Why did it take me so long to figure it out (Weight Watchers)
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Tried30UserNames wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »If it actually worked in the long term then they'd be out of business. They want and need people to come back again and again. It's a scam.
Almost no weight loss, including MFP works in the long term for the majority of people. Almost everyone on every plan, including this one, will regain the weight. That doesn't mean it's a scam. It means keeping weight off long term is really, really difficult.
It only works if you keep working at it. I disagree that almost everyone will regain the weight. I haven't. I lost 60, many years ago. I did gain back almost a third of that, (now have lost almost all of it) only because I stopped logging food and was not tracking - I know I have to do that in order to maintain. So yes, it IS difficult for most of us that have the problem of overeating, I agree. If you want it bad enough, however, it is certainly doable.4 -
I did WW back when Fat was Bad. I vastly prefer MFP. I've learned more here too, despite all the Mean People
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"everybody" and "almost everybody" are slightly different. Statistically, almost everybody regains. That doesn't mean no one has ever successfully kept off weight.3
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Lightbulb moment for me was when I sat there realising 1. I had more knowledge about nutrition than the leader of the class, 2. My class was descending into a constant repetitive fixation on alcohol with everyone being recommended by said leader on how to cut meals out of their day in order to drink on the weekend and 3. that the points allowance I was on was equivalent to about 950-1100 calories a day when I logged the same foods on here!11
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After reading some of the experiences here with WW it reminded me about a recipe for a crustless pumpkin pie. Our leader was telling us the points were so low you could eat the whole pie. Eating whole pies doesn't teach me portion control. I know her intentions were good but I needed to know how to eat real food in the real world.17
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I've also been on and off WW for years, but am off, I believe permanently, and really perfectly content with MFP, a Fitbit and a food scale. Have lost 50 lbs. and have figured out that it's up to me to figure out the best plan for me. So - more internal than external. One thing that really bugged me about WW is that my meeting was totally taken over by a few people who liked to talk a lot - about themselves. I get SO many better ideas and thoughts here in the discussion boards than I ever did at WW, plus the encouragement of lots of friends. I think it's a huge improvement over WW and I'm certainly saving a ton of money. I can't imagine myself ever going back.9
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I was a huge WW fan back in the Flex Points days, I lost the baby weight both times and it really worked for me... I went back a few years ago and the plan now does not work for me. It is too complicated, demonizes foods, and the "free" fruit/veg we all know are not really free. I felt lost. The meetings were all about how to manipulate desserts to lower the points, which is ok occasionally but every meeting? Ugh
I then found MFP, that combined with my Fitbit are the winning combination. This is sustainable for me.10 -
I have been going back and forth between WW and calorie counting since the beginning of the year, unable to decide which is the better program for me. Well, last night I finally figured it out. There is NO way that Weight Watchers would work for me long term.
Calorie counting is so much simpler, and it's sustainable. I had been thinking in the short-term, not the long-term. I need to learn portion control, and yes, Weight Watchers teaches you this, but they are just too restrictive when it comes to treats. Do I really want to go to a birthday party and not be able to eat a slice of cake because it's almost my entire day's worth of points? No, I want to be able to work that cake into my day and with calorie counting, it is so much easier to do so!
I have NO idea why it took me this long to "see the light"! I cancelled my WW account tonight.
Omgosh you sound just like me. As we speak I am going back & forth trying to decide which is better. Calorie Counting does make so much more since. Plus I am online only, so why pay for that?!4 -
Do they still advertise as not being a diet?0
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I did weight watchers online only – – which reminds me a lot of this app – – back around 2007 or so, and I loved it! I very slowly and steadily lost all the weight I wanted to, and kept it off. Then they changed the damned program!
I tried both of the last two pre-Oprah variations of weight watchers and they did not work at all. I can't see that the Oprah version would work either.
Right now, using this app, I am once again very slowly and steadily losing some weight.7 -
Bumping up to other WW thread
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I did well on the Momentum Plan and lost 53 pounds. Then I gained 10-15 due to depression. I didn't lose a lot with PointsPlus and got up to 35 lbs. I learned to use MFP correctly and it makes me more accountable.
As much as WW helped me, I couldn't really relate to anyone due to being the only young person at my meetings. Plus, the database here is much better and the app is free.4 -
I was wondering if MFP could be synced to record 'smart points' but I guess that would be a big no no with WW. I'm having trouble and may just go back to the MFP and do calories!! But I do like the app that lets you scan things for points!!1
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donnamae9981 wrote: »I was wondering if MFP could be synced to record 'smart points' but I guess that would be a big no no with WW. I'm having trouble and may just go back to the MFP and do calories!! But I do like the app that lets you scan things for points!!
I don't see how this would work. Points used to equate to calories. But with Smart Points certain food types are penalized. Yes, you can eat bread.....but the point value is punitive now.0 -
MFP lets you scan things for calories.
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I started WW in January and the first three months did pretty well and now I'm stalled and can't really figure out why. There are all kinds of manipulations that can be done with points. They want me to eat my daily points and then I can either eat or not eat my weekly points. The whole process is making my head hurt!
I do believe that I am eating better than I ever have before. Not because of WW since they encourage eating processed foods, but because I chose to eat real food that I can stick with rest of my life. I do personally love the accountability I get from weekly weigh-ins and I love my meetings. My leader is awesome!
