Weight Watchers and MFP
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I used the Flex Points system. And that one figured out the points based on 3 things: calories, fat, and fiber. I kept focusing on lower points food (food that was 3pts or less per serving) so I could "eat more" never realizing that the higher points foods like meats and higher fat foods would help with satiety not to mention just all around good health. To be fair the leader did emphasize eating a variety of foods including higher points options plus 2tsp of healthy oil a day, but many of us still focused on eating the lowest points foods with the lowest fat we could find. I was often hungry and miserable and didn't really "get" why.
Plus all those "high fiber" foods that have been on shelves in the past 15 years or so - that's mostly due to cellulose fiber being added to food. Uh, basically sawdust. Which is why I dislike most store-bought bread - tastes awful...lol1 -
You don't want to log twice, so choose one to log. Honestly, if you want to invest in WW, go ahead and use their tools. I never ate their chemical - laden food, but their ideas and tools are great. Meetings are fun and motivating. I stopped because I was starting to feel frustrated about all the WW food being pushed at us and advertised in meetings while the topic of conversation was about eating more whole fresh foods. I can motivate myself and use MFP.1
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I never did WW, but I recently heard a story about a lady on WW who was gaining weight because raw fruits/veggies were free and she was eating about ten servings a day to help control her hunger! So say an apple is 100 calories, it doesn't take a genius to figure out 100x10=1000 extra calories a day...I wonder why she gained weight?? I'll keep to CICO and weighing my food any day and it's free!4
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Fruit isn't free it's 0 sp you have to eat in moderation it you gain weight as anyone sensible knows you can't eat unlimited amounts of food without gaining weightjajomo0118 wrote: »I never did WW, but I recently heard a story about a lady on WW who was gaining weight because raw fruits/veggies were free and she was eating about ten servings a day to help control her hunger! So say an apple is 100 calories, it doesn't take a genius to figure out 100x10=1000 extra calories a day...I wonder why she gained weight?? I'll keep to CICO and weighing my food any day and it's free!
An apple is 60 calories
WW is better than calorie counting it's different now as its less carb more exercise based
Don't knock what you've not done you can't give a report on anything unless you've tried it
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You don't want to log twice, so choose one to log. Honestly, if you want to invest in WW, go ahead and use their tools. I never ate their chemical - laden food, but their ideas and tools are great. Meetings are fun and motivating. I stopped because I was starting to feel frustrated about all the WW food being pushed at us and advertised in meetings while the topic of conversation was about eating more whole fresh foods. I can motivate myself and use MFP.
You don't HAVE to eat and if they're products I don't
They're app is fantastic
I've lost more on WW than mfp admittedly I hadnt in pro points but smart points is much better
Chemical laden foods lol so you never eat processed foods drink alcohol or eat junk0 -
I disagree that WW is "better" than calorie counting - that's a very subjective opinion.
It keeps you dependent on their tools ($$$)
I like some of their pre-packaged foods (the ice cream treats are really yum) but most of their other stuff tastes like sawdust.
I really think the best WW program they had was the FlexPoints. Fruits were 1 or 2 points each (bananas were 2 points). Most vegetables were 0 or 1 point except I think peas and corn because of the larger amount of sugar in those veggies. Most of the 0 points veggies were less than 25 calories per serving...hard to "overeat" on them because a serving is pretty darn big. You could eat liberally of fruits and vegetables without going crazy. Assigning 0 points to fruits was foolish IMHO and just asking for people to overindulge!! Fruits are much sweeter than veggies and thus, higher in calories.
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Fruit isn't free it's 0 sp you have to eat in moderation it you gain weight as anyone sensible knows you can't eat unlimited amounts of food without gaining weightjajomo0118 wrote: »I never did WW, but I recently heard a story about a lady on WW who was gaining weight because raw fruits/veggies were free and she was eating about ten servings a day to help control her hunger! So say an apple is 100 calories, it doesn't take a genius to figure out 100x10=1000 extra calories a day...I wonder why she gained weight?? I'll keep to CICO and weighing my food any day and it's free!
An apple is 60 calories
WW is better than calorie counting it's different now as its less carb more exercise based
Don't knock what you've not done you can't give a report on anything unless you've tried it
An apple is not 60 calories...unless you eat a 60 calorie apple. Had a huge Granny Smith the other day that worked out to be 120 calories.
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Was thinking about doing Weight Watchers and MFP together? Anyone else doing and done this?
OP --five years ago I lost 55 lbs using WW. Was great...until I tried to maintain my weight. Couldn't afford the monthly expense of WW, so I just tried to keep eating my daily "points." I was unsuccessful at maintaining bc I learned how to see food as "points." I didn't learn about portions, macros, or calories. Now I'm here...trying to lose 50 lbs again. This time though, it is free and I'm learning lifelong tools for success. Just my experience...not saying WW doesn't work...just wasn't a long term solution for me.
Note: My daily WW "points" turned out to be 1200 calories per day. I was hungry often. Using MFP, my daily limit is 1460, and I eat 50% of my exercise calories back--consistently losing 1 lb per week--not hungry--feel great. Again, just my experience. You can lose weight FOR FREE--no WW membership required. Whatever your choice--wishing you great health and healthy losses!
