weight watchers
melissawhittaker490
Posts: 7 Member
Hi all. I've started weight watchers and im finding it confusing. I'm always below the 26 points per day averaging 16 so far but I'm genuinely confused with certain foods and I've been doing this to and some days I'm above calories and others below so it's nuts.
I've also been doing the squat challenge and walking more.
Anyone else do this and how do you find it?
I've also been doing the squat challenge and walking more.
Anyone else do this and how do you find it?
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Replies
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I used to do WW. I would make sure I always had my 26 points a day. It's a low calorie diet at best without under eating as well.0
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Weight watchers encourages fruits and veggies which is important for people who are getting into the habit of eating foods with good nutrition, but MFP has us tracking calories, which is important to weight loss.
In other words, for actual weight loss, MFP is better. The two plans do not sync.
Weight watchers has a message board you can check out.0 -
I used to do Weight Watchers and kept on the Filling and Healthy with 49 ProPoints a week. I always had some points left. It was good eating all the fruit and veg as it was free!0
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I used to do Weight Watchers and kept on the Filling and Healthy with 49 ProPoints a week. I always had some points left. It was good eating all the fruit and veg as it was free!
Nothing is 'free.' That's why I feel WW kinda sets people up to fail in the real world, which cycles them back to WW.
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26 points is the minimum WW allows. If you can't meet that number, my bet is that you're filling up on the "free" fruits and veggies.
I'll let you in on a little secret: they're not free. They're zero points, and yes, there is a difference. I see people on the WW boards and on these forums saying, "WW lets you have as many fruits and veggies as you want". Nope. You are to eat them "to satisfaction". You're not to gorge yourself. It's not a free for all.
Eat a REASONABLE amount of fruits and veggies. One banana, not three. A slice or two of watermelon, not half the melon. Then fill the rest of your day with other foods that meet the Good Health Guidelines (healthy oil, lean protein, whole grains, dairy). You'll discover that 26 points gets used up VERY quickly. I had to use some of my weekly points every day, just so I wasn't hungry.
I lost 35 lbs on WW before canceling my membership. I think the program is solid. If the website wasn't so antiquated and the app wasn't so glitchy, I'd probably still be there. In the end, I decided that I didn't want to throw money away on something where the tools that were supposed to help me only worked part of the time.0 -
I love weight watchers. Lost 75 pounds and have kept it off for over a year. I still go to meetings once a month. Why am i on MFP? Hate the WW mobile app.
So...16 points a day? Love to see what you are eating. As a rule the"free" fruits and veggies are for 5 servings a day(at least that was pointed out to me by our leader and was written in the getting started materials at that time).
When losing i allowed myself 2 free fruits and 3 free veggies a day. More than that and i counted points for them. So 1/2 c of fruit or cooked veggies or 1c. Leafy greens is 1 serving.
If you are still under the 26 a day and are full you might want to switch to the simply filling tracking on WW eating those foods to satisfaction and limit the extras to 49 per week.
I lose weight better when tracking WW points than straight calories, because i am more conscientious about the quality of my food intake when using points.... but everyone is different. Seems the Ww points use glycemic index and that works for my body.
Please feel free to add me if you want to discuss WW or anything.0 -
Weight Watchers always worked for me. The old points system. The new Points plus as it is written. did not. So now, I count calories on MFP as well as count points...but I calculate the portions so that INSTEAD I have a true count. I count fruit and every bite I eat. I also weigh and measure. I'd still be at WW meeting for the support, except they are too expens
ive nowadays.0 -
Congrats on starting your weight loss journey!
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What is it about ww that makes you want to do it in addition to MFP? I first did ww in 2003 and most recently in 2007. I'm sure it's moved on since then but it me I'm finding MFP so much easier and better for me.
The barcode scanner and immense database of foods make logging so simple. I don't have to remember or calculate calories, they appear as if by magic in the app.
I was never a fan of the meetings and
don't miss a woman with a clipboard weighing me.0 -
Weight Watchers is a relatively solid program, which was designed for a pre-internet era. It doesn't rely on a lot of 'magical thinking', which is good. They pretty much just bury CICO into a points system that makes meal planning easier for a lot of people who aren't used to managing their calories.
The points system helped make it easier to estimate good portions that put you in a calorie deficit, which was harder to do when you couldn't get good nutrition information on foods. The meetings help provide an accountability factor that keeps people on track.
