Weight Watchers?

I haven't read the previous posts, so this may be redundant, but here's why I started Weight Watchers, and why after losing weigh on their program, I'm moving over here.

I had lost weight in the past on both WW and on MFP, (30 starting on WW and then 30 on MFP), then when we had our second child, life got hectic, and my eating habits went down the tubes. So earlier this year, I finally got around to getting back on track. WW had a half off enrollment with the coaching option. This was before their latest transition. I thought the program was good, didn't have a problem with fruits being "zero points", mostly because I had a lot of weight to lose, and I'm not at the point where that would a huge difference (I probably eat 3 - 5 pieces of fruit a day). The coaching at first helped keep me on track, and I got some good recipe ideas. The coaching special was for three months, after which I moved to their regular online program. The plus side of points is that they're easier to manage than calories, in that the number is lower. It does simplify things. I did move points around a bit, even beyond my flex points, to target a weekly calorie goal. That's one thing; they're inflexible on things other than uniform amounts of calories. Then This month they switched to having "lean proteins" (to include whole eggs) count as zero. That was ultimately what did it for me. If the majority of my diet was fruit, vegetables, and lean protein (which I shoot for)), why pay 20 bucks a month for an app to only log a bunch of zeroes? It just wasn't for me any longer at that price. If you're new, and are looking for an easy system to get your daily eating under control, I think WW is good. The overall program discusses measuring food, which really is an eye opener. Once you get some habits established, though, I don't see the long term value, at least for online only. If meetings are inspiring, that's great! However, I do think there's something to be said for existing outside your comfort zone, and my fear is that the meetings bring people who have habitual problems, and not people who have solved those problems and are habitually fit (aside from the leaders). Just my 2 cents; really, whatever strategy you stick with is a good one.

I left WW last week because of the new Freestyle plan. I don’t eat dairy, meat or tofu so the new zero point foods and the new lower daily points allowance didn’t balance out for me. It wasn’t a sustainable lifestyle for me, which is what I am seeking. I enjoyed Connect for the most part, I found recipe ideas and most people are really positive and inspiring. There are definitely the popular kids but I don’t care about that stuff. I’m enjoying the flexibility of calorie counting but I’m careful to make sure the nutritional value is still there. And it’s free!

ramrutd wrote: »

I cancelled my subscription with WW just yesterday. I lost 31lbs on the programme but then have stayed the same weight for the past few months. Finally thought that I'm paying WW for no reason and I found their Connect site for member's a bit 'cliquey.' My hubby wanted to count calories and I encouraged him to join MFP & I decided to join him. Really looking forward to using MFP.

I did WW about ten years ago and tried to use their boards for support, it was horrible! There was no support, just mean girls. Which is ironic because I'm sure they were mostly grown women who should have known better. It was like they were on some sort of power trip and had no use for newbies. I've done MFP for years on and off but just in the past week started using these boards, mostly because of the trauma of that last experience, but so far here everyone seems very supportive and welcoming!