How does MFP compare to Weight Watchers?

bgarrant · July 2018

I have been trying WW for a while now and while it works OK I have been wanting to try MFP also. How do they compare for Weight Loss? I want to lose about 70lbs overall. I have created my profile and all is setup but looking to hear any success stories. Does it work?

sab53 · July 2018

MFP definitely works. WW is just calories management based on a points system. MFP does all the work for you and you can actually learn about nutrition as you go if you pay attention to the nutrition information in addition to the calories. Also MFP is free. Big bonus for me. Haha!

seska422 · July 2018

Everything for weight loss comes down to consuming fewer calories than your body uses.

Weight Watchers tries to get you there by having some "free" foods that they would prefer you eat and charging points for other foods. They charge a lot of points for foods they want to steer you away from eating.

MFP tracks the calories and macros so that you can find a balance that works for you as far as nutrition and satiation. You get to decide if you can work a calorie-dense food into your day and, if so, how much of it will fit with your calorie plan. Sometimes you may feel that it's worth it to "spend" the calories and sometimes not. I aim for 80% of my calories from nutrient-dense foods and 20% treats.

I started MFP in early 2015. I've lost ~145 pounds and been maintaining for a while now.

NextPage · July 2018

Both are good and I just joined WW (50 percent off July 1 sale) and this doesn't mean anything is wrong with MFP. I am just the "belt and suspenders" type. I love MFP forums, nutrition info, and my MFP friend's support. However, the weekly WW weigh-ins and meetings are a psychological motivator for me. I say, whatever gets you where you want to be.

jlsmith4439 · July 2018

Ww did not work with me due the free foods nothing is free of calories ever .

amusedmonkey · July 2018

WW tries to steer you away from higher calorie foods (and some not so high-calorie ones, which I find questionable) but it's not always successful at helping people eat fewer calories. WW only works if it helps you eat fewer calories and if you find it sustainable. Some people can overeat on free foods and not lose weight, other people may find themselves undereating because they don't like many of the free foods. The good thing is that you don't need to think too much about what you eat because the pattern is already laid down for you. You also get meetings, which many like for accountability and support.

MFP has a steep learning curve for some people. You would have to learn how to pick the right goal for you, how to choose correct entries, how to weigh food, how weight fluctuates, how to build a balanced diet, how to eat back your exercise calories...etc. Nothing is pre-planned for you. What's great about it is that once you've learned how to use it you get to build your diet specifically for you customized to your needs. You get to make choices that fill you up, choices that make you happy, and choices that make dieting easier for you without having to follow eat any specific way or follow someone else's rules unless you want to. You're fully in charge of what you want to do and how you do it, which is results sets you up better for maintaining weight since you're establishing patterns that fit your own life.

For me, personally, I like MFP. I like the freedom of choice that comes with it and I like how I don't have to put my life on hold while losing weight. I'm down 112 pounds so far.

solieco1 · July 2018

I found WW messes with my mind. The benefit I'm finally really embracing is that food is just that. It's not free or bad or any of the other emotionally charged words. I'm finding that MFP requires that I be accountable to me for my health and that's making a big difference.

Edit: I read @amusedmonkey 's entry after I commented. Yeah...what she said much more elegantly.

gina31love · July 2018

I've done both and they both work in their own way. I like MFP better because basic plan is free. However I like WW due to meetings, and point system is pretty easy to catch on. As other people said, it's pretty much up to you on what you prefer. I've lost more weight on WW only because i stuck with it longer. But once they changed their point system a few years ago and gave you more "free" foods I didn't loose. So MFP and another free app worked best for me now.

kcmkkj · July 2018

jlsmith4439 wrote: »

Ww did not work with me due the free foods nothing is free of calories ever .

I just quit ww freestyle. I only lost the very first week aka “water”. Free doesn’t mean zero calories and even tho I did not overeat. I ate enough of the “free” stuff to stay the same. I couldn’t do it anymore. I felt all over the place. I need the structure straight forward approach. MFP is the best! I’m back to losing weight and excited.

kristingjertsen · July 2018

I have had success with both. I lost 56 pounds with WW 7 years ago. Got me eating healthier food, taught me that diets don't work but lifestyle changes do, and gave me a support system at a time when I was really struggling with my weight. When I regained 25 pounds, I started using MFP. It is free, easy to use, and helps me stay very aware of just how many calories I am eating, how well I am exercising, and what works to continue successful weight loss. Down 10 pounds so far since I began at the end of January with 15 to go.

kroe4 · July 2018

I've found more success with MFP. I've done WW in the past, the meetings were nice and having to weigh in every week in front of someone else gave me a good reason to stay on track.

But MFP is FREE and the only person that holds you accountable is YOU. I've lost 69 lbs so far on MFP and I love it. On MFP I pay attention to things like carbs, proteins and sodium vs on WW where I just counted the points (calories.)

If your motivated and able to dedicate yourself to logging everyday, MFP is perfect.