Weight Watchers is getting increasingly challenged by services like MFP, and by devices like Fitbit, that help people understand their CICO balance. WW is trying to adapt, but it's still relatively expensive.0 -
I did weight watchers for about a year and lost about 30lbs on it. I have a love/hate relationship with that system. Unless you read the fine print and all the materials available you can sell yourself short with their point system. I dislike the way they calculate their point values because more protein can sometimes jack the poin value up when really it's a healthier option compared to something else. But that's just me. MFP has just overall been a better option for me. Now I'm very closely examining my food choices. With WW I feel like everything is blanketed over with their general point value.0
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I may have had a strange WW group or mindset, but sometimes I felt like there was too much emphasis on how MUCH you could eat, and not enough on eating healthy and exercise. With MFP I can tweak my food to watch micros and macros for health reasons. MFP exercise burns are more accurate.0
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daniwilford wrote: »I may have had a strange WW group or mindset, but sometimes I felt like there was too much emphasis on how MUCH you could eat, and not enough on eating healthy and exercise. With MFP I can tweak my food to watch micros and macros for health reasons. MFP exercise burns are more accurate.
Maybe a little weird, but not hard to understand. With a point system like that, I think some people respond by gaming the system for maximizing how much they can eat and still stay in the points. People do that with calorie counting, too. Group meetings can amplify that when a few people can influence the group towards that type of attitude.
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@daniwilford I think a lot of that comes from the whole craze of the dieting world. So many people think dieting is about restricting so programs, like WW, harp on the idea of eating SO MUCH! Nothing is off limits!! Kinf of like Jenny Craig, even though their program is completely different. People hate feeling restricted or deprived so they want people to feel like they can still eat all of those "normal things"0
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Weight watchers encourages fruits and veggies which is important for people who are getting into the habit of eating foods with good nutrition, but MFP has us tracking calories, which is important to weight loss.
In other words, for actual weight loss, MFP is better. The two plans do not sync.
Weight watchers has a message board you can check out.
I definitely would not say MFP is better than Weight Watchers since I lost 106 pounds with weight watchers and I personally know about 6 others who have lost more than that with WW. They teach people how and what to eat with support and accountability that many people need to succeed. Although I am no longer on that program I still use what I learned from it and it helps make MFP a good program for me. In my opinion both programs are great in their own ways.
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snickerscharlie wrote: »
Nothing is 'free.' That's why I feel WW kinda sets people up to fail in the real world, which cycles them back to WW.
This^ I did WW twice, and both times lost about 20lbs and then plateaued and could never understand why. The problem, for me, was the Simply Filling Technique which allows you to not track points on fruits (except avocados), vegetables (except corn), whole grain breads, fat-free dairy, and fat-free condiments. So, here I was slathering things in ketchup, eating two and three potatoes a day, eating tomato sandwiches, and never keeping track of anything I was eating. I gained 9lbs in one week and quit the program. The good thing about the first time I did WW (just the regular PointsPlus program, not Simply Filling) was that it got me in the habit of tracking my foods which has benefited me immensely on MFP.
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I would never do weight watchers because i believe it half-educates people on nutrition, makes the process of eating more complicated that just counting calories. It isn't explained to you exactly how it works (by ultimately cutting the amount of calories/fat/fiber/protein you consume) and may alter your perception of certain foods.
How many people come to MFP insanely confused that fruit and veggies actually have calories? A lot, thats how many.
In my opinion, weight watchers may be good in the social aspect of going and meeting with people in a physical setting but it is lacking in the tracking of foods. I would use MFP for watching my diet, go to WW for the meetings and then slowly ween myself off of that.
Just my 2cents.0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »I would never do weight watchers because i believe it half-educates people on nutrition, makes the process of eating more complicated that just counting calories. It isn't explained to you exactly how it works (by ultimately cutting the amount of calories/fat/fiber/protein you consume) and may alter your perception of certain foods.
How many people come to MFP insanely confused that fruit and veggies actually have calories? A lot, thats how many.
In my opinion, weight watchers may be good in the social aspect of going and meeting with people in a physical setting but it is lacking in the tracking of foods. I would use MFP for watching my diet, go to WW for the meetings and then slowly ween myself off of that.
Just my 2cents.
The fact that people do not know that fruits and vegetables have calories is NOT WW's fault.
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rainbowbow wrote: »I would never do weight watchers because i believe it half-educates people on nutrition, makes the process of eating more complicated that just counting calories. It isn't explained to you exactly how it works (by ultimately cutting the amount of calories/fat/fiber/protein you consume) and may alter your perception of certain foods.
How many people come to MFP insanely confused that fruit and veggies actually have calories? A lot, thats how many.
