Weight watchers

Weight Watchers is a great program. I lost 55 lbs on it, slacked off and gained back 20. Now I'm here. Not because WW isn't a great program anymore. But because I was an online member and the website is very buggy. It's kind of silly to pay for something that's having issues so often.

Many people swear by their WW meetings, but they're not for me. I went back in the day, before there was an online program. Didn't get much out of them. A lot of people say, "Oh, I need my meetings. I need to be held accountable". But I feel that we need to be accountable to ourselves, not to some stranger standing at a scale.

Like I said, the plan itself is solid. I've just found that MFP is a better fit for me.

I think WW is probably quite good with support, but I know that Heinz owns their food brand and it's not nearly as healthy as it could be so be careful!

I really don't like anything other than MFP calorie counting....calories deficit works....I eat what I want just less and try to stay in a calorie deficit most days....it really does work. I can have my cake and eat it too. Don't really care for Weight Watchers.

I had great success with WW 25 years ago after my first child was born. Back then they had the food exchange program, which was basically the same as following macros on here. Protein was strongly encouraged and you got twice as much protein as you did carbs. It worked well for me. Years later I went back after 2 more kids, and they had changed to the points program. Basically just calorie counting with no regard to macros or nutrition in general. They have tried several times since then to make it healthier, but still doesn't make as much sense as it did with the exchange program. Just my opinion, but I was never successful on it again after the change.

I am on here and on weight watchers (different usernames), I can honestly say that back in February (this year) I was 285 and by March 1st, I was down to 280. I decided I need to just "try" it since I got the deal where "first month free" and so far? I am down to 272! It's all about moderation, balancing food, etc! Depending on your weight is how many points you get in a day but I can honestly say that so far, it's worked for me and I will continue to learn things about health, nutrition, self love, etc (keep in mind I don't go to the meetings) and if it ever came to point of not being able to afford it, at least I gathered as much information out of it as I could! (Edited: I just saw what other people said and like they said, it's all about matter of opinion, and like Debbie said, points make it so you don't think about the nutritional info, and that's why I also have MFP).

I too had amazing success with Weight Watchers. I lost 120lbs on their program.

I only left WW because I couldn't afford it anymore. The program was great and it taught me most of the skills and tools I use now for continuing with weight loss.

In WW, each food is assigned a "points value" and you are given a certain amount of points you can eat in a day. You can eat whatever you like as long as it fits into your daily (or weekly) points, and you can exercise to earn more points, too.

It's essentially calorie counting but with "points" instead - which some people find easier and some people find more frustrating.

It's not really the program that makes WW special, because you can use MFP or any other calorie tracker to keep track, but the meetings and accountability that make it worthwhile. You go once per week to be weighed and then stay for a meeting where you chat about tips and ideas for weight loss, celebrate success, discuss struggles, etc... so it's like a support group.

If you are ok with tracking in MFP and having a "virtual" online support group, you won't really need WW... but many people need that face-to-face interaction and accountability.

Hope that helps.

I did it. Lost 25 lb but it came back when I stopped... Doing mfp for 2 years and have lost over 60 lbs. I used to enjoy the ww meetings but find the support on mfp as good if not better... And free

Never tried WW before but I do steal a lot of WW recipes and use them often. Don't care about points or anything like that... but I have made some really yummy food..

Really, its just super a scientific way of counting calories. You're dealing with smaller numbers too, so it makes it a little easier to do in your head, BUT you do need a calculator to figure the Points Plus value of things. This is, of course, all my opinion.

I lost 90 lbs on WW. I like this site better. I cant afford to pay 50 bucks a month to listen to old ladies whining about how they have never lost any weight while they eat in meetings. I also do not like the fact that my leader seemed to want to dissuade anyone from any weight lifting at all. As soon as my arms and shoulders started developing I was constantly the example of why women should not lift so they would not develop a masculine form. Good program with poor management.

I lost over 60 lbs and have kept it off since 2006 with weight watchers. I like the points because they reflect more than just calories do - the points factor in the macros and the designed 'power foods' help you zero in on whole, healthy foods to make your individual budget out of. You learn pretty quickly how to maximize the budget and over time you really start to change your habits so they become automatic...the key to keeping weight off. If you make temporary changes you'll get temporary weight loss. I also think smaller numbers are more meaningful to me and easier to deal with. I lose track of the larger calorie numbers. I track here as well because the database is bigger and I do like the macro charts. Full disclosure - I do work for weight watchers now. Which is also what I liked about WW as a member. Everyone that works there has come from the membership - no hired sales staff as counselors who can't really relate to weight loss.

The price all depends on what you sign up for (online, meetings, or both) and whatever specials they have going on at the time.

I did WW a few times and while it was helpful in some areas like helping me focus on making healthier choices there were a lot of things that I didn't like about it as time went on. The main thing was their database and how outdated and incomplete it was. They have a barcode scanner on their app that I found to be fairly useless, especially if I bought store brand items. I even had trouble finding their own products on there.

I also managed to stress myself out pretty bad worrying about the numbers. Getting 27-28 points a day messed with my head a little since the number sounded so small. If breakfast or lunch was over 7 or 8 points I would worry that I wouldn't have enough to get through the rest of the day. Once I hit my 10% goal I found myself stressing over the fact that I would have to pick a goal weight soon. I didn't want to have to pay out of pocket for a doctor's note to set a higher goal for me (I didn't have insurance at the time). Once I switched to MFP I felt I had control over my goals and having almost 1500 calories to eat set my mind at ease. I don't blame WW for any of that but that was my personal experience with it.

I've had success with WW in the past. I liked it because it still allowed me to eat what I wanted without having to give up certain food or only eat their products. Everyone is different and not everything works the same for everyone. I still prefer counting calories and eating everything in moderation. I don't believe restrictions work.