I'm a prisoner of Weight Watchers - How do I break free?
MizLayla
Posts: 5 Member
Hello Friends,
I was obese for the first 25 years of my life; I remember weighing over 200lbs as a 12 year old girl. In 2008, I started Weight Watchers and over the course of two years, I lost 100lbs (hooray!). My weight went from 270lbs to 170lbs. For the past five years, I've maintained this 100lb weight loss (with a lot of fluctuating between 170 and 180). The lowest I've managed to get to is 160lbs, but I haven't been able to maintain that weight.
So long story short, I've continued to use the WW program for the past 5 years with no further results (other than maintaining my 100lb loss). I'd like to lose 20 pounds more; I'm currently holding steady at 170lbs. Even 10 lbs would be nice! I think I need to try something new if I want to lose my last 20lbs, but I'm so used to weight watchers that I'm almost terrified of quitting. I weigh my food and count my points religiously. I realize that My Fitness Pal is a great program, but I get exhausted at the thought of having to track all of my fruits and veggies... that's a lot of food I haven't had to worry about tracking for a long time. I'm also concerned about not having "bonus points"... I rely on those for my social life.
Beyond weight tracking, I've been doing weight training at my gym for the past two years. I LOVE weight training - its an end in itself. It makes me feel fantastic and strong. I also avoid refined sugars and processed foods (or have been for the past few weeks at least). Despite having improved my diet and increased my physical activity, I haven't seen results over the past few weeks.
I don't want to become so obsessed with food tracking and weight loss that I become a hermit just to avoid being around food. I say that because sometimes, I DO get really obsessive about it and I turn down opportunities to hang out with friends because I'm terrified about being around food I may not know the point values of. Given my history, I obviously have a hard time saying no to food.
I'm not seeking perfection. But I want to lose at least ten pounds. I'm serious about my health and I don't want to give up weight watchers without having something else to go to instead. Heck, I'd be ok with myself even by just maintaining my current weight... but I shouldn't have to pay WW in order to succeed at that. There has to be a better way.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I know this is a big dump of poorly-organized information, but if you have any experience or advice to share, I'm all ears. It felt good to vent about all this.
I was obese for the first 25 years of my life; I remember weighing over 200lbs as a 12 year old girl. In 2008, I started Weight Watchers and over the course of two years, I lost 100lbs (hooray!). My weight went from 270lbs to 170lbs. For the past five years, I've maintained this 100lb weight loss (with a lot of fluctuating between 170 and 180). The lowest I've managed to get to is 160lbs, but I haven't been able to maintain that weight.
So long story short, I've continued to use the WW program for the past 5 years with no further results (other than maintaining my 100lb loss). I'd like to lose 20 pounds more; I'm currently holding steady at 170lbs. Even 10 lbs would be nice! I think I need to try something new if I want to lose my last 20lbs, but I'm so used to weight watchers that I'm almost terrified of quitting. I weigh my food and count my points religiously. I realize that My Fitness Pal is a great program, but I get exhausted at the thought of having to track all of my fruits and veggies... that's a lot of food I haven't had to worry about tracking for a long time. I'm also concerned about not having "bonus points"... I rely on those for my social life.
Beyond weight tracking, I've been doing weight training at my gym for the past two years. I LOVE weight training - its an end in itself. It makes me feel fantastic and strong. I also avoid refined sugars and processed foods (or have been for the past few weeks at least). Despite having improved my diet and increased my physical activity, I haven't seen results over the past few weeks.
I don't want to become so obsessed with food tracking and weight loss that I become a hermit just to avoid being around food. I say that because sometimes, I DO get really obsessive about it and I turn down opportunities to hang out with friends because I'm terrified about being around food I may not know the point values of. Given my history, I obviously have a hard time saying no to food.
I'm not seeking perfection. But I want to lose at least ten pounds. I'm serious about my health and I don't want to give up weight watchers without having something else to go to instead. Heck, I'd be ok with myself even by just maintaining my current weight... but I shouldn't have to pay WW in order to succeed at that. There has to be a better way.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I know this is a big dump of poorly-organized information, but if you have any experience or advice to share, I'm all ears. It felt good to vent about all this.
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Replies
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I just canceled my membership and signed up here.
