Weight watchers difference?

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lisarenee127
lisarenee127 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I had progress with weight watchers but it didn't last. How do you these compare? Also is there a way to use the points and this just to check against? I know someone posted something similar before

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  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Many people here will tell you to forget weight watchers. MFP and a food scale = much better. Just about every store that sells measuring cups sells food scales.
  • deniseamerson05
    deniseamerson05 Posts: 13 Member
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    I was on WW and was successful, but needed to try something different because I couldn't afford the monthly cost.
    I was hesitant because I was so used to the WW app, the fact you didn't have to count most fruits and veggies and the fact you had the weekly points.

    Well, I can tell you the MFP app is so similar, and I'm very happy with it - easy I use and I don't feel I'm "missing anything". Also, I was came to realize that if I wanted to loose 1 lb a week I was to have 1,500 calories and for 2 lbs, it was 1,200. So, my target is the 1,200 - but, if I go over a little, I don't panic. Kind of like that "weekly point" leeway. I don't know if that's "good advice" to give or not, so take it for what you want. But for me it gave me a peace of mind that I could easily be as successful, or even more so, with MFP.
    PLUS, it's much easier to figure the calories on a recipe than points ;)

  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
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    deniseamerson05 wrote: »
    the fact you didn't have to count most fruits and veggies and the fact you had the weekly points.

    This was the down fall of WW for me and why I was not so successful on it. I totally understand that the reason behind this is to help people make better food choices and to help people maintain a calorie deficit. It did not work that way for me and I wound up actually gaining weight after I lost an initial 7 or so lbs (only using my dailies - not touching my weeklies or my 170+ fitpoints a week!) I would be hungry so I would eat a banana - 0 points. Still hungry so I ate a second one. Still looked really good in my food diary - 0 pts total! But, yeah, I was hungry a bit later, so I ate again. I could have eaten a granola bar (200 calories) and be satisfied, but that granola bar is 7 points! Same calories as my two bananas, but 7 more points!

    I was gaining a bad relationship with food. It really felt like WW demonizes certain foods.

    I do so much better with MFP. I lost 45 lbs and was never as hungry as I was on WW. I had more energy and ate the foods I wanted to eat. MFP also has a much better data base on foods, so it is easier to find the calories. If it is not on the MFP database, I could at least look on the USDA site and find the calories. WW points seemed so arbitrary if it wasn't in the data base, I was hopeless.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    edited July 2017
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    As a Lifetime member who reached goal on the current Smartpoints program, I felt a severe lack of support. I dealt with constant hunger after workouts. My weight fluctuates beyond +/- 2 almost monthly so I was frequently paying and constantly viewed as a screw up. I was yelled at for using Fitpoints by the leader during a meeting, accused of lying about how many I actually earned, and told to shut that part of the app down to avoid eating them. That and bad experiences with various receptionists.

    I restricted myself to the same Points friendly foods, which led to binging and huge feelings of guilt. Calorie wise, I am in more control with MFP than on WW (appx 1400 vs 1700 to 2000). So I lose better on MFP.

    I like the behavior modification aspect of WW, but this new food program, not so much. Plus it is so much easier to flip over a package to find nutrition info than to do conversions on an app.
  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
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    newheavensearth wrote: »
    As a Lifetime member who reached goal on the current Smartpoints program, I felt a severe lack of support. I dealt with constant hunger after workouts. My weight fluctuates beyond +/- 2 almost monthly so I was frequently paying and constantly viewed as a screw up. I was yelled at for using Fitpoints by the leader during a meeting, accused of lying about how many I actually earned, and told to shut that part of the app down to avoid eating them. That and bad experiences with various receptionists.

    I restricted myself to the same Points friendly foods, which led to binging and huge feelings of guilt. Calorie wise, I am in more control with MFP than on WW (appx 1400 vs 1700 to 2000). So I lose better on MFP.

    I like the behavior modification aspect of WW, but this new food program, not so much. Plus it is so much easier to flip over a package to find nutrition info than to do conversions on an app.

    I'm sorry they were so abusive to you and I hope you have a better relationship with food now. Good luck
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    lisarenee127 wrote: »
    I had progress with weight watchers but it didn't last. How do you these compare? Also is there a way to use the points and this just to check against? I know someone posted something similar before

    Disclaimer: I have not used WW so my answer is based on my general understanding and not an actual comparison. I'm too cheap for WW lol.

