weight watchers vs myfitnesspal?

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Replies

  • nickiog
    nickiog Posts: 187 Member
    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!

    well then id stick with mfp..theres no point in paying for a tracker for a program/system you dont use lol
  • brenott
    brenott Posts: 117 Member
    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.

    I agree. I lost 125 lbs on the old Weight Watchers program. They converted to the Points Plus program, and I gained 30 lbs. On MFP, I have lost almost 10lbs in a month. Save your money.
  • pauljsolie
    pauljsolie Posts: 1,024 Member
    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. :\

    Except for the fact they charge you money for knowledge and encouragement that is FREE to anyone!
  • bmw4deb
    bmw4deb Posts: 1,324 Member
    WW IS A waste of money when this site is free. Did WW for a long while
    no motivation or inspiration there at all. 40 min meeting where the leader
    just says what there told to no real interaction with others, this site is much better.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    MFP is free. You have to hold yourself accountable no matter which one you choose.
  • jlvgriffin
    jlvgriffin Posts: 23 Member
    I did both, and when I tracked my food, lost weight on both. With this site, however, I can find almost anything I eat (food for my regular lifestyle) and I can find the calories. I don't have to carry anything around with me except my phone. Because of that, I find this easier. I also never really got any support out of the meetings. But I get a ton from my husband who is doing this with me cause it is "less girly" that WW. I also use a heart rate monitor for my exercise and that is a HUGE help. Calories in, calories out.
  • Just1forMe
    Just1forMe Posts: 624 Member
    Loved WW's...did it numerous times over the last 25 years :) The new program was not working for me so I tried both for a while and loved MFP so much that I quit WW in Feb and will never go back. MFP is IT for me!!! I used some of the extra money I've saved to buy a BodyMedia Fit....a great investment. Between that and MFP, I have learned more about my body and metabolism in the last 4 months than I have in all my 49 years :)
  • electromg
    electromg Posts: 70 Member
    I tried weight watchers diet plan without meetings maybe 7 years ago? Granted, I had PCOS that caused me to gain and hold onto a ton of weight--but I only lost 10 pounds on weight watchers, and that was it. I thought the points idea made a lot of sense at first, but as time went on, I felt numbers could be easily rounded down continuously, meaning you were actually eating more calories for the points. Only thinking "22 points" was too simplistic for me. I like being able to see the break down to remind me to eat more protein or fiber.
  • jid314
    jid314 Posts: 71
    My mom lost aroudn 40lbs on WW, but since I am only calorie counting, I love being able to look at the calories on an item and decide yay or nay. I simply look and say "I've used 700 calories today...I have 800 remaining...and I still need to eat dinner. Do I really want to use 200 calories on ____________ right now, at 4pm?"

    Even with my moms success, she still can't look at something and know how many points will be assigned to an item. She has to whip out the WW calculator and start punching in numbers. I feel like I have more control with MFP.
  • shaedreams
    shaedreams Posts: 23 Member
    I've been on WW since March and wasn't losing squat. Then, 2 weeks ago I started Body by Vi and I kid you not, it's been the ONLY thing that works for me with minimal exercise! I lost 6lbs my first week! Second week I lost .02 lbs but 2.5 inches and I'm half way through my 3rd week and I've lost another 3lbs so far and in three weeks a total of almost 8 inches! I buy my shakes on ebay because you can get a months supply for $99 and no shipping. I eat a shake for breakfast with whatever fruit I love, 1/2 cup raspberries, strawberries, cherries, mango, etc. I then add 1/2 cup skim milk, ice and blend. It's filling and SO good. I eat a handful of almonds at 10am (around 11 pieces). Then I eat a normal lunch but healthy and I have tried to stay away from wheat and gluten products as much as possible which really helps. Wheat and yeast cause belly fat and bloating. At 2pm I have another snack consisting of some Popcorners butter flavored all natural & gluten free crisps, 100% corn and gluten free tortilla's & salsa, blue diamond nut & rice chips, or a couple of clementine cuties for example. For dinner I eat a lean fish, usually halibut, salmon, or mahi mahi grilled with steamed broccoli or cauliflower or greenbeans. I have another shake at 7pm and mix fruit in it or 1tbs of sugar free, fat free pudding and ice. I eat around 1200-1300 calories per day.