I'm not sure I understand why it's complicated.0 -
Stop giving them money.0
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The LOTS of fruit and vegetables you say you're eating may be adding up to a significant amount of calories. It might do some good to see what it is adding up to.
My advice would be to set your goal to 1/2 lb a week, and then lower that daily amount by 100-200 calories. Then acknowledge you have 700-1400 saved up over the week to use on the weekend. Just like the "bonus" points. They weren't bonus calories though, they were just an accumulation saved from your daily totals.
And congrats on the maintenance. That's my goal weight!0 -
I don't understand the problem.
The thought of tracking fruits and veggies is "exhausting?" Seriously? Doesn't WW suggest you limit the number of "0" points foods you eat per day? Doesn't that count as tracking?
It's not a big deal. It really takes like, a nanosecond to enter in a .97 gram banana or 123 grams of blueberries ...logging salad can be a little bit of a pain ...might take me all of 3 minutes to weigh my salad components and then log them.
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The LOTS of fruit and vegetables you say you're eating may be adding up to a significant amount of calories. It might do some good to see what it is adding up to.
My advice would be to set your goal to 1/2 lb a week, and then lower that daily amount by 100-200 calories. Then acknowledge you have 700-1400 saved up over the week to use on the weekend. Just like the "bonus" points. They weren't bonus calories though, they were just an accumulation saved from your daily totals.
And congrats on the maintenance. That's my goal weight!
Ok that's good advice. Thanks
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Tracking fruits and vegetables is really not the trial you seem to be picturing. As for bonus points, you can earn more calories through exercise or you can eat a bit less in the days before or after a social event with food in order to balance out a high calorie day0
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Hi, I used to do WW, but I like MFP more. It's more informative and I like tracking things like protein, healthy fats, sodium, etc.
Do you have the MFP app on your phone? It makes a world of difference.0 -
I don't understand the problem.
The thought of tracking fruits and veggies is "exhausting?" Seriously? Doesn't WW suggest you limit the number of "0" points foods you eat per day? Doesn't that count as tracking?
It's not a big deal. It really takes like, a nanosecond to enter in a .97 gram banana or 123 grams of blueberries ...logging salad can be a little bit of a pain ...might take me all of 3 minutes to weigh my salad components and then log them.
"Exhausting" was a strong word. I agree that doing it at home wouldn't be a hassle. But I liked being able to just eat whatever fruits and veggies I wanted - particularly at work potlucks, gatherings at friend's places - without having to figure out how many calories I was eating.0 -
I have found that pre-making meals such as salads or veggie wraps can help if you are in a time crunch. I don't get a lot of time for lunch so I tend to chop all vegetables for the entire week to use in salads, wraps, soups, stir fry, fajitas, etc and then if I don't have a lot of time to weigh and measure it's all pre-cut and I even make salads and wraps for lunch in advance so I don't have to take the time to weigh everything. I believe it takes more than 3 minutes to weigh my salad components- but doing it in advance really helps. And while vegetables are very low in calories, fruit can be high (well relatively speaking) and unlimited fruit on weight watchers, while it does encourage healthy eating can be a barrier to losing those last few pounds because some people (like me) will tend to overeat on the fruit part and then you don't lose.0
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Honestly, if you set your goal at 1/2 a pound a week, even with counting your fruits and veggies you may find out that you can actually eat more this way. WW's seems like they set your points pretty low to be aggressive. And with only a little left to go, you should probably go slow anyway. But like they said, fruits add up. So that may be all you need to tweek to see results is to be aware of those.
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This post is an excellent example of how 'weight loss programs' can make understanding and managing real food in real life situations for long term health management much more difficult. Don't get me wrong, I have done both WW and Jenny Craig. I was successful on both programs. But coming off the programs, I put the weight back on.
That is why I like MFP. Because it gives me the actual tools I need to learn about how to manage my weight and health for the rest of my life. No points, no pre-made food, no freaking out because if I go out with my friends for food and drinks I'm going to ruin everything.
To the OP. Change is hard, but oh so worth it. Start logging everything, all your fruits and vegetables, everything. Face the reality of your daily calorie intake and learn how to manage social situations with confidence by understanding how one day of over-eating with calories can be managed by going under your calorie goals the other 6 days of the week. Track your exercise calories as closely as possible. Eat back about half. Set realistic goals. Slow and steady wins the LIFE race.
