Met my goal on Weight Watchers - Now What?

sorrell76
sorrell76 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 28 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I have been on Weight Watchers for nearly a year. I had also done Weight Watchers a couple of times before that. It always worked for me, but in the past I never kept it off. This last time, I only had about 15-20 pounds to lose. I did it, but it took me six months to meet my goal of 145 pounds. I have now stayed between 142-145 for five months. I have been tracking every day. Now that my one year anniversary of WW is coming up next month, I've been wondering if I should just keep doing what I'm doing, or if should I try to just move back to calorie counting. Calorie counting alone never really worked for weight loss for my, but maybe it will be okay for maintenance.

Last week I tracked on both my WW app and MFP to see how many calories I was eating. I averaged 1415 a day. My highest day was just under 1700 and my lowest was just under 1200. According to MFP, if I'm Lightly Active, I should be eating 1770 to maintain. While I would love to be eating 1770, I'm afraid that I will gain weight if I eat that much. At the same time I was a little shocked that some of my days were so low in calories. I used all of my points for the week including my weeklies (the extra points you get to use throughout the week). On the last day, I actually went over by a few points.

WW helped me to learn some healthy habits and after 11 months they have truly become habits. I focus on high protein foods, eat lots of fruits, veggies, beans, etc. I eat almost no processed foods and do not use any nonnutritive sweeteners (no thanks to WW on that, but that's for another post!), but I also feel that WW has made me avoid certain foods I know are healthy like nuts. They're just not worth the points. I haven't had real peanut butter or a bowl of cereal in 11 months. I hardly drink milk anymore although I love it. I would like to bring some of those back into my diet in reasonable amounts.

So, I'm looking for some advice from people who were on WW who have successfully switched to calorie counting. Did you go with MFP's calorie count?

Replies

  • sorrell76
    sorrell76 Posts: 4 Member
    Yes, I've already maintained for 5 months. Looking for advice as to whether I should stay the course with WW or go back to calorie counting.
  • allisonlane161
    allisonlane161 Posts: 269 Member
    edited August 2018
    Same boat as you, nearly same stats, but I'm 56 years old. I find WW severely lacking when it comes to Lifetimers. I switched to calorie counting, and if I ate the 1700 daily, I know I would gain weight--in spite of my regular workout routine, including running. My 23 WW points can range, like yours, from under 1200 to nearly 2000. That's one of the reasons I moved toward calorie counting. I'd still like to lose, but I need more discipline on the weekends. I do still go to weekly WW meetings and weigh in once a month to maintain my free account as a Lifetime member.

    EDIT: I do go with MFP's calorie count--which is 1200 for me, but I eat back part of my exercise calories. Most days I exercise, and most days I consume between 1400 and 1500. If it were not for the weekends, I'd have met my rock-bottom goal weight by now, but turtle is fine too. I am six pounds under my WW goal weight and looking to do 14 more.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    sorrell76 wrote: »
    Yes, I've already maintained for 5 months. Looking for advice as to whether I should stay the course with WW or go back to calorie counting.

    if it ain't broke...

    but its entirely up to you!
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    While I have been using mfp alone, I can see the value in using it in combination with something else that teaches a healthy lifestyle could be useful; just as a sanity check to make sure the calories make sense. It would also allow you to add back in some of the things you love but "cost" too much in WW. I know that some people tend to "game the system" in WW with choices that have the highest calorie counts with the lowest points. It is a shame that points can cause you to exclude things you like. I eat cereal with almond milk because I actually prefer it over regular milk in cereal and a serving (usually 27-33g depending on which cereal) is usually in therange of 125 calories and 3 ounces of sweetened almond milk only takes it to about 150 calories, not even 10% of my daily allotment.
  • sorrell76
    sorrell76 Posts: 4 Member
    @allisonlane161, I'm online only, so I don't get any of the Lifetime perks. So now that you're just tracking calories, how many calories are you eating? Are you looking at anything else besides calories? I want to continue to keep my sugar low and my protein high. One of the things I liked about WW is the idea that they acknowledge that there are going to be higher calories/points days. I liked the weeklies because it forced me to be "good" during the week, so I could enjoy some higher calorie treats on the weekend (going out to eat, baking a dessert, etc). I think I can still do that on MFP by shooting for an average instead of maxing out that calorie count every day. I also did not eat my activity points on WW, so I probably will not eat those extra exercise calories from MFP either.
  • allisonlane161
    allisonlane161 Posts: 269 Member
    @sorrell76 I'm eating on average between 1400-1500 on days that I work out. The other days I'm between 1200-1300. But weekends I'm up near 1800 regularly. It's a bit of a lack of discipline on weekends, although they're not usually full-on pigouts. I look at my macros, sodium and sugar. My fat consumption on a daily basis is low, but weekends can make up for it and make my weekly numbers acceptable. WW I think mistakenly vilifies all fat. My protein is up near my carbs, but again, I do a lot of exercise during the week--mainly because I enjoy it but also obviously I like the results. I can seldom do under 1200 calories and 1200 is absolute rock bottom and I cannot sustain it daily. I'm a pretty healthy eater though, and my diary is open. I never ate my WW activity points. Oh, and I use a Fitbit Charge 2 which I think is decent on calorie burn estimation since it's linked to my heart bpm. Steps aren't that important to me.
  • sorrell76
    sorrell76 Posts: 4 Member
    edited August 2018
    @allisonlane161, yes on the fat! All fat isn't bad. Thank you for responding. It sounds like our food choices are pretty similar. I also use a Fitbit. I'm a teacher. I do not get a ton of steps during the school day, but I do circuit training 3 times a week and try to ride my bike a few times a week when the weather is decent.
  • 425Recess
    425Recess Posts: 275 Member
    I am (was) a long time Weight Watcher. I had maintained for 7 years then starting to lose. I was losing slowly and had IBS issues and moved to a FODMAP diet so wasn't worried about losing weight. But I kept losing and discovered that I was eating too few calories. The latest Flexplan of WW was just not for me. Sad because I loved WW and loved my buddies on Connect. Fortunately my nutritionist suggested MyFitnessPal. I need to count calories. Back to your question, maintenance really helped me, like I said, for years. It really got me into good eating habits. I found it very easy. Also, because I became a discipline eater going on the FODMAP diet was easy.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    While WW didn't work for me what did work was finding what I could live with for life. It sounds to me like WW has helped you create a new lifestyle and if that's working I would continue following the program. Perhaps you are wondering about continuing to pay for the online service? You have learned the plan at this point and you know what to do. Even if they change the program yiou don't need to change what you're doing. It works for you! You can find lots of online support here at MFP. If you want to save your money I would suggest dropping the WW committment and continuing the program on your own with moral support from MFP members. Either way congratulations on making your goal and maintaining!
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    If they didn't charge so much each month I'd go back to Weight Watchers. I actually lost really well on their plan. MFP I do lose but it's very, very slow. I would stay at WW and see if you can get lifetime there and that means you get the program free at that point or at least it used to. And WTG on the weight loss! Congrats!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    If you've been maintaining on WW for 5 months then you're doing just fine. Congrats :)
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