Weight watchers back to mfp?

jbheller14 · March 2018

Has anyone else found the new WW plan Freestyle not working and went back to counting calories with MFP?

rainbowblu · March 2018

I use WW just for the meetings,it's just easier to track here-their database is awful...

rainbowblu · March 2018

What don't you like about freestyle?

rkinaz · March 2018

I tried WW Freestyle for about a month and didn't care for it. I have cancelled my online-only membership and returned to MFP. For me, the expanded list of zero-point foods isn't enough of a plus to warrant the cost of the program. Also, I agree that their database leaves a lot to be desired.

lisabobczuk · March 2018

I find their database is rubbish. Hardly finds anything, so have to mess about with inputting it.
I just can't see how they can call it 0 food because everything has a calorie.
Also certain members on there are always trending, for stupid stuff.

newheavensearth · March 2018

A lot of members are pushing for the option of counting macros and calories along with points for health and athletic performance reasons. Will it happen? Most likely not.

I understand the push to clean eating, but the plan itself resulted in a boring, repetitive, restricted eating style that led to binging, and hypoglycemic attacks from not though fuel for my workouts.

haylzcov80 · March 2018

I joined ww 4 weeks ago, and at first it was great I lost 4lbs in the first week, then it just slowed to a stop and I was bored and hungry! I started tracking on mfp and ww to find I was way over my sp’s but way under 1200 Cals! For me it’s just not healthy to be hungry, miserable and not eating enough calories so my metabolism is slower! I am going to cancel my plan and just stick with mfp and my Fitbit!

barbiescruggs932 · March 2018

I cancelled and have just been counting calories. There are no free foods that you can eat all you want. I ended up so bloated and miserable from all the beans.

jenniferderek7901 · March 2018

I lost 80 lbs on Weight Watchers in 2015. The next year I gained some back during pregnancy. I went back on it in 2017 and lost about 40 but when Freestyle came out, I gave it a couple months and I plateaued and then even put on a little. I started tracking in MFP and WW and realized there were days I went over my smartpoints but was under 1,000 calories. Weight Watchers just wasn't working for my body anymore. I've been tracking with MFP now exclusively and I'm seeing results

eebonyfeaster878 · March 2018

I’m on WW now. It was good for 4 weeks, now at a stand still. Started using MFP yesterday and counted my calories and already had 2 pounds fall off. I’m cancelling

dhiammarath · March 2018

I lost about 100lbs using MFP (My success story is floating around here somewhere. I went from an 18/20 to a 4/6). I was very near my goal, then I had some health problems and I had to readjust the way I thought about food. (Had to go gluten-free due to celiac as well as discovering a number of food allergies). The problem was that I had calorie counting "fatigue" in a sense that I was like "Oh I know how much that is!". So I wanted to shock myself into being accountable for something and so I picked a different program. I used Weight Watchers for about a year, and it worked.

I've gotten a lot of things under control now, and I want to finish and achieve my goal. So I started up WW again and I realized that with the new points and free food that it was more low-carb centric than ever. I have nothing against a low-carb diet, but that's not for me. (I'm a very picky eater XD).

So last week, I shored up my willpower and started diligently tracking again, not letting myself do the "Oh but I know how many calories that is" math in my head. (I am very good with numbers so the math never let me down, but I am even better at lying to myself).

I think, in the end, I will probably swap back to MFP entirely and cancel Weight Watchers. It's a good program, and it DID help me. My friend is using it (which is how I got involved) and she's losing weight consistently.

I have so few things I can eat on top of so few things I LIKE to eat that I need a bit more flexibility in how I track my intake. WW's points are pretty high for carb-based food, which created a storm of hunger for me and thus I would end up eating more calories than I should.

Right now, I'm tracking with both, but that isn't sustainable. XD Tracking in ONE app is arduous enough.

Jimb376mfp · March 2018

I started WW 2013 after many many times. I lost weight at WW at times but never changed my Lifestyle so always gained it back,

This time I did not quit! I lost weight with three different WW plans: Points Plus Values, Smart Points and now Freestyle.

They keep changing to make it “easier” BUT you still have to do the work, January I gained 3.8# because I ate too much Zero Point turkey chili and beans!

The common sense of Zero Points has to be realistic and learn that healthy is better to eat healthier BUT portions MUST be limited.

