Weight Watchers as compared to MFP?

I've had great success with MFP and wish I would have found it before I got married (i'm 14 lbs lighter now than I was then). I suggest saving your money on WW (i dont like their new system) and spend it on p90x to get a killer body in 90 days just in time for your wedding! Good luck!

I did weight watchers in high school with my mom and while she had great success (she lost 80lbs) I didn't do very well. I feel that MFP not only gives you the option to come on everyday, every hour, any time, to not only write down, but to get encouraged on your weight loss journey. It really is helpful because I know if I feel down, or have a question I can jump on my phone, or the computer and it has everything right here, right now. Whereas weight watchers is a once a week session and that's the only time for you.

Good luck, and Congrats on getting married!


-Never give up-

Yup.

Don't "waist'" your money. Stick with MFP.

Neverdone WW but from watching friends do it, then ended up wasting their money because they gained all the weight back. I think that comes from not enough support as well...But this is a free site and has great insight on some awesome workouts that help keep that weight off. Not only that, there is a ton of supportive people on here and that makes a huge difference!

I would save your money on WW. I have a few coworkers that do it and are not pleased with their new Points Program. This is my first week with MFP and Ive lost 8 lbs already! I would definitely stick with MFP!!

Congrats on getting married!

You should join the Brides on a Mission Thread, we are on week 5 but its all brides helping each other get motivated and lose the weight together before our big day. Just search for us!

My mom and step-dad-in law both did WW. They lost a bunch of weight and gained it all back after they stopped paying for all the WW tools, food and meetings. They're both on MFP now.

They also do WW groups at my work. It's a set number of meetings each cycle. The same people sign up everytime because they all need to re-lose the weight they put on after the last session ended. Many of them have defected though, and despite the fact that our work has a program that reimburses the WW expenses, they stopped going because it wasn't effective.

I've never personally done it before though. I've only ever done MFP, so I can't personally compare.

I have done weight watchers before and I think the plan itself is okay. My issue is the fact that they are constantly changing the plan. I know from a business perspective they need to do this to make money, but it just seems like if the plan was that rock solid they should not have to change it all and they would still be able to make money.

I really like MFP. It is free. The pepple who are on these message boards are an absolute godsend.

On MFP you can also continue to use it after you have lost the weight. They have a setting for maintaining your current weight. You could never afford to do that with WW.

I say try WW and then if you don't like it you can always come back here. Or continue to use both and see what you think. Are there penalties if you leave the program early?

The best benefit of joining at work would be the group support. You have that on here, at your own time, and probably far more than you'd ever need. That being said, there is something special about having people around you who help hold you accountable. No one that I know is obsessed with losing as I am, so having this site has been a godsend. People may be "dieting," but that doesn't mean they are trying to change the rest of their lives. I am. And I find that WW, although it says it is about a life change, actually has more members who are doing it for a "diet." I haven't found that here. So, I say, save your money, or spend it on a gym membership.

I am wondering, with all the MFP cheerleaders here, has somebody made their own MFP t-shirt?

I think the program is great. My wife and I joined in Dec and it has made a terrific difference for both of us.
And with the maintenance plan option you can stick with this program!

I have also done Weight Watchers and had lost weight while I was on the program (and have gained it back) but IMO I would save my money and stay with MFP. The concept is basically the same thing because Weight Watchers uses points and MFP uses calories. When you stop paying for weight watchers you no longer have access to the tools unless you bought the books, but you get free tools with MFP. As others have said, its all in moderation and accounting for everything that goes in your mouth. I wish you good luck

I tried WW online a few years ago. I think it’s effective for loosing weight, but not for making the broad lifestyle changes people need to keep weight off. The point system doesn’t allow you to see what you’re eating in a holistic way. A 1-pont snackwell cookie and a 1-point apple are not created equal, but being on WW makes you think they are nutritionally the same. Using MFP, you can really see the difference that choosing one brand of bread over another can make to your sodium, fiber, or sugar intake. And you can make better and healthier choices for the future. I know when I look at a recipe whether it contains wholesome ingredients that will fit well within my plan. It’s hard to know that when you operate in a world of “points."

This exactly!

I, too, have done WW. I hope I'm not repeating what someone else has said; I skimmed the responses. What clicked for me with WW was the meeting; talking face-to-face with people, seeing the other person look at the scale when I weighed in, knowing that I had to step on that doggone thing at the end of the week with someone looking...All those things "kept me honest."

MFP does many of those same things...as long as you're honest about your food, your weight, and your exercise. But online communities, as good as they are, still leave out the personal contact.

If you want personal contact, look in your area for a TOPS chapter. They are at http://www.tops.org/default.aspx I just joined last night, so I am no expert. But my aunt, who attended WW with me, has been a TOPS member for a while now. She says it has that personal face-to-face contact that WW had, but it is much cheaper to join. $26/year, plus dues at your meeting. The dues at my chapter are $1/week, but you can reduce that to 50cents if you log your food and exercise. You can win money back by losing weight. And my aunt was the biggest loser in December, so she pays no dues for January. So it is a more cost-effective program. There isn't a program, per se, like WW has. I will use MFP to track my food and set my goals; the people at TOPS will be my in person community.

At lest check out their webpage before you sink a ton of money into WW.

I say stick with MFP as it teaches you more about food and nutrition as well as portion sizes. Everyone I know that has done WW has piled the pounds back on. Being on MFP feels like more of a lifestyle change for me as I am learning so much about what I eat AND obviously everyone else can see what I eat which helps!