ETA: Aside from not learning any useful skills through WW, I regained nearly all of the weight because I felt so deprived, for so long, on the 1200 calories a day, that I started eating and couldn't stop. I gained weight because I was at a calorie surplus, and I'm losing now because I'm at a calorie deficit.5 -
I actually started using WW in January 2013 right after college graduation as my first attempt at serious weight loss, and had pretty good success with it. I never went to meetings and just used the online tools/phone app.
In 4 months I dropped about 25 lbs and didn't feel deprived. Then in May I finally landed a "real" job in my degree, and got busy and stressed and had to move and fell off the wagon and gained it all back, which is my fault because I stopped logging my points.
Back late last year in about September, I saw the numbers on the scale and my eyes bulged a little bit, and I decided to get BACK on the wagon, because I had gained it all back and then some. I rejoined the online WW, had some success... then the new points system rolled out.
I hated it. The old system I could eat what I wanted and just portion control/make smart choices, and walk a lot to earn spare "points" to help the days with less-than-smart choices.
The new system discourages "eating' your activity points, and the points are no longer a 1:1 ratio for the points you eat, so you have to opt into a system that converts them to points that the website actively discourages you from activating (I got little "WW highly recommends you do NOT eat back these points, are you sure?" type messages).
Things high in fat skyrocked in points, even small treats I didn't eat frequently. Eating what I usually ate either led to me having to portion control to the point of being really hungry every day, or stuffing myself with "free" stuff fruit and veggies, which I know isn't "really" free and I was generally miserable and my weight loss slowed way down because of my increase in fruit/veggie consumption to try and not get so hungry that I'd feel the need to overeat something bad for me.
I mean, a little 80 calorie cheese stick I'd eat as a snack at work jumped from 2 weight watch points to 5. I love me some cheese so when EVERY bit of cheese I ate jumped up and doubled or more in points, it really put a damper on things for me.
I got fed up and cancelled in February and just kind of fumbled around for a few months until April, then I was recommended MFP by my doctor after I complained about WW not being a good option for me to track my food anymore.
Been on here since mid-April and have lost almost 20 lbs, and have been consistently at the 2 lb a week mark (after the initial, cut out sodas/whatever big drop the first week or two) and I feel like I did on old-WW, where I'm not deprived of food I like, or overly hungry all day, and have the OPTION to eat back my exercise calories if I choose to do so (even though I usually only eat back half or less of them, it's nice that I can feel like I'm "banking" them if I go a little over on going out to eat with family/friends/coworkers, etc.) but it's FREE instead of 19-ish dollars a month.
TL;DR- I liked old WW, hated new WW, and love MFP because it feels like "old WW" but it's free. AND I CAN EAT CHEESE WITHOUT BEING PENALIZED =P5 -
Fruit isn't free it's 0 sp you have to eat in moderation it you gain weight as anyone sensible knows you can't eat unlimited amounts of food without gaining weightjajomo0118 wrote: »I never did WW, but I recently heard a story about a lady on WW who was gaining weight because raw fruits/veggies were free and she was eating about ten servings a day to help control her hunger! So say an apple is 100 calories, it doesn't take a genius to figure out 100x10=1000 extra calories a day...I wonder why she gained weight?? I'll keep to CICO and weighing my food any day and it's free!
An apple is 60 calories
WW is better than calorie counting it's different now as its less carb more exercise based
Don't knock what you've not done you can't give a report on anything unless you've tried it
Uhhh... no it isn't.3 -
A few years back I did but even then I was doing more low carb than their program. I had thought about doing it again but didn't like what I was hearing about the new program. Plus I like watching not only the calories but watching my macros since I have issues with carbs. I like eating what I want.1
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From personal experience, I think Weight Watchers is dangerous. I was successful with it once years ago and thought I'd replicate those eating habits now that I'm trying again to lose weight. What I learned when logging those meals in MFP was that for a year, I was barely eating 600 calories a day, even though I hit my WW Points target all the time. Maybe their newer programs are less hazardous, but I'm forever suspicious of "formulas" now.4
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newereveryday wrote: »From personal experience, I think Weight Watchers is dangerous. I was successful with it once years ago and thought I'd replicate those eating habits now that I'm trying again to lose weight. What I learned when logging those meals in MFP was that for a year, I was barely eating 600 calories a day, even though I hit my WW Points target all the time. Maybe their newer programs are less hazardous, but I'm forever suspicious of "formulas" now.
Their newer program is worse! I was starving and started binge eating. Hence I left and have been on MFP and it is so much better!1 -
A few years back I did but even then I was doing more low carb than their program. I had thought about doing it again but didn't like what I was hearing about the new program. Plus I like watching not only the calories but watching my macros since I have issues with carbs. I like eating what I want.
I left after a month on the new program. I was so hungry as points for things were almost doublrd sometimes.1 -
OdditiesAbound wrote: »I actually started using WW in January 2013 right after college graduation as my first attempt at serious weight loss, and had pretty good success with it. I never went to meetings and just used the online tools/phone app.