    Try Body By Vi and minimize your wheat/gluten & sugar intake, I promise you wont be disappointed!
  • M_lifts
    M_lifts Posts: 2,218 Member
    ive done weight watchers in the past and lost loads of weight but couldnt maintain on it and ended up putting it all back on, and then i got pregnant so had to start from sracth. I was initially going to join ww online but then discovered mfp and havent looked back. ive been using mfp since jan and managed to lose the last of my 20lbs and keep it off since april. so for me, it was money well saved! i refuse to pay someone to weigh me!

    plus ive learnt so much of food and exercise than i did with weight watchers! im sooo much more active than i used to be!
  • Marylovell
    Marylovell Posts: 19 Member
    I liked the way I could post my own recipes better on WW online, but couldn't afford it. I LOVE this place. There is lots of support from the community. I have been able to stick with this better than I did with WW. You're in the right place here, hands down.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    I liked WW when I was on it, but ultimately, it wasn't worth the money, since I had learned everything I could from it, and I needed something different.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    Also, my biggest pet peeve with the online portion of WW was how horrible the forums looked, and how terrible their tech support was at fixing problems.
  • punkrawkcutie
    punkrawkcutie Posts: 439 Member
    When I did WW, i found there were too many 0 point food thats I would binge on that still had calories... Since there were no points, you could eat them all day, however since MFP tracks calories, I know better then to pig out since I have to log every single one of them. I also found that there was not as much support from people (I tried both meetings and internet). That could have been my experience/meeting but from what I've heard, it's hard to get good support from them. Also, it's brutal figuring out/guessing what the points value is in somethign that you didn't cook. At first on WW, I lost weight rather quickly but in a year and a half on WW I gained 5 lbs (compared to my original weight) - while it's not a lot, it's also not what is supposed to happen on a diet plan. I know for me, I also gained 10lbs once I quit because I had no idea what calories were in foods. However, I do still kind of keep track of points (once you have the knowledge, you might as well use it!) because it does keep me more accountable to staying within my carb limit...

    Oh and ya, I was sick of spending money on it when it wasn't working... Unfortunatly it took me almost a year and a half to find MFP after leaving WW, but now I wouldn't look back
  • shellrae1973
    shellrae1973 Posts: 66 Member
    I have lost weight on WW a couple of times, but haven't been a member in about 6 years. Personally I like this site better. I found with WW I could still eat like crap as long as I stayed within my points. I didn't find there was a lot of focus on nutrition- just drink water and stay within your points. At one point I was below my goal weigt and below the lowest weight for my height range and they congratulated me! I found that a little weird and stopped going after that.

    I am trying MFP, logging my food, I read the"Eat Clean Recharged" book and subcribe to Eat Clean Magazine. I am not eating 100% Clean but I have learned more about nutrition and am gradually trying to be healthier.
  • Alpha12
    Alpha12 Posts: 251 Member
    I'm another one who did WW online about 6 years ago and easily lost 22 lbs, which I've gained back. I joined it again early this year and now found PP gimmicky and irritating. Somehow, this time around I found this constant conversion of nutritional values into points, too labor intensive, time consuming and unnecessary. I know it's about carbs/fats/fiber/protein......so, why not just let me log that? Why convert into points? I did find the new PP system fairly easy to understand, but thought it was just tedious. Every food has caloric value, so how can some of it have 0 points? You HAVE to account for all fruit and veggies - regardless of how healthy it is for you. It seems like the new system is designed to keep members stay (and pay!) forever. And why would I pay $17 per month for what I can have for free elsewhere? I prefer to know how many straight calories I put in my mouth each and every day. So, here I am.
  • crazycranberry
    crazycranberry Posts: 117 Member
    I did WW about 8 yrs ago and lost 21.5lbs in 3months and got down to 9st.4lbs and I was v.happy with that.
    I have put back on 8lbs over those last 8years ( which I don't think is too bad) but never the less and have decided to go back on WW as it worked for me once before.
    I joined MFP as it was free and I had never tried calorie counting before. I only lost 2lb in 3weeks on MFP and I must admit I got confused with the whole eating my excersise points back etc.
    So although I am still on here for the weightloss motivation and support etc I am now following the WW pro points system. What is frustrating is that on the new pro points nearly all veg & fruit are zero points and I am not convinced that their idea of snacking on these and not use up your points allowance is going to work either. I prefered the old points system. I have signed up online only and can cancel at anytime so no pressure. They have a similar principal though and that is 'activity points' and you gain them after excersise so I guess eating back the calories on MFP is not as bonkers as I first thought.
    All I want at the end of the day is to lose weight and continue to be fit and healthy (I am always very active so that is no major change for me).

    Good luck on your journey everyone!

    Add me if you want a buddy

    :bigsmile:
  • 3shirts
    3shirts Posts: 294 Member
    I did WW for about 10 months back in 2008 and lost about half a stone, I then started it again last year on the new propoints scheme and, when I was really strict, it worked ok but now I am working out a lot more and gaining muscle I find it too innaccurate as a lot of the points are 'fudged' a little from the real nutritional values.

    That said, the good thing about MFP is that you can do both at the same time for a while to see which you find the more helpful. It's a bit of effort noting everything down twice but it will give you a perfect comparison of your own individual situation.

    I have now given up on WW as MFP fits me better with more accurate tracking of excercise and measurements and better reporting
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