Came from Weight Watchers

So I've been doing MFP for about 4 months now and I just love it. The app and website are way better. I'm not stuck in the "points recipe universe" anymore. I can go to sites that just have recipes with calories and not worry about the conversion. The biggest thing....eating with friends and going out for food is just a lot easier. Some restaurants have the calories right on the menu and its just so much easier than converting everything into points. PLUS I'm saving 20 bucks a month...which i rolled into my retirement! I must say though....WW did give me a very good foundation for eating correctly and what to watch for. I felt they did an EXCELLENT job giving me a good food education by teaching me what foods keep you full longer and what not.


Anyone else care to comment :)
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Replies

  • gems74
    gems74 Posts: 107 Member
    I used WW too with success. I switched over to MFP after the changes they made to their website and program. It is a good program but I find that the community within MFP is so much better. Being able to surround yourself with people with similar goals and who support and encourage is what has kept me coming back, they don't let me quit! Love the newsfeed, bugs and all.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
    I used WW in the past with success but I tended to focus on the lowest points of foods I could get away with, so that meant I was avoiding foods with protein and fat (because they were higher points.) I did eat a lot of veggies and fruit, which is a good thing! I like MFP so much better for many reasons - it does help me focus on a nutritionally balanced day but it's also FREE! If it's FREE, it's for me!
  • 1Nana2many
    1Nana2many Posts: 172 Member
    I too once did WW as did my husband with me. It did give me a good foundation, but I got really tired of driving to a meeting every week and I didn't even want to reach the goal weight they set for me and so I just saw no light at the end of the tunnel of meetings and money. I love the simplicity of MFP and keeping track of my daily food intake is so much easier for me here. I get a much clearer picture of what foods contain what amount of calories, protein, sugars and sodium here. Of course, if it was really easy, I could have lost the weight and kept it off after I read the first weight loss book I ever bought MANY years ago. ;)
  • angefrat
    angefrat Posts: 2 Member
    I also came from weight watchers. I came here because , why pay for weight watcher online, when you are here for free and their website, I found difficult to navigate, and hard to find help.
  • jgaffney86
    jgaffney86 Posts: 35 Member
    Awesome comments!

    I left about November - December area....when they were going thru there website transition. That really turned me off big time.... I wonder if they ever got it working again and all updated lol. It was taking forever....lol
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
    My MIL started Weight Watchers many years ago. She tenaciously hangs on; she's had to pay for meetings for over a year now having gone back up in weight, but she doggedly attends.

    Maybe because she's an "old timer" member - but I wonder when you say that WW did an excellent job giving you a good food education. She still seems stuck in the mentality of: avoid fat like the plague. She also buys the WW foods in the grocery and some of those desserts just look so sad to me.

    The main deal breaker, for me, is that she has lost & gained the same 20 lbs. for umpteen years. That, and the complicated "points calculator" (she bought me one a couple years ago and...forget it!) I know WW has helped a lot of people, but with this anecdotal experience that I've witnessed, I don't exactly find it a ringing endorsement.
  • tewzers2
    tewzers2 Posts: 2 Member
    edited March 2016
    I too just came from Weight Watchers. I have tried numerous times and only have had limited success which is my fault, not the programs. Although their new Smart Points help to focus on better food choices, I just found it so much more difficult.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
    RE: the Weight Watchers desserts - the only ones worth a darn are the ice cream treats. They are fine!!!!! I also do like the WW frozen meals from time to time for a quickie lunch.

    The newer WW regime (the one I started attending 10+ years ago) was encouraging you to be sure to have at least 2tsp. of healthy fat a day (like olive oil) and while they told you to be sure to eat x amount of servings of protein, etc...I still ended up with a very high carb low cal, low protein, lowfat diet - I was obsessed with eating the lowest amounts of points I could so that I could eat more volume and be "full" - not realizing I was depriving my body of necessary nutrients and not being satisfied. I was often fatigued too. This is my problem for not interpreting the WW data properly, but I still think assigning points values to foods without emphasizing the AMOUNTs of iron, protein, fat, etc. you MUST have every day is encouraging the type of behavior I displayed, and in the example above.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    RE: the Weight Watchers desserts - the only ones worth a darn are the ice cream treats. They are fine!!!!! I also do like the WW frozen meals from time to time for a quickie lunch.