You don't need a program to be successful. You just need to manage your weight loss goals in the real world. You can do it.0 -
stardust13579 wrote: »Honestly, if you set your goal at 1/2 a pound a week, even with counting your fruits and veggies you may find out that you can actually eat more this way. WW's seems like they set your points pretty low to be aggressive. And with only a little left to go, you should probably go slow anyway. But like they said, fruits add up. So that may be all you need to tweek to see results is to be aware of those.
If she's not losing now, then MFP is not going to give her more calories to eat than she is currently eating.
MFP is great. I wouldn't worry about having to become a hermit, but yes, there will be times that you might choose to not go to a restaurant because you can't make it work, and if that's what you want, that's your right. Or if you choose to go, that's your right too. You and only you are in control of this journey 0 -
I would venture a guess that "being able to eat as many fruits and veggies as you want" is what's keeping you from getting any lower.
Try and get on board with weighing and logging everything... it's an eye opener... and those fruits and veggies have calories, whether you use WW of MFP.. MFP just let's you see the number and you're more aware of what you're putting into your body.
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Hello Friends,
I was obese for the first 25 years of my life; I remember weighing over 200lbs as a 12 year old girl. In 2008, I started Weight Watchers and over the course of two years, I lost 100lbs (hooray!). My weight went from 270lbs to 170lbs. For the past five years, I've maintained this 100lb weight loss (with a lot of fluctuating between 170 and 180). The lowest I've managed to get to is 160lbs, but I haven't been able to maintain that weight.
So long story short, I've continued to use the WW program for the past 5 years with no further results (other than maintaining my 100lb loss). I'd like to lose 20 pounds more; I'm currently holding steady at 170lbs. Even 10 lbs would be nice! I think I need to try something new if I want to lose my last 20lbs, but I'm so used to weight watchers that I'm almost terrified of quitting. I weigh my food and count my points religiously. I realize that My Fitness Pal is a great program, but I get exhausted at the thought of having to track all of my fruits and veggies... that's a lot of food I haven't had to worry about tracking for a long time. I'm also concerned about not having "bonus points"... I rely on those for my social life.
Beyond weight tracking, I've been doing weight training at my gym for the past two years. I LOVE weight training - its an end in itself. It makes me feel fantastic and strong. I also avoid refined sugars and processed foods (or have been for the past few weeks at least). Despite having improved my diet and increased my physical activity, I haven't seen results over the past few weeks.
I don't want to become so obsessed with food tracking and weight loss that I become a hermit just to avoid being around food. I say that because sometimes, I DO get really obsessive about it and I turn down opportunities to hang out with friends because I'm terrified about being around food I may not know the point values of. Given my history, I obviously have a hard time saying no to food.
I'm not seeking perfection. But I want to lose at least ten pounds. I'm serious about my health and I don't want to give up weight watchers without having something else to go to instead. Heck, I'd be ok with myself even by just maintaining my current weight... but I shouldn't have to pay WW in order to succeed at that. There has to be a better way.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I know this is a big dump of poorly-organized information, but if you have any experience or advice to share, I'm all ears. It felt good to vent about all this.
I don't want to speak ill of the fruit, but the fruit is what plateaued me in WW. Logging here is pretty easier, it's the same as WW just with bigger numbers!0 -
I did WW and like MFP better. Sure, it can be cumbersome at first, as are all new habits, but you get used to it quickly. Once you've added something, it's right there in Recent and things you eat all the time are there in Frequent.
For the weekends, I try to get in a lot of exercise and eat lightly during the day so I can have bigger meals guilt-free at night.
I'm a little OCD and like to be exact, but I realize sometimes with restaurant food you just won't know. Last weekend I had jambalaya, and the stored results in MFP varied wildly. I just picked the one that seemed the most reasonable and went with that.
However, the calorie counts for many chain restaurants are available.0 -
You have not been losing weight with WW for some time. It feels safe but it isn't getting you anywhere either. You also don't know how many calories you are eating.
Give MFP your numbers-height, weight, age, activity level. Start with a reasonable goal... 1/2 lb a week. Eat the calories you are given. Eat a portion of the exercise calories you earn.
You might start with logging what you currently eat to see how many calories you are eating without worrying about sticking to your goal yet. It isn't difficult and might be pretty eye opening.
