Perks of MFP over weights watchers?

MarziPanda95 · May 2016

For me, MFP is better because it teaches me real skills. Points... they don't really mean anything, to me. Once stopping weight watchers, you have to keep thinking of everything in terms of points in order to maintain your new weight. Working out points for the rest of your life is a lot more difficult than working out how many calories you're eating for the rest of your life - calories are on the packets.

kaitmeoww · May 2016

lexykassan wrote: »

TL;DR recap - stick with MFP

I had done WW in the past and lost some weight on it. That was in the Points or maybe PointsPlus days. It was a while ago. So I figured I would try going back to it this time. Unfortunately, the new plan really didn't work well for me. It theoretically emphasizes eating more lean protein and less saturated fat in the way that it calculates points. In practice, it penalizes eating anything with carbohydrates (including fiber) except for fruits and veggies. With fruits being "free," I wound up going through sugar spikes and crashes all da. I tried to compensate for simply not eating a balanced diet with having more fruit and maybe some veg. I was lightheaded, almost to the point of passing out, for 4 days of my week. I was petrified of using my daily points.

Meanwhile, I was curious to see how many calories I was taking in based on their points so I started to also track via MFP. The first day, I logged a total of 680 calories consumed. That's horrifically low. The only way for me to boost my caloric intake would be to pack in proteins. Some of those are OK but my trying to load up on meat and eggs and such would drive my naturally-high cholesterol through the roof.

The breaking point came when I looked at how many points were in foods I knew were better and worse for me. For instance, my morning cereal (just cereal, not including milk) was 7-8 points. A 90% lean hamburger with ketchup was also 7-8 points and wreaked havoc with my cholesterol. Then I figured I would look for something that is tremendously processed and would be a poor choice... 99% fat free hot dogs. They were 1 point each. 1 point. So they would have me loading up on nitrates and fillers rather than eating a whole grain. That was it. I was done.

I switched to MFP only and have now lost 14 pounds. I don't feel paranoid about eating. I log everything, even when I know I will be over my daily intake goal. I drink. I go to restaurants. I still lose weight. And I haven't been lightheaded since.

Thank you! This has been my exact experience on WW so far. Thanks for all the comments, I guess I'll be canceling my WW membership

akerra27 · May 2016

Down 62 pounds to date soley by using MFP.

Janiswanis · May 2016

Thank you all for this discussion. I have been pondering WW again but have food allergies and the meetings really do promote their foods. In the last year I have been emotionally spent with many challenges resulting with weight gain. I have never used the community aspect of any program but I am thinking this might be a good thing for me. Just reading your comments made me think that to try WW again would set me up for failure. To lose more $ than weight. I will begin now.

snowflake930 · May 2016

MFP is free and it is way easier than counting points.
Win/win.
Lost over 1/2 of my current body weight and have kept it off for 2-1/2 years.
Kind of a no brainer for me.

ms_cataclysm · May 2016

I have lost more weight with Weight Watchers than on MFP but it's all about having a good group leader and a group that you click with. Some leaders are good, others don't really get it. I would try your local slimming groups but if you don't click, don't be afraid to try something else or just use MFP.

Wickedfaery73 · May 2016

The first time I lost a lot of weight I decided that I was not going to do anything that sounded unhealthy, a gimmick, or was going to cost me money. I figured that there had to be something I could do to help me get this weight off. So I did some research and learned about portion control, calories, exercise and CICO and all that. I cannot remember the website I used back then to log food and count calories. It was similar to MFP without the forums. I used a Yahoo! weight loss forum for support. I learned a lot from the people there. People had told me before that I was just eating too much and I would always say " But I don't eat that much!" In reality, I just did not realize, like most people, how much I was really eating.

It seems to me that most weight loss programs/diets boil down to controlling how much you put in vs how much you put out. Don't they all seem to have the caveat "combined with a proper diet and /or exercise"? LOL

Regardless of what you choose to do to lose the weight, IMHO it's best to look at it as a lifestyle change and not a "diet" or something temporary. I kept my weight off until some really crappy stuff happened and I started eating my feelings again

LivingtheLeanDream · May 2016

MFP is free and IT WORKS! and I have been maintaining my goal weight for 3+ years

2wise4u · May 2016

MFP is free and the great people here are like having your own personal cheering section helping you along the way. Win, lose or draw, I've found some fantastic people on MFP and love the support. The ability to eat what I want and not be judged for it is also a plus. I have good and bad days but MFP is easy to use and something I can maintain without having to make time for meetings.

kaitmeoww · May 2016

Thanks everyone!!

NEOHgirl · May 2016

I had a similar experience to LexyKassan - I did WW several times, the last go around was from 2008 until December of last year, the latter half was online only. WW did teach me many, many healthy habits (confirmed by the dietitian I started seeing in December, she asked me to do MFP so she could have more info without the proprietary points algorithms messing with the data). With my first visit, she told me that I was living a remarkably healthy lifestyle for a first time patient. However, when they switched to Smartpoints last fall, I was miserable. I would actual start crying some weeks for feeling so hungry & upset with how much of a failure I was at the new program, and that kind of emotion hadn't been attached to my food consumption for years. At the dietitian's request, I dual tracked on WW and MFP for a month. I made the final decision to leave WW on a day when I finally hit my daily target in pts exactly, and compared it to MFP. I'd only consumed 980 calories that day! That was a big indicator that the new formulas for WW were not good for me, and that's why I was so miserable.

I do not regret my decision to leave WW at all. It's a good program for most people, it truly is the most sustainable of the pay-for*-play plans, and I wouldn't have the MFP success I've had without the good habits that I learned there. As a final note, I was diagnosed with insulin resistance back in January, so now I have to keep a closer eye on carb & sugar intake. MFP makes that super easy to do. WW doesn't. Sure, most high-carb, high-sugar items are high in pts, but fruit is free, and for my body, I have to track that sugar too.

Good luck with whatever option you choose, but I'd try MFP for a while first, and then save the WW option as a plan B if you find yourself struggling.

MNMsMonique · May 2016

I lost 30 pounds using only Weight Watchers a few years back and not working out at all. It definitely works. Their price has gone up significantly and so has the amount of points foods are worth. Back in the day before everything went electronic you could do weight watchers without actually paying as long as you had the materials. In my opinion you get to eat more using MFP. In Weight Watchers foods that are high in sugar and carbs will be high in points even if their calories aren't that high. It will definitely teach you how to eat the right things, like foods high in fiber and make better choices because you want to maximize your points. I recently tried to do it again, but was unsuccessful and felt like I wasn't eating enough. If you have the money go for it (make sure you select the plan that includes the meetings). It does work and holds you accountable.

Perks of MFP over weights watchers?

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