Weight Watchers or CC

honeybee739
honeybee739 Posts: 66 Member
edited December 1 in Getting Started
Can anyone that has tried both or is currently doing the smart points weight watchers plan please tell me the pros and cons of each? Why do you prefer weight watchers vs calorie counting or vice versa?

I'm stuck in deciding which path to take. I cycle between weight watchers, calorie counting or low carb. I dont ever make a decision and stick to it, give it time to work. I've tried low carb and had the most success as far as weight loss went, but as soon as I went "off" the weight came back with a vengeance. I know I need a lifestyle and not a fix. I've heard that the new ww program is basically low carb.

Please help with your input. Any insight appreciated.
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Replies

  • 2essie
    2essie Posts: 2,847 Member
    I prefer calorie counting because that way I can eat whatever I want as long as I am under for the day. It seems easier for me.
  • drwilseyjr
    drwilseyjr Posts: 225 Member
    Weight Watchers is basically simplified calorie counting anyway, isn't it?

  • honeybee739
    honeybee739 Posts: 66 Member
    drwilseyjr wrote: »
    Weight Watchers is basically simplified calorie counting anyway, isn't it?

    It goes into more than just calories. Focuses more on nutrients. So the healthier the food, the less point value. They recently changed how they tabulate the point value of a food. For example, calories and sugar are now taken into account to get the overall point value. Foods higher in protein but low in sugar are low in points.

    One good point I read was that calorie counting never changes. But the weight watchers program does. But pros of ww is that some people say they are more inclined to eat their fruits and veggies on ww because most are "0" points where as with cc you can eat anything you want as long as with in calorie range.
  • k_nelson_24
    k_nelson_24 Posts: 251 Member
    I did WW about three years ago. I really think it is a personal preference. I prefer CC because its free and calories are displayed on pretty much all foods and WW points aren't. I will say, though, that my mother lost over 100 lbs with WW. It made it easier for her! I also liked the 0 point fruits and veggies rule.
  • lohlgren
    lohlgren Posts: 34 Member
    What works is what you are willing to stick with. They're all good programs. You need to stay on one long enough to really understand how to eat that supports your long term goals. Atkins helped me get away from eating massive amounts of starches for a 40 lb loss. The next 30 were with WW and taught me how to eyeball portions and be able to eat any food as long as I stayed within my points. I could track on a piece of paper without much thought and did for over 10 years. WW is great for ones needing more than 15 lbs to lose. But I struggled with maintenance eventually. It's not 'fine tuned' enough and had me under eating according to MFP. MFP is transparent, I know the formulas, tweak the calories to fit my needs. My 5 lb goal turned into 14 lb loss. And it was so easy because....wait for it....I stuck with it. I am slowly transitioning into maintenance and have all the information at hand on how to do it. So, OP, pick a path, they all lead to the same place, but not if you keep going back to the trailhead. (And personally, I recommend MFP-It rocks)
  • 1Nana2many
    1Nana2many Posts: 172 Member
    I've done both. Lost weight now with both. I am here on MFP and counting calories because I believe I can maintain it long term. It's free, it's portable, and I can have as much or as little contact with others losing weight when ever I want, even in the middle of the night. There's always advice, support out there if I need it and reading success stories keeps me going... As lohlgren stated, "what works is what you are willing to stick with."
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    I don't know what CC is. I do Weight Watchers and have off and on for years. When I stick to plan I always lose. I've lost 25 lbs since the first of February this year. It started slowing down once I started on this site so I mainly stick to tracking my points on WW. Not everything works the same for everyone though. Maybe you could try each of them one at a time and see which one you like better.
  • honeybee739
    honeybee739 Posts: 66 Member
    perkymommy wrote: »
    I don't know what CC is. I do Weight Watchers and have off and on for years. When I stick to plan I always lose. I've lost 25 lbs since the first of February this year. It started slowing down once I started on this site so I mainly stick to tracking my points on WW. Not everything works the same for everyone though. Maybe you could try each of them one at a time and see which one you like better.

    Cc is calorie counting :smiley:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I think the bigger thing is just to pick something and stick with it.
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    honeybee739 wrote: »
    drwilseyjr wrote: »
    Weight Watchers is basically simplified calorie counting anyway, isn't it?

    It goes into more than just calories. Focuses more on nutrients. So the healthier the food, the less point value. They recently changed how they tabulate the point value of a food. For example, calories and sugar are now taken into account to get the overall point value. Foods higher in protein but low in sugar are low in points.

    One good point I read was that calorie counting never changes. But the weight watchers program does. But pros of ww is that some people say they are more inclined to eat their fruits and veggies on ww because most are "0" points where as with cc you can eat anything you want as long as with in calorie range.

    I think you'd get a similar effect to WW by tracking your macros as well as calories on here. To meet your macro goals, you'll generally pick nutritionally dense items. Here's a detailed explanation: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

    You can always try calorie counting to start since it's free. If you don't feel like you can stick with it or you're not seeing results after a couple of months, then think about investing in a plan like WW.
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
    Calorie counting is free...

    Also, low carb does not negate calories...
  • DrifterBear
    DrifterBear Posts: 265 Member
    I did WW and am now doing CC. For me, it was a good journey. I'm not doing CC now because WW didn't work. I got a lot of value out of WW and quit when I no longer was getting value. What I like about WW is that their points are not just 40 calories per point. There's a secret formula based on macros that determines the point values. So 200 calories of chicken will be fewer points than 200 calories of chocolate. I saw both my fiance and I start to make better choices because in the example above, maybe the chicken was 4 points and the chocolate was 5. We often picked the chicken because it left more points at the end of the day.

