Why I left Weight Watchers new "Freestyle" Program
Options
Replies
-
ztaylor205 wrote: »This zero points food list is amusing-- some of these can be quite caloric (like beans and fatty fish like certain types of salmon.) Even salsa can add up, if you're the kind of person who heaps it on. I've eaten about 1,000 calories of shrimp in a day before (200 grams of protein!) and even that would count as "zero points," because zero times anything is zero.
Not to mention that shrimp (and beans) is a boatload of sodium!!3 -
I too am contemplating leaving WW. I have tried Freestyle and failed miserably. Up until that points I had been going strong since June 2017 and have lost 43 lbs! I tried speaking to my leader at the meeting and to customer service through the online service. They do not seem to care that I am struggling and literally refuse to even send me the points list so I can go back to the pre-Freestyle era. I am going to try this for a couple of weeks again (used to do MFP in the past) but I think that I am done with WW. I am just so angry and disappointed with them. I can tell some of you are feeling the same way.10
-
I’m about ready to quit WW. Had huge success with Points Plus, but Freestyle is awful (I’m up one week, down another...stressful!). I don’t understand why WW can’t/won’t run two platforms and let people choose between Freestyle and Points Plus. The zero point proteins should only be zero points up until a certain point, then points should start kicking in. How can eating 6 eggs, 12 oz of chicken breast, and a can of chickpeas over the course of one day possibly allow for weight loss, especially when coupled with unlimited fruits and veggies?6
-
I have been thinking about this on my walk.
For me, I needed to think about how much I ate, of the healthy foods I did eat. All about quantity.
WW was assuming I ate terribly so therefore I needed educating on what to eat. Hence railroading me into chicken and eggs and dreadful yoghurt as protein sources (and if I was eating takeaways every night I guess that made sense).
So for me, telling me not to count half the food I ate was not rewarding me for making better choices around how *much* I ate - it was enabling me to eat more and more. And messing up my brain in the process.
A diet program that enables disordered thinking around food doesn't sound good to me.15 -
The point is, the longer a member takes to get to goal, the more money WW are coining in - simple arithmetic!10
-
I also left Weight Watchers recently after the new program was introduced. I tried it for a few weeks but hated the restrictions, as in being told what to eat instead of just being given a number of points per day and eating what you wish. I had already lost a reasonable amount of weight with calorie counting, initially on paper then using MFP (with an older account I deleted). I tried Weight Watchers for a while, and liked the old system, especially having the weekly points and how it encouraged you to eat healthier. But now it's more restrictive to me, and I'm back to calorie counting. I struggle with eating too much with calorie counting, but at least I know it works and it's not a 'program' which can be changed without warning. I've got 16kg left to lose (I've lost about 28kg already) so I hope I reach my goal.1
-
This almost sounds like their 20 20 plan...you didn't have to track much...just have 20g fiber minimum and 20g fat max in a day. Needless to say, you could work the system just like people have been doing with smart points and now freestyle. There is even a new colab on YouTube for WW freestyle trader Joe favorites. Most are 0 point items...and most are fake sugar sweetened or high sodium and all of it prepackaged and $$$.3
-
Many years ago I did WW meetings and the old (really old) program worked and I learned alot. After falling off the wagon for a few years I did WW online for probably 10 years or more. At least I paid for it. I did not lose weight. Finally in 2016 I quit WW online and came to MFP. I have lost 89 pounds with MFP just counting my calories and walking daily. I am now at maintenance and feel I can live this lifestyle indefinately. I hate to think of how much money I paid for nothing. This site rocks and the support is better than what I found on WW online. And it's free!!!!14
-
TL;DR I also left WW. I feel like it threw a lot of people out of the boat without instructions on how to swim. I liked the structure of the previous plans and this one feels too loose with no structure. I know that WW tried for a long time to "go beyond the scale", but let's face it...I missed the meetings that talked about what we could have/should have instead of "let's talk about feelings".
I'm not really being eloquent on my response, but in short, I too got frustrated with this new program. I wish those who are succeeding the best, but I'm afraid it has made the program worse, not better.6 -
I left WW as well! I just can't do it! I have been fighting the same 2 lbs for 3 weeks!!! Idk if I overeat the zero points, I just can't get the hang of the lower points or what!! I have been on WW off and on for 15 years and NEVER had this problem!! To not lose weight is frustrating, I chose this because logging calories kinda reminds me of how WW used to be when you logged EVERYTHING and it worked! And besides the recipe import option is pretty darn awesome!10
-
I'm glad I found this post.
