Weight Watchers or Atkins?

Atkins is more of a quick fix, I would say weight watchers would be a better option of the two.

Faster is not always better. Atkins is an awful thing to do to your body. If you're completely lost and feel you need the support, do Weight Watchers.

WW isn't a diet really, it's no different than this site, except you replace calories with Points. It's not a fast diet it's a life style change. However, I did lost 12 lbs in 2 months on WW, I followed the plan and exercised. My over all goal is 20lbs total I am down to my last 8.

I will be frank though, this site blows WW out of the water, so I suggest you just use this.

im currently on weight watchers, only been there 2 weeks now, but tbh im only going because i got 12 weeks free from my doctor, it is expensive other wise i love there food thou. i think this site alone helps me with my weight . you get to write all your details of what you have eaten and it calculates it all for you.

you only really need to do is keep tracking ur food in the diary and stick to the limit this site has set you and do the recommended exercise set or do more to push urself firstly. you can easily do 15lb in ten weeks ive lost 15 in six weeks and thats just using this site alone.

plus this site is free!!

Thanks everyone! I'm going to do a semi WW. I'm not going to join but I'm going to track everything here and start doing at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. I'm thinking of trying the P90X but my sister in law says it's more for avid exercisers than for someone who's just starting out. I'm sure I can do whatever I can each day and build myself up to being able to do the full DVD.

I agree with your sister in law. P90X is not for the novice. I would say start out with something like Slim in 6 specially if your goal is to lose weight. The workouts are quick and it's total body.

I'm in my 10th week of doing P90X.

Weight watchers i hear is awesome so going to do it when i get my next check. For anither thing you can do p90x i am prior military and got injured in basic after 4 kids im no spring chicken and i can do it you are correct do what you can to start and keep building you dont have to push youself to the extream dont do plyometrics off the bat instead do cardio x then when you feel youve concord cardio x then do plyo.

MFP- save your money and go out and buy a fitbit flex. It will only cost $60 and they walking is free. A no brainer to me. Just put your shoes on and start walking. The combination of the two is the best program I have ever used.

Just maintain a deficit and do some walking?

Surely it can't be that simple.

Works for me too.

No point in restricting carbs unless you have a good diagnosed medical reason to, just eat what you like and is sustainable for you.

I've done the old WW and was pretty successful with it (lost about 50-60lbs and quit when I got stuck on a plateau for a month or so). I tried the new WW and did not have any success with it. I've never done Atkins.

I would stick to MFP and invest in a Fitbit, and save the rest of the money you'd be spending on WW for a new wardrobe when you lose all the weight. MFP has a great set up but their numbers can be off as I found out mine were. I was stalled for a couple of months, gaining and losing the same few kgs. But since I got a fitbit, the losses are continuous and no longer random. I know if I stick to the numbers Fitbit gives me, I will lose according to the deficit I am on. I've had it for about a month and love it.

ETA....the reason I liked WW is because I could eat anything I wanted as long as it it fit my points. MFP is the same way, except it isn't based on some magical number they give me and it is free. Atkins is too restrictive and I know I could never stick to something like that.

WW tracks points so its similar to MFP. I wouldn't pay for it unless you need that support.

I've lost great following Atkins/low carb ish (I've always eaten almonds/nuts and some berries or a banana). It works for me, I have more energy, pretty simple if you are good avoiding particular foods. It's harder the first few days, once you get in the routine it's easier. If you try it for a week or two and find it too difficult or too tempting to eat sweets or cereal or bread, it probably isn't the right lifestyle for you. Atkins won't work if you eat high fat beef and cheese but then polish off two bowls of cereal or eat a king size Snickers. Now you are high carb, high fat, and high protein which means high calories.
Edited to add: just like low calorie diets, if you do a low carb diet and eat just like you were before you'll gain the weight back. You can eventually eat "normal" foods on Atkins...just like low calorie if you're at your goal weight and you eat maintenance calories...you won't gain the weight back. Both are lifestyles that require a change in eating habits. In order to not gain the weight back, you can't go back to eating like you were before losing weight.

Uh, how 'bout neither? Why not try eating at a reasonable calorie deficit, and get in a little exercise a few times a week? That's what's sustainable, and guess what else?

It's free.

I've tried both and IMO I think WW is better. I have hypoglycemia and atkins isn't good for that and makes hypoglycemia worse, or at least that was my experience. My vision becomes very blurry on any low carb diet. I'm currently on Ww so my opinion is probably biased. I do find points easier than calories for some odd reason. I also need the support of the weekly meetings and the accountability. I also like the fact that WW database is smaller and not so cluttered with tons of different calorie counts for the same item. Of course you have to pay but for some people that may be the incentive that they need to stick with it. I'm not sure which plan would work faster between the 2 but I personally would focus more on which plan I could stick with.

MFP.

Free
Safe
Effective
Works!


Why would you pay for WW when MFP is free? Atkins is bad, mmkay?

THIS. ^^

WW had me eating ALOT more than 1300 calories each day -- and while I did see weight loss over a period of 4-5 months on WW, it was super slow. Once I joined MFP I started losing weight and maintianing my weight loss.

One thing about WW is that they don't count calories -- and with the new system, all fruits and vegetables are FREE foods (meaning they don't have point values). So in essence, you can eat as many fruits and veggies as you want on WW and you don't have to "track" them. So say you eat 2 bananas, an apple, a salad, squash, and corn during the day -- that's AT LEAST 400-500 calories right there that you're not tracking. It's not really a fair system.

Another reason why I quit WW is it cost me like $18/month to do it online (no meetings). I quit it when I found MFP and learned it was a better, free version of WW.

I would do WW. I have in the past done WW by eating smart ones diet tv dinners. I would buy them when they were on sale 5 for $10.