Not counting smart points (Weight Watchers) anymore

honeybee739
honeybee739 Posts: 66 Member
edited February 2017 in Getting Started
I have been paying about $20 per month to do Weight Watchers online.

I've lost count how many times I've joined this program.

Every time I join, I quit and tell myself I will never join again.

Points frustrate me. The program changes every few years and that frustrates me. Now the new "smart points" is pretty much a low/moderate carb "clean" eating diet, which I do agree is a healthy way to eat, but sometimes it's not easy to do on a daily basis, and I find it restrictive.

Back on "point." So, this past week I said, Screw it. I am going to track on MFP and exercise every day. And it was Leslie Sansone walking DVDs mind you, so nothing crazy.

I lost 2 pounds.

Lesson- I can do MFP for free. Calories never change. I lost 2 pounds because I ate at a deficit and exercised. I don't need to pay for a program to lose weight. And the biggest bonus was, I ate food I LIKED. I didn't feel like I was ON a diet. Just eating a bit less of the foods I enjoy and eating more fruits and veggies vs chips...but I still had chips one day!

Any other similar revelations out there?
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Replies

  • honeybee739
    honeybee739 Posts: 66 Member
    Yeah, I would rather count calories or just cut carbs and not count anything than count points. So depressing. haha
  • melissa570
    melissa570 Posts: 3 Member
    I agree and have felt the same. Struggling so much with smart points. Lost the weight on points plus, gained about 10 back and rejoined. 6 weeks have gone by and I have gained/lost the same 3 pounds while working the program. It does feel more restrictive and found myself then just not tracking. I have come over to MFP. Set my goal to moderately lose 1/2 a week, tracking everything and synced my garmin. And bam, lost 1/2 pound this week AND I feel satisfied and I am not hungry. I feel like I can work in treats and stay on program. Plan to stay here for the long term. Plus got tired of paying the $20 a month!
  • rayeofsun2017
    rayeofsun2017 Posts: 18 Member
    I did weight watchers a ways back when it was points plus - i lost 30 pounds on it. Smart points - for whatever reason, i cannot lose weight with. I loved the sense of community i found at weight watchers but I have found that here where it is free and thousands of people and not the same 20 people each meeting
  • AngelinaB_
    AngelinaB_ Posts: 563 Member
    edited February 2017
    One thing I have learned, is THERE IS NO FINISH LINE.

    Wise words. I have never been able to lose weight large amounts of weight on WW. Only one time I signed up with husband, he lost 40, I did 20. To me, it's a money grabbing scheme. But it works to some people, so whatever works for you, you should do.

    I prefer MFP, I did buy the premium, but it's $49 a year vs $20 monthly with WW ($240/ year). I cannot afford 20$ monthly right now so...

    Something I like here much better is the database. We found the WW one very limited, and to me, logging everything works. So only for that reason I like much better MFP. It works better for me.

    I do like WW have a sense of "program", in that regard, it is easier to jump on the bandwagon than figuring things out by your own.

    It ultimately boils down to what we eat tho. And deep down we all know what to do.

  • jonnymopar
    jonnymopar Posts: 12 Member
    edited March 2017
    Hi all,

    I just joined here a few days ago and I already really like what I see. I have experience with WW, but a friend recommended that I check out MFP.

    I lost 25lbs in 2013 with WW, then hit a rough patch (read: becoming a father - a happy one, but an overweight one), and things got out of hand.

    I resubscribed to WW a year ago and I'm down to my college weight, which I never thought possible. I'm over 40lbs lighter than I was on my wedding day less than 5 years ago. But, I can't help but think that $19/mo is steep for just the online tools. I don't go to the meetings. I've had excellent luck on my own. Plus, compared to a few years ago, the new interface is extremely lacking. A few years ago, you could track your water intake, fruits and vegetables, dairy, and a dietary supplement separately from your points, as well as leaving yourself daily notes. All of that is gone, and all you have left is your list of food, exercise, and pictures of Oprah everywhere. Great, thanks. Yeah sure, some Hollywood billionaire with her own personal you-name-it is going to inspire me to lose weight. Riiiight.

    The one reason that I continue to pay is to use their database. It was good in 2013, but it's truly great now. I was skeptical of MFP for this reason. How good could a free service's database actually be? After the last few days, I'm a believer! Plus, I was told that MFP was a calorie-counting system. While it does do that, it lists all of the other parameters as well which I love. I'm an engineer - give me numbers, give me reports, let me tweak things on the fly. MFP does all of that.

