Why Doesn't Weight Watchers Work?

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NinaSharp
NinaSharp Posts: 101 Member
edited May 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Please feel free to chime in here, whether you've done the plan or not, I'm really looking for opinions.

Little backstory, I've struggled with weight all my life. I was a pretty hefty teenager and finally did something about it when I was going to college. Lost 50 lbs counting calories. Went to college, gained the freshman 15 and then some. A friend of mine started doing Weight Watchers my senior year, and I was impressed with her losses. I graduated and realized I was 10 lbs away from pre- college weight and felt embarrassed. After I gained 5 more lbs trying to diet on my own, I joined WW.

I am currently on my 4th round with them. (I tend to quit when I lose an acceptable amount of weight and convince myself I can do it on my own). The problem is, this round has been the hardest ever. I usually drop the weight within 3 months of following the plan, but this time I joined in December and come March I was actually the same weight; losing 2 lbs one week and gaining it back the next. My boyfriend finally convinced me to come back to MFP and count calories after he couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that I could eat all the fruits and veggies I wanted for 'Free'. Everything has calories, he would remind me. So flash forward about 3 weeks of counting calories. After my weight going up at .2 increments (prior to MFP), I have lost 10 lbs. I'm amazed. During my time with WW, my diet was focused on getting lots of fruits and veggies and nothing was happening. Now I can have a milkshake when I want or a glass of wine (I haven't had a drink for months because of WW) but now I'm losing weight. As a former die hard believer in the plan, I am stuck. Why doesn't it work for everyone? Per MFP, eat less calories than you burn is the secret. Why doesn't WW and their 'free point's' work?

ETA: (because people seem to miss the point of my post) I'm not saying WW doesn't work. My title is misleading. It works because I've lost weight in the past. I'm asking why their free points seem to be as stumbling block. I go to meetings every week, I'm aware that the plan works for a lot of people.
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Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    I've never done WW, but from what I've seen, some people take "free" to mean "free-for-all" and eat all the fruits and vegetables they want. Which can add up. And if you aren't counting calories, that can destroy your deficit.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    I think you answered your own question. It doesn't work because there are calories in everything. It would be possible to get fat eating nothing but fruit. When you include other things in your diet and then add fruit on top of that, those extra calories start adding up. I'm sure WW works fine for people who don't care to eat fruits and vegetables.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Weight Watchers does work, until you stop doing it. That's true for any weight loss plan, even counting calories.

    Please go back and read your WW materials. Nowhere does it say that you can eat all the fruits and vegetables that you want.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    WW does work for losing weight. As does MFP, as does low carb, Dukan, etc. etc. etc.

    Many people lose weight. Keeping it off is the challenge.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Because fruits and veggies aren't really free. They have calories. Depending on how much fruit you're eating, for example, you could easily add a couple hundred calories just from that.
  • NinaSharp
    NinaSharp Posts: 101 Member
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    Based on what people are saying, it seems like I may have abused the plan a bit with my "Free" points. I cannot eat a lb of strawberries and still expect to be at a deficit.

    I really like strawberries.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    From what I've seen WW does work. I know several women who lost weight successfully doing weight watchers, those who have stuck with it, the counting points & working out have kept the weight off. Those friends who lost the weight and then stopped counting & the working out gained all their weight back. But thats with any weight loss plan, its truly a life style change. Not get to your goal weight and then slide right back into bad habits.
  • lisag0109
    lisag0109 Posts: 18 Member
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    I also believe weight watchers does work. They do tell you to limit your "free" fruits & veggies to five servings a day. You should also make sure you weigh everything! It's surprising sometimes how much a "serving" really is!
  • NinaSharp
    NinaSharp Posts: 101 Member
    edited May 2015
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    lisag0109 wrote: »
    I also believe weight watchers does work. They do tell you to limit your "free" fruits & veggies to five servings a day. You should also make sure you weigh everything! It's surprising sometimes how much a "serving" really is!

    Wow. I don't think I've ever heard this in my meetings. 5 servings? That makes total sense. Is this on their website somewhere?
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Like any weight loss program, WW does require that you use a modicum of common sense. A pound of strawberries? Really?
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    WW does work for losing weight. As does MFP, as does low carb, Dukan, etc. etc. etc.

    Many people lose weight. Keeping it off is the challenge.

    Hit the nail on the head.
  • NinaSharp
    NinaSharp Posts: 101 Member
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    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    Like any weight loss program, WW does require that you use a modicum of common sense. A pound of strawberries? Really?

    For the record, it was bought early in the day and I didn't sit and just eat the entire lb. It took the entire day but I had it with breakfast, as a snack, in a smoothie and many other ways through out the day.

  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    Weight watchers worked for me when I actually stuck with it. I think I did it before the "free" fruits and veggies though.

    My downfall with weight watchers was that it didn't give me enough points (calories). I was hungry all the time and would give up eventually. I'd rather eat a little more and lose a little slower with a plan that I can actually stick to. That's why MFP works better for me.
  • Ohwhynot
    Ohwhynot Posts: 356 Member
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    I would totally eat a lb of strawberries. According to the first entry in MFP under "strawberries, raw" it's only 145 calories...

    That's beside the point, though. :)
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    ninasharpe228 wrote: »
    Based on what people are saying, it seems like I may have abused the plan a bit with my "Free" points. I cannot eat a lb of strawberries and still expect to be at a deficit.

    I really like strawberries.
    A pound of strawberries is 145 calories. You'd have a really, really hard time eating at a surplus because of strawberries, no matter how much you like them. Most likely, it's the other stuff that would be the issue.
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
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    ninasharpe228 wrote: »
    I cannot eat a lb of strawberries and still expect to be at a deficit.

    I really like strawberries.

    I feel that same way about blueberries and raspberries. 18 ounce package = single-serving; I will sit down and just eat the whole thing. But 18 ounces of raspberries has about the same number of calories as an extra-large banana, or 1.5 dates, so if I'm not at a deficit for the day, it's not because of the raspberries.

  • Stpjudge
    Stpjudge Posts: 129 Member
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    I tried WW and it worked for me, in fact, I lost 40 lbs on the WW plan. I switched to MFP because it is free and I felt like I was paying WW for something that I can, and have, done on my own.

    Seriously "free" fruits and vegetables is not a big deal. I'm not overweight because I binge on watermelon and broccoli :)
  • NinaSharp
    NinaSharp Posts: 101 Member
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    SingRunTing wrote: »
    Weight watchers worked for me when I actually stuck with it. I think I did it before the "free" fruits and veggies though.

    My downfall with weight watchers was that it didn't give me enough points (calories). I was hungry all the time and would give up eventually. I'd rather eat a little more and lose a little slower with a plan that I can actually stick to. That's why MFP works better for me.

    I was talking to my bf about this, why did they switch from the former model. It seems like allowing for fruits and veggies made a lot more sense than their current model.

  • cindyangotti
    cindyangotti Posts: 294 Member
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    WW doesn't work? Hmmmm that's funny. I wonder how I lost over 100 pounds on it? I think you might want to speak to a leader and show her your journal. You are doing something wrong.

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