Diatonic12 · July 2018

I can't follow someone else's menu plans. The weigh-ins were a mind warp. I felt like I was at the feed lot getting ready to walk down the chute for processing. I dreaded the meetings and weigh-ins. I come from a long line of WW lifers, decades of them. So I opened my eyes and took a good hard look for those who'd reached the zenith, apex and pinnacle of life long maintenance from the top of the heap to the bottom and I walked out the door.

changeconsumeme · July 2018

It’s free, and it doesn’t penalize you for eating fat/carbs.

jdubois5351 · July 2018

I just looked at the current WW free foods list, and I can guarantee you, I wouldn't lose a single pound. Chicken breast? Bananas? Cherries? Corn? Seriously? Almost all fishes .... holy crap, don't they realize how many CALORIES that stuff has??? I just ate 70 g of smoked salmon, and that's a whopping 262 calories for a really small portion. How are you supposed to lose weight if you can stuff yourself with these free foods?

sruv · July 2018

So much helpful information, thank you! I have been back and forth for MANY years with both MFP and WW and have also met 1:1 with nutritionists and even studied nutrition. I have so many food "behaviors" (though I'm betting most of us do!) and am now considering weight loss surgery. Getting ready for this decision, I am giving MFP another "go" to get me back on track. I did also join WW, thinking that going to meetings would help with accountability, but based upon everyone's input and awareness of my own behaviors, I KNOW that I would be one of the ones overeating "free foods"! on the WW program! Plus, 9 points for a 150 calorie small McDonald's ice cream cone?!! C'mom - that's just mean!! Thanks again, and so inspired by those of you posting here who have lost weight on your own. It's been a real battle for me, especially during last 10 years as arthritis is impacting my participation in sports that I once loved.
I need to lose 70 pounds.

gainer39911 · July 2018

One of the most significant challenges using MFP is to get accurate nutritional information for your food diary. The database is full of inaccurate and conflicting information. For example, search the database for "pork chop". You will find a listing for Walmart that gives 140 calories for a 4 oz chop. It also lists a Stop and Shop 4 oz pork chop for 220 calories. Both of these are checkmarked meaning that the macronutrient information agrees with the calorie listing (not that they have been checked for accuracy). Why the difference? Both chops are shown as having 23 g of protein, but the Walmart chop has 5 g of fat while the Stop and Shop has 14. The data for the Walmart chop are in good agreement with one USDA database listing for a raw pork chop, the Stop and Shop listing in in better agreement with another USDA listing. Which one do you log? Also, are the pork chops listed raw or cooked? It's not always specified in the database entry. Is the weight of the meat only or meat and bone? What if you trim off some fat? I don't know if WW is more accurate, but it may be more consistent. That said, I have used MFP to lose 60 lb, from 210 to 150 by carefully checking entries against the USDA database. So, it can be done, but be a rigorous as possible in verifying the entries in your food diary.

goodreadsgal · July 2018

Wow great input. I am at the crossroads of deciding between MFP and WW

jlsmith4439 · July 2018

kcmkkj wrote: »

jlsmith4439 wrote: »

Ww did not work with me due the free foods nothing is free of calories ever .

I just quit ww freestyle. I only lost the very first week aka “water”. Free doesn’t mean zero calories and even tho I did not overeat. I ate enough of the “free” stuff to stay the same. I couldn’t do it anymore. I felt all over the place. I need the structure straight forward approach. MFP is the best! I’m back to losing weight and excited.

Well done ! Took me 3 months to finally quit ww since I was hoping it work but like you said it’s so easy to mess about with when you eat “ free” stuff . I also used to do sw and lost 5 stone ( 3 back on) but again I started to overeat on “ free” I think MFP is reality and I need that smack In the face from time to time seeing what a pig I can be 😂

elizawho48 · July 2018

I lost 30 while on WW but plateaued when Freestyle rolled out. I hung in there for 6 weeks but the scale wouldn’t budge. I started dual tracking on MFP and found I was netting 750 calories daily on 23 points, with eating all my weeklies AND my Fitpoints (full disclosure I manually entered exercise only so maybe 4 per day). That was it. MFP turned on the light to show me what my diet truly looked like. I’m a type 2 diabetic on insulin so the hard data in macros that MFP gives me (I paid for premium - which is equal $ to 2 months of WW meetings - premium groups my macros per meal) is extremely helpful with insulin dosing. The database and program itself can’t be beat. Always frustrated me that WW - that you pay for - can’t make their tracking program better.

I still have 20 lbs to go; I am choosing to take this slower and play with numbers and see what works best for me. Not only where I lose, but where I feel best at. I’ve found those are two different numbers entirely.

I will echo the sentiments of another MFP poster who said MFP levels the playing field in terms of making all food choices the same - whereas for me, WW really fed into my “good food/bad food” disordered thinking.

Another key reason that I use MFP over WW is because every time I’ve tried to return to WW, it feels like a diet. Not sustainable for life for me. I’ve already failed WW once, 15 years ago when I lost 25 lbs and gained it all back. I am NOT doing that again - so MFP for the win 😉

walking2running · July 2018

The way I see it, MFP is THE Freestyle system for life, without the Woo of zero point foods. Plus, it's free.

New_Heavens_Earth · July 2018

I got tired of "The List". Eating from lists screams diet. I got tired of being rewarded with steady gains for working their program. I hated weigh ins by insensitive receptionists, and being accused of doing things wrong and flat out lying in front of other members about my exercise habits by leaders who weren't in such great shape themselves. My family stopped eating my cooking because to stay low point things got really bland. And I would look on sadly while they ate good stuff and I ate zero point dry chicken and salad.

That's what I don't like. The food and meeting aspect. But in terms of teaching psychological and emotional strategies toward eating, I like WW. I wish the plan focused more on that instead of restrict, restrict, restrict.

How does MFP compare to Weight Watchers?

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