weight watchers vs myfitnesspal?

wantthistowork
wantthistowork Posts: 70
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
I joined WW a little over a year ago. I lost a few pounds, then a vacation happened, winter happened and I, essentially, got lazy and stopped doing it. However I have been continuing to pay $15/month for a membership because i keep thinking I will motivate and go back, and also use the recipes every so often. I found this site a few months ago, and quite honestly haven't been very good about doing it either! However, I am motivated to start, I'm starving but today is day 1 and I am
anxiously awaiting dinner. (Need to go to the grocery and buy more health friendly snacks!). Anyway, I was just wondering if any of you out there have tried both, and if you think it is worth the money to do both, or if this site alone is just as good?

thanks!
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Replies

  • cessnaholly
    cessnaholly Posts: 780 Member
    I tried both. I like MFP 1000 times better.
  • misscfe
    misscfe Posts: 295 Member
    I did WW previously and was successful when I took it seriously. I had signed up a second time but didn't do the logging and stuff. I work with a trainer so I stopped paying attention to WW and was doing what he was telling me to do. I prefer this site because of all the motivation and friends you have on here helping you out. I have actually become kind of addicted to this site. When I did WW I was having to force myself to login where as here I want to do it.
  • spinurbuttoff
    spinurbuttoff Posts: 74
    I tried WW and it wasn't for me. The money I was paying was a waste. Of course, this is my personal opinion. I've only been here a week, but the support I've gotten here is 3x what I got at WW. I never really liked the points system. I like to know straight up how many calories I'm putting in my mouth. I think it's really a personal preference thing.
  • khern10
    khern10 Posts: 24
    I do both currently. I go to WW meetings so I have a regular weigh in but I use this site to log food. I find the points confusing so I just watch my calorie intake here instead of bothering with points. It seems to be working. I have lost 21 lbs since I started MFP in January 40 lbs since I started WW over a year ago.
  • CaptainMFP
    CaptainMFP Posts: 440 Member
    Did WW about six years ago and lost about 30 lbs. Then I hit a stress wall, dropped my calories (per WW instructions at the time) and lost control, gaining back 20 of those pounds in the intervening years. I like MFP much better. I've lost 19 lbs. since joining in April. In particular, I like that I can not only constantly account for my exercise (I personally NEED to eat back exercise calories to lose) as well as things like sodium and cholesterol. I feel more in control with MFP than I did with WW and can use the community as much or as little as I want. That's the take of one 37 year old male. :)
  • Cadenpet
    Cadenpet Posts: 79
    I loved the old Weight Watchers. It was easy made sense and I lost 35 lbs and have kept it off for two years. The new Points Plus or whatever not so much.
  • jimennis
    jimennis Posts: 80 Member
    If you are not 100% wanting and dedicated to it. You will fail either. GHG
  • bunnysone
    bunnysone Posts: 486 Member
    ive never tried weight watchers

    mfp has made me accountable for what i eat and how i train, which is all i needed. Im lighter now than when i was training 2 years ago, and fitter too.
  • rileymama
    rileymama Posts: 196 Member
    I iked WW alot and loved the recipes, but when we discovered Sparkpeople/ MFP...well, Why pay? In all honesty, I like the Sparkrecipes a bit better anyway, and i like knowing it's all about the calories...I never could quite figure how many calories was a "point' and it annoyed me .....
  • _Sally_
    _Sally_ Posts: 514 Member
    I've done both and both will work for you if you stick with them. MFP = free. I don't see how WW would provide any additional value above and beyond MFP. There are tons of healthy recipes on the web and you can input any recipe into MFP for the calories. I also think it is better to honestly face the number of calories versus "points" which seems a step removed from you owning up to how many calories you are actually consuming.

    I would recommend saving your WW fees and instead invest in a good HRM for more accurate calorie burned counts.