    The newer WW regime (the one I started attending 10+ years ago) was encouraging you to be sure to have at least 2tsp. of healthy fat a day (like olive oil) and while they told you to be sure to eat x amount of servings of protein, etc...I still ended up with a very high carb low cal, low protein, lowfat diet - I was obsessed with eating the lowest amounts of points I could so that I could eat more volume and be "full" - not realizing I was depriving my body of necessary nutrients and not being satisfied. I was often fatigued too. This is my problem for not interpreting the WW data properly, but I still think assigning points values to foods without emphasizing the AMOUNTs of iron, protein, fat, etc. you MUST have every day is encouraging the type of behavior I displayed, and in the example above.

    Thanks Wizzy. My kids have eaten the WW ice cream treats when at Nonna's and they like them.

    When you mentioned olive oil, it reminded me that my mother-in-law adds a tablespoon of olive oil to her oatmeal - not that she wants to but that she "has" to, ala WW requirements.

    True or not, it doesn't sound all that enjoyable.

  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    I did the vast majority of my weight loss without MFP or anything else other than doing lots of exercise and eating little food back in 2012. What I did worked, but if I went back I'd definitely have used this place from the beginning as I'd have probably been able to eat a bit more with confidence knowing it wasn't too much. I don't know what Weight Watchers is like, but I think this place gives you so much and you don't have to pay anything. I don't intend to be using this forever, but for that phase when you need to get a reign on things and be pushed in the right direction, it's really good.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    RE: the Weight Watchers desserts - the only ones worth a darn are the ice cream treats. They are fine!!!!! I also do like the WW frozen meals from time to time for a quickie lunch.

    The newer WW regime (the one I started attending 10+ years ago) was encouraging you to be sure to have at least 2tsp. of healthy fat a day (like olive oil) and while they told you to be sure to eat x amount of servings of protein, etc...I still ended up with a very high carb low cal, low protein, lowfat diet - I was obsessed with eating the lowest amounts of points I could so that I could eat more volume and be "full" - not realizing I was depriving my body of necessary nutrients and not being satisfied. I was often fatigued too. This is my problem for not interpreting the WW data properly, but I still think assigning points values to foods without emphasizing the AMOUNTs of iron, protein, fat, etc. you MUST have every day is encouraging the type of behavior I displayed, and in the example above.

    Thanks Wizzy. My kids have eaten the WW ice cream treats when at Nonna's and they like them.

    When you mentioned olive oil, it reminded me that my mother-in-law adds a tablespoon of olive oil to her oatmeal - not that she wants to but that she "has" to, ala WW requirements.

    True or not, it doesn't sound all that enjoyable.

    EWWWWW I would never add olive oil to my OATMEAL!!! Gag!!!!!!!!!!! Add it to veggies with a little garlic....but oatmeal??? echhh!
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    RE: the Weight Watchers desserts - the only ones worth a darn are the ice cream treats. They are fine!!!!! I also do like the WW frozen meals from time to time for a quickie lunch.

    The newer WW regime (the one I started attending 10+ years ago) was encouraging you to be sure to have at least 2tsp. of healthy fat a day (like olive oil) and while they told you to be sure to eat x amount of servings of protein, etc...I still ended up with a very high carb low cal, low protein, lowfat diet - I was obsessed with eating the lowest amounts of points I could so that I could eat more volume and be "full" - not realizing I was depriving my body of necessary nutrients and not being satisfied. I was often fatigued too. This is my problem for not interpreting the WW data properly, but I still think assigning points values to foods without emphasizing the AMOUNTs of iron, protein, fat, etc. you MUST have every day is encouraging the type of behavior I displayed, and in the example above.

    Thanks Wizzy. My kids have eaten the WW ice cream treats when at Nonna's and they like them.

    When you mentioned olive oil, it reminded me that my mother-in-law adds a tablespoon of olive oil to her oatmeal - not that she wants to but that she "has" to, ala WW requirements.

    True or not, it doesn't sound all that enjoyable.

    EWWWWW I would never add olive oil to my OATMEAL!!! Gag!!!!!!!!!!! Add it to veggies with a little garlic....but oatmeal??? echhh!

    Yes - and a tablespoon. :#

  • caprihana
    caprihana Posts: 38 Member
    I did 6 months with Slimming World, lost 12 Kg's and hit target BUT I believe MFP is way better. On SW you can eat as much fruit, veg and protein as you like. That's okay, but snacking on fruit is way too much sugar, no wonder the last few months were a struggle. Now I have a much more balanced and healthy approach, I've started building muscle and looking better too, not so much 'baggy' skin!
  • jgaffney86
    jgaffney86 Posts: 35 Member
    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    Maybe because she's an "old timer" member - but I wonder when you say that WW did an excellent job giving you a good food education. She still seems stuck in the mentality of: avoid fat like the plague. She also buys the WW foods in the grocery and some of those desserts just look so sad to me.

