My Fitness Pal v Weight Watchers?

vivinct
vivinct Posts: 3 Member
edited November 24 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there - A colleague asked me to team up to help motivate her and to help me lose this annoying final 15. I'm a WW lifetime member but it's just tanked on me lately and I am so sick of their tracking (and fees), so I thought switching over here might be a good change.
I eat healthy normally - my issues are chocolate at work and fitting in enough exercise (I do get a decent amount but not enough to make me happy).
Has anyone else here done that transition, and if so, how did you find it? Great success?
TIA!

Replies

  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    Weight Watchers is just a watered down version of calorie counting. It simplifies the process by giving everything a point value. Myfitnesspal tracks the actual calories and macronutients of what you eat. You set a calorie goal and meet it each day. If that calorie goal puts you in a calorie deficit, and you are accurate with your calorie tracking (http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101), then you will lose weight in the long run. If you do not, it is either because your goal is not low enough to create a deficit, or your tracking is off and you are eating more than you think.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    If you don't like tracking, then a calorie counting program isn't for you. What do you think we do here? We weigh our food and log the calories....not much different then logging points.

    Also, I respectfully submit that WW didn't "tank" on you. You stopped working it, so it stopped working.
  • vivinct
    vivinct Posts: 3 Member
    @booksandchocolate12 If the boards here reflect your tone on a regular basis, I won't be participating any longer. Is this your normal tone, or special just for me? Thanks for the fab welcome - um.
    @vismal Simple enough explanation - and I appreciate the link. Thank you!
  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,213 Member
    vivinct wrote: »
    If the boards here reflect your tone on a regular basis, I won't be participating any longer. Is this your normal tone, or special just for me? Thanks for the fab welcome - um.

    That's pretty much the tone of the boards. If possible, grow a thick skin and just let it wash over you. I find a lot of help here, but I take it all with a laugh. When I want specific help, I go to a couple of groups or PM a few friends directly.
  • moeneyluv
    moeneyluv Posts: 5 Member
    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    If you don't like tracking, then a calorie counting program isn't for you. What do you think we do here? We weigh our food and log the calories....not much different then logging points.

    Also, I respectfully submit that WW didn't "tank" on you. You stopped working it, so it stopped working.

    Wow aren't you just full of sunshine and rainbows? Yikes lol
  • erimethia_fekre
    erimethia_fekre Posts: 317 Member
    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    If you don't like tracking, then a calorie counting program isn't for you. What do you think we do here? We weigh our food and log the calories....not much different then logging points.

    Also, I respectfully submit that WW didn't "tank" on you. You stopped working it, so it stopped working.

    I don't think this is true. I'm constantly readjusting my caloric goals based on my weight loss and the calories always come out different. It might just be that the adjustment was never made for her and broken down into "points".

    OP: Good luck with your journey. My advice is to be as honest about your logging as you can; even if it mean getting a food scale and making sure you even weigh out the bread you eat to reflect the right values.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    edited September 2015
    Um...what? I don't think I was snarky at all. I mean, I even said, "I respectfully submit", for God's sake, just so you would know that I WASN'T being rude.

    I'm sorry if I told you something you didn't want to hear. As a lifetime WW member, you should know that the program works if you work it. If you stop measuring/weighing food, and stop logging, it's not going to work. Since you say yourself that you got tired of tracking, perhaps you got a little complacent/sloppy with it? THAT IS NOT AN INSULT....REPEAT...THAT IS NOT AN INSULT! It happens to the best of us. My point is, that perhaps the fact that you got tired of logging lead to you not being as diligent with it, which lead to an issue with your weight.