I did WW back in 2006 when I believe it was using the Flex Points system. This was before smart phones and I only did it online. I lost 15 lb in about 9 months but I felt like complete crap. I did not learn a lot about protein, fats, macros, etc. - basically their moto was if it fit in your Points, you could eat it.
That was the year I gave up regular pop and started my addiction to diet pop. I've tried giving up diet pop several times now only to always go back to it because you know, 0 calories. Back then I had a freezer full of frozen meals and there were many days I ate ice cream for dinner because it fit into my points. I may have lost weight but I was getting migraines, probably from the ton of processed food I was eating, and I didn't know much about portion control.
I thought about joining again but I too was puzzled by the number of Zero Point foods. Like so many of you, those foods account for many of the things I eat. I need to be more accountable with my portions and my sugar intake so I don't think the Freestyle plan will work for me.
And $35 a month online? That's pretty steep. I want to say it was around $16 a month when I did it, and I thought that was high back then!
I just need be more accountable and stick with MFP.5 -
The point is, the longer a member takes to get to goal, the more money WW are coining in - simple arithmetic!
It’s funny, because I reached my goal in November, and was willing to continue on WW for maintenance because the smart points was really easy for me to follow. Paying the monthly fee was worth it because the program was easy to follow and I felt good. When they switched, I complained openly on Consumer Alerts. WW reached out and offered me a free month, which I felt was reasonable. I’m holding out a bit longer in the hopes that they’ll realize that they need to bring back smart points. Lol.
2 -
I'm considering leaving weight watchers for a lot of the reasons posted. Since new program i now post calories here. On Connect many people have switched there app setting to maintenance to get back their original Smart points. Many people are unhappy with this new program, new posts daily.5
-
Wow! I would get myself in SOOOO much trouble trying to follow the 200 food list! Some of those are really not as low in calories as you’d think, so I can’t imagine anyone just grazing alllll day on these “zero point” foods and still being successful. There has to be some kind of guideline, not just a free-for-all. Glad you’re here on MFP and I hope this is the community you’re looking for!1
-
I have done both, tracked points and tracked in MFP and MFP is more "real life" for me. It wasn't until I tracked in MFP that I really learned about calories. Just having a rough estimate in my head of what foods are what calories, I can make informed decisions on the fly and still be within my daily calorie goal. I could never do that with points. Welcome back and I wish you nothing but great success here!3
-
I wouldn't do well on freestyle..I joined in Oct. 2017- didn't lose a pound, in 3 weeks. Probably thanks to the 0 point foods!. So i cancelled..and decided to stick with myfitnesspal . Down 2 pounds in 2 weeks. Some of us have eating disorders..and do overeat..therfore eating way too many calories, and not losing weight. I'm glad you posted this.
4 -
I'm with all of you...just re-joined here because I cant eat enough on 23 points without cooking a huge slab of fish or bowls of veg for dinner and I don't always want to cook! Lost 30 pounds last year on Smart Points but can't handle this Freestyle thing. Previously I had a sandwich for lunch and the same for dinner and lost all that weight. Not enough points now to do the same method. I'm out.3
-
I also just cancelled my membership! When I rejoined in November I was signing up for the Smart Points program which I have done successfully in the past and is doable for me,,,,then they changed to the Freestyle without warning or giving us options to continue as before or choice to try the new program (which is wrong for a paying customer) I gave the Freestyle a chance and NO WAY, it is NOT for me!!!5
-
Thank you so much for your fantastic post. I left WW yesterday and am feeling sad and disappointed in myself. Did I make the right decision? Am I giving up on myself? BUT, I can't continue to pay for a program that I'm gaining weight on. I was eating so much every day because it was free, and it was counterproductive for me. I'm so glad that some of us have had the courage to take control back and come here. I'm hoping for success and sending you positive vibes!!!2
-
Thank you so much for your fantastic post. I left WW yesterday and am feeling sad and disappointed in myself. Did I make the right decision? Am I giving up on myself? BUT, I can't continue to pay for a program that I'm gaining weight on. I was eating so much every day because it was free, and it was counterproductive for me. I'm so glad that some of us have had the courage to take control back and come here. I'm hoping for success and sending you positive vibes!!!
If you are switching to another program like mfp from ww, I don't see it as giving up on yourself. If the program was not a good fit for you and did not work for you, it is a rational choice to try something else. Good luck on your mfp journey.4
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 394 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 941 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions