I need honest opinions about Weight Watchers

lauractemple85
lauractemple85 Posts: 109 Member
edited December 3 in Food and Nutrition
I was wondering what everyone’s honest opinion is about Weight Watchers. My work is offering WW to it’s employees with a full reinbursment plus $100 bonus if we lose 8% of our starting weight. I went to the open house meeting and here are the things that stuck out to me as odd…

- The point system in general: It’s based on calories, so why not just count calories?
- You don’t count “points” for fruit: Fruit is worth 0 points. This is odd to me considering a banana can be 150 calories
- You RECEIVE extra points if you consume lean proteins: Maybe I misunderstood this, but it seems to me that you gain points for eating chicken?
- Weight Watcher brand foods are garbage: The ingredients are nothing but processed junk and empty calories.

The only reason I’d consider joining is for the accountability and camaraderie. Maybe I’m just thinking to hard about this? Can anyone offer their personal experiences with WW?

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Some people find meeting with real "live"people to be helpful.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    OT That's a cool incentive but not fair to the normal weight employees who lose out on the $100 bonus
  • epiphany29
    epiphany29 Posts: 122 Member
    The downside I have seen when I considered it is if you miss more than 1 meeting you have to pay to enroll again. I have an odd schedule and am on call so that just wasn't going to work for me. This may not matter with the reimbursement, but that's what turned me off.
  • RogerToo
    RogerToo Posts: 16,157 Member
    Hi
    I tried WW some years ago. My main complaint with it is the point system. It was way to easy to eat only junk and still be good for points but be eating unhealthy in terms of needed nutrients.

    You may have noticed I am here now.

    As for the foods, their foods do not scare me as I think in some ways the entire do not eat processed foods thing is overblown. I sometimes eat their foods and I also eat Some Lean Cuisine and A brand called eating healthy from the Acme Grocery store. I lost the weight I needed to lose and have been maintaining since February at or below the weight I decided to stop at. Currently I am 2+ pounds lower than that weight.

    I eat a mix of Processed foods and other foods. I will eat cereals with Sweeteners or Frozen waffles/pancakes/french toast for breakfast as an example and today I had a LC Frozen Entree and will likely have another one for dinner to save time. I also eat a Banana every morning, and two other assorted fruits with lunch and Dinner. Also with Lunch and Dinner I eat 6 ounces of frozen vegetables at each of the two meals. The Cereals would be things like Multi-Grain Cheerios or Oatmeal.

    Cutting to the Bottom line WW did not work for myself or my sister long term and we both gained back what we lost plus some extra :(

    Can it work, I believe so, I also believe that Atkins and Jenny and NutriSystem can work, what works for one person will not necessarily work for another person. What Works for losing weight also needs to work to teach You how to eat so You do not put back what You lose and in my case WW did not do that for me. Currently with the 3+ miles per day I walk I am eating around 2000 calories.

    Despite eating a mix of Fresh & processed foods I have more energy ans stamina and my Blood work is great, my BP is great and my Blood sugar levels are great so for me this is what works and I can see myself eating ;like this for many years to come as I do not feel deprived. I eat some Ice Cream for dessert too, Skinny Cow for me is Ice cream for other it has to be Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream since that is all natural ingredients such as this from their website
    Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Coffee and Green Tea - still have only five ingredients. Cream. Milk. Sugar. Egg Yolks. Plus the very best ingredient to bring that flavor to life The Strawberry is flavored with Strawberries for example and they also say "MILK & CREAM FROM COWS NOT TREATED WITH THE GROWTH HORMONE rBST†"

    A premium product that You pay a premium price for too. The Densest Ice cream I have eaten also. Can You tell I like it?

    Good Luck , Try the Weight Watchers the worst that happens is that you lose a little time and it does not work, However it could work for You, As I say there are many paths to the same destination.
    Roger
  • libbyjuly
    libbyjuly Posts: 6 Member
    The new WW point system, smart points, encourages more lean protein but still allows carbs. I have done WW off and on over the years. I think the current point system is the most healthy they have had. I am not a nutritionist or anything but with all I have read over the years lean proteins, fruits and vegetables are the mainstays of a healthy diet. With the new point system you can eat quite a lot of all three. Some folks are really good about counting calories and making healthy choices. I am not one of those. If I am counting calories I will choose the snack size Snickers instead of an apple (close to same calories). On WW the snack size Snickers is 6 points, the apple is 0 so I eat the apple. If you are someone who will make healthy food choices without that then it's probably not helpful. For me it is. I do WW on line only, would love if they had it at my work with the extra incentives. =)
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    I am counting calories I will choose the snack size Snickers instead of an apple (close to same calories). On WW the snack size Snickers is 6 points, the apple is 0 so I eat the apple. If you are someone who will make healthy food choices without that then it's probably not helpful. For me it is. I do WW on line only, would love if they had it at my work with the extra incentives. =)

    And for me personally that's why the WW thing is problematic. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables throughout the day, and if I just decided not to count them, that's easily 400 calories or more unaccounted for in my diet. In my case, with so little to lose, it more than wipes out my calorie deficit.
    The bonus idea sounds nice. You could probably sign up, still lose weight your own way (who would really know how you did it, after all?), and still get the comraderie and $100 bonus.
  • SouthernPeach1
    SouthernPeach1 Posts: 21 Member
    edited September 2016
    I lost almost 100 pounds on weight watchers, but quit after they rolled out the new smart points program last December. Over my weight loss journey I learned how to eat healthy, and my doctor was ecstatic with the results-all my blood work now makes me look like a rockstar! However, I have philosophical problems with the new weight watchers program. I know that it is a healthier program for those who need some help figuring out how to eat healthy, but it demonizes sugar to the point where I feel like they're using a cattle prod to socially engineer people to eating the way they think we should eat. My go to meal when on the run and when I needed to eat fast food has been a grilled market salad from Chick-fil-A with reduced fat berry balsamic dressing. I really had a problem the day the new program rolled out and the dressing went from two points to five points, just because it had more sugar I guess then weight watchers thought I should be eating.