    Again, tracking is key to calorie counting. If you didn't like it on WW, you won't like MFP.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    I was a WW member for 4 months and I got fed up with their 'points' system. MFP lays it all out on the table with simple logic and fact - calories in, calories out. I've learnt so much about the process since being a MFP member but I found that Weight Watchers are reluctant to explain the process and instead tend to repeat "Just to stick to eating your points, it works" which I got sick of hearing! Personally, I believe that educating yourself on what your body actually requires and how the calorie deficit works is far more important than simply following what a unqualified Weight Watchers leader tells you to do. Wishing you the best of luck here, I hope you find it useful :]
  • Clarewho
    Clarewho Posts: 494 Member
    @booksandchocolate12 I didn't think you were rude. But sometimes ppl read things the wrong way. Op it's true - CICO works. If you want to track and you commit to it fully you will lose weight. I think with WW you work with points. Thus smoke and mirrors - you don't know exactly how many calories each food has - so you can't educate yourself to make the right choices. This means you either do it forever or (understandably) get fed up as you are now. The boards are full of ppl who have done WW over and over - b/c they can't sustain the loss once they stop counting their points. Over time with MFP you'll learn more about portion sizes and calorie counting, which will hopefully lead to a successful transition to maintaining weight in future as opposed to yoyo dieting. This self-education is key, I think.
  • CJDaniel7
    CJDaniel7 Posts: 149 Member
    Don't get offended, most of these people know less than you.. WW works for millions of people. There are several unhappy, unsuccessful people not here or WW, just in general. Not face behind fakename. They think their current system is the best one and there is no other. I liked WW and the personal accountability, face to face. There never was a question as to what was healthy or not healthy, admittedly some people milk the system with 1 point empty calories, true. But if you work WW for what they teach, it's honest, and obvious (to most) what is healthy and what is not. But I needed something new, something I didn't need to drive too, something techy. It's more of where you are at this point in life. Sometimes a new "fitness tracker" kicks people in the butt, sometimes it's a meeting leader. It's not going to be the same for everyone, or anyone at certain points in their life. Everyone needs to decide for themselves.
  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    If you don't like tracking, then a calorie counting program isn't for you. What do you think we do here? We weigh our food and log the calories....not much different then logging points.

    Also, I respectfully submit that WW didn't "tank" on you. You stopped working it, so it stopped working.

    Not rude, just the reality of it. If WW isn't working because you are finding tracking cumbersome, MFP is not going to help either unless you recommit.
  • MondayJune22nd2015
    MondayJune22nd2015 Posts: 876 Member
    I don't currently weigh and/or measure anything, that I consume yet I am losing weight, so tracking isn't necessary; for everyone. What I did do is change the Calorie density of my food choices, so I am technically consuming the same portion sizes; as I have before but those foods are much less Caloric. When I do have the foods that are more Calorie dense, I use as little as possible; just for taste/texture but it's no longer the base of my meal. For instance I'll make a taco using a piece of lettuce instead of a taco shell but I'll use 1/8 of a taco shell, as a crumbled topping.
  • suziecue20
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
    For me, both counting calories and counting points work IF done properly i.e. set a goal that is a deficit, weigh and log the calories/points every day. Neither work of course if your calorie/points goal is too high and you guesstimate all your logging.

    Personally I started using MFP because WW was costing me £13 per month for doing the pp plan online and when I had reached my weight loss goal I still had to pay when I wanted to maintain, so realistically I could be paying WW for ever.

    I have also learned a lot about nutrition since I've been using MFP, which I know will give me a much better chance of maintaining my weight loss when I reach my goal. WW really tells you very little about nutrition and I do not want to Yo Yo for the rest of my life.

    You have said you are 'sick of tracking'. If you are really serious about losing weight you will have to 'bite the bullet' and be prepared to put in some effort by deciding firstly how you are going to go about it - you could change the type of food you normally eat partially or completely so that you get more volume for less calories, or you could eat the same food you normally do but in much smaller portions. When you have done that you will have to weigh and log your food and drink every day and try to keep within your calorie goal. Nobody is perfect and everybody slips up now and again though ;)

    MFP is FREE - what have you got to lose except weight :)
  • Camomilejane
    Camomilejane Posts: 55 Member
    I also used to do WW, but a change is as good as a rest! I just love MFP, and have regained my motivation. I am sure you will do well on your journey!
  • vivelajackie
    vivelajackie Posts: 321 Member
    My fiance was someone that had great success with WW. Lost 100lbs. Gained it all back. WW is in the end a business, which helps, but apparently doesn't teach you how to eat well as a lifestyle so when you're done you're left going "Well, what the heck do I do now?"

    He and I both find MFP useful. You can lose weight if you're honest in how you track your calories and it forces you to hold yourself accountable to see results. It's you and your weight loss journey in the end. No fees, no points, just hard work. And, with the internet, there's never been easier ways to find healthy, filling meal recipes.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
    MondayJune22nd2015 wrote: »
    I don't currently weigh and/or measure anything, that I consume yet I am losing weight, so tracking isn't necessary; for everyone. What I did do is change the Calorie density of my food choices, so I am technically consuming the same portion sizes; as I have before but those foods are much less Caloric. When I do have the foods that are more Calorie dense, I use as little as possible; just for taste/texture but it's no longer the base of my meal. For instance I'll make a taco using a piece of lettuce instead of a taco shell but I'll use 1/8 of a taco shell, as a crumbled topping.

    No one said that calorie tracking is necessary for everyone. But it is the point of MFP. OPs question was whether MFP would be an effective replacement for WW. The only sensible answer is, not if you don't want to track calories.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    Clarewho wrote: »
    @booksandchocolate12 I didn't think you were rude. But sometimes ppl read things the wrong way.

