Counting Calories vs. Weight Watchers

Options
dixiebelleXO
dixiebelleXO Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
Hello all! I've counted calories in the past and I am currently on Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers is starting to get a little much for me (monetarily), so I decided I'm gonna try to count calories for a week and see if it works just as well for me as Weight Watchers did. So here I am, back at MFP for my second rodeo.

Has anyone ever been in the same situation as me, where they're transitioning from one weight loss program from another? I'm sort of scared to try it, but at the same time, I'm very open to change.

Thanks guys!
«1

Replies

  • shesonic80
    shesonic80 Posts: 13 Member
    Options
    My mom and I went through this. I like using sites like this because it's free and the weight watchers points system is not very cool to me. I like just being able to see hard facts and work from there. you can find accountability here too especially when you have to enter all of the foods you choose to eat and then sit back to see what it was.
  • SouLThinking
    SouLThinking Posts: 308 Member
    Options
    I currently am working up the ladder on carbs. I was doing low carb and now I'm watching calories and only eating good carbs. So it's a transition for me to now count calories not carbs ...although like i said I still eat moderate low carb but only good carbs.

    So yea it's tough but it can be done. Just make sure you know how many calories you SHOULD be eating. You need to make sure you don't eat less than 1200 per day.
  • sharoniballoni
    sharoniballoni Posts: 163 Member
    Options
    I haven't done Weight Watchers, but I know people who have and prefer MFP. MFP is a little more exact than the point system and it's free. You'll lose weight doing either of them correctly, so if WW is getting too spendy, MFP should be great for you. Good luck!
  • surfrgrl1
    surfrgrl1 Posts: 1,464 Member
    Options
    I've always been an avid calorie counter. I did WW for a period of time, and I was always trying to figure out how many calories my points equated to. Just anal I guess. But anyway, mfp has made it so much easier to keep track I can't imagine ever trying to track it any other way.
  • Stuartm1
    Stuartm1 Posts: 101 Member
    Options
    Weight Watchers is a diet plan which advises you to eat certain foods and for me doesn't really have a methodoligy on how to maintain when you reach a target.

    MFP is an aid to a lifestyle change where you can still eat the food you have always eaten but in smaller quantities and associated with excercise whch can allow you to eat more if you want to but it's your choice.

    That said what suits one doesn't suit another they both fork for some and not others . I know which I prefer MFP works for me and it doesn't cost me :-)
  • anjelyc23
    anjelyc23 Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    I've done both and I know that WW can get pricey. I guess the only perks is that fact that you get to meet others on the same journey and share stories. I have heard some people say if they know someone else is going to see the scale it motivates them more. So really I think it's whatever your preference is. Good luck!
  • seal57
    seal57 Posts: 1,259 Member
    Options
    I tried weight watchers and couldn't get the hang of the points system......

    I'm loving it here cause I don't see it has a diet....MFP does all the calorie counting for you..You just choose the foods you want to eat and MFP does the rest.....

    I'm loving this site....I've been here 2 weeks and have lost 1.7kilos... Which is just over 3 pounds......
  • Summer_Rose
    Summer_Rose Posts: 24
    Options
    I'm combining both plans and it's awesome, instead of counting points I count calories allowing 1200 to 1400 cals a day, also eating fruits and non starchy veggies as "free"foods.
  • mfpchris
    mfpchris Posts: 279 Member
    Options
    It was recommended to me to go to WW. They do get rave reviews from Consumer Reports and others. I investigated and came to the conclusion that WW products are just for additional profit, WW points are a sort of simplified method of calories counting, and meetings/weigh-ins are a way of incorporating the power of peer-support. I decided not to join WW and instead came here and worked as hard as I can to accurately count my calories, and I've also gone through many many sort of flakey folks but now I have a good core of maybe ten people that are with me, and I am with them.

