Need a little of unbiased help...

countrylove12 · March 2015

I have posted about this a little before but I'm really in a rut and I not only need to get all of this out, but I need to be totally honest about the help that I am seeking. I've been on and off of weight watchers since I was a teenager. I understand the plan for the most part. I've never counted calories but from what I've read and learned so far, as long as you stay within your daily allotted calories and don't go over your macros for the day, you should lose weight. I feel like I literally need someone to say to me you need to do this ____ . I have been back and forth between weight watchers and my fitness pal since january. I'm not getting anywhere with my weight loss because I keep switching between the two. I would like to share (and just get out on paper, well, webpage) my thoughts and have some fantastic input from others to help me. I can't have someone say whatever works best for you because I don't know what does because when I try to stick to one I find a reason to go to another. Okay so here's the list...

Pros of Weight Watchers:
-Fruits and veggies are free so I'm eating more healthy (the calories or points for those are automatically counted into your daily allowed amount of points...weight watchers assumes you're going to eat about 5-6 servings of fruit or veggies a day and has already counted them for you)
-you get weekly points, so when I'm out to dinner or out on the weekends, or at a family dinner, I don't feel so bad about it because I can use those weekly points
-I'm used to it, I know how it works and cookies (which I love) are a lot of points so I can't eat them too much!

Cons of Weight Watchers:
-I pay $20 a month for an online program
-I feel like healthy foods, like almonds, or quest bars, are a lot of my points
-Fruits and veggies are free if I use the regular tracker, however if I put a recipe into the recipe builder the fruits and veggies count which just really confuses me.
-You have daily guidelines you're supposed to follow, every day you should have milk servings and oil servings. Well sometimes I don't want to eat as much milk as they say because I am lactose intolerant and some days that just doesn't fit into my life.
-I don't feel comfortable saying that I'm on weight watchers to people

Pros of MyFitnessPal:
-It links to fitbit flawlessly and I can see what's happening with both daily on MFP and weekly in Fitbit reports (I'm very visual and very organized, I love how these two work together)
-For some reason, I track EVERYTHING on MFP. Including my drinks which I don't do on Weight Watchers
-I'm not embarrassed to say I use MFP because I just say I'm counting my calories

Cons of MyFitnessPal:
-I'm not sure I fully understand the system. I mean, if I sleep till 3 one day and eat a box of cookies and then go back to bed is that okay because I stayed in my calories? (I know that's not realistic but you get my point!) {this might not be a con if I understood it more}
-I don't have that weekly allowance so I feel like I'm restricted on the weekends and I don't like that feeling
-Daily, I get more calories than I get points on myfitness pal and sometimes that makes me feel like I'm eating too much maybe?? (maybe I'm just used to weight watchers)
for instance: today I've had egg whites, oats, salad...pretty good stuff...I've had 2 fruit servings and 3 vegetable servings and a milk serving...I've gone over my daily points on WW but I have 400 more calories according to my fitness pal

That's the gist of everything...that's me putting these thoughts out there and being totally honest. I'm just looking for another view on this to help me decide which I should stick with. I have until the 3rd of April to cancel my WW subscription if that's what is decided.

Thank you all so much, in advance, for taking the time out to read this and help me. I know I sound nuts but I know there are others out there because I've read a couple similar posts!
Thanks again!

scrapbookingtm · March 2015

Eat less and move more. Choose MFP. Set up how much you should eat to be in calories deficit. Log everything and stay within those calories. To lose weight, it doesn't matter what you eat. To be more healthy, choose better foods. That's it. Any exercise you do will help burn more calories and make your shape better.

FYI - con for weight watchers - fruit and veggies are free. You can eat a lot of calories in fruits and veggies making you eat too much.

And be patient. You won't lose weight everyday.

girlviernes · March 2015

Both can work for you. The difference is that with MFP it is more of a tool that you can use in the way that works best for you. So, for example, if you like getting to eat more on the weekend, then you can bank some calories over the course of the week and then use them on the weekend.

Unless you absolutely love WW, I would say stick with MFP but focus on figuring out one thing at a time. So the first thing could be how you want to handle your calorie goal. Do you want to have the same limit every day or bank calories? First hit your calorie goal consistently, then go from there. Later on you might focus on increasing your fruits or increasing your vegetables. This is a journey to learning what works for you and how to have a healthy diet and lose/keep off the weight.

kindrabbit · March 2015

I followed slimming world for just over a year and lost almost 4 stone. at the time it was the perfect system for me. all the pros and cons were the same as yours for WW.

I got an evening job and was unable to attend the slimming world meetings. I thought I could do it alone, I thought I knew the plan well enough, but as soon as I stopped going to the meetings the weight started to creep back on.

I tried to follow the plan a little and I trained hard. My weight plateaued.

I have been on MFP for about a month now and I love it. It suits my obsessive nature. I love the simplicity of the calories in V calories out. It's pure mathematics.

