Weight Watchers vs MFP

bbrwneyes
bbrwneyes Posts: 45 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone tried the Weight Watchers programs and if so how do you think it compares to MFP? Do you think one is better than the other or they kind of work hand in hand?

Thanks for your help

Replies

  • jpeterburs88
    jpeterburs88 Posts: 201 Member
    I much prefer MFP. I did weight watchers with my mom a while back and the constant counting of "points" got to be rediculous. I have had much more success on this site by simply counting calories (and not having to compute points!) and the people here are WAY more supportive. This is the kind of lifestyle change that will stick- i seriously doubt anyone could count points for the rest of their lives... but once you learn calories and have a general idea about how many are in certain foods, it is way easier to keep going. Plus-- this site is FREE! :)

    Good Luck in either path that you chose!
  • atachauer
    atachauer Posts: 28
    Hi there,
    I have done weight watchers and initially did really well, losing 1.5st on about 6 months. I then fell of the wagon and didn't get back on til late 2010. They then changed to ProPoints, and to be honest it works with some people but I just couldn't get my head around it :-( So in comparison, MFP is far easier to get your head around as it is straight calorie counting and you don't have to convert anything to points.

    Anyway,
    I hope this is helpful and let me know how you get on- feel free to add me as a friend

    Amie
  • smashleymcgee
    smashleymcgee Posts: 135 Member
    I have tried both and I honestly like MFP better. MFP allows you to build up a support network, whereas the WW website doesn't. Also, the MFP list of foods is much better- I couldn't find half the foods that I ate on WW (especially if it was a competitive product of their's, like a Lean Cuisine meal). I wasn't motivated to log my points because it became such a hassle with having to dig up nutritional information on multiple different websites, and half the time it would lead me to MFP anyways.
  • VeganGal84
    VeganGal84 Posts: 938 Member
    I did WW from May '09 to May '11, and lose 76 pounds! It works, and it's not too difficult to follow, you just have to stick with it like anything else. I decided to switch from WW to Intuitive Eating, and I gained by 9 pounds in 6 weeks!!!

    Not wanting to go back to WW because I wanted to try something new, I started MFP, and so far I have to say that I LOVE IT.

    It's pretty comparable to WW, but I do feel as if I was allowed to eat more on WW than on MFP. I was losing pretty slowly on WW, so perhaps with less food I'll lose the last 13 pounds a bit quicker than if I had gone back to WW. Who knows? I'm still in my first week here.

    Both programs are simular in that they are just way to track your food and exercise. There are no real "rules" about which foods you have to eat or which foods you cannot eat. And that is crucial for me in a diet program, because I love a lot of different types of foods!

    WW has "activity points" which you are encouraged to eat, and are very similar to MFP's "exercise calories" which you are also encouraged to eat. WW also has "weekly points" which are basically just extra points that you are to eat when/if you choose, and I loved that aspect of WW because it allowed me to eat out and not worry about it, just use my "weeklies". MFP doesn't really have that option.

    WW has the "good health guidelines" which are 9 healthy guidelines for what to include in your diet, such as lean protein, whole grains, healthy oils, and lots of water. MFP doesn't have any guidelines outside of calories (and you can also track other macronutrients) so you have to pretty much learn how to eat healthy at your own pace.

    I hope that I've helped a bit! I've decided to give MFP a solid 3-month try, and hopefully I will be talking about how to maintain my weight loss by October! :-)

    Bottom line: Both programs work, but MFP is free.
  • Oleva
    Oleva Posts: 12
    I have done weight watchers in the past and lost several pounds with it. I have just recently joined MFP and am kinda doing the WW at the same time. WW revamped their program in December, that said I haven't lost very much on it but I also hadn't been really strict either. So now I am determined to lose weight before I go to the beach in October. I am working out every day and watching my calories. I look at the printable report and figure my points for weight watchers. So I have kinda combined the two. I hope with doing this, that I will lose. I am making myself exercise everyday and watching what I eat. I am determined to not give up this time. I have realized that some programs work better for other people than others. So it is finding the one that works best for you. Hope this helps.
  • SLaw4215
    SLaw4215 Posts: 596 Member
    I much prefer MFP. It's easier to log food. I wasn't getting much out of the $12 a week meetings. MFP is free. WW has weekly meeting costs plus plus memebership fees and a fee for joining online. . The interaction with the MFP is AWSOME! I'm far more successfull here than I was there. Initially I thought counting points was simple and easy to follow plan but it doesn't teach you how to eat..it teaches you to lean on the WW products. That personally wasn't a long term remedy for my overall health goals.
  • SweetP88
    SweetP88 Posts: 79
    A number of years back I did WW and did really well....lost over 50 lbs....however I feel that they lack in the maintenance department. I don't want to carry a pointsfinder in my purse forever to find out how many points everything is. Needless to say I put the weight back on. Since I joined MFP I find maintenance so much easier.....I can go to the grocery store and see that those crackers have 160 calories per serving.....it is much more realistic for everyday living. All foods come with calories and fat etc. listed on the label so there is no special calculation involved. I did like the accountability of WW (someone else has to look at the scale with you once a week)....so I have my best friend on this journey with me and I am accountable to her (she looks at the scale with me every week). Since I joined MFP in December (6 months ago) I have lost 43 lbs and have been on maintenance since April 17 and have successfully kept it off.