    Good luck!
  • sweetheart37
    sweetheart37 Posts: 174
    i have done both and yes i did lose weight going to ww and then thought oooo i can do it at home myself ,yeah that never happened gained it all back.. but then i came to mfp an i love it soooo much there is sooo much support from people on here... i can tell u give it a try and u will to ....
  • kriots
    kriots Posts: 375 Member
    I tried WW and it wasn't for me. The money I was paying was a waste. Of course, this is my personal opinion. I've only been here a week, but the support I've gotten here is 3x what I got at WW. I never really liked the points system. I like to know straight up how many calories I'm putting in my mouth. I think it's really a personal preference thing.
    ditto
  • dodoodoodo
    dodoodoodo Posts: 101 Member
    ive done both. i tried MFP for a few months and i think if i would have not eaten all my exercise calories it would have worked better for me. (i know they tell you to eat them but i think just for me personally, it didn't work)

    so far i've done really well with WW. it's annoying to weigh everything and its hard to go out to eat and figure out points but i think thats what has helped me as well.

    i still try to enter what i eat into MFP and see how many calories it adds up to to see how they compare. its different since all the fruit and veges are calories on here but 0 points on WW so sometimes it will be more than my daily recommended amount and sometimes less.

    a major reason for my WW success is i have to count every single point verse just eating healthy i would tend not to weigh anything and would take random bites of whatever and since it was only bite i wouldn't count it... which was probably my downfall as well

    so my conclusion is that WW is working better for me for now at least :)
  • Jenh714
    Jenh714 Posts: 14
    I have tried both ww & my fitness pal. #1 My fitness pal is FREE. #2 I have kept up with this site. I am down 17.2 pounds since May 9th. I lost less than 10pounds on ww in three months.
  • Rhondast
    Rhondast Posts: 93
    I also tried WW, and all I lost was 8 pounds in one month,and they were happy with that. Not I.
  • radioloren
    radioloren Posts: 26 Member
    I did WW at the beginning of this year, MFP is a million times better! This site here is so easy to navigate around, it has every food imaginable in the food search, and it's just fun to use! WW online is SO complicated, that I actually wrote to them complaining that I was paying money for something so hard to use!! I only lost 5 lbs. on it before I got completely and utterly frustrated, and then mad that I was wasting money on a website that was so hard to use! I know WW works for a lot of people and that's great, but I will never go back to it again. I am confident that I can do this on my own, without paying for WW crappy website, and then extra for their meetings.
  • psb13
    psb13 Posts: 629
    I tried WW and it wasn't for me. The money I was paying was a waste. Of course, this is my personal opinion. I've only been here a week, but the support I've gotten here is 3x what I got at WW. I never really liked the points system. I like to know straight up how many calories I'm putting in my mouth. I think it's really a personal preference thing.
    ditto

    ditto as well. i don't want to have to convert everything to points the rest of my life. LOVE MFP!!!
  • shiggity
    shiggity Posts: 35 Member
    I tried both. I like MFP 1000 times better.

