Doe MFP work as good as Weight Watchers?

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  • kimberlyrenee2008
    kimberlyrenee2008 Posts: 604 Member
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    MummyKate85 wrote: »
    Ive done both. And personally, for me, theres no difference in the amount of weight I lose so I didnt see the point in paying for WW when I can do MFP for free :)

    Agreed!
  • NikonPal
    NikonPal Posts: 1,346 Member
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    CatJill86 wrote: »
    Hello, Im wondering if anyone knows if MFP works as good as Weight Watchers? I cannot afford Weight Watchers so Im doing MFP but Ive had ppl tell me me that WW works better. Anyone have any experience with both?

    People are different and whatever works is the answer.

    I have done both and had FANTASTIC results with MFP for over 1 year.

    (I've lost 179 pounds so far).

    Good luck!



  • Train4Foodz
    Train4Foodz Posts: 4,298 Member
    edited January 2015
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    I tend to think of WeightWatchers as a 'diet' and MFP as a tool to help you make a long term lifestyle change. In that sense I can't really link the two, I see no reason that someone couldn't receive the benefits of Weightwatchers whilst taking the great tools made available here into consideration. Making the most of the two.

    There is no 'right or wrong' answer here but MFP doesn't 'set' any diet for you, it simply gives you your suggested calorie allowance and macro nutrition intake to help you to achieve the lifestyle you want. The foods you love can be incorporated into your 'diet' and even more importantly (to me at least) it is a tool that will help you maintain your health and fitness well after you have reached 'goal weight'. If you are in it for the long term MyFitnessPal offers the tools and community support that I haven't found anywhere else!

    Wishing you complete success!

    Adam
  • stephc002
    stephc002 Posts: 24 Member
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    I've just started using MFP (1.5 wks now), and so far I am really loving it. I like that I can track all nutrients and calories in foods, and can set my own nutrition goals, as I am trying to keep carbs lower due to prediabetes. With weight watchers, I found myself eating a lot more processed foods just because they were low in points. But when tracked here, they are not as nutritionally complete (and many times sodium is off the charts). I also have my account linked to my vivofit, so I am really loving tracking the steps, meeting my daily exercise goals, etc.
  • bainsworth1a
    bainsworth1a Posts: 313 Member
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    I've done weight watchers at least 10 times and never reached my goal weight. the big thing about ww is the group meetings and support you get. the ww leaders are people who lost weight on the ww program and kept it off. What I did not like was having them weigh me every week and feeling like a failure if I had a bad week.
    I am having more success with MFP. My behavior is different. I finally have stopped lying to myself about what I eat. I track everything here and don't beat myself up if I am not perfect. I track my weight everyday on my own spreadsheet but I only track losses here so I see constant downward movement. MFP is free, and the group support here is different from ww but it is great because it is people on the same journey sharing their knowledge and experience. no one is a designated leader we all can give our opinion on what works for us.
    Good luck to you
  • grmpsbabygrl
    grmpsbabygrl Posts: 24 Member
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    I think it works great personally, helped me lose weight. Most importantly you have to stick to it for anything to work. Feel free to add me :)
  • bainsworth1a
    bainsworth1a Posts: 313 Member
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    One more thing though. I bought a really great food scale from ww last time I was a member. I use it all the time now to weigh and measure and that is a big part of my success this go around.
  • ZebsterBC
    ZebsterBC Posts: 198 Member
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    I've done both WW online and MFP and lost significant amounts with both. I believe that both encourage healthy eating if you are honest with yourself and don't fudge the numbers.
    I found that with the way WW calculated points, I could eat more if I chose lower fat, higher fiber foods. Complex carbs vs refined sugar, etc.
    It worked and I probably could have sustained it if they had only stayed with the same points formula. They made a radical change and then another, so all of my familiar foods now had different points and I was back to square one or so I felt. It made me feel hyper-aware of food and by changing the program regularly, I never could get to the point where I wouldn't have to plan out my day and week ahead of time.
    I didn't use the app with MFP the last time I tried it, so it wasn't nearly as easy to use as it is now. I'm only 3 weeks into using it with the app, but I already feel the difference. I'm not obsessing about food and planning it out to the nth degree like I was with WW.
    Things to consider. YMMV.
  • catherinenz
    catherinenz Posts: 2 Member
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    I've done WW online and meetings. I started MFP because I'd rather spend the money on a gym membership.
    To be honest it's all about accountability and tracking what you are eating whatever system you use.
  • BeTheChange352
    BeTheChange352 Posts: 253 Member
    edited January 2015
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    I have done both and found MFP much easier, plus it's free, but I was very successful with both. I've also found MFP forums to be much more informative than the WW meetings ever were.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    edited January 2015
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    What wolfman said, its only going to be as effective as effort you put in. Will you be putting effort in? The person doing the diet is far more important than any system.

    The one advantage I can see is that you meet people face to face if thats your thing, its important for some. MFP's advantage besides being free is that its pure calorie counting without having a silly artificial system. Done correctly its superior.
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    edited January 2015
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    People who think WW works better are people who are employed by WW… or who have never tried MFP.

    WW works for people who work it.
    MFP works for people who work it.
    WW offers accountability
    MFP offers accountability
    WW offers education on nutrition and weight loss (through their weekly meetings)
    MFP offers education on nutrition and weight loss (through their forums)
    WW offers a support system
    MFP offers a support system, but you can do it entirely on your time schedule. There are no weekly meetings to try to fit into your schedule.
    WW doesn't offer very much on tracking nutrients or macros.
    MFP automatically tracks those along with your calories.
    WW will cost you money and you have to learn the system of points.
    MFP is free and there is really nothing to learn. It is based solely on calories and will do the math for you.
    WW point system lends itself to plateaus (that they don't understand) because they are not counting everything they are eating. Too many fruits and veggies can wipe out your deficit.
    MFP (if done properly) lets you know immediately if you are over on your calories. And give you immediate feedback when you complete your diary on how this day will impact your goal over the next 5 weeks.

    Obviously I'm in favor of MFP. But WW has worked for a lot of people. It will all boil down to your personal preference and what format works best for you.

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