Log food as accurately as you can. Weighing and measuring are really helpful so you learn what portion sizes are appropriate for you. Do that for awhile, pay attention to what the portions look like and you will be better at judging what you can eat at random potlucks without carrying a scale around.
Some of us find pre-logging our food for the day pretty helpful to sticking to our goal. It takes me just a few minutes to log my whole day in advance.0 -
Actually Im going to offer slightly different advice
Give yourself a month to 6 weeks continue to follow your weightwatchers points scheme eating as you have been eating but just weigh and log everything in MFP
Do not worry about MFP 'system'. On ww you have been maintaining ...logging your foods will give you your maintenance level
In a month or so cut out 250 calories worth...no doubt thats a banana and a couple of apples a day...by then you will understand how mfp works
And then you will get your weight loss0 -
Actually Im going to offer slightly different advice
Give yourself a month to 6 weeks continue to follow your weightwatchers points scheme eating as you have been eating but just weigh and log everything in MFP
Do not worry about MFP 'system'. On ww you have been maintaining ...logging your foods will give you your maintenance level
In a month or so cut out 250 calories worth...no doubt thats a banana and a couple of apples a day...by then you will understand how mfp works
And then you will get your weight loss
This is great advice. I logged on MFP and WW for a month before switching to MFP. I learned a lot in that time.
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I know many people who have been avid fans of Weight Watchers, and have paid them lots of money. They lost weight, quit WW, gained it back, then joined WW again and paid them lots of money. I don't get it.0
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Actually Im going to offer slightly different advice
Give yourself a month to 6 weeks continue to follow your weightwatchers points scheme eating as you have been eating but just weigh and log everything in MFP
Do not worry about MFP 'system'. On ww you have been maintaining ...logging your foods will give you your maintenance level
In a month or so cut out 250 calories worth...no doubt thats a banana and a couple of apples a day...by then you will understand how mfp works
And then you will get your weight loss
Since the OP is really nervous about making the switch I think this is a brilliant idea-it will give her time to get used to MFP's system and she'll learn a lot in the process
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atypicalsmith wrote: »I know many people who have been avid fans of Weight Watchers, and have paid them lots of money. They lost weight, quit WW, gained it back, then joined WW again and paid them lots of money. I don't get it.
The majority of those who lose weight will regain it no matter what program they use; that isn't specific to WW. But it does seem silly to keep throwing money at the problem without figuring out what is going wrong.
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booksandchocolate12 wrote: »I just canceled my membership and signed up here.
I'm not sure I understand why it's complicated.
I to have cancelled my membership as I never went to meetings so only had myself so if I gained weight I didn't really care as I wasn't doing it in front of others. Taking it back to square one and re-educating myself into counting everything that goes in my mouth and having the support of members on here is hopefully going to be more benificial, I'm only on day 3 but so far I have not binged as I won't let myself down but the people I'm supporting as well!! Feel free to add me as a friend and good luck with your journey xx0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »I know many people who have been avid fans of Weight Watchers, and have paid them lots of money. They lost weight, quit WW, gained it back, then joined WW again and paid them lots of money. I don't get it.
The majority of those who lose weight will regain it no matter what program they use; that isn't specific to WW. But it does seem silly to keep throwing money at the problem without figuring out what is going wrong.
Totally agree with @Dnarules, this isn't specific to WW, the same could be said for MFP. Many people log on, lose the weight, quit and gain it back. The only difference is MFP is free.
Back to the OP, I don't see the difficulty here. You are already doing exactly what you need to be doing, minus weighing the fruits & veggies. That is going to be your biggest hurdle and even that isn't too much trouble. I did WW for about a year and I really liked it, the only problem was I could be spending $18/month on something else so I quit. MFP is essentially the same thing as WW except it's free and the community interaction is much better in my opinion. Don't be afraid to quit WW, take @rabbitjb's advice. Give it a go and see what happens.
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Actually Im going to offer slightly different advice
Give yourself a month to 6 weeks continue to follow your weightwatchers points scheme eating as you have been eating but just weigh and log everything in MFP
Do not worry about MFP 'system'. On ww you have been maintaining ...logging your foods will give you your maintenance level
In a month or so cut out 250 calories worth...no doubt thats a banana and a couple of apples a day...by then you will understand how mfp works
And then you will get your weight loss
LOVING THIS!! Thank you very much for this excellent advice. I'll stay on WW but log on MFP for the next few weeks and see how this plays out. Thanks again for the great advice.0 -
You have not been losing weight with WW for some time. It feels safe but it isn't getting you anywhere either. You also don't know how many calories you are eating.