I’m sooo close that I will continue to use Freestyle just to learn and eat healthier and limit the beans! LoL

SW 376 (2013 age 65)
CW 185 (2018 age70)
GW 184

whathapnd · March 2018

I'm a lapsed WW Lifetime member. I lost 30 pounds with PointsPlus and pretty easily kept it off for two years. I was eating Simply Filling Technique,mainly intuitively, during maintenance. When I regained some and went back to tracking the program was Smartpoints, and I hated it because I was always hungry and out of points. I definitely like Freestyle better because it feels similar to Simply Filling Technique. That said, I find myself frequently cross tracking in MFP for the same reason others have said - - out of points but way under calories. The WW database may not be robust, but I find the MFP one overwhelming.

So long story, if you ate Simply Filling Technique, you probably won't hate Freestyle as much as others, but will need to either trust yourself to eat more when you're out of points or cross track calories in MFP. Because I have a lot of food data/recipes in WW app, I'm sticking with it, for now. But the out of points/way under calories issue is a big deal.

fatgirlvsgym · March 2018

I lost the first 10lb on ww.... but when I started lifting weights and being serious about it, I needed the macros!

Zero point life was making me so dizzy and miserable.

I still pay for ww and go to the meetings which I like to keep myself accountable.

Down 25lbs now so hybrid method seems to be working!

vivianlcoots62 · March 2018

I’m a lifetime ww member but I overeat the “free” foods. I’m much more accountable with MFP

victorious55 · March 2018

jbheller14 wrote: »

Has anyone else found the new WW plan Freestyle not working and went back to counting calories with MFP?

Why is it not working? What don't you like?
I am a lifetime member of WW for the pass 8 yrs. I lost roughly 50lbs and have kept it off for the past 8 yrs. When I joined WW, it was just Points (banana was 2pts). Then it was PP where banana and other fruits were zero. Then Smart Points, now FreeStyle, more zero points items. I have used each of these methods and lost weight or maintain weight. I like the support and accountability system.
I am here because of my friend, to encourage her. I like the fact that I can validate the things I am doing in WW with MFP.

I have learned many things over these years. Here are some things I have learned in this journey...

I need to know my myself, and my triggers because this is a life journey and a lifestyle. It is okay.
Loose and maintain weight for myself (nobody will do that for me).
I need to be classy and selective of the items that get into my body. Treat my body with dignity.
Not to throw away my money by giving it to big corporations in exchange for their sicking/unhealthy food. They get rich with my money and I get sick with their food items. (not wise )
Review the way I was eating and decide what works and what does not work. For example before WW, I was a fruit lover. I could eat only fruits for the whole day (yet I was fat! ). Therefore, though fruits like banana are zero points, I know I should not eat more than 1 in a day.
Beans is zero but how much can I eat? The fact that a food item is zero does not mean that I should hurt myself with that food item. Zero points is not equal to zero calories.
You need to make any program available to you work for you with wisdom.

PorfforBat · March 2018

I couldn't get my head around it. And the meetings seemed a bit lacking. I actually gained in the 4 months I was a member. So here I am.

RussellAMagni · March 2018

I just joined WW... and it's working... but I like the community on mfp so I'm going to do both not necessarily track calories but I'm going to use the community here cuz people here are awesome and this is way better then the way they have that setup... but since the freestyle points system is working for me I'm going to stick with that

mm3harris · March 2018

I joined WW 1/8/2018 with the incentive plan of losing 10 lbs by 3/8/18 to earn 2 free months. As of today I lost 9.6 lbs. I called WW today and informed them how hard it was to lose weight on their plan. My question was "how do they determine the points for each person"? I exercised 6 times per week(Zumba, Zumba Toning, Advanced Step, BodyPump and walk 3 miles at least 1 day per week) and the most I lost was .4 lbs in a week. Therefore, the plan points were more of a maintenance plan at best. Without the exercise I gained weight. So, I went to a 1000-1200 calorie plan on my own just to see the results and have lost 6.4 in the last 1 1/2 of my 90 days on WW. But, WW taught me to really be selective about the foods I eat. I found this plan because counting calories seems to work better for me. WW really does work for some. Also, I was told I have until 3/22/18 to meet the 10 lb goal!

bethypoobah · March 2018

I started WW prior to the Smartpoints and lost weight rapidly. Then came SmartPoints and I struggled. They were very carb unfriendly (carbs=more points in food). When Freestyle rolled out, I couldn't do it. I have difficulty understanding how beans are FREE foods. They also decreased daily points based on the FREE foods. I am on Jenny Craig now. Lots of delicious foods but very expensive. I do like the 1:1 counseling as I was never a group person.

