did lose 60 lbs in almost 2 years, but it was not sustainable for me. WW did point me in the right direction, it just was not sustainable for me. I started to think about food all day trying to figure out points. So far with MFP I have not obsessed, I'm feeling like this really is sustainable. Another happy note, it's free to be on MFP : )

I wasn't too keen on the meetings, either. I didn't like having to live or die by weigh-ins and sit down with a bunch of women confessing their food sins over the week. It just felt too "AA" to me. (No offense to anyone who has been through AA or similar programs; I know people who have turned their lives around with them. They're just not for me).

I know so many people who are serial WW re-joiners it's not even funny. How do you think they stay in business?

I did the meetings early on but went to Online after they just. never. changed. It was like every meeting was for the newbies (which is fair enough I suppose) but after going for a while it was just the same stuff over and over. Cheer for the person who lost the most. Share your latest point-free monstrosity. Plug for the latest hideously expensive WW product. Rinse, repeat. I liked Online but here in Australia, the WW forums are BORING!! Lovely people, don't get me wrong, but you're lucky if there are 4 new threads in a day, or if a thread goes over 5 replies.

Found MFP and never looked back

I completely understand all of the issues that others have had with WW. When I started back up last year, I almost didn't make it because the leader was SO bubbly and in your face. She got in my bubble every week and just completely overwhelmed me. After a few weeks, she left because of a personal tragedy and was replaced by a leader that I adore.

If you don't have a good leader and don't relate well to the people in the group, the meetings are a complete waste of time. I'm lucky that my leader actually cares and the ladies are pretty cool, even if I am the youngest in the group.

They are focusing more on fresh produce than they did 5 years ago, which is good. They still talk about the WW products some, but they don't even come up every meeting anymore. They talk more about the serving spoons that are exactly a 1/2 cup, the scales, the cook books, and the other kitchen tools they sell now.

All of that said: If my step-dad wasn't paying for WW as a way to make sure that my mom and I get to see each other every week (sounds weird, but it's not really) I wouldn't be doing it. As much as I like my leader and the accountability of getting on the scale in front of another person, it's not worth $40-ish a month to me. I would rather spend that $40 on the gym and track everything for free here. I would miss it, though! Maybe if I existed in a different income bracket, it would be worth it.

I became a weight watchers life time member on the old program going to meetings ( no online existed then). I then had a child put weight on and online came out and this new system. For some reason it does not work for me. I find it easy enough but I never lose weight every time I try this new system.i think it's the unlimited fruit. Even if u have 2-3 pieces of
Fruit a day the calories add up. They were counted previously with weight watchers but not know which I think May have been the reason I can't no longer lose with it . Have found much more success with my fitness pal so I'll stick here

Former WW online person here who lost about 15 pounds initially and then plateaued. I left because I was tired of spending money gaining and losing the same 2 pounds over a year. I like MFP better where I can actually track what I'm eating better plus it's free. Also the WW bar scanner doesn't have half the products that MFP has.

I left because I was tired of spending money gaining and losing the same 2 pounds over a year. [/quote]

+1. I did WW online for several years. Initially lost 40+ lbs but gained 15 of it back and fluctuated for over a year. Honestly, what I learned from WW was how to watch what I eat, MFP works as well once you know what you are doing. Now just gotta do it....

Back 9 years ago I did weight watchers (religiously) online, followed the program to the tee, I went from 185ish down to 132lbs in 7 months. It was awesome, I found out that my biggest issue was portion size. Shortly after losing all the weight I wanted to I didn't keep my membership (financially it was a pain), but I maintained my weight for a long time, a couple years later my weight creeped up to 142 and I wanted to get control of it before it got out of hand. I started back up on weight watchers, but they had changed their plan, the way that they calculated points, and I HATED the new system, I ended up gaining another 5 lbs before I quit and went strictly to counting calories, I used another website at the time and then started using MFP last year when I got my BodyMedia and it linked my calorie burn directly to MFP. I am currently at 124lbs and holding strong. Not sure if I would have been able to do it on my own without the help of Weight Watcher in the beginning, it gave me the tools that I needed to learn how to control my portions and to count calories properly (if that make any sense)

I loved weight watchers, the old plan, NOT the current plan, the current plan just didn't work for me.

Good Luck with whatever you choose.

I will chime in and say if you want to do WW - meetings are the way to go IF you have the right leader. I had an AMAZING leader and still follow him on Facebook. If I had unlimited bank account I would totally track with MFP and attend WW meetings :laugh:

Its also a much more supportive and positive thinking community than MFP

This is the funniest thing I have read all day.

Yeah, I can generally hold my own with message board meanies but holy moly, the WW boards take it to a whole new level. It's really hard to believe there is a real live corporation with a rep to uphold behind that mess.

I remember my first week with Etools I couldn't find a WW staple food (for me)-- fat-free, sugar-free Jell-o pudding-- in their database. It turns out you needed to add the words "instant" or "pudding and pie filling" to your search or something ridiculous. If a tool can't find approximate matches, it's almost useless.