Give MFP your numbers-height, weight, age, activity level. Start with a reasonable goal... 1/2 lb a week. Eat the calories you are given. Eat a portion of the exercise calories you earn.
You might start with logging what you currently eat to see how many calories you are eating without worrying about sticking to your goal yet. It isn't difficult and might be pretty eye opening.
Log food as accurately as you can. Weighing and measuring are really helpful so you learn what portion sizes are appropriate for you. Do that for awhile, pay attention to what the portions look like and you will be better at judging what you can eat at random potlucks without carrying a scale around.
Some of us find pre-logging our food for the day pretty helpful to sticking to our goal. It takes me just a few minutes to log my whole day in advance.
You're spot on about WW "feeling safe." I think I just have to recognize this and move on. It might be a fresh start to start over somewhere else.
I totally agree about pre-logging.
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First it's not as overwhelming as you think it is, I promise. To me, all that point stuff, complicated, so if you can do that, this is easy breezy. You are not losing anything because you are eating what your BMR is. This is the amount of calories you can eat and not lose or gain. The points might "hide" calories you didn't realize you were eating. So get a food scale, eat pretty much what you have been eating just tweak it. If you are going to eat it, Fitness pal it. Easy, Peasy! Good Luck!0
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Here your exercise is similar to WW giving you APs, but here you get extra calories. So if you're exercising, then use those to eat extra on your weekends. However, you can't hold on to calories like you can all those extra points WW gives you....also that could be a reason you've plateaued.0
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My WW membership was due at the end of the month (I was online only) and I just cancelled it on Monday after about 5 years with WW. I tracked here for a few weeks for a "test run" before pulling the cancellation trigger and let me tell you it is the best thing I have done. I cancelled that membership and have not thought about WW since. It took me a minute when I first started to get rid of the "points" mentality, but it has been for the best.
Like you I was exhausted about thinking of transferring my recipes from WW and tracking the fruits/veggies, but the transition has been so smooth. I do suggest if you have recipes saved on WW website to transfer those before making the jump. I also love that on MFP I can just paste a URL link to copy a recipe instead of entering every stinking ingredient in to the recipe builder on WW.
I have actually found the tracking to be no more difficult even with the fruits/veggies. If anything, it has helped to track every little thing because I get a more true picture of what I am eating along with the actual breakdown of calories, where with WW you just got the points without the breakdown. So, you could eat all your points in carbs and it would be no different than eating all your points in meat. I like how with MFP I can see if I am eating balanced meals and I can also track other things as I see fit. For example, sodium. I never realized with WW how much freaking sodium I was eating!!
I am so happy I made the transition and it is now FREE!! Not to mention, I have lost more weight on average here than I did with WW. I think it is because, like I said above, I am getting a truer picture of where my calories are coming from and I am making overall better choices with my foods. Also, people are much more helpful and friendly here.
Do it!!0 -
Actually Im going to offer slightly different advice
Give yourself a month to 6 weeks continue to follow your weightwatchers points scheme eating as you have been eating but just weigh and log everything in MFP
Do not worry about MFP 'system'. On ww you have been maintaining ...logging your foods will give you your maintenance level
In a month or so cut out 250 calories worth...no doubt thats a banana and a couple of apples a day...by then you will understand how mfp works
And then you will get your weight loss
Totally agree with this! This is exactly what I did. The fruits and vegetables was something that was holding me back, as well as all their "endorsed foods". MFP has taught me so much about food and nutritution and what I need to eat to make my body run better. I think weight watchers is a great starting point for some people but it doesn't truly teach you how to eat well for life. Best of luck to you!0 -
Actually Im going to offer slightly different advice
Give yourself a month to 6 weeks continue to follow your weightwatchers points scheme eating as you have been eating but just weigh and log everything in MFP
Do not worry about MFP 'system'. On ww you have been maintaining ...logging your foods will give you your maintenance level
In a month or so cut out 250 calories worth...no doubt thats a banana and a couple of apples a day...by then you will understand how mfp works
And then you will get your weight loss
This is exactly what I did and in the short time I did it (3 weeks) I was 100% convinced the switch to MFP was right for me.
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