    Weight watchers also stopped giving credit for exercise-you used to be able to add to your points based on the amount of exercise that you did. I feel that once they stopped doing that, they took the incentive away from people who might not otherwise exercise.
  • ghudson92
    ghudson92 Posts: 2,061 Member
    My mother and my best friend's mother have both committed to weight watchers on and off for what must be well over 10 years. From observing them and their friends I think the approach can work if you already have your wits about you nutrition wise and have a good idea of healthy choices. My own personal opinion is that it doesn't necessarily promote the healthiest attitude, for example some of the ladies now have a morbid fear of fruit. Fruit! Nature's goodies! But they will still have a slice of cheesecake as a treat? You sound like you know enough about nutrition to not be scared of fruit so I'd say go for it if you like the whole social side of it :-)
  • valerialeek
    valerialeek Posts: 65 Member
    I lost 25kg in 7 months and have kept it off since then (2012). Didn't have to do any exercise either. I was 90kg. Started weights lifting after loosin all the weight. I highly recommend it
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
    edited September 2016
    Any such program (MFP, WW, etc) that you are dedicated to can work.
    Ive lost weight on WW about 4 years ago- about 30lbs of baby weight over about a year. It taught me alot and I kept using those tools even after I quit paying for it. Never went to one meeting, did it online.

    It takes a lot of "guesswork" out of things- assigning numbers and limits...just like everyday food is assigned calories and MFP sets your limits.
    But MFP places the obligation/calculation on you- which- for lifelong goals is important. Either program you have to learn, be willing to change and be accountable.
    (I also dont know why people trust points allotted on WW but deny MFP calorie goal)

    If its really no cost to you- then go for it. Many people have had success.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    They use points because it's 'easier' (more like easier for them to make money).

    They are able to make fruits & veggies 0 points by cutting down the calorie goal. For example when I was on WW I would average 1,000 calories before adding in fruits and veggies.
  • sunfastrose
    sunfastrose Posts: 543 Member
    I lost 50 pounds using WW (online), and have maintained that loss for 15+ years. I did that loss with an old version of the points program for a while, then switched to Core (which I don't think they do anymore?).
  • jlahorn
    jlahorn Posts: 377 Member
    <snip>My work is offering WW to it’s employees with a full reinbursment plus $100 bonus if we lose 8% of our starting weight.
    <snip>
    The only reason I’d consider joining is for the accountability and camaraderie. <snip>

    Do they force you to buy their food? If not, it sounds like you could sign up for WW, use the accountability and camaraderie part, use whatever food plan you prefer, like basic MFP CICO, lose 8% of your weight, and collect $100. If you have to have proof that you used a WW system, you could log points even if you're not really using them.

  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
    edited September 2016
    Just my 2 cents, but for me it gave me a great way to overeat because I could stay within my 'points' and feel good about it. Lost and regained a few times and gave away money without really owning my success or failure myself. Tellingly, whenever I'd show back up over the course of a couple years all the same people would be there at the same weights commiserating. Not for me, but good for some.
  • Katiebear_81
    Katiebear_81 Posts: 719 Member
    I liked the points plus system at WW. I liked counting points, it made me less "aware" of the calories (I obsess easily and go to a bad place easily). When they switched to Smart Points, they made carbs and fat worth more "points" than the same calorie amount of lean protein, and that's when I switched. I logged what I was eating into MFP and discovered I was eating 1000-1200 calories a day... which is how they "cover" the free fruits and veg (which are only supposed to add up to 5 servings, by the way, if you have more than 5 you are supposed to log them). They also made a few other changes that made it really hard to fit Smart Points into my lifestyle, and I ultimately quit (because who wants to pay for a service they don't want to use?)

    I didn't really buy the food much. I used their frozen meals at lunch because it was easy, but they weren't very filling. Their desserts were devoid of actual flavour (you know, sugar and fat), so I stopped buying those. I did like their bagels, because I knew I could have half a bagel, it was filling, and the points were easy to calculate.

    If I were you, I would do the challenge because it's free and because I might win $100. :) And it might be fun to participate with your coworkers.
  • DeficitDuchess
    DeficitDuchess Posts: 3,099 Member
    I'd join for the incentive but I wouldn't follow their plan because it most likely won't be successful, since their main source of revenue; seems to be via repeat customers. I'd just continue with, your MFP plan but I do like the idea of meetings/weigh in accountability. However I'd rather join TOPS, for that because it's cheaper & they don't have an inventory of food, to attempt to sell you. Plus if someone has a minimum of (I believe) 4 people, they allow you to have your own group meetings/weigh ins; wherever you choose to!
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