1229swansong · March 2018

I left WW because I know that I would overeat the free stuff. MFP keeps me more accountable. I have lost more on MFP than any other meal plan. The trick for me is learning how to keep it off.

KF2018 · March 2018

I just reverted back to MFP last week following a few weeks on Weightwatchers, I'm struggling anyway at the moment but thought I'd give WW's a go, something different, something new. Firstly I was always hungry, then told I shouldn't eat my fitpoints, then last week out of curiosity I counted the calories of the foods I had eaten that day....WW's claimed I had gone over my 6 smart points but I actually only had 903 calories that day which I thought couldn't be healthy. I only got 23SP per day but to go over by 6sp and only have had 903 calories, how does that work? Needless to say I cancelled my membership and came back to MFP.

MartySue41 · March 2018

I really want WW to work. I lost 80+ pounds on WW in the early 2000s on the original points plan and kept it off for several years. Unfortunately, after IVF, baby, etc. I gained it back and honestly haven't worked hard to get it off. I tried the new plan, and like others I thought I liked it but it got super boring and I started eating what I want. So, I'm here giving this a go. I'm just not sure if my calories/macros are legit here. I'll give it a week or two and then see if I need to tweak anything. I've got a long way to go.

dsboohead · March 2018

MartySue41 wrote: »

I really want WW to work. I lost 80+ pounds on WW in the early 2000s on the original points plan and kept it off for several years. Unfortunately, after IVF, baby, etc. I gained it back and honestly haven't worked hard to get it off. I tried the new plan, and like others I thought I liked it but it got super boring and I started eating what I want. So, I'm here giving this a go. I'm just not sure if my calories/macros are legit here. I'll give it a week or two and then see if I need to tweak anything. I've got a long way to go.

Yup...I too was on ww in the late 80's and early 90's and the program was food exchanges. I lost 88lbs and loved it!
Gained back thru life changes and tried points...never resonated with me.
Mfp does resonate and I am making good headway! AND ITS FREE!!!

dsboohead · March 2018

Also love mfp database and scanner!

gracejks01 · March 2018

I was on weight watchers loved the idea of eating clean and not having to track as much however when I tracked In mfp I was consistently eating way too low calories 700-900

mztamaraann · March 2018

I really enjoyed WW. The meetings kept me accountable and the point system is much easier than counting macros. I had a 6 month introductory special, and it's up at the end of March. As much as I like WW the full price of the program with meetings is too much, and the full price for online only doesn't make sense.

I'm happy that I have a month to make the transition though. I missed MFP. The community and the platform are way more engaging.

bfanny · March 2018

I’m a Lifetime member, but I don’t like Freestyle it’s supposed to be freeing and I feel it more restrictive than ever it’s like I’m being punished if I’m not eating from “the list” which I rarely do so for now I track cals, I like how it works with my Fitbit and that I can be on top of my Macros

So lucky to be at goal but I’m not risking it!!!

akelliher7 · March 2018

I just download mfp app again after bombing on freestyle. I’m just stuck and playing with same old pounds. Your post was the first I saw. Looking to make connections and friends too

Mountainlove · March 2018

I lost 25lbs on WW in 2012. The plan at the time was PointsPlus. After about 2/3 years the weight started creeping back up (15lbs). I tried getting back into the new WW plans, but somehow just couldn't get back on track. I've only started on MFP last week but so far, it's working - I lost a little over 1 lb this week.

rcalloway03 · March 2018

haylzcov80 wrote: »

I joined ww 4 weeks ago, and at first it was great I lost 4lbs in the first week, then it just slowed to a stop and I was bored and hungry! I started tracking on mfp and ww to find I was way over my sp’s but way under 1200 Cals! For me it’s just not healthy to be hungry, miserable and not eating enough calories so my metabolism is slower! I am going to cancel my plan and just stick with mfp and my Fitbit!

I was also hungry and miserable and not eating enough calories, even though I was using all of my points and was making smart choices (lean protein, veggies, fruits, very low carb). I was losing weight but it wasn't a lifestyle I could sustain. MFP works so much better for me!

Weight watchers back to mfp?

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