    I did have good results with WW on more than one stint, so I won't sit here and completely trash it. It works for tons of people out there and definitely worked for me. But it's starting to feel like a set of training wheels. Sure, when I first started, if I put a buck in a jar for every time I asked myself "but, how many points is that", I could probably take my family on vacation with it. I'd never done this before! But, it's not like that anymore, and it hasn't been for a while. All I need now is a simple way to keep myself accountable. It may be too early to call, but for my personal needs, MFP so far has made a compelling case for dumping WW.
  • SuzMar17
    SuzMar17 Posts: 30 Member
    Just left WW (for the million plus times); for me I'm always thinking about food or starving....points just annoys me lol I feel like I have more control with MFP plus i like to see all the nutrients, like my carb, protein etc. I know so many that get frustrated with the plan and feel like a failure and just a vicious cycle.....
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
    edited March 2017
    WW prior to late 1990s was calorie counting done in points I always lost on that 40lbs in 3 months 2lbs a week
    Then they got all carb sugar obsessed and I lose little stating a jacket potatoe is high points as the kind of carbs are bad isn't to me good it makes your life miserable
    I lose weight on mfp having what I like I choose healthy as possible so I'm not hungry. WW is a business that's why they change it every year after Christmas to get new members.
  • klr4589
    klr4589 Posts: 3 Member
    edited March 2017
    I love this thread because I just canceled my WW account last week for the 100th time. The reason I go back is 1) the Connect feature on the app and 2) weekly points. I do love that weeklies keep me in check so I don't go too crazy on weekends. On MFP if you exceed your calories, there's really no accountability as it starts all over the next day. BUT I always, always, always felt restricted on WW. I know I can eat certain guilty pleasure foods in moderation and still lose weight, but WW made me feel that anytime I did that, I ruined everything. Then I'd stop tracking for a while, defeating the whole purpose. It's totally a mindset change between the two apps. Already from being on MFP for a week, I feel MUCH less restricted, which ultimately will help me be more successful. I paid $50 for the annual premium membership. So worth it and better than spending $20/month for WW!
  • sadiepie8705
    sadiepie8705 Posts: 20 Member
    edited March 2017
    I'm on WW right now my daily points only come out to 1050-1400 calories. Add in weeklies and you could get up to 1650. I've been starving since I've been on it the last two weeks. I gained a pound my first week and lost 0.6 my second. I don't know, I'm thinking about coming back here. At least I won't be so hangry. Also one thing I've noticed is that my workouts started getting really hard for me to get through. One night I had a mini binge from being so hungry all day, I got up the next morning and had the best workout!
  • fvtfan
    fvtfan Posts: 126 Member
    I am currently on WW - was using MFP for 2 years but I really struggled to stay on track, I think I need the discipline of points telling me that I don't really need that chocolate chip cookie - but if I want it I can still have it. The weekly points allow me to splurge once in a while - this past weekend I did that but did not go over my points and lost 3.6 pounds. I feel like I never really knew how many calories I should be eating on MFP - maybe it was all just to simplified for me. I do wish that WW broke down the macros in reports - I would like to easily tell how much protein I am eating every day without manually tracking it myself.

    When WW changed to SmartPoints I thought to myself that it would never work for me, because I love carbs, so I resisted trying it out. I started on January 1st and low and behold I am now down 18 pounds. It works for me, but it may not work for everyone. I think one of the things that people do on WW is just stick to their daily points and do not use the weekly points for whatever reason - I can totally see how doing that would leave you hungry, I am not sure why people feel you should not eat the weekly points or the FitPoints you earn as they are part of the program.

    I did learn a lot in the time that I used MFP (like I need to fuel my body when I am working out and daily weighing really helps you understand the ups and downs of weight loss) and I do still come back here and read the boards. If I wasn't so lazy I would log in both places so I could get the macro information I want, but that just feels like way too much work.
  • loisburch59
    loisburch59 Posts: 403 Member
    Thank you for the many testimonials. I have never joined WW and now feel that that was one of my good decisions. I have weighed as much a 500 lbs, measured in the hospital when I had volume overload. I lost almost 100 lbs in 4 days, just water weight. I know the problems of the ups and downs of weight loss, have done Dr. Adkins and every other diet since I was 12 and my mother put me on the Roman Meal bread plan. Yes I'm that old. I am a short 6 foot tall. Now with the experiences of each of you I can see a little clearer the path that I am walking again, never quiet get to the brass ring, now I can see it is there, this time will do it. Thanks to all of you.
  • kathyk1965
    kathyk1965 Posts: 16 Member
    Yes I feel the same way I've been going to ww since I was 15 off and on im now 51 and probly have lost 10 people so far just to put it back on i really never followed the plan like you i ate everything in moderation and walked alot. I was thinking about going back because i need the part of weighing in everyweek because i feel like im a failure if i dont loss weight so it kept me accountable for my weight loss. But this time I'm trying on my own with the help of mfp.
  • MommaGem2017
    MommaGem2017 Posts: 405 Member
    fvtfan wrote: »
    I do wish that WW broke down the macros in reports - I would like to easily tell how much protein I am eating every day without manually tracking it myself.