In my opinion, weight watchers may be good in the social aspect of going and meeting with people in a physical setting but it is lacking in the tracking of foods. I would use MFP for watching my diet, go to WW for the meetings and then slowly ween myself off of that.
Just my 2cents.
The fact that people do not know that fruits and vegetables have calories is NOT WW's fault.
I think it kind of is. They promote the idea that fruits and veggies are "Free!" and "eat as many as you want no points!"0 -
The fact that people do not know that fruits and vegetables have calories is NOT WW's fault.
I think it's more that people who come from a program like WW that offers "free" fruits and veggies (with a caveat - that you stay within the 5 servings per day) don't understand just how calorie-dense some fruits and veggies can be. If your daily target is, say, 1300 calories and you eat that in conventional prepared foods and then eat 600 calories of fruits and veggies all willy-nilly on top of that, then it can sabotage your weight loss efforts.
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rainbowbow wrote: »I would never do weight watchers because i believe it half-educates people on nutrition, makes the process of eating more complicated that just counting calories. It isn't explained to you exactly how it works (by ultimately cutting the amount of calories/fat/fiber/protein you consume) and may alter your perception of certain foods.
How many people come to MFP insanely confused that fruit and veggies actually have calories? A lot, thats how many.
In my opinion, weight watchers may be good in the social aspect of going and meeting with people in a physical setting but it is lacking in the tracking of foods. I would use MFP for watching my diet, go to WW for the meetings and then slowly ween myself off of that.
Just my 2cents.
The fact that people do not know that fruits and vegetables have calories is NOT WW's fault.
^^This.
And WW is very explicit in telling people to eat a REASONABLE amount of fruits and veggies. They are very clear that it's not a free for all. When I read posts on the WW forum where people say, "I can eat all the fruit I want??? Cool!" I would always tell them to go back and read their materials, because they just don't get it. I remember a woman who couldn't understand why she wasn't losing and later revealed that she was eating half a watermelon every day.
With any weight loss program--be it WW, MFP, whatever--a modicum of common sense is required.
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I was always starving on WW. I have a large frame and never felt like I had enough to eat.
In addition, I felt like there was too much of a reliance on using low fat/fat free foods with aspartame in them. I won't eat or drink anything with aspartame (nutrisweet) in it as I had a physician tell me one time that aspartame attacks the surface of the brain over time and that really scared me.0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »I would never do weight watchers because i believe it half-educates people on nutrition, makes the process of eating more complicated that just counting calories. It isn't explained to you exactly how it works (by ultimately cutting the amount of calories/fat/fiber/protein you consume) and may alter your perception of certain foods.
How many people come to MFP insanely confused that fruit and veggies actually have calories? A lot, thats how many.
In my opinion, weight watchers may be good in the social aspect of going and meeting with people in a physical setting but it is lacking in the tracking of foods. I would use MFP for watching my diet, go to WW for the meetings and then slowly ween myself off of that.
Just my 2cents.
The fact that people do not know that fruits and vegetables have calories is NOT WW's fault.
I think it kind of is. They promote the idea that fruits and veggies are "Free!" and "eat as many as you want no points!"
Actually, they don't. I did it just under 2 years ago, and fruits and veggies were free up to about 5 servings. And some, like avocado and corn, we're not free. Neither the book I had from them, nor the leaders, gave the impression they were calorie free.
Plus, with proper science/health education, everyone should know this isn't true.
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rainbowbow wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »I would never do weight watchers because i believe it half-educates people on nutrition, makes the process of eating more complicated that just counting calories. It isn't explained to you exactly how it works (by ultimately cutting the amount of calories/fat/fiber/protein you consume) and may alter your perception of certain foods.
How many people come to MFP insanely confused that fruit and veggies actually have calories? A lot, thats how many.
In my opinion, weight watchers may be good in the social aspect of going and meeting with people in a physical setting but it is lacking in the tracking of foods. I would use MFP for watching my diet, go to WW for the meetings and then slowly ween myself off of that.
Just my 2cents.
The fact that people do not know that fruits and vegetables have calories is NOT WW's fault.
I think it kind of is. They promote the idea that fruits and veggies are "Free!" and "eat as many as you want no points!"
Plus, with proper science/health education, everyone should know this isn't true.
This was my initial complaint. They dont offer that. And in my opinion that's where they fail. They dont educate people on how the points are calculated, why they're calculated that way, etc. If they did i imagine people would just count cals.0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »I would never do weight watchers because i believe it half-educates people on nutrition, makes the process of eating more complicated that just counting calories. It isn't explained to you exactly how it works (by ultimately cutting the amount of calories/fat/fiber/protein you consume) and may alter your perception of certain foods.
