Any ex Weightwatchers?

melcookson
melcookson Posts: 146 Member
in Motivation and Support
Evening all.
I joined Weightwatchers last January, starting at 10st4, I managed to get down to 8st10 by July. Since then my weight has fluctuated by plus/minus 2lbs. I'm currently 8st11.5 and am strictly following the plan. I'm so gutted, getting on the scales every week to see that nothing has happened. As you can imagine, 6 months of this is really not inspiring me to stay with WW and I'm surprised I've stayed this long, but I guess I'm worried about putting it back on if I left, so I need some sort of 'program' to adhere to and not go 'off the rails'!
I realised my weight has now plateaued, but is it possible to lose some more weight by leaving WW and calorie counting?
Some advice would be so nice!
PS I'm 5ft tall, ideally I'd like to lose 10-12 lbs, I've weighed under 8st before and it looked natural/normal.
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Replies

  • Juliane_
    Juliane_ Posts: 373 Member
    I'm 5 ft tall as well. I'm an ex weight watchers. Well...sorta. I still look at points but I look at OLD points (their old points plan system) in addition to calories. I think their old points system worked much better. I went back to that for a while but it can get tiring because there doesn't seem to be a lot of people out there doing the old points system. So support on that end is lacking. I started using MFP and it has become so easy to log my foods here. That's the best part of this calorie counting app and website. What I did was I found a script online that you can install on your google chrome or firefox browser and it adds a column to your food diary on MFP so that you can see the points for all foods entered and a total at the bottom. That's how I keep an eye on my day to day points...but on the go I have to look at calories because the script is not available to run on your phone. I'm slowly weaning off from points but I plan to go back to them when I reach goal and start my maintenance phase. Why? because I like the flexibility of the weekly points. BUT like I said, I don't do PointsPlus only Momentum or Flex points....their old system.

    Here's what I've learned. PointsPlus works to a point. It mainly works on those that have a lot more weight to lose or their calorie needs are much higher. People with less to lose (shorter, thinner, etc) or those that reach a certain point in their weight loss start either maintaining weight or not losing at all. I gave up on Points Plus when I saw that.

    Now with MFP i'm forced to look at calories. Although I have that script I still see calories so I've learned a bit more.

    I recommend that do a search on this forum and look up "olivia method". Basically with calorie countiing you want to find out what your BMR is (calories needed just to live) and what your maintenance calories are (TDEE). You need to create a deficit in order to lose weight. You need a 500 calorie deficit to lose 1 lb and 1000 calorie deficit to lose 2 lbs. This is on a daily basis. Basically 1 lb = 3500 calories. That's the total calorie deficit you want to create weekly or more. You do this by not eating less than your BMR # and by doing exercise to burn more calories. The more exercise you do, the higher your calorie burn and the more weight you will lose without having to go below your BMR calorie #. I also recommend to read "Burn the Fat, Feed the muscle" by Tom Venuto because it is a great resource to teach you about calorie calculation and how to figure out your BMR, TDEE and your calorie deficit amount. You are supposed to lose weight as long as you have that calorie deficit.
  • chelny
    chelny Posts: 179 Member
    I was on WW several years ago. Maybe from 2005-2008? I don't exactly remember, but it was a Flex points system. And I quit going because I hit the plateau and went for weeks and weeks at the same weight. A little up, a little down, but no real progress. When I quit paying to go to meetings, I tried to just do WW by myself at home since I had all the materials. But slowly I got away from it and slowly I gained a lot of the weight back. I guess there is something to be said for the accountability, but at what cost? I always found the WW website to be frustrating. I am liking MFP much better. I don't know what to advise you as far as a "program". You could try to stick with the WW system, or you could try the calorie counting here in MFP. I do believe that the WW'ers are being honest when they say that you will eventually get through the plateau and lose more weight, but I never made it through. I got too frustrated and quit. So, my advice is basically don't give up! keep going, even if it takes a long time. The closer you are to your goal, the slower the weight comes off. That is the main thing I am bearing in mind as I continue my weightloss again on MFP. I'm measuring my food, recording the calories, exercising regularly, and trying to keep an eye on the big picture. Basically, I was a lot happier at 160 (where my weight was stuck for months) than I was at 200 again. So, even if I never make it to 145, I'd rather be at 160 and holding. Right? That's my perspective now, post WW. I learned a lot from WW. But I think I can do this without paying them each week. And I'm glad my sis introduced me to MFP.
  • winterswish
    winterswish Posts: 162
    I think it depends...do the meetings and weigh-ins help you? Then I wonder if the absence of those things might be a hindrance to reaching your goals. I know the one thing (and really, with the "new" plan the only thing) I miss is the weekly weigh-in. I think there was this little voice in me that spurred me on to want to dazzle those d*mn scales every week in front of someone else.

    But if it's just the nutrition portion, I think using MFP and the support boards to their fullest potential could be the ticket! I actually feel better about the food part of MFP than I did the last round of WW. When they introduced the unlimited fruits and veggies (with exceptions, of course) it went against every thing in my program to curb my destructive binge-purge eating habits. "You mean I can eat an entire bunch of bananas and a bowl of strawberries?!" Yeah. Needless to say I lose zilch.

    So I guess you have to evaluate what part of WW has worked for you and then decide what you're paying for...the nutrition advice or the face-to-face support.

    Either way, stick around here for the friends and best of luck to you! :)
  • JMC107
    JMC107 Posts: 4
    I did the Winning Points Plan and quit when they came out with PointsPlus which I tried
    and hated.
  • katieknightley11
    katieknightley11 Posts: 1
    I would recommend MFP because WW doesn't necessarily allow you to view any nutritional breakdown easily. I eat a lot of fruit and WW most fruits are 'free' points and now I have been much more aware of the amount of sugar I had been consuming... Hence in my opinion not shifting the pounds and now I am! Good luck.
  • PaulaT93
    PaulaT93 Posts: 2 Member
    I'm ex weight watchers...the most I've lost is on any of their programs has been 30 pounds...every time I get to that mark I stall there and make no progress. There's no help when you get stuck and I got frustrated. But it's the most I've ever lost and now all these yeats later I've got 103 pounds to lose. I'm hoping that MFP will help me get there...slow and steady wins the race.

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