In short, I say do it!! You're heart isn't in WW so have a shake up and do something new.

ninerbuff · March 2015

Find your TDEE and eat 500 calories less than it. DO THIS.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

sandryc79 · March 2015

A suggestion: have been doing MFP with some "flex points" built in. I mechanical lowered my daily calories below their recommendations. I use those missing calories like the weight watchers flex points. Sometimes I eat them all in a splurge, other times I don't eat them at all or only eat some. I have been losing about 9 lbs a month this way.

MindySaysWhaaat · March 2015

I could write you a novel about why I dislike weight watchers, but I'll try to keep this as short as possible. I didn't like how they try to tell you that you can eat "anything in moderation" but then their points values make it clear that there are some things you just can't eat, and I also could never get past the "fruits and vegetables are free" thing because they just simply weren't. I ended up developing my binge eating disorder, and I'd never had any problems with binge eating before WW.

I like MFP because it's a lot simpler. If it's within your calories- go for it. I can justify eating a 600 calorie sandwich for dinner every once in a while if I've got 900 calories left for the day. I can't justify eating a 32 (or more, can't quite remember) point sandwich (the exact same sandwich in this case - Culver's North Atlantic Cod Filet) - when I've only got 35 points for the whole day to begin with. I feel a lot less guilty. I'm trying to change my whole outlook on food though, and I'm focusing more on moderation, portion sizes, and calories in vs calories out. I haven't binged in the almost 3 months I've been on here.

This is just my opinion though. The only way I could see Weight Watcher's being better is that there is the in-person meetings. I never got much out of them, but I'm sure other people obviously do.

lemurcat12 · March 2015

I think you should decide based on what feels best to you, but for me MFP makes more sense than WW, because it's based on the actual information about the foods (calories) and not some kind of custom points system that is intended to simplify things for you and guide you and (because I'm cynical) keep you tied to WW. Once you learn to eat in a way that works for you, in theory, you might not need any system, but one good thing about MFP is that it can be extremely educational--you can see lots of information about how you are eating and then make changes based on that and how it is working for you.

I also like how it's completely customizable based on your own preferences, as with your milk/dairy problem with WW.

countrylove12 wrote: »

-I'm not sure I fully understand the system. I mean, if I sleep till 3 one day and eat a box of cookies and then go back to bed is that okay because I stayed in my calories? (I know that's not realistic but you get my point!) {this might not be a con if I understood it more}

Whether it is okay or not is up to you. You'd be at a deficit for the day, presumably (unless you moved way less than usual and didn't have negative adjustments on the Fitbit), so would be on track to lose weight, but you might care about meeting a protein goal or certain other nutrient goals or you might not feel great the next day. Or you might feel fine if it's only once in a while. That's part of the learning process. Also, IMO, one of the benefits is shifting the focus to data vs. emotion and beating yourself up for not being perfect. You can see what you are doing well and less well and focus on improving or doing things that better serve your goals.

-I don't have that weekly allowance so I feel like I'm restricted on the weekends and I don't like that feeling

You can play around with this by moving exercise calories to the weekend rather than eating them on the day you earn them or by simply shifting calories. It's not as easy to do it as I think it should be (although you can see your weekly deficit on the app), but so long as it doesn't bother you too much to see the red, it's not a problem and works fine. I did this when I first started.

-Daily, I get more calories than I get points on myfitness pal and sometimes that makes me feel like I'm eating too much maybe?? (maybe I'm just used to weight watchers)
for instance: today I've had egg whites, oats, salad...pretty good stuff...I've had 2 fruit servings and 3 vegetable servings and a milk serving...I've gone over my daily points on WW but I have 400 more calories according to my fitness pal

It sounds like the points are keeping you at too low a level for whatever reason. What are your MFP calories?

Good luck!

jkal1979 · March 2015

countrylove12 wrote: »

Cons of Weight Watchers:
-I pay $20 a month for an online program
-I feel like healthy foods, like almonds, or quest bars, are a lot of my points
-Fruits and veggies are free if I use the regular tracker, however if I put a recipe into the recipe builder the fruits and veggies count which just really confuses me.
-You have daily guidelines you're supposed to follow, every day you should have milk servings and oil servings. Well sometimes I don't want to eat as much milk as they say because I am lactose intolerant and some days that just doesn't fit into my life.
-I don't feel comfortable saying that I'm on weight watchers to people

I had a lot of issues with WW, mainly with their database. It didn't make much sense to keep paying for a product when a better one was available for free. Nothing was more frustrating than trying to scan or search for a product only to find that it wasn't in there. This would even happen with their own products.

The recipe builder counts points for fruits and veggies because that part of it doesn't recognize what is a fruit or vegetable. It just sees points values.