I came back to MFP yesterday to compare the points with calorie counting. I plan to track calories and points for the next month to see where I land. I'm 51, pre-menopausal, have a stupid reoccurring leg injury that keeps me from serious exercise, and work a very sedentary job. I just want to get this freaking weight off and struggle to live a life in maintenance!!3 -
Left ww today. Fingers crossed I have the same success with MFP that you all have. Any tips??????2
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Just left WW and makes sense for me to say why.
WW has a lot of pluses. I have seen people lose more than I weigh. The support and plan work to educate people who eat unhealthily and have a lot of weight to lose.
Where it fails - and it failed me is that it doesn't support maintenance. Why would it ? There's no money there. But more subtlety if you then gain weight whilst eating healthily (that's me) it really doesn't help to re-lose that gain.
So I'm trying MFP. I do think cico does have some flaws - in the original calorie calculation and who your body uses food. But it's not a perfect world.
I've been surprised how ww over points cake - at times rather than encourage you eat it healthily it steers you to stupid decisions with 'free foods'.
Fingers crossed for MFP.4 -
I joined ww multiple times over the years but never managed to stick to it. MFP calorie counting seems so much simpler and much more flexible. And there is a free version!1
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I quit Weight Watchers when they tacked on extra points for 1 tablespoon of bacon grease versus 1 tablespoon of olive oil, which had fewer points. Same calorie count for both. It felt horribly intrusive and wrong. Nope. Don't screw with my lard. Bye WW.
That's similar to why I quit. It was when I realized that 1.5 cups of milk (I must have been building a recipe -- I don't drink milk) and a glass of wine (6.3 oz) had *about* the same amount of calories, with milk actually being a smidge higher, but they added extra points to the wine. Nope, buh-buy. I make enough food judgments on my own, and I'm not going to *pay* to have someone make me feel bad about myself.
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I have used WW in the past and always ended up frustrated because it was difficult at times to quickly determine point values. I was constantly using the app, scanning, etc. I love counting calories because all I have to do is look at the nutritional info on the package and see exactly what information I need. I do miss “free vegetables”, and it definitely has the healthy aspect, practically pushing anything with sugar into its highest point range. But this is much easier for me in the long run.2
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I may get some slack for this, but that's why they pay people like Oprah to push their plan. Oh wow, Oprahs doing it, it must be good. All you need to know is good old CICO, but wait, nobody's getting rich off of that!!2
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I just cancelled my ww membership last night and have switched. After 18 months, losing 50 in the first 12 and then plateauing for 2 followed by 4 months of maintaining because I just can't keep dealing with the points...here I am.0
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cheryldumais wrote: »Me too, paid for WW online for years but never lost any weight after the points thing. When they changed it again in 2016 I cancelled my subscription and came to MFP and I've lost over 80 pounds!
Wow, congratulations! I believe this mfp will work for me. I really do and I like the fact that calorie counts don't change (unlike ww points).0 -
"easier for people to follow than counting calories (which is always sold as being difficult)" I believed that for so many years. Glad I found mfp.
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I did slimming world and got to target. My leaders changed and the new on did not motivate me. She had no time for the people at maintenance and I'd never been at maintenance before so had no clue what I was doing. Me and some friends I met there were just going so we could meet up and have a coffee so we left. We now meet in the pub instead.
I have come to realise that "syns" is such a bad term for food. Don't make me feel evil because I use all my "syns" on a pie! I can fit pie in to my life without feeling like the devil about it thank you very much! LOL
MFP all the way, and yes I do fall off the wagon occasionally but I always come back and get my head in check. The community here is so more supportive than the 30 seconds stood on that scale every Monday night.
And that's another thing (on a roll now), it is all about that 30 seconds, you can have a great week and you honestly know you have but of it shows a gain of even 1/2lb you must have done something wrong well no actually I didn't! I just may not have pooped or pee'd as much this week........OK, soap box away.0 -
'Syns' just makes me laugh.
I was doing WW when they brought that in. And they spelt it 'sins'.
That spelling change has to be the most half-hearted attempt at rebranding ever; as well as communicating a lot about WW's attitudes and assumptions.0 -
One co-worker joined SW and initially she lost lots of weight. But have in mind that before she joined, she was eating a lot of fast food and (full sugar) sodas on a daily basis and during the SW programme she ate plain chicken with veggies, fruit, etc. I asked her about the meals, etc. and when she explained to me that she could eat as much fruit, beans, etc. as she wanted, I realised it wasn't for me. It worked for her, as she was a fast food lover and never ate any fruit or veggies before, but I could live off fruit and pulses, bananas, berries,... and I needed to learn about portion control. In the end she returned to her old habits. I may be wrong, but I think most of those programmes are good to shred a few pounds but don't work long term.0
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I have been going back and forth between WW and calorie counting since the beginning of the year, unable to decide which is the better program for me. Well, last night I finally figured it out. There is NO way that Weight Watchers would work for me long term.
Calorie counting is so much simpler, and it's sustainable. I had been thinking in the short-term, not the long-term. I need to learn portion control, and yes, Weight Watchers teaches you this, but they are just too restrictive when it comes to treats. Do I really want to go to a birthday party and not be able to eat a slice of cake because it's almost my entire day's worth of points? No, I want to be able to work that cake into my day and with calorie counting, it is so much easier to do so!
I have NO idea why it took me this long to "see the light"! I cancelled my WW account tonight.
Welcome to the club! I yo-yo dieted for 15 years before I finally figured out how simple it really is.
Congratulations on figureing out how simple it really is, and cheap too!!! One of the few "diets" that save you money because all you do is eat less (buy fewer groceries).2
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