How many people come to MFP insanely confused that fruit and veggies actually have calories? A lot, thats how many.
In my opinion, weight watchers may be good in the social aspect of going and meeting with people in a physical setting but it is lacking in the tracking of foods. I would use MFP for watching my diet, go to WW for the meetings and then slowly ween myself off of that.
Just my 2cents.
The fact that people do not know that fruits and vegetables have calories is NOT WW's fault.
I think it kind of is. They promote the idea that fruits and veggies are "Free!" and "eat as many as you want no points!"
Plus, with proper science/health education, everyone should know this isn't true.
This was my initial complaint. They dont offer that. And in my opinion that's where they fail. They dont educate people on how the points are calculated, why they're calculated that way, etc. If they did i imagine people would just count cals.
That's fine, I guess, but MFP doesn't offer it either unless you start doing research and learn for yourself. Which is why we have lots of people on here wondering why they aren't losing. That isn't unique to WW.
And my whole point is how do we get to a point where so many people have never learned that all food has calories. No way I could blame WW for that.
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rainbowbow wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »I would never do weight watchers because i believe it half-educates people on nutrition, makes the process of eating more complicated that just counting calories. It isn't explained to you exactly how it works (by ultimately cutting the amount of calories/fat/fiber/protein you consume) and may alter your perception of certain foods.
How many people come to MFP insanely confused that fruit and veggies actually have calories? A lot, thats how many.
In my opinion, weight watchers may be good in the social aspect of going and meeting with people in a physical setting but it is lacking in the tracking of foods. I would use MFP for watching my diet, go to WW for the meetings and then slowly ween myself off of that.
Just my 2cents.
The fact that people do not know that fruits and vegetables have calories is NOT WW's fault.
I think it kind of is. They promote the idea that fruits and veggies are "Free!" and "eat as many as you want no points!"
Nope. No. Nein. Nyet.
They do NOT say eat as many as you want. This is directly from the WW website:
"Yes, fruits and vegetables aren’t magically calorie-free just by dint of us making most of them free of PointsPlus values. We took this step to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables; foods that are nutritious, satisfying and help to encourage you to make healthy, lasting choices that will lead to weight loss.
If you’re concerned that you’re eating “too much fruit," ask yourself if you’re enjoying what you’re eating, or if you’re honestly stuffing yourself with bananas because they’re “free." Or maybe you’re blending pounds of berries and bananas with ice into big-gulp smoothies.
If you’re using fruit and veggies as a way to stuff yourself in lieu of stuffing yourself with less healthy foods, then it’s possible that you may be reaching the point of “too much." If you’re eating more than you used to, but you’re using them for healthy snacks, to bulk up your meals or as a tide-me-over when you’re down to the last few PointsPlus values for the day or week, then you’re probably OK.
The bottom line? Let your hunger, and your weight loss, be your guide."
All Weight Watchers members have access to this information. I think it's pretty clear that you can't eat as much as you want, and if people do gorge themselves on fruit, it's not because WW told them it was OK.0 -
Hi all. Thanks for the comments. I think the problem is its the first week and it was explained to quickly and when I asked about what to eat re: points like should be having a certain amount of protein etc they said just stick to the points so didn't really seem right!?
I have fruit and salad alot so on some days based on their points and theirs no points for fruit and veg I'm having basically fish, and bread as I have banana in morn with one toast and butter - toast and butter can be pointed - then salad with fish then a tuna sandwhich but with salad. So there's not that much to point plus have been exercising aswell though building this ill admit. I occasionally have a small pudding but it's very small.
I think maybe it's just the way it was explained.
I honestly don't think in understand it.0 -
OP, I hope you have great success. WW is an ok program, and many people do well with it. Just remember the points system is designed to give you a calorie deficit without having to look everything up and add it all together. Sites like MFP make that a lot easier, but it was impractical when WW came up with the point system.
Just remember, there's no magic method. The idea is to eat less than you burn, and do that consistently. If WW helps you get to that habit, then you'll be doing just fine.0 -
I was an online only member, but I heard that at meetings they always have a session after the meeting for new members, so the program could be explained. Did you go to that?
Also, the WW site has message boards too. You might be better off asking for clarification about the program there.0 -
I did WW 6 years ago... But I was constantly hungry... Hungry all the time... I swore up and down they had my point too low but every time I brought it up they would constantly be blaming me for being hungry saying I wasn't eating correctly (when I was eating fine)
MFP is free so I'm using MFP for life.0
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