Cons of MyFitnessPal:
-I'm not sure I fully understand the system. I mean, if I sleep till 3 one day and eat a box of cookies and then go back to bed is that okay because I stayed in my calories? (I know that's not realistic but you get my point!) {this might not be a con if I understood it more}
-I don't have that weekly allowance so I feel like I'm restricted on the weekends and I don't like that feeling
-Daily, I get more calories than I get points on myfitness pal and sometimes that makes me feel like I'm eating too much maybe?? (maybe I'm just used to weight watchers)
for instance: today I've had egg whites, oats, salad...pretty good stuff...I've had 2 fruit servings and 3 vegetable servings and a milk serving...I've gone over my daily points on WW but I have 400 more calories according to my fitness pal

-Don't overthink it. Your same con for MFP could be the same for WW.

-There is a way of looking at calories on a weekly basis. All you have to do is go into nutrition and look at your weekly average.

-I had the opposite problem when it came to points vs. calories. Once I hit 27 daily points I always worried about eating too much for breakfast and lunch and having very little left over for dinner. Having almost 1500 calories helped ease my mind a lot. Also keep in mind that if you were to convert your points to calories the number will lower. This is their way of compensating for the "free" fruits and veggies.

lauradrach · March 2015

Eating fruits and vegetables are not calorie free, so where you would have to add them in MFP, WW you don't and think u can eat more. I'm loving MFP

PAV8888 · March 2015

**I'm not sure I fully understand the system. I mean, if I sleep till 3 one day and eat a box of cookies and then go back to bed is that okay because I stayed in my calories**

YES, if you told MFP that you are sedentary, and if your box of cookies was within your calories (hint: @ 150cal+ per cookie x 24 cookies in a box are probably well above your target for the day) it would be OK!

You may want to look at this guide:
http://fit101.org/the-step-by-step-guide-to-losing-weight-with-myfitnesspal/

and wade through this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

PAV8888 · March 2015

"Fruits and veggies are healthy and free" Yes. Fruits and veggies ARE healthy, I enjoy eating them, and a healthy diet probably incorporates a crap-load more than what most people eat!

However, while, eating unlimited amounts of them may be free on WW, it sure ain't free in real life... because, you know, they have calories!

You said you don't want to be told that only YOU can decide what makes sense for YOU. Well... only YOU can : - )

Do you want the guidance and support system provided by a for profit company that teaches you to measure your food using their proprietary points system?

Or do you want to be thrown into the real world to figure out on your own (with the help of some software) the nutritional value of everything you put in your mouth?

To many people WW represents a helping hand on their journey to weight loss and a supportive community. It may also provide motivation and accountability.

To me it represents a setup that offloads the responsibility of taking charge of myself on other people and fosters my dependence on them in exchange for giving them money.

In case you're wondering: I am on MFP not WW, and have actually never been on WW (though I've known many people who have and I have considered it for myself) : - )

Different folks, different strokes!

beemerphile1 · March 2015

Weight Watchers or MFP will work if followed. Do both at the same time if you wish. They each are simply following a slightly different method of accomplishing the same thing.

cincysweetheart · March 2015

countrylove12 wrote: »

I feel like I literally need someone to say to me you need to do this ____ . I have been back and forth between weight watchers and my fitness pal since january. I'm not getting anywhere with my weight loss because I keep switching between the two.

Of everything you said… this part stuck out to me the most.

NOTHING works unless you do! WW will work. So will MFP. But you have to do the work. And I'm sorry, but if you need someone to tell you what to do… that's half your problem. You need to be the one to say "This is what you need to do." Nobody can want this for you more than you do. Once you make the decision that you will lose weight… it won't matter what anybody else says or thinks. You will do the work and it will work.

If you want my opinion between WW or MFP… then I absolutely and without hesitation will promote MFP. I could give you a whole list of reasons why… but they will all be very personal to me and what speaks to my personality and my understanding. So you have to make your own choice based on what speaks to you and your own understanding.

honeybee_kisses · March 2015

MFP because it's free. You know what needs to be done, don't pay someone to tell you. I know you say you don't fully understand how mfp works but stick around on the forums, read the sticky posts and you'll have your head around it in no time.
Also there's no need to feel deprived on weekends just because you don't have weekly points. Save a few every day or work out and don't eat back the calories for a couple of days and that will leave you a bit extra for the weekend.

countrylove12 · March 2015

It's amazing how much knowledge you all have and how helpful you all are!! I know it sounded crazy to say that I needed someone to tell me what to do, but I said that because I feel like WW has this mental hold on me for some reason. They make everything look so enticing and I know that's all part of their gimmick to make money. I've been tracking on both for a while but with accuracy since Monday. I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with MFP. I more accurately track here and I get to see my carb intake. Plus, I have all of you who are so nice and helpful to help me on the journey. After reading the link that @PAV8888 posted about the step by step guide I think I do have more knowledge about MFP and it makes more sense to me.
I can't thank you all enough!

Need a little of unbiased help...

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