    I get that. It's very easy to misinterpret things on the internet. But when someone goes out of their way to say "I respectfully submit"...."with all due respect"....or other such language, I think it's clear that the intention was not to offend. But perhaps I hit a nerve with the OP and she was forced to accept a modicum of personal responsibility into why WW stopped working for her.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    edited September 2015
    CJDaniel7 wrote: »
    Don't get offended, most of these people know less than you.. WW works for millions of people. There are several unhappy, unsuccessful people not here or WW, just in general. Not face behind fakename. They think their current system is the best one and there is no other. I liked WW and the personal accountability, face to face.

    I don't know if you're referring to me as someone who knows "less" than the OP, but, just for your own edification: I have lost 40 lbs. The first 30 were on WW. So I know that the program works. I switched to MFP because, like the OP, I didn't want to pay to lose weight. Like I said, I know the program works....BUT ONLY IF YOU WORK IT. That is true of ANY weight loss program. You can have success on Atkins, South Beach, Nutrisystem. But if you stop doing it and slip back into your old habits, the program will no longer work. This isn't rocket science. You can't work a weight loss program faithfully and expect to continue to lose weight if you go back to your old way of eating.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    kyrannosaurus wrote: »
    Not rude, just the reality of it. If WW isn't working because you are finding tracking cumbersome, MFP is not going to help either unless you recommit.

    Exactly. If the OP is tired of counting points, I don't understand why she thinks that she's going to like counting calories.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    I used to do WW and got sick of their tracking too. It wasn't that I was tired of tracking in general but because their database was horrible and their barcode scanner didn't work half of the time. Maybe that's what OP meant.

    OP one thing that is important is to make sure that you log everything, including fruits and veggies. While those are 0 points on WW they still have calories and can add up fairly quickly (especially fruits).

  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    jkal1979 wrote: »
    I used to do WW and got sick of their tracking too. It wasn't that I was tired of tracking in general but because their database was horrible and their barcode scanner didn't work half of the time. Maybe that's what OP meant.

    I noticed that too, and that's another reason why I made the change to MFP.

    Maybe that is what the OP meant, but I don't really think so. We'll probably never know, as she seems to have flounced.

  • vivinct
    vivinct Posts: 3 Member
    I appreciate the productive comments on this thread in response to my original post. Booksand....I'm not interested in your aggressive/defensive language, or presumptions and misinterpretations, etc. Clearly you spend a lot of time here but you could do with a little communications training. I'm a corporate communications director - saying "I respectfully submit" does not erase your tone. So please, no more responses from you.Thank you.

    This was the question I posed: Has anyone else here done that transition, and if so, how did you find it? Great success?

    To clarify and to the points posted which were indeed productive, like many of you, I have been successful (40 mid-life lbs) on WW and have just a few to go to reach my goal. This is simply a little change up for me as WW was getting tiresome and felt cumbersome. I've completed one day and found the data compilation very informative, so it seems like a good change. I especially appreciate the huge, detailed database which includes foods and activities WW doesn't even include! And, it's free!
  • austinsneeze
    austinsneeze Posts: 220 Member
    Either way you have to track your food, points or calories. Points guides you to eat the "right" things, whereas calories kind of teaches you to figure those things out on your own. I heard a lot of people don't stick with WW, though.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    edited September 2015
    Viv: First of all, this is a public message board, and, unfortunately for you, you can't dictate who can/can't respond to your posts.

    Second, this is not a corporate setting, so whatever communication skills you think I need have no bearing here. I work for a law firm, and if you think that I communicate with clients, attorneys, and court personnel the way I communicate on an internet weight loss message board, you're sadly mistaken.

    Finally: A legitimate question. What was it about WW that was getting tiresome/cumbersome (other than the monthly fee, which I totally get). If, as was mentioned by others besides me, it was the counting of points that was getting to you, then I don't know that MFP will be much better. Sure, in the beginning it will be different, and that will be rejuvenating. Maybe that will be the kick start you need to get going again. Maybe it won't, and you'll eventually find calorie counting just as tiresome. Only you can answer that.

    Cheers! :kissing_heart:
  • Mezzie1024
    Mezzie1024 Posts: 380 Member
    I think a good combo for WW to MFP converts would be MFP plus a DietBet. You pay and you weigh in, so there's accountability, and you have the chance to get your money back (plus a little more) if you meet your goal.

    I have no affiliation with DietBet, but I see people from WW say they liked the accountability but didn't like paying, so it seems like a decent deal. Just throwing it out there.
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