Weight Watchers OR myfitnesspal!?

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2

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  • lisahebert186
    lisahebert186 Posts: 736 Member
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    I tried Weight Watchers and after being a part of MFP, I feel WW is just like the rest, a temporary fix. With MFP I find that I am learning how to be in control of my food and exercise. I can see the tools I'm learning now stay with me forever.
  • ouryve
    ouryve Posts: 572 Member
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    Like barbie, I did a couple of stints with WW online a decade or do ago, with a pregnancy in the middle. I liked the online tracking aspect and even though mfp was starting to emerge, I didn't find it very useful or easy to use. I'd managed to work out a rough formula for calculating points on the fly.

    Then they changed it. Fat suddenly had a lot more weighting and it no longer worked for me. I was ravenous and not losing anything.

    Finding mfp in conjunction with my fitbit much more useful. Now. Losing weight much more easily, too.
  • ouryve
    ouryve Posts: 572 Member
    edited July 2016
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    I could use up a whole day's pro-points on spam fritters
  • cabwj
    cabwj Posts: 843 Member
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    I am currently doing both- sort of. I am attending WW meetings for the accountability of weighing in on a set schedule and for the face-to-face community. I love, love, love the community here but felt I wanted to meet people in person, maybe connect with someone to go walking with, get the in-person kudos, etc. I am not following their Smart Points plan though, the heart of my weight loss and fitness goals is all here on MFP
  • Annamarie3404
    Annamarie3404 Posts: 319 Member
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    Both. I like the accountability I get from WW. I get info from MFP occasionally.
  • cessi0909
    cessi0909 Posts: 654 Member
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    I prefer MFP, which is why I am here, although I never actually joined and paid for WW. I have had many friends do it and each of my friends has gained right back -- once they aren't counting points they don't seem to know how to eat. Plus, for me personally, I eat full fat and nothing with artificial sweeteners and seemed like WW encouraged more skim type foods and stuff with artificial sweeteners.
  • amyoung78
    amyoung78 Posts: 27 Member
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    Weight Watchers definately works if you stick to it. I had lost 50 lbs before and know plenty of people who it worked for too. I got sick of paying the money and the points system lost it's charm after awhile. I liked the accountability the most. Like anything else, when you lose interest the weight comes back.
    MFP works great. It's free and right at my finger tips. I love the "community" section of this app.
    If it's accountability you are looking for, you can add me to your friends list.
    Good luck on your weight loss journey!
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
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    amyoung78 wrote: »
    Like anything else, when you lose interest the weight comes back.

    Everyone who has experienced this needs to ask himself/herself: why??

    Figuring out the answer means you don't have to watch the weight come back on again. People do transition to maintenance and not put it on again. Hint: I suspect that when people divide their lives into "I'm dieting" and "I'm not dieting" periods, and certain foods are forbidden during the "I'm dieting" periods, there's a high probability that whatever they lose will be put right back on in short order once they're "not dieting",
  • jackie_van_d
    jackie_van_d Posts: 240 Member
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    Was doing mfp and wwers
    Had to quit wwers cause of cost
    But got lots of info at the meetings
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
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    Haven't done Weight Watchers but my suggestion would be MFP. First of all the concept that it's free is free, i couldn't afford doing Weight Watchers. The other concept is the fact that with mfp you're educating yourself as far as food and nutrition.

    I've been on diets before they work but I put the weight back on and even more. The simple thing is I didn't know what I was doing and the consequences of eating. With mfp, this has become an educational process. I've educated myself about nutrition, portion size, and nutrients.

    I haven't given up anything at all. I still enjoy a Wendy's hamburger a slice or two of pizza and beer on the beach. The differences I've learned how to adjust my caloric intake based on what I eaten and I haven't been miserable at all.

    I guess the main thing as far as mfp working for me is I was mentally ready to do it and I've been accountable to myself.
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,411 Member
    edited July 2016
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    ouryve wrote: »
    I could use up a whole day's pro-points on spam fritters

    Spam fritters? please elaborate

    Edited to add: OK I looked them up! I had never heard of a Spam fritter!mhkwbbayhr1k.jpg
  • amandaeve
    amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
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    I lost 85 pounds on WW in 2006. I gushed about how great it was and recommended it to everyone. Then a couple years back I joined again just to loose a few pounds. The whole program had changed. I hated it. I can't recommend it to anyone now. WW threw away the key to what made it great- encouraging people to eat whatever they wanted and instead focusing on portion control.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,200 Member
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    amandaeve wrote: »
    I lost 85 pounds on WW in 2006. I gushed about how great it was and recommended it to everyone. Then a couple years back I joined again just to loose a few pounds. The whole program had changed. I hated it. I can't recommend it to anyone now. WW threw away the key to what made it great- encouraging people to eat whatever they wanted and instead focusing on portion control.

    Yep. When I was a member in the late 80's there was no points BS and nothing was evil or off limits. You were taught how to work it in if you really wanted it. You know, helpful real world tools.
  • mkltaylor40
    mkltaylor40 Posts: 3 Member
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    I have been contemplating the same. I have joined WW many times I would loose 10 lbs and then get side tracked.. I was also going to the meetings. I am going with MFP this go around. I need to loose 50 lbs. If you want add me and we can motivate each other! ;)
  • illyich
    illyich Posts: 195 Member
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    jeniecesl wrote: »
    My biggest complaint when they changed was that even though you earned points from exercising, those points didn't count towards the ones you could eat.

    Haha, what?! I knew WW was silly, but that just seems like a dystopian future. On my lifting days, I do my best to eat back some of that deficit I create.

  • AliciaC100
    AliciaC100 Posts: 7 Member
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    I'm doing ww right now. I've joined and quit many times. I don't really count points but I do like the accountability of weighing in front of someone. Plus it's sort of a personal goal to complete a 12 week cycle just once! Their current revamp is better... When the point system first came out they basically said eat whatever but stay in your points.. And make better choices. That motto never worked for me. I could eat all my points in chips. They seem to be catching up with the times and encouraging more clean eating. I'm using mfp and my Fitbit for keeping up with everything and ww for additional accountability.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    You're asking people on MFP so what a answer do you think you'll get? Don't get me wrong, calorie counting works and this site has been the catalyst for a ton of learning, but you have to evaluate and determine what will work best for you.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Weight Watchers exists to make money. It actually behooves them to not teach people how to change their lifestyles and make healthier choices. They need you to lose the weight, tell all your friends how awesome they are so they'll join, too, then leave the program, gain the weight back, and have to go back on the program to give them more money to lose weight. That's the model they've always worked on.
  • Rachel0778
    Rachel0778 Posts: 1,701 Member
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    illyich wrote: »
    jeniecesl wrote: »
    My biggest complaint when they changed was that even though you earned points from exercising, those points didn't count towards the ones you could eat.

    Haha, what?! I knew WW was silly, but that just seems like a dystopian future. On my lifting days, I do my best to eat back some of that deficit I create.

    This is my biggest problem with Weight Watchers too. I'm sorry, but after a 2 hour boxing class I need more food to fuel my body than someone who has been sedentary all day.

    I also don't like being penalized for eating chocolate. 1/4 cup of M&Ms would be close to 1/2 a days worth of points for me which is insane.

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