    I think WW is a more generalized form of calorie counting. Kind of like calorie counting with lots of approximations. Calorie counting is more precise.

    WW has the community aspect, and some people like/need the accountability of having to weigh in, in front of their peers, on a regular basis.
  • sadiepie10
    sadiepie10 Posts: 30 Member
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    I restricted myself to the same Points friendly foods, which led to binging and huge feelings of guilt. Calorie wise, I am in more control with MFP than on WW (appx 1400 vs 1700 to 2000). So I lose better on MFP.
    [/quote]


    This is why I just left weight watchers. It finally hit me one day that my body doesn't give a *kitten* about points and what WW thinks is a healthy way to eat. I'm feeling so much better since I made the switch. I have more energy and am able to keep up with my workouts.
  • duddysdad
    duddysdad Posts: 402 Member
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    I tried it, but when I maxed out my points for the day and it added up to 900 calories, I stopped. I added it up another time, 2200 calories. Hated not being able to eat high fat meals even though I could fit it in my calories, but not points.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
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    Weight Watchers is a business. Its model relies on people returning and paying for their diets and products... MFP is free to use *shrugs* that's the only comparison I need tbh
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    lisarenee127 wrote: »
    I had progress with weight watchers but it didn't last. How do you these compare? Also is there a way to use the points and this just to check against? I know someone posted something similar before

    WW points don't directly correlate to calories. In terms of "progress" and lasting, that's really all about you, not the program you're using. The vast majority of people who lose weight fail to keep it off long term regardless of what diet or program they did, including calorie counting.

    People typically go back to old eating habits and stop exercising once they reach some goal weight...they don't make actual long term changes to the way they live their lives...it's usually temporary for weight loss, then it's back to the way things used to be.
  • MommaGem2017
    MommaGem2017 Posts: 405 Member
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    I have ranted on other WW threads, but in essence my two biggest concerns were 1.) Vastly different point values for items with the same calorie count. Even "healthy" foods were randomly penalized. 2.) No encouragement to actually eat back exercise points. It left me tired and weak way too many days.
  • chelllsea124
    chelllsea124 Posts: 336 Member
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    Throw WW in the trash
  • katnadreau
    katnadreau Posts: 149 Member
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    I did WW for 3 weeks after my initial water retention loss on MFP. There are several women I know up here on it, so I thought why not give it a shot. I was losing weight slowly (which I honestly expected), but was always so very tired. So this past Monday I decided to double track here on MFP. I didn't touch my WW app at all during the day, but meticulously added in my workout (I wear a chest strap heart monitor, so I know it's accurate), measured and logged all my food. At the end of the day I had eaten a net total of 1381 calories, MFP has given me a goal of 1400. Before going to bed I added all the same information into my WW app, having them swap out my fitness point before touching my weekly points. WW gave me 30 daily points, plus 28 weekly...I had used 48 that day..including the ones I earned from my 300+ calorie workout, and "daily steps" points. Now maybe it's just because I love my fats (dairy, nuts, etc), but there is no way WW would have been sustainable for me. I've had so much more energy this week, eaten way more food that I LOVE to eat (hello creamer in my coffee!!!), and I'm easily staying on top of my calorie goal. I'm thankful that WW showed me some new things to try, like Halo Top, PB2, and Premier Protein drinks, but for the foods I prefer to eat, calorie counting is definitely the way to go.
  • dezindiva
    dezindiva Posts: 13 Member
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    Inwas rwally successful on WW 5 uears ago. Lost 43lbs and maintained until i got pregnant. Now i still have 20lbs to lose and at first started with WW again. But after only a few short weeks on the new program i was fi ding completing mt workouts almost impossible. I was so hungry and tired. Yes im a new mom. But I staryed off strong and as thw points reduced so did my energy. I found i got stuck ans for the price it didnt seem worth it. I started comparing calories to pts and quicjly found out why i was drained. I was eating such a little amt of calories it was stupid. Now im here and am hoping to have better results. So far energy is so much better and ive been able to increase my work outs significantly. And its free.. :)
  • bfanny
    bfanny Posts: 440 Member
    edited July 2017
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    I lost 50 lb on WW and they are not making money out of me only because I GOT TO GOAL, it took me 1 year and 10 months, I'm maintaining no problem for close to 9 years = FREE ;)
    I count cals once in a while only to check my macros and balance between cals in VS out (Fitbit)
    My two cents, everything works if you make it work...

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