My fitness pal vs weight watchers

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dmead001
dmead001 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, I am attempting to get control of my eating and my life and I have 70lbs to lose. I am a 39 year old man and I've had enough. I like myfitnesspal, but I'm wondering why others choose myfitnesspal over weight watchers or other system. Any words of wisdom would be very much appreciated!

Thank you

Replies

  • MaybeLed
    MaybeLed Posts: 250 Member
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    So I have not done Slimming world or WW but here was my take:

    I went on holiday with some friends, we were cooking together I was calorie counting, one girl was on SW. She was very restrictive.

    At the end of the day we were sitting round the fire and I was eating toasted marshmallows, I know they fit my day because of MFP, she had run out of 'syns' so didn't have any. The thing is I know she couldn't have eaten more than 1000 kcal that day because we'd eaten exactly the same and I'd tracked. By reducing her calories to points she was essentially depriving herself of the knowledge of how CICO works.

    Now some people just love the system, others rebound every time. I have chosen MFP as I want to know my 'allowance' and make sure my macros are adequate so I get good nutrition and maintain my LBM

    So basically up to you, but I feel armed with more knowledge using MFP
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    I was a WW member for about a year - and I changed to MFP.
    In my opinion, MFP is so much easier, accurate and effective.

    Weight Watchers is essentially a simplified way of 'calorie counting' without the calories. Here, we count calories - WW count 'points'. I believe with WW, you can earn extra points through exercise and you have 40 extra you can use a week on 'treats' etc. It may have changed since I've been here but I believe It's roughly the same. Personally, I find WW a little 'harsher', if that makes sense. MFP is just simple math and for me that works better.

    I'd say generally - pick an option and stick with it. If the calorie deficit is there, you'll lose weight :)
  • MaybeLed
    MaybeLed Posts: 250 Member
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    Obviously you have some selection bias asking your question here, rather than to the internet in general!
  • Roobyzooby
    Roobyzooby Posts: 189 Member
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    I haven't done WW but did slimming world on and off for years, for me it wasn't sustainable and the weight as a result soon went back on. Since joining MFP I have been able to manage my weight loss, eating the same as the rest of my family, eating foods that I actually choose to eat, treats, sweets and nothing is a no...as long as it fits within my calorie goal. It's amazed me how easy it is to do that, with a little meal planning ahead and I just mean in a morning having some idea what you will eat the rest of the day.
  • spring913
    spring913 Posts: 158 Member
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    Having done both I much prefer MFP. I find this is much more sustainable, and FREE! WW is more of a 'diet' than a lifestyle choice imo. Yes, it worked for me, in the short term. But, I find MFP to be freeing, I feel much more in control of my body counting calories rather than worrying if WW deems the food I'm eating to be worthy.
  • FlissFloss78
    FlissFloss78 Posts: 11 Member
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    I'm currently still doing WW. I started MFP at the weekend after someone recommended it.
    Being a sucker for sweet stuff, I'm finding that I can still have it as long as it fits in my calories and I just cut back on other bits.
    I could never get my head around why I needed the extra 49 points at WW. I preferred it as pro points....
    I love MFP. I like to try eating less than my calorie goal without missing anything. I'm much more in control!
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
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    I used to be a huge WW fan, I lost the weight after both pregnancies on their older Flex Points plan. However, when they changed to Points Plus it became harder to calculate points on the fly, and the "free" fruits/veggies stalled my losses. They kept changing the plan every year so I had to buy new materials. And the people in my meeting spent all their time talking about treats or whining about being special snowflakes that can't lose. I fell out of my love of WW and started looking for options and found MFP.

    While it has some flaws, it is FREE and works! If I can't find accurate entries I can at least make my own. Weighing my foods has totally changed my perception of portions. Between MFP and Fitbit, the combination works for me!
  • Missbright14
    Missbright14 Posts: 57 Member
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    I have done weightwatchers and lost nearly 2.5 stone on it but the reason I am now doing MFP is that for me weightwatchers is harder to stick at. Like if you go to eat out it can be so hard to word out points but with MFP it's much easier to just put calories.
    I used to go off the rails when I did weightwatchers if I went out and couldn't work out points It would send me binge and chocolate was near enough off limits as the points are so high now. And now I can have chocolate in my plan.
    I also now use the £21 quid I save from not using weightwatchers to go to the gym
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
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    Both can work.

    I lost 100 lbs using MFP and counting calories. The important thing is to figure out what you can keep up for the rest of your life. Losing the weight is easier then keeping it off. (I gained back all the weight but since starting MFP again I've lost 35 lbs)
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    WW costs money, MFP is free. That's enough of a reason for me.

    WW doesn't exactly teach real-world skills, what with its "free" foods and "points" & external locus of control.
    MFP uses real foods and accounts for everything, but you have to put in the work.

    For an example from someone else, have a look at this.
    I saved this article for an entirely different reason,
    but it does illustrate something important about WW.
    Skip down to point #4 (it's in big bold type), where he posts about his email interaction with a woman who had been on WW yet stuck not losing weight until he helped her see where the problem was... then she ditched WW & happily continued getting healthy.

  • cinnag4225
    cinnag4225 Posts: 126 Member
    edited September 2016
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    For me it's a mix of real-world eating and familiarity that drove me to MFP. From what I understand of it, WW is more restrictive in what one may eat, and a couple of friends who used it complained often about their allowances. The other part of it is that while I started losing weight in April, it was in May that I began watching Super Size vs Super Skinny, which was actually my introduction to calories/macros/nutrients, and so I'm simply more familiar with using the medical approach. There's also the added bonus that I can communicate accurate, detailed information about my diet to doctors and other specialists when needed.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    I did WW in the 90s. Our meetings were at work, and we had a good group. I'd intended to rejoin in 2012 but found MFP and like it better. There's no need to pay for a service like WW now that one can get calorie information from free sites' databases.
  • mccraee
    mccraee Posts: 199 Member
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    With the points WW is kind of a simplified calorie count system. However, the way the points are assigned, you quickly learn to choose move veggies, less fat, more lean protein. If you really don't know what to eat then I think it might be helpful. There is also accountability there that may be helpful.

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