    This is the biggest sticking point for me with WW. I dislike having to track things in 2 apps to see how much protein I'm getting, or if I'm eating too much sugar, etc.

    I DO like the Weekly accountability that WW has with the Daily/Weekly points. I can splurge a little during the week, but the splurge is contained.

    Right now I'm still using both. MFP so I can educate myself about the details of what I consume, and WW for the weekly accountability and the Connect app.

  • carynfulda
    carynfulda Posts: 5 Member
    I'm back after trying WW - again. I lost 40 lbs on it ten years ago. I eat mainly fruits and vegetables and lean meats, hardly any carbs, not even whole grains. I exercise 10-14 hours a day walking, hiking, boxing, elliptical, cycling. I have what my partner and I call one "dirty meal" on the weekends where I dip a little into the weekly points, but not my activity points. On paper I should be losing weight. I'm staying steady after two months.

    The problem is that it is inconsistent. I'm tracking WW and MFP. I can eat the same spinach, cucumber, apple and blueberry smoothie with protein powder one day, and it's 8 points (no added sweeteners, the protein powder is unsweetened). If I decide to eat all those components as a fruit salad, it's just 2 points for the protein powder. Same thing, same amount of calories. On the days I count the smoothie I consume about 1000 - 1100 calories. On the day I don't, when I have extra SP because I didn't use them on my smoothie, it's around 1500. For two weeks I tried Adkins on WW after a friend lost a ridiculous amount of weight in a short period. I had points left over every day, but calorie wise I was hitting close to 1700 a day. I know you're supposed to keep your metabolism guessing but 1500 and 1700 calories is way over what I should be eating to lose weight.

    Secondly, I don't like fat free plain greek yogurt on its own, but for protein it gives you a pretty big bang for your buck, so I try to incorporate a tablespoon or two here and there in different dishes through the day. Two tablespoons is 0 points, but a cup is 3. I was over eating three points a day and didn't realize it because the amounts aren't cumulative - something that calorie counting will take into account. When I added up other things I was using sporadically during the day, I was over eating by five points a day! That's not an issue with calorie counting.

    And some of the points don't make sense. I made a turkey sandwich and created it as a recipe. No cheese, loaded with veggies, maybe 2 teaspoons light mayo. individually the components added up to about 8 points, but as a recipe, it was 12. That's like eating a small order of French fries.

    It's too much guess work, too much tweaking and adding. I'm going back to my 1200 calorie diet where I know the values of what I'm eating.

  • bmd1011
    bmd1011 Posts: 40 Member
    "I've lost count how many times I've joined this program.

    Every time I join, I quit and tell myself I will never join again."

    ^^^^I could have wrote exactly this. I've been stuck in the same WW/MFP cycled for years. I logged onto WW's website this morning and was about to rejoin (for the millionth time since I first joined back in 2004!).....I know MFP makes more "sense" for me and my current lifestyle but there's still a nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, WW is the answer. I know what to do, just need to actually do it (for the long term). No need to pay for it!!
  • canarysal
    canarysal Posts: 118 Member
    You have to work it out for yourself, I'm liking the simplicity of eating what I like within my calorie allowance and its working, 31lbs off since January - my SW colleague has lost 2lbs in a year yet still pays weekly to be weighed and is miserable turning down foods because of syn values.
  • LastDance53
    LastDance53 Posts: 1 Member
    Just today I cancelled my WW membership and decided to go "rogue" for awhile. I'm a WW fan for sure and I've joined and quit a million times and I will probably join again. Today I started my journey here and with your support and my will power I hope to be able to lose about 30 pounds.
  • LB30
    LB30 Posts: 109 Member
    klr4589 wrote: »
    I do love that weeklies keep me in check so I don't go too crazy on weekends. On MFP if you exceed your calories, there's really no accountability as it starts all over the next day.

    Actually you can see weekly totals on MFP. On the website it is under Reports, and on the app it is under Nutrition. You can see your totals for each day, and the average for the week. I use that feature a lot as some days I may go over and other I may be a bit under. It helps me to see if I have some leeway to work in a weekend treat or not. :)

  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    I've never done Weight Watchers but I notice that often times when we decide to lose weight and/or get healthier it's an all-or-nothing, huge lifestyle change overnight kind of extreme. It's challenging enough just to consistently eat in a calorie deficit to lose weight.

    Sometimes I think people would be better off to take smaller steps and just focus on losing weight by cutting what they currently eat. Then as you start to get the hang of it make gradual changes in food choices over time. It's much less stressful, but it can take longer to get the end goals. Or it seems like you're not dieting because you're still eating food you enjoy which somehow seems wrong.

    That's the overall impression I get about the current WW program.