    My main point from that is they taught me how to switch out the foods I ate regularly for more healthy options. White Pasta with Whole Wheat, Lean Beef, Light or Fat free options, White Rice for Brown Rice. Also, about portion size. A typical bagel with cream cheese compared to about 3 eggs, light toast, and veggies (maybe around the same calories?) Things like that. There handout were very pictorial (even on the website) about eating plans and what not. I never really did pay attention to macros with WW. I have been finding they do lack in that area....avoiding fat isnt always the best options. There points system use to label all fats as bad... when mono saturated and what not are healthy...in portion. I just feel with WW the food education is right infront of you. Where with MFP you sorta have to dig for it. And I also never bought the WW TV Dinners lol. I did it for 12 years and I have kept most the weight off. I figured I know how to eat healthy no and I dont need WW anymore.

    Plus a side note....there database aint got nothing on MFP. I know there are errors in this system. I feel I have enough knowledge to spot one where the nutrition seems off.
  • anneepysh
    anneepysh Posts: 1 Member
    I did WW for over two years. I had lost the 10 pounds I wanted to lose, but then slowly as I've gotten older (the old M word), I started gaining no matter how diligent I was at tracking and exercising. After two months on the new WW program and having no success, I decided to give it up and searched the app's on my phone and found MFP. I am use to tracking, so that is no big deal. What I like so much about MFP is that you actually see the amount of calories, protein, sodium, etc you are consuming. I lost two pounds the first week. Increasing my protein intake has certainly helped me to be less hungry.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
    jgaffney86 wrote: »
    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    Maybe because she's an "old timer" member - but I wonder when you say that WW did an excellent job giving you a good food education. She still seems stuck in the mentality of: avoid fat like the plague. She also buys the WW foods in the grocery and some of those desserts just look so sad to me.

    My main point from that is they taught me how to switch out the foods I ate regularly for more healthy options. White Pasta with Whole Wheat, Lean Beef, Light or Fat free options, White Rice for Brown Rice. Also, about portion size. A typical bagel with cream cheese compared to about 3 eggs, light toast, and veggies (maybe around the same calories?) Things like that. There handout were very pictorial (even on the website) about eating plans and what not. I never really did pay attention to macros with WW. I have been finding they do lack in that area....avoiding fat isnt always the best options. There points system use to label all fats as bad... when mono saturated and what not are healthy...in portion. I just feel with WW the food education is right infront of you. Where with MFP you sorta have to dig for it. And I also never bought the WW TV Dinners lol. I did it for 12 years and I have kept most the weight off. I figured I know how to eat healthy no and I dont need WW anymore.

    Plus a side note....there database aint got nothing on MFP. I know there are errors in this system. I feel I have enough knowledge to spot one where the nutrition seems off.

    I just don't find this valid. I don't think any one of these is "healthier" than the other, and all the white pastas, rices and breads are excellent for keeping me full. (Some of that whole wheat pasta tastes awful, imo.)

  • hoyalawya2003
    hoyalawya2003 Posts: 631 Member
    I came from WW too. I was successful on an older version, then my weight loss stalled out. I am sure that I was eating too many calories, mainly because I found it hard to guesstimate for my eating out and even foods prepared at home. I also balked at the olive oil requirement--I was getting plenty of fat in my diet and didn't see the point in wasting the calories. I do think it helps for portion control, but I question some of their "healthy" value judgments. They seem to be susceptible to whatever the latest fad is--way back in the day you used to be required to eat liver once a week. Then it was dairy, now olive oil...
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    caprihana wrote: »
    That's okay, but snacking on fruit is way too much sugar

    I politely disagree, fruit is a great snack. But if you don't want to snack on fruit, that leaves more in the world for me.
  • jgaffney86
    jgaffney86 Posts: 35 Member
    All great comments here thanks!

    I have found brown rice and whole wheat pasta keep me full a little bit longer. Whole wheat is generally a healthier option for you. Although same in calories there is still alot more nutritional benefits from whole wheat (I usually buy organic whole wheat when I can)

    But I have been reading alot more on fats and stuff that are more good for you. Read an article the other day from "Eat this and Not That" about how fats from like Milk, Peanut Butter, and what not help keep you full longer. I felt like ever since I joined MFP I have been opened up to a whole new world information than into the 4 corners of weight watchers. Anyone else find this? lol
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    It's good that you are getting an idea as to what you want to eat, but don't let somebody else tell you what not to eat, just come to your own conclusions.