    Feel free to add me!!
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
    MFP program is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better, much more user friendly, and the support is better, you can track sodium, fat, carbs, sugar etc and on WW all they care about is not going over in points. Oh and it's free where WW isn't so I'd rather spend my money on new clothes as I lose weight instead of ON losing the weight.
  • NKF92879
    NKF92879 Posts: 601 Member
    I think it depends on what works for you. WW didn't work for me' the points thing just wasn't for me. However, I've got coworkers who lost A LOT of weight and kept it off. You just have to find something you can live with, a lifestyle change, if you will.
  • rrsuthy
    rrsuthy Posts: 236 Member
    I too have done WW. I lost 18lbs and hit goal weight within 9 months. My problems started in maintenance phase. I was so hungry that once I hit goal, I ate and gained back a lot. When they revamped the system, I gained even more. However, I've seen a lot of women and men have great success with WW. I still go to monthly meetings, but I didn't lose weight until I recommitted myself to watching what I eat. I was really upset when the switched programs because I then had to reenter all the foods I'd previously entered on their website. I find their database to be seriously lacking. I really like MFP because the database is huge! I think I've only added 2 things in the past month on this site.

    So, I think WW is really good and I think MFP is good. MFP is free and their database is larger and easier to use. WW is good if you need to go to meetings and see people to get support.
  • rmancha
    rmancha Posts: 14 Member
    I tried WW too, and compared to MFP I prefer MFP it is so much easier to find your foods on the MFP website and there is a weigh in but one conducts it by themselves in the privacy of their own home. When my weigh in day would come with WW it was on Monday evening I have to admit I eat when I am nervous so this wouldnt help. All day at work I would munch here and there by the time my weigh in came I would either not go to meeting at all or feel very stressed and disappointed with myself. Here I know when the best time to weigh myself is and because I do it in the morning I don't go around stressing about it hence I don't spend the day eating or thinking about it.
  • angelacasey736
    angelacasey736 Posts: 249 Member
    I did WW for 6 months - lost 20lbs and then hit a plateau. I've been on MFP for two months and have lost 25 lbs and feel better than ever. The community here is wonderful and it has given me the tools and strength to get this weight off in a healthy way. Good luck to you!
  • bbrwneyes
    bbrwneyes Posts: 45 Member
    Thanks for all the wonderful responses. I've been doing WW's for 12 weeks and have not lost much weight at all so a co-worker suggested I try MFP. I joined almost a week ago and just trying to get a feel to see if this will work better for me before I cancel WW's...and FREE is always better in my opinion :smile:
  • lolathompson
    lolathompson Posts: 70 Member
    I am currently doing both!
  • Goal4Good
    Goal4Good Posts: 115
    I've done WW for six years. Like any plan----it gets old after a while. I got to goal 4 times but wasn't able to stay there and always regained. Then they changed the program and fruit was zero points. I started struggling. It was not until a friend recommended this site that I figured out by entering my food intake here, that just because fruit is zero pts on WW, doesn't mean it doesn't have calories!!! A person can't eat any entire watermelon and consume no calories.

    So, I was TOTALLY overeating fruit and therefore......not losing. So.....right now I'm really enthused about this website and also enjoying the Fbook like dynamic of it. (Without all the drama and politicial postings and opinions on every topic under the sun that irriates me.) This is about weight loss and humor and support and I'm really enjoying it! I owe my dear friend bigtime for recommending it. She switched from WW also and she mentioned the other day she had lost 9 lbs since beginning MFP.
  • bbrwneyes
    bbrwneyes Posts: 45 Member
    So I assume that both are working great for you, considering I see you lost 79 pounds. I'm trying to do both but it seems like a lot of going back and forth, what is your strategy?
  • bbrwneyes
    bbrwneyes Posts: 45 Member
    So I assume that both are working great for you, considering I see you lost 79 pounds. I'm trying to do both but it seems like a lot of going back and forth, what is your strategy?