    I made up my own WW-like program here on MFP and it is working for me. In all honesty though I never actually did join and experience WW as a member, I just investigated it and came to some conclusions.
  • lauristewart
    lauristewart Posts: 379 Member
    Options
    I did WW last year and couldn't lose a lb!! I think it is the fact they say fruits are free now.....how can you eat 5 bananas in a day and not count it? I am doing much better here! It is free, and you can still make sure you get your fruits and veggies in...along with your healthy yogurts and healthy carbs in......Good Luck!
  • Gemini_at_36
    Gemini_at_36 Posts: 207
    Options
    Yes, been there, done that. I lost 78 pounds on weight watchers but started with stomach problems and the food cost......Eating healthy is expensive but I think it's less then when buying weight watchers items. I couldn't maintain weight watchers and I'm trying again, this time with a long term plan -- gastric bypass...But still I'm hoping to weigh 240 when I have surgery. I weighed yesterday and the scale said 266.2. My point is that success is possible with both. What matters is long term and what you can stick with longterm. :flowerforyou:
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    Options
    The Weight Watchers Point system is based on calorie/fat/fiber content of foods. It can be equally successful if you do it right and stick to it. Personally, counting calories is easier for me. In addition, I like MFP because I can adjust the percentages of where my calories come from to match my own dietary needs. This isn't something you can do very easily with weight watchers. Also, the price of WW seems ridiculous to me.

    If WW is working for you and you don't mind paying for it, then keep doing it. Whatever works, right?!

    Also, not all fruits are free in the WW points system. Bananas, for example, are 2 points.
  • Lesliecs
    Lesliecs Posts: 930 Member
    Options
    I've also done WW and lost over 30 lbs while counting points. It just got so tiresome trying to figure out points for this and points for that, what I could and couldn't eat... so I stopped....... and promptly gained it all back.

    I love MFP! For one thing, it's free! It does everything the WW online site did and for me, it's much easier counting calories. I don't feel like I have to plan ahead all the time for everything. I've lost 11 lbs. in one month using MFP and I log into my diary faithfully. That's one of the big keys I think.

    With that being said.... it's your preference. What works for me, doesn't necessarily work for someone else. I wish you luck with whatever you choose to do! :happy:
  • dixiebelleXO
    dixiebelleXO Posts: 3
    Options
    so that's working for you? because i was trying to find a way to combine the two, but i wasn't sure how.
  • sweetness48
    sweetness48 Posts: 61
    Options
    I lost the majority of my weight with WW but found as you, it was getting to be a cost I couldn't manage to swing anymore. Before I cancelled my subscription, I compared my "points" and what I tracked on WW and found it was pretty much the same calorie/points wise. BUT with MFP I can keep track of my carbs, protein, fat and so on. I've lost weight with both but MFP is F-R-E-E and a great website so it wins out!
  • nerak3401
    nerak3401 Posts: 43 Member
    Options
    I did two rounds of WW and now I'm now watching calories on MFP. It took a while to get the points values of food out of my head when I started. I didn't want to be a slave to a stupid point system for the rest of my life! I think counting calories is just so much easier than worrying about looking up points values and having to carry around a calculator all of the time.
  • purpledragon6785
    purpledragon6785 Posts: 5 Member
    Options
    I've done both Weight Watchers and counting calories and watching fat and carb intake. I lost 40 lbs on weight watchers several years ago so the program certainly works. I stopped using it before they changed the points system so I can't speak to the new points plus program. I do think that there is a lot more accountability in the calorie counting method. I wanted an actual lifestyle change and while I know people that have used WW for a number of years, it seems more like a diet to me and less like a new way of eating. I am having a lot of success with mfp and I feel very comfortable with tracking calories and excercise.
  • hoosiermama1977
    hoosiermama1977 Posts: 43
    Options
    I prefer w.w. - I like that you have the accountability and the fact that you are encouraged to spend your points on fruits, veggies, lean proteins etc.. with points plus. I really like that you don't have to log most fruits and veggies it REALLY encourages me to eat more of them!!! Otherwise I was eating more processed stuff just because counting the calories was easier (I'm not near my p.c. all the time). However, I like MFP as a way to track my exercise, weight etc.. and the friends here. I guess I like the combo best. I feel like a lot of my life is "online" and it's nice to go and see real people at w.w.! Not that you all aren't REAL lol but you know what i mean!
  • conchita962
    conchita962 Posts: 327 Member
    Options
    SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!! MFP is better if you ask me and FREE FREE FREE! Use the money you would have spent on something fitness related !!!
  • ThinnerBren
    ThinnerBren Posts: 7
    Options
    I just joined MFP a few days ago. I have done WW in the past and had success on it, but I was like you and didn't need the extra expense. So I cancelled my WW membership to save money.

    I have several friends that love MFP so I decided to try it. It does feel strange to be looking mainly @ calories instead of fiber/fat/protein. But you can still watch your percentages of those things and it is much easier to log.

    I love the barcode scanner on my mobile app. It makes it so easy to log a lot of what I eat.

    So with that...I wish us both luck with the transition. :)

Categories