    Also, fruit and veggies are 'free.' They basically budget them in for you and then don't penalize you for eating them. Again, encouraging you to make better trade offs. If you were eating so many fruits and veggies that it impacted you're weight loss, they'd talk to you to figure out that you're eating 6 bananas a day and talk you about cutting down.

    We adjusted our diet and I wasn't getting any value out of WW, so I switched to CC. It's really the same thing at the end of the day. Your body doesn't know what a 'point' is, but I found it helped nudge us towards healthier choices.
  • kirstinethornburg
    kirstinethornburg Posts: 300 Member
    I am doing low carb and even after the weight has come off to where I want it I most likely will stick with low carb as a way of life.At the End of the day it is about finding what works for you and making healthy choices. Helathy choices and eating is different for each person. Weight loss is not one diet fits all
  • Balaru
    Balaru Posts: 203 Member
    I'm doing MPG because WW is not in the budget right now and NOT is very similar. I was very successful on WW. I am a lifetime member, meaning I got to my goal weight and kept it off for six weeks. I actually kept it off for three years. When it crept back on I would head back to the meetings. Lost 20 - 30 pounds each time.

    MFP is very similar. Hoping to have the same success with MPG.
  • Balaru
    Balaru Posts: 203 Member
    M F P.....the computer keeps auto-correcting. Ugh!
  • NewMEEE2016
    NewMEEE2016 Posts: 192 Member
    Bottom line- you will only lose weight if you eat FEWER CALORIES than you need. You can EASILY do the calculations & COUNT THE CALORIES yourself- OR you can outsource it & pay somebody else to do it- but SOMEONE, somewhere is COUNTING THE CALORIES. Of course, they're not going to TELL you that- that's too simple & won't sell their program. Nuthin' in it for THEM. So they come up with their "point system" and whatever other gimmick they change it up to every couple years. There is no magic. It's all CALORIE COUNTING.
  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
    MFP and calorie counting is free. It's working for me.

    I did WW for a year with minimal results except paying $.

    With MFP you can track nutrients etc.


    But the real question is how motivated are YOU?
  • Jbell0213
    Jbell0213 Posts: 189 Member
    I love My fitness Pal. Counting calories is like a game to me. I tried WW 5 times (yes 5 times) and just figuring points gave me anxiety.
  • jc4mee
    jc4mee Posts: 40 Member
    For me, any program that I start works for awhile...then I struggle getting over that plateau and often times I give up. I did start WW at the end of March and have lost 15 pounds thus far. My struggle with it is that you are not really given any nutrition information and I have come to realize that it is important. A calorie is not a calorie, your body doesn't process all calories equally. For me, the need to reduce carbs is key to weight loss. When my 3-month WW period is over I plan to come back to logging on MFP to get a better idea of what the nutritional makeup of my diet really is. The Smart Points plan does assign higher points to foods higher in carbs to allow what I believe are healthier choices. I personally get very little value from the meetings, but logging my food intake is important. Why pay for the ability to log on the WW plan when I can log on MFP for free?
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    I like free and sustainable.
  • vczK2t
    vczK2t Posts: 309 Member
    edited May 2016
    my biggest thing about WW, now that I think about it, is with the meetings alone the leaders aren't "certified" in nutrition. They are simply persons that have maintained weight loss. I need my advice to come from a person(s) that have studied nutrition and such and have a background in knowing how all of it works. if you lost weight and maintained it, WONDERFUL. but that doesn't mean you know how to advise me to lose weight and keep it off.
  • crankyunicorn510
    crankyunicorn510 Posts: 1 Member
    Depends on what you need. I liked my WW meetings and found them very helpful with the right leader. Knowing that someone was going to weigh me every week helped me keep my focus. Right now I simply don't have time for meetings.

    If you are doing this 100% on line, I don't see any value in WW that you can't get with MFP. You are counting and recording food either way: it's just if you are recording points vs calories.
  • Sheila00000
    Sheila00000 Posts: 94 Member
    edited May 2016
    Definitely calorie counting for me too. I did WW 4 times, and like someone said the meetings are very time constraining. And if you had a bad week, the "success" mode of the meetings got me very depressed.

    I remember a girl told me at a WW meeting told me 1 point was equal to 50 calories, give or take (at that time several years ago, I know the point system might be different now). I never even thought about translating a point to calories, but it was very useful when I was out shopping and didn't have my WW counter with me, I would see something was like 150 calories I would be able to convert to 3 points in my head. I mean, it was not an exact calculation for WW because I needed to factor in fiber, etc., but it was very VERY close to being equal and when I added it at home the equation was right like 95% of the time.

    I did lose weight with WW but it was SO hard with the point system, meeting times since I had kids, etc. So over time I thought why am I paying for WW when it's really just a glamorous calorie counting system? I can count my own calories for free! MFP is much easier. I'm getting back track with it now.
  • reinventingjessica11
    reinventingjessica11 Posts: 33 Member
    I've tried Weight Watchers numerous times and each time I disliked it more and more. I was always starving for some reason, and got tired of paying money just to watch my weight go up. I just restarted calorie counting here last week and don't plan on leaving. It allows me to be so much more flexible and still get results, and its free.
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