Weight Watchers - Yes or No ?

I did WW for a while and lost about 25 pounds. It's easy to do but it's the same as you are doing now, counting calories, keeping track of food, exercise, etc. It was a good program. I like MFP because it's free and basically does the same thing.
Good luck to you!

I lost 40 pounds doing the WW Flex program and really liked it for a while but hated paying the weekly fee's. WW taught me a lot about healthy eating and it got me eating breakfast. It got annoying carrying the points calculator around trying to figure out points for things before I bought/ate them and I kinda got bored with it so i stopped doing it. I did try the new plan they have now where fruits and veggies are "free" ( they aren't really they are calculated into your daily point allowance) but I didn't care for it, my weight was up and down constantly and I followed the plan. I know some people that really like it though. I prefer just counting my calories and trying to eat a balanced diet and logging in here...and it's free.

Last time I lost 30 pounds, I followed the previous weight watchers plan, using a friend's materials. I didn't pay for them. Logged food with paper (gasp!) and kept a paper graph of my progress. (old school!) It was a healthy way to eat, and supposed to emphasize a good balance of nutrients. The process of group support (actual people in a room!) would be the key difference. So, maybe it would be worth it to you. I'm here, because I didn't work to maintain that loss.

40+ pounds already, that is AMAZING! Whatever you're doing is def working! I did weight watchers in college before they had points plus and I lost alot of weight slowly. It worked for me but it no longer works for me because I don't like keeping track of points. WHen I went off of the program, I gained weight back because I had no idea what 1000 calories meant.

Now, my mother and cousin have lost alot of weight on WW. I guess you just have to figure out what works for you!

If it is something hormonal, I'm not sure WW has anything different to offer that MFP doesn't already do. WW will encourage fruit/vegetable intake as well as physical activity (but you can do that here as well - just requires a little more motivation).

I've found that I breakout when eating more greasy, fatty, processed foods (pizzas, chips, cookies etc.). I would try cutting those out if you haven't already.

still doing ww and i think its a great program. Especially if you have the right group! The downside is you have to pay for it. Although its not expensive. 2 ladies i work with have lost over 50 pounds on WW and are both lifetime members.

Try it and see if you like it. Doesnt hurt.

I did WW for a while and lost about 25 pounds. It's easy to do but it's the same as you are doing now, counting calories, keeping track of food, exercise, etc. It was a good program. I like MFP because it's free and basically does the same thing.
Good luck to you!

I totally agree and I'll add - the old WW used to track calorie counting and monitored carbs, fat grams, sugar, etc. The new WW has reduced everything to a formula and the WW company puts POINTS on everything. When they over simplified things to POINTS they sort of made me addicted to the POINT mentality, which for me, took away from the real learning experience of figuring out how to eat real food. At one point I was only buying frozen meals and snacks that were around a 2 or 3 POINTS value and even thought I made the effort, I couldn't maintain my losses when I had one. I find MFP to be much easier to self monitor and I am making more progress on this site. The fact that MFP is FREE is a great bonus because I have 3 people in my house who are trying to lose weight. We have different goals and needs so we each have our own sign-on.

NO! Negative! Negatory! Absolutely NOT.

Well, that is, if you want to be HEALTHY and maintain a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life- Weight Watchers is not the answer. Eating right and exercising IS. Best of luck to you. )

Seriously? There is nothing THAT bad about Weight Watchers. The last few versions of their program have been relatively healthy - focusing on raising protein and fibre, lowering fat and carbs. They encourage you to earn activity points (ie, exercise), choose real foods, and drink water. It's seriously NO different than MFP, except in lingo.

Of course, that's the downside to WW as well -- it's no different than free alternatives like MFP. There's no magic formula that will suddenly allow you to lose more weight. So you might as well save your money, unless you specifically feel you need that in-person support.

I lost most of my weight with Weight Watchers, and it helped me see what foods were good for me to eat and what foods weren't, I learned that I needed to get those activity points, but also that I needed to eat them back or I didn't feel so hot, I learned lots of stuff about eating right and exercising, and when I'd learned all I could, I made the decision to stop paying the fees and just seek out support online.

Six years ago I lost 40 pounds on WW and kept it off for a year and a half. We moved cross country and I could no longer get to meetings reliably...now I need to lose the same damn 40 pounds, here is my bare bones comparison of the two:

The WW plan and the MFP plan are pretty similar in essence; you get a daily allotment of food (be it in point or calorie form) and you make the choices about how you want to use it.

WW has a separate weekly pool of points that can be used weekly, with MFP you can adjust your daily calorie intake....pretty similar really but MFP requires you to do a little bit more thinking about your goals and how you plan to get there than WW does.

Both have terrific online communities and support, but unlike MFP that gives you everything free you have to pay additional fees to access WW food and exercise databases (although the message boards are free).

Both plans give largely the same general advice about exercise and general health and fitness action items.

WW offers a weekly in person meeting or online only plans (both require payment), while MFP (free) lacks the eye to eye aspect. The weekly meetings are great if you find a group that fits you and you continue to go to the meetings.

WW weekly meetings provide strangers that will weigh you weekly on their scales...there is something about knowing a stranger will see how well you've done (or not) over the last week that really helps some people. MFP weigh in results (as with those on WW online) are on the honor system.