In 4 months I dropped about 25 lbs and didn't feel deprived. Then in May I finally landed a "real" job in my degree, and got busy and stressed and had to move and fell off the wagon and gained it all back, which is my fault because I stopped logging my points.
Back late last year in about September, I saw the numbers on the scale and my eyes bulged a little bit, and I decided to get BACK on the wagon, because I had gained it all back and then some. I rejoined the online WW, had some success... then the new points system rolled out.
I hated it. The old system I could eat what I wanted and just portion control/make smart choices, and walk a lot to earn spare "points" to help the days with less-than-smart choices.
The new system discourages "eating' your activity points, and the points are no longer a 1:1 ratio for the points you eat, so you have to opt into a system that converts them to points that the website actively discourages you from activating (I got little "WW highly recommends you do NOT eat back these points, are you sure?" type messages).
Things high in fat skyrocked in points, even small treats I didn't eat frequently. Eating what I usually ate either led to me having to portion control to the point of being really hungry every day, or stuffing myself with "free" stuff fruit and veggies, which I know isn't "really" free and I was generally miserable and my weight loss slowed way down because of my increase in fruit/veggie consumption to try and not get so hungry that I'd feel the need to overeat something bad for me.
I mean, a little 80 calorie cheese stick I'd eat as a snack at work jumped from 2 weight watch points to 5. I love me some cheese so when EVERY bit of cheese I ate jumped up and doubled or more in points, it really put a damper on things for me.
I got fed up and cancelled in February and just kind of fumbled around for a few months until April, then I was recommended MFP by my doctor after I complained about WW not being a good option for me to track my food anymore.
Been on here since mid-April and have lost almost 20 lbs, and have been consistently at the 2 lb a week mark (after the initial, cut out sodas/whatever big drop the first week or two) and I feel like I did on old-WW, where I'm not deprived of food I like, or overly hungry all day, and have the OPTION to eat back my exercise calories if I choose to do so (even though I usually only eat back half or less of them, it's nice that I can feel like I'm "banking" them if I go a little over on going out to eat with family/friends/coworkers, etc.) but it's FREE instead of 19-ish dollars a month.
TL;DR- I liked old WW, hated new WW, and love MFP because it feels like "old WW" but it's free. AND I CAN EAT CHEESE WITHOUT BEING PENALIZED =P
I totally agree and have pretty much all the same time lines as you do when I started and stopped WW both times and started MFP and I have lost almlst 15 pounds and eating my cheese and foods I like!2 -
Was thinking about doing Weight Watchers and MFP together? Anyone else doing and done this?
OP --five years ago I lost 55 lbs using WW. Was great...until I tried to maintain my weight. Couldn't afford the monthly expense of WW, so I just tried to keep eating my daily "points." I was unsuccessful at maintaining bc I learned how to see food as "points." I didn't learn about portions, macros, or calories. Now I'm here...trying to lose 50 lbs again. This time though, it is free and I'm learning lifelong tools for success. Just my experience...not saying WW doesn't work...just wasn't a long term solution for me.
Note: My daily WW "points" turned out to be 1200 calories per day. I was hungry often. Using MFP, my daily limit is 1460, and I eat 50% of my exercise calories back--consistently losing 1 lb per week--not hungry--feel great. Again, just my experience. You can lose weight FOR FREE--no WW membership required. Whatever your choice--wishing you great health and healthy losses!
ETA: Aside from not learning any useful skills through WW, I regained nearly all of the weight because I felt so deprived, for so long, on the 1200 calories a day, that I started eating and couldn't stop. I gained weight because I was at a calorie surplus, and I'm losing now because I'm at a calorie deficit.
Agreed!1 -
Was thinking about doing Weight Watchers and MFP together? Anyone else doing and done this?
So Ive lost 40 lbs over the last 14 months on WW. I was successful with mfp in the past but joined ww with my mom and sister. MFP has a much better mobil app from what i can tell over the last two days. However, i like the "connect" community feature and really like my meeting group so i will double track through the end of the year.
I started mfp again because i suspect im overeating fruits and some veggies since they are zero points. I think for me being more contious if the serving sizes of free foods will help me lost the next 40.0 -
WW has been crap since Flex Points changed over to Points Plus. I was a huge WW fan and lost baby weight after both babies, but Points Plus was so bad I walked away forever.3
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I joined WW for the meetings and accountability, but for food tracking, just counted calories. Worked great. Except for gaining back the weight...0
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I recently transitioned from WW to MFP. I absolutely agree that the new system is too restrictive. Many foods have doubled in points - even WW foods. I was very disappointed when I went to the grocery store and bought their mixed berry smoothie. The package said 3 pp but on the new program it's actually 5 sp. Foods that are healthy and good for you like yogurt or granola have very high smart point values. Recently I read an article that Oprah now owns part of WW and lost 27M due to a decline in sales. She's only lost 15 lbs because apparently she eats bread everyday. Lol! MFP is free and it works. I've been logging in for 3 days and I've already lost a pound. Save your $ and log in with the rest of us!2
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