Weight watchers?

kyrannosaurus wrote: »

I went to WW meetings to keep mysf accountable. Apart from weighing in each week in front of another person, I think the whole program is stupid. It's more complicated to calculate the points than it is too count calories. The points are less accurate too. I got to my goal weight just counting calories here and not counting points despite going to the WW meetings. I was the first person my leader had apparently ever seen get to goal in her meetings and I wasn't even following their program.

The online calorie counters have made the points harder than calories. 40 Points would be easier than 1800 calories if adding on paper or in our head but we only have to enter a food's name or check a box in 2015.

I did WW in the 90s. I had a good group and leader. I think WW's points system made a lot more sense back before MFP was available. Points are a short cut to calorie counting and accounting for things like fiber, and this is not needed when one has MFP.

I would still recommend WW to people who like the accountability of public weigh-ins, like group support (and can find a good group) and can afford it. If someone had to chose between WW and a gym membership, I'd suggest the gym membership.

Hi totally agree I loved pp but the space is a diet not a lifestyle and way way too restrictive.

Personally - I think WW had their day when it wasn't so easy to work out the calories for everything you ate. Nowadays there are awesome apps like mfp (with the barcode scanner!) which allows you to track your intake if you don't have that inherent "stop eating" signal that stops everyone eating more than they should.

However, there's a lot to be said for the support network that WW provides, which is said to give participants a much higher success rate in keeping weight off. I find the mfp forums and a couple of likeminded friends enough to keep me on track but if you don't have a few real life people to support you in your goals WW might be enough to fill that gap.

I am a past WW member. I absolutely *did* lose weight following their pro-point's plan but I came away from WW around 3 months ago. All 'group leaders' I have met to date have given incorrect and frankly logically RIDICULOUS 'advice' in regards to weight loss. Some gems I've witnessed:

"Calorie's don't matter - that's not how it works"
"You've gained weight because you aren't eating all of your 'points'"
"Make a soup out of vegetables as they are FREE! Then you can eat a big bread roll with butter"
"You've maintained this week. What went wrong?"

That's all I can think of at this point - but there have many 'WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT' moment's for me. After dissecting my 'plan' with a nutritionist, we worked out that WW only allowed me to eat around 1040 calories a day. Yes, fruit and veg is 'free' *sigh* but no wonder I was miserable as sin and feeling trapped by my regime.

My mum remained a member until this new 'Smartpoints' was introduced. She promptly cancelled her membership and has started doing it the MFP way. She's so much happier and losing consistently.

Shull_rachael wrote: »

I'm seriously thinking about joining weight watchers. Has anyone had any luck with there diet plan? Thanks in advance!

I am a current WW member. The new program is called "smart points" and IMO it's now "low carb" which isn't sustainable to me. They lowered the points allowed each day and have raised the points on most foods unless it's lean protein and/or very low in sugar. For example, a bowl of oatmeal that used to be 4 points, is now 7. I totally get that they are trying to get people to eat healthier, but what I liked about WW before was you could have what you want and still lose weight. Now they are pretty much forcing you to eat low carb so it's much harder to adhere to (for me).

It's not low carb. Low carb is high fat which Smart Points is not. Smart Points is trying to steer people towards a more whole foods and grains approach. If you do the simply filling version of Smart Points where you eat from a list of free foods and only count point for non included items, you get whole wheat or gluten free pasta ( only low in sugar brands, brown and wild rice, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, cereals with low sugar, etc. Definitely not low carb.

Usa9872001 wrote: »

Lost 109 pounds on one of the older plans and quit going to meetings when they changed the plan to not take calories into consideration and when they were okay with all that fake fiber. I just rejoined, because after reading about the new Smart Points, it actually makes much more sense nutritionally to me. Eat more lean protein, sprinkle in some healthy fats and carbs.... and eat less sugar and saturated fat. I am a sugar junkie and this is exactly what I need.

I joined with the old plan too that counted calories fat and fiber ? it was a slider scale. The orientation meeting was very good back then, she told us about turkey deli meat, stir fry frozen vegetables, whole wheat pita, very practical ideas that I actually taught you how to shop. The pamphlets seemed better too.

Hi. I know I'm kind of late to this conversation, but I just wanted to share my thoughts/experience. When I first started losing weight, I was a broke college student and relied strictly on the *free* features of MFP...and I lost about 15 pounds over 5 weeks during the summer. (3 pounds a week? I was a VERY happy camper). But then I started seeing all the WW commercials with Jennifer Hudson and I was so motivated to be just like her. (And my doctor had recommended that I look into the program to help me manage my weight and defeat hypertension.) So, when I got a job that would provide me steady monthly income, I signed up for WW meetings..I lost 25 pounds in 5 months. (This was during WW's Points Plus days.) Even though I didn't lose AS much weight with WW as I had done with MFP, I was satisfied with the way that I felt and I had dropped a clothes size. Needless to say, graduating, and life in general, got in the "weigh," and I gained those 25 pounds back. I ended up letting my WW membership go over the summer. In August 2015, I signed up for WW again because I wasn't happy with the way that I felt or looked (and my clothes weren't fitting anymore!). I did great the first week, but the next 2 weeks I started gaining weight. I was exercising religiously so I figured that I was just gaining muscle mass. Then I decided to compare my WW points intake to my calories, and I was shocked. I was staying within my points, but MFP made me realize that some days I wasn't eating nearly enough calories and others I was eating wayyyy too many. And my diet just wasn't balanced. So I quit WW (again) and started using MFP. Then...the new WW Smart Points program was introduced in December, and I was intrigued by the idea of eating more wholesome foods, so I joined AGAIN. The first week on Smart Points I gained weight! I completely understand where WW is coming from with this new program, but I also think that the program is designed for people who already have some type of healthy habits and a healthy relationship with food. For people, like me, who are just starting out and needing to learn how to follow a plan consistently, it can be very discouraging (especially when you are choosing between two snacks, both with 100 calories and similar nutritional values but drastically different Smart Points values.) Not to mention, I too take issue with the fact that you literally have to pay for EVERYTHING with WW's name on it, from cookbooks to Smart Points calculators to reusable grocery bags....I remember the days when you could go to a trial meeting and get a free starter kit.

Now, call me crazy, but I have chosen to use MFP to track my food intake, while I continue to go to WW meetings for the accountability. I agree with other posters that the meetings can be corny, but I have learned so much about food/recipes and there's just something about having somebody else look at my weight. I mean, I've tried getting accountability buddies but it just hasn't worked for me. I do think that it is absolutely ridiculous that I'm paying $45 a month for somebody to weigh me every week, when I pay $50 a year for MFP premium. But I had to find what works for me. I want this weight off, AND I want to be comfortable in my new lifestyle. So I see the best of both worlds when I combine what I like from the two programs.