To succeed with both plans you must track your food and exercise, simply being enrolled or paying weekly will not do the work for you.


I think it is less about what WW's specific plan of the moment is and more about the big picture, both plans work for the same reasons. WW is certainly more structured and they've done a lot of the work already for you so all you have to do is follow along. MFP has a good amount of following along but there are some choices you must be more hands on in making to set up your plan before you can simply follow along.

NO! Negative! Negatory! Absolutely NOT.

Well, that is, if you want to be HEALTHY and maintain a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life- Weight Watchers is not the answer. Eating right and exercising IS. Best of luck to you. )

I am sorry this statement really aggravated me. Eating healthfully and exercising is what WW is about! I lost 50lbs with MFP and for the past year I had been stalled so I finally joined WW. Now I am losing again! It may be slow and steady but its coming off again and thats whats important. For me it helps that I have to go to a meeting every week and weigh in in front of the same person every week (so she knows where I am at and how I have been doing) Its Accountability! Plus I get new ideas from the meetings and watching other people with their successes and struggles helps me figure out what works for me. I say give it a try!

Any program that advises chugging chemical filled diet soda, and highly processed "diet foods" instead of wholesome "real" foods to limit calories is useless. Now, of course this is just my opinion so take it or leave it. Since when is it ok to starve yourself for a couple of days just so you can save up your points and binge the rest of the week................ yeah thats a pretty good idea.
Not to mention, like many have mentioned, you have no comprehension as to nutritional value when your simply counting points. Thus, if you ever intend to "get off" the program, chances are pretty good that your going to gain weight!

I am not a doctor, but I personally am not overweight because of a healthy wholesome diet and exercise and that is exactly what I would recommend to others.

Alright I seriously think that you have absolutely no idea of what the WW program really is! They encourage you to eat power foods which is exactly what your talking about the natural, good for you, non-processed foods! I have been in WW for 2 months and never once have I been advised to drink Diet Soda or eat processed meals. I think maybe you should really look into what WW is about before you give bad advice.

WW is really great, but it just wasn't right for me. I prefer MFP. But everyone has different preferences! There was certainly nothing BAD about the program at all, and the support from the meetings was actually the best part for me. I wish we could have MFP meetings The points system was just a little complicated, MFP is more straightforward.

Any program that advises chugging chemical filled diet soda, and highly processed "diet foods" instead of wholesome "real" foods to limit calories is useless. Now, of course this is just my opinion so take it or leave it. Since when is it ok to starve yourself for a couple of days just so you can save up your points and binge the rest of the week................ yeah thats a pretty good idea.
Not to mention, like many have mentioned, you have no comprehension as to nutritional value when your simply counting points. Thus, if you ever intend to "get off" the program, chances are pretty good that your going to gain weight!

I am not a doctor, but I personally am not overweight because of a healthy wholesome diet and exercise and that is exactly what I would recommend to others.

I agree wholeheartedly. I feel like Weight Watchers is this big money making scheme that is devised to make as much money as possible. ever try to calculate the points on your own, without a calculator? you can't - THEY DEVISE IT THAT WAY!

I mean if it works for some people, good for them. But it ultimately did NOT work for me and I refuse to hand over $18 a month for their online program to start again. I lost about 40 pounds over two years on weight watchers and guess what? HERE I AM - I gained in ALL BACK because I had no idea what the nutritional information label meant on the back of food products. Also, because, well it wasn't fun for me. I was bored counting points. I didn't like processed foods being marketed by weight watchers.

that being said, the positive thing about the program is that apparently they do try to teach you about wholesome healthy foods now and they provide you with a supportive community. the only thing weight watchers had that MFP doesnt are healtful articles about eating and portion control. that's all i miss.

Yeah, when I was there they certainly did not push processed foods. I mean they have their products on the back table, but it was not a 30min sales pitch by any means. And with the points plus they REALLY push for you to eat lots of fruits and veggies (Since they are "free") and get in your good healthy goals, which is a certain amount of fruits, veggies, protein and dairy a day.

I am doing great with weight watchers so far. I will admit though..in the beginning I was thinking uhhhh...I am NEVER going to be able to keep up with all this..WTH did I get myself into? :P So I challenged myself, and I continue to challenge myself almost every day..it's addicting to push myself!! Maybe I have grown up over night, or maybe I am just finally fed up with a mediocre body and mediocre health...too many people are dying around me and at very young ages and I don't wanna be a part of that club... I am giving WW my all. Despite what people have said to me, it really isn't a pain in the @ss to log points, measure my food or cut things out of my diet that are not the best option for me... I love that fruits and veggies are 0 points so it gives me an incentive that if I don't want to go over my points for any given day I will just have a piece of fruit and it really does satisfy me. Now I would have laughed in your face years ago if you had told me I was gonna be on the Weight watchers band wagon someday. I think in order for anything to work, you really have to be ready to make a lifestyle change, not just a temporary fix to look good for a wedding, graduation, blah blah blah... I mean really be ready to change your life. I know for a fact that I am at that point because it's not as hard anymore as it used to be to try... It's consuming me and I couldn't be happier about that!! With the help of my new found drive, MFP friends, WW and the support I have from my best friend, her mom and grandmom who are also on weight watchers, I am becomming the person I always knew I could be. My only regret is I didn't start all of this sooner! :0)