    This.
  • wantthistowork
    wantthistowork Posts: 70
    Wow, thank you for all the responses! I am glad a lot of you are in similar situations. Yes, I know that you have to focus and motivate to do either, and also realize how hard it is! One of my biggest problems is the food we have in house-he can eat whatever and I cannot! No fair, but it is what it is. Its just difficult when there are temptations around. Anyway, I appreciate the feedback. I never did the whole WW meetings, but did do online. I think I might just cancel , save $$ and hope this works just as well! BTW, how much weight did most of you lose in the first month?
  • nickiog
    nickiog Posts: 187 Member
    i actually do both mfp and ww. ive lost almost 40 pounds in a little under 3 months so i cant complain. good luck on whichever you choose to do though. its hard work but totally worth it in the end :]
  • pauljsolie
    pauljsolie Posts: 1,024 Member
    You have to PAY to go to weigh watchers? Seriously? I had no clue they charge you to go. They charge you what anyone with a computer can get here for free. What exactly do they do for you that you have to pay 15 bucks a month? I know they make you publically weigh yourself, which I think is odd. Sounds like someone is getting rich. Then they charge you to eat their food products. A friend used to go and she tried to explain the points to me, it sounded foolish. Geez, you don't even have to pay to go to AA meetings. Who'd a thunk.
  • posbey
    posbey Posts: 200 Member
    When was on WW someone pointed this site into my direction. I had limited success on WW but MFP is much better. every day i get to interact with a lot of my online friends here, get the support i need and it's more better in regards to logging of my information and connecting w/ others. I have saved money and gotten more inspiration by staying here, plus I've gotten through my plateau that was holding me back when I was on WW. I"m more active, so I'd say MFP is better for me (at this point).
  • MrsGriffin67
    MrsGriffin67 Posts: 485 Member
    I was never a paying member of Weight Watcher but I do have a points calculator. When I first started MFP I used to calculate my points at the end of the day. So glad my sister turned me on to MFP...its been the BEST experience. I love the support you get on here and the endless food database. Good luck on your journey! :happy:
  • denverdeb1
    denverdeb1 Posts: 34 Member
    I quit WW after one week on MFP I like it so much better. I don't know why but I just do. I guess I like calorie counting more than points, just makes more sense and easier to track.
  • KMcBandit
    KMcBandit Posts: 65
    Oddly enough I don't pay for WW but I lost ALOT of weight doing it last year. SOOOO I track my food here and my workouts but I also have a weight watchers "binder" I printed out the worksheets that look just like the page on the site and track my food there to It's weird because I actually end up eating more on WW they recomended here and seem to lose more weight when I pay attention so really no reason to pay for it just do it yourself. I stay here for the friends and community and I love the forums. But in reality you won't continue to count your points so this is great for when you meet the goal your looking for. Also I don't like the new plan for WW at all I do it old school flex plan.
  • mickeybernhardt
    mickeybernhardt Posts: 1 Member
    I think either will work if you stick to it. I like MFP better, not only because it's free but because everything counts that you put in your mouth. I think the calorie counter food diary is just as user friendly as WW's if not a little more. Tonight I made a recipe, calculated the total calories and then divided by 4 to get the portion calories. I like that.
  • nickiog
    nickiog Posts: 187 Member
    You have to PAY to go to weigh watchers? Seriously? I had no clue they charge you to go. They charge you what anyone with a computer can get here for free. What exactly do they do for you that you have to pay 15 bucks a month? I know they make you publically weigh yourself, which I think is odd. Sounds like someone is getting rich. Then they charge you to eat their food products. A friend used to go and she tried to explain the points to me, it sounded foolish. Geez, you don't even have to pay to go to AA meetings. Who'd a thunk.

    they charge for the diet program, the nutrition counseling and the support as well as the supplies to track. there are no public weigh ins...sure you are in a room with other people but they print your weight out on a little sticker slap it in a book and no one else sees it unless you want them to...its not like all the rumors.

    also i have never paid for a single one of their food products. they dont push them on you or tell you you need them..they are just there if you want them.

    the points system is the same as anything else..it factors in fat fiber protein and carbs....its not really anything crazy. there is no need to knock a program you dont seem to know too much about. :\
  • H8T3D
    H8T3D Posts: 77 Member
    I use MFP and WW, I enjoy the support of WW meetings, getting weighed in and just the program itself. For these who say WW don't work I would have to disagree, maybe it didn't work for you or maybe you did not do it right.. Everyone is different and different diets and lifestyles effect people differently, I've been a member of WW for almost 3 months now and lost almost 40 lbs. So I know it works!!! Most people that don't like WW are people that came across it online and failed to do it correctly, if you attend meetings weekly and follow the point system correctly you will lose weight.

    Of course they charge you, they have to pay the people teaching the meetings, the people weighing you in, everyday rent and bills to run a business. Than we have the paperwork they give out and the trackers......
  • wantthistowork
    wantthistowork Posts: 70
    I never did the meetings, I just joined the online program, which seems somewhat similar to this. I meant to compare the online versions of both to determine if it was worth the extra $$. If I was going to meetings it would be different----but I didn't do that part of WW. Thanks though!
  • Gardner45
    Gardner45 Posts: 2
    Just joined this site about an hr ago and love the idea of tracking it all on line but i'm have trouble finding some easy foods like
    apricots......then did a search and foundit but can't add to lunch
    Having just stopped smoking 5 months ago and gained 60 pounds AND NOT EATING any different but not exercising due to mobility issues now..................i just need some help here

    i've done WW 6 times with success but new to CA and don't want to do meetings AND and to find simple way to track and look up calories.

    this looks like a good site for my needs but i might need some help
    does this site notify you by email if someone posts on this thread
    Judy in CA
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