    Ok, it looks like I read your tracker wrong, you have 79 pounds to go!
  • RainyDayKelli
    RainyDayKelli Posts: 85 Member
    I did Weight Watchers a couple of years ago and lost nearly 70 lbs. Then, when I couldn't afford to go to meetings anymore, I gained it all back and then some. MFP is basically the same website, but with a more comprehensive database and it's FREE, AND it's easier to have friends and support each other. The support is definitely what keeps me coming back. Knowing and being able to talk to *write to* people with the same goals, ambitions and problems as me, really REALLY helps. I just didn't find that on the Weight Watchers website.
  • csoul27
    csoul27 Posts: 53
    I have been doing Weight Watchers for many years so the one thing I do notice is no fiber. Calories, Fat etc are counted. I was concerned that I would be taking in more calories. I know I shouldn't hold much to it but I have been doing MFP for 5 days and gained 2 pounds. I'm not going to give up as it could just be water weight etc. Just wanted some feedback. Thanks.
  • JackieBarry
    JackieBarry Posts: 3 Member
    I tried the weight watchers. I really prefer MFP. I also did the old WW program and did fairly well and then tried the new PPro and just couldn't get it to work for me.
  • CharlieBarleyMom
    CharlieBarleyMom Posts: 727 Member
    I followed WW 10 years ago and I lost 93 pounds in about 10 months. I was ecstatic and although I never hit "goal" or "maintenance" as WW calls it, I left the program because of the cost. $12 a week and the traveling to the meeting, spending my time (precious) waiting to be weighed in, waiting on the presenter, hanging out to chat, etc. was more than I was willing to give to get to "the end". I figured I could do it myself, I was now prepared.... well, wrong.

    I put 70 pounds back on in about 5 years and then lost 40, then gained that 40+ over the next 5 years... here we are 10 years later and I started MFP 6 pounds less than I started WW 10 years ago.

    I was all prepared to go back to WW because it did work - but times are really tough and buying HEALTHY foods is quite expensive... I was still going to join their web version but I KNEW that the accountability was what I really needed... even though I know I'm doing this for me, I needed something, someone, someplace, to see the results of my new eating habits.

    Fortunately for me I have an Android phone and I saw the free MFP app... my life has been so much better since! A few weeks ago I thought, hmmm... let me check, so I downloaded the OLD and the NEW WW points calculators and I worked out my POINTS for the previous 2 days of food I had eaten... and, what a PAIN IN THE BUTT the new calculator is! (hate it) -- but, truthfully, the points and the food I had eaten were just about spot on.

    If WW was still the OLD points system, I never would have found MFP and I would probably still be losing weight, but losing more money too! And, I don't have to worry more than the calories... I don't have to have a special calculator with me to figure out my POINTS portions... I can just look at the calories. That's easier for me to make this a lifestyle change instead of a "diet".

    Hope I was able to help!
  • jagh09
    jagh09 Posts: 555 Member
    I loved WW when I did it 12 years ago. I've done it on and off the past few years too. It's very easy to follow and plan, and they do have a great online program with tons of resources and support. I made the switch to MFP a few months ago, because I wanted to be more aware of calories, fat, fiber, protein, sodium, etc. (WW gives you points and you just stick with it, without really having to think about it, which is great for some folks). Going to the Weight Watchers meetings are honestly what makes the difference. If you plan to just do an online program only, I'd say 100% MFP is the way to go. AND...MFP is a free resource which is amazing, easy to use and makes great sense. I love using it.
  • VeganGal84
    VeganGal84 Posts: 938 Member
    I just officially cancelled my WW Online membership! That's how much I'm loving MFP. I was a loyal WW Online member paying $18/month for over two years, and now... now I get to put that money towards something else. ;-)

    Good luck, whatever you decide to do, both are great programs.
  • csoul27
    csoul27 Posts: 53
    I want to give this a good solid month before I decide to go back to calculating points. I love the online support here which I did not have doing Weight Watchers because I was doing it alone (just tracking points no meetings). So right there it's worth staying here. Thanks everyone.
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