Weight Watchers or CC

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  • Balaru
    Balaru Posts: 203 Member
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    M F P.....the computer keeps auto-correcting. Ugh!
  • NewMEEE2016
    NewMEEE2016 Posts: 192 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    I like free and sustainable.
  • vczK2t
    vczK2t Posts: 309 Member
    edited May 2016
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    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
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    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: 92 Member
    edited May 2016
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    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
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    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.
  • Annahbananas
    Annahbananas Posts: 284 Member
    edited May 2016
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    I only calorie count. Lost 53 pounds in three months because of this. I personally stay away from weight watcher foods. Way too much salt...which kills weight loss...and way too expensive and it personally doesn't teach you how to really read the food u eat
  • vczK2t
    vczK2t Posts: 309 Member
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    Jbell0213 wrote: »
    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.

    i tried WW off and on too many times to count the whole time i was dating my now husband. (over 10 years) :'(
  • jbrownnolan
    jbrownnolan Posts: 72 Member
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    I did Weight Watchers 10 years ago for 10 months, lost 55 lbs (185lbs - 130lbs), switched over to calorie counting for maintenance (due to cost), and have been maintaining (and counting) ever since. I had a real issue with portion control and snacking, Weight watchers helped me take notice of those things and become accountable, it was a great tool at the time, but it was also a different plan back then, it took 3 things into consideration to figure out the points - Calories, Fat, Fiber, so easy (still calorie counting, just in a different form), I don't know their new system though. What ever you choose, key is, you have to stick to it.
  • DylsGrandma
    DylsGrandma Posts: 69 Member
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    I worked for WW for several years. I have done both. Now I am counting calories and being mindful of my carbs. I have lost 7 pounds in my first two weeks. Using the online journal is what keeps me honest.
  • Lenala13
    Lenala13 Posts: 155 Member
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    I've done both now and I think CC is working out better for me, since I'm actually learning more about nutrition and am looking to see what's in each food, etc. it's not just about staying under a set number of points, but eating healthier. Plus, with all the apps out there now, it's not as hard to do CC as during the pre-smartphone era. Plus, CC is cheaper.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
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    I am a lifetime member of WW and have been for several years and now only go their once a month to weigh in. I was using a very old version of counting points when I reached my goal. I loved that program and was able to get to goal in only 3-4 months. That said, after using their new Smart Points program for a month or so had me questioning if I would have been able to do it with them if I were a new person just starting out with SP. I like the fact that higher protein foods are now lower in points while the high sugar foods are higher in points, but I found that some of their foods were way higher in points than they needed to be. Also, I don't like being told not to eat my Fit Points back when I'm now 19 lbs. under my goal weight with them as it is. So, while WW once worked for me way back when, I would recommend that someone who did want to try them, do both points and calorie counting and see which one is going to work for them long after reaching their goal weight. Because in the end, you'll need to be able to maintain any weight lost no matter which program that you use. As of now I've been in maintanence for 5 years and haven't gained one pound back of what I lost with WW. I can't say that is because of WW or MFP, because the last few months I haven't used either one and I am still well below my goal weight.
    Best wishes in what ever program you decide to go with. I don't think you can go wrong with the use of WW or MFP for reaching your goals. :)

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