WW vs MFP/Counting Calories- Please help!

To answer a question no one has addressed, yes, your calories and macros could be off.

What are your stats and what is your calorie goal? It could be you're trying to lose weight too quickly and it's making you hungry.

Macros are a matter of personal preference and most people come to find out which mix suits them best by experimentation, but they are important for a few reasons.

Protein is important because many people find it satiating and because it helps preserve muscle while dieting. Dieters need more than average people. The normal recommendations given by the FDA are for healthy weight sedentary individuals, not active dieters. Dieters need at least .65 - .85 grams per pound of their ideal body weight in protein daily.

Fat is important, especially for females for optimal hormone function. Many vitamins are also fat soluble. The lowest recommended fat intake is .35 grams per pound of ideal body weight, but females usually do better with .45.

The rest of your calories? Well, they can be "spent" however you find best suits your hunger preferences. Carbs, fats, more protein.

Regarding motivation: keep trying hard to find your why. Once you really, truly know your why, you'll find it easy to work on establishing the habits necessary to stay focused on the task before you.

Sometimes it's helpful to view things a different way, and this is what WW "points" do. That being said, MFP can be your ally for life (and for free ... premium membership isn't necessary in my experience). Since you find yourself not being able to sustain your current deficit, try making the deficit smaller to where it is sustainable, and look at the content of your diet to see if it can be tweaked to be more filling. Good luck!

mezchick wrote: »

@GottaBurnEmAll thanks! My current breakdown that I’m supposed to do for 2 straight weeks is 1498 calories - 150g P, 112g C, 50g F - that was calculated from my nutritionist. I can’t get 2 good weeks in. I get hungry by day 4 or 5. With WW I had extra points per week I could use to splurge one time or use on days I had more hunger. I wasn’t eating the right things though and got stuck in a plateau (0 point foods killed me - bananas, etc.) So mentally I’ve been going back and forth trying to decide. It’s hard! Haha

That's pretty high protein, just okay fat and low carb. No wonder you're starving.

Just so you know, nutritionists aren't really all that reliable when it comes to nutrition info, so it's okay to ignore the one you're seeing now. It doesn't take much to get certified as a nutritionist.

What are your current stats? Is that calorie level even appropriate for you?

PokeyBug wrote: »

Here's a little tip that has helped me immensely with the hungries: leave enough calories at the end of the day to have a cup of oatmeal with 4 tbsp sugar free syrup. 333 calories, and it keeps me from wanting to eat all the things. (I was a notorious midnight snacker, so I have my oatmeal around 10:00 pm.)

As for the macros, don't worry about those, unless you're a body builder. Seriously, it sounds like you are starving your body of the essential micronutrients, vitamins, or minerals in your quest to meet your micros. Just focus on eating a healthy diet with good protein, lots of veggies, less processed stuff. Whether you choose to count calories or use WW, don't drive yourself nuts by adding keeping track of macros to the mix.

Macros in terms of complying with them to the gram is pointless.

However, the right mix of them is important for most people to pinpoint in finding out what best satiates them.

Your satiating oatmeal might not satisfy someone else. That's the point of worrying about macros.

I use the Weight Watchers healthy guidelines for the backbone of what I choose to eat. I try hard most days to get the correct number of servings of each food group but track calories in mfp. I have found that my macros coincide with the recommended percentages in mfp as a result. Recently I have been looking at the DASH diet to support a family member who is struggling with high blood pressure. I found it very interesting that the guidelines are extremely similar to what weight watchers recommends. If you feel you need the support offered by weight watchers meetings or coaching it is s great choice. The only reason I am not a member at this juncture is financial.

Are you eating back at least half your exercise calories on top of those base calories? If not, then you are probably not eating enough. That’s why you are starving.

WW will only work if you eat at a calorie deficit reguarless of how many points you have to eat. I hated WW. It was too restrictive and not flexible with what I was allowed to eat.

You can also “bank” calories with MFP. Eat 100 less a day and then eat 600 more on Saturday Or 150 less a day and get 900 more in Saturday.

Just wandering which plan you were following when you successfully lost 20lb, as that would give you a good starting point, this time. Do you have a record of what foods you were eating then & how much, to use as a guide. Seeing your post, I wanted to explain what worked for me, when I found myself in a similar situation. Hoping it may help you also.

I had been using WW's smart points and had hit a plateau. I was really struggling to lose any further weight. Then I found mfp and used it as a tool, alongside WW's at first. Since switching to calorie counting alone, I have been successful and I've not looked back. The reason for mentioning this is because your story is similar to mine. I tracked both ways for a while, then transitioned onto mfp only. As I had finally found what worked for me. I'll try to explain;

You mention you have been using either mfp or weight watchers, switching between the two. Explaining where you falter on each of the plans, for different reasons and ask for help to choose.

While tracking on MFP you aim for a daily target of 1,488 calories. But after a few days you falter due to hunger, which then causes binges and undoes all your hard work.

But using weight watchers no longer works either, because of so called "free foods". Which if following that plan you can and do eat as much as you want, if chosing from the "free food" list. Hence no hunger or binges, but your body still counts the additional calories, they are not really free. Your consuming more and hence the stall/increase in weight.

I would suggest to combine both for a month or two. Follow your diet plan, according to weight watchers, but also log each day here on mfp. This will show you how many calories you are actually eating on the WW's plan, rather than just points.

Then after a couple of weeks you can compare your actual data and work towards making small adjustments, while building new healthy habits. Finding your calorie sweet spot (between weight loss/maintenance/gain. It means a little more work tracking both short term, but well worth it.

As an example, you track calories consumed while using WW and find you average 2,100 calories per day, if counting points. On MFP, you struggle when aiming for 1,500 calories per day, then find it impossible and end up off plan. By combining both, you will see your calorie averages and any weight changes. You could use this as a starting point, then try to aim for the middle ground ie 1,800 calories per day.