Calorie counting versus sw or ww

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BeccaColliesBurton
BeccaColliesBurton Posts: 79 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Sorry this has probably been done to death. I've been pi&&ing around at slimming world as my sis and mum think it's marvelous. I have tried with mixed efforts and with mixed enthusiasm. About three months losing and putting on the same few pounds over and over. The way I've lost weight in the past has been calorie counting.
I have a lot going on health and fatigue wise and maybe it's just not the right time for dieting, it's been such a struggle. I've just recently paid for another twelve weeks of sw only to acknowledge I really don't feel committed to it. I'm torn as I'm struggling to stick to anything and I don't want to just pile weight on. I like the flexibility of calorie counting. I need to somehow find some self worth and prioritise my needs. Rather a ramble...
Any thoughts?

Replies

  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
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    I would definitely say that if you understand the process and principle behind calorie counting that programmes such as Weight Watchers or Slimming World are only going to frustrate you! Their various incarnations of ‘syn free’ or ‘free foods’ or whatever they’re calling them currently are just nonsense if you understand the physics of calories in/calories out.

    Have some faith and trust in yourself and stick to what you know makes sense to you! You know that you can make your weight loss work with calorie counting so do what you know works!

    Best of luck to you!
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    Weight comes down to to the simple concept of calorie balance. Eat more calories than you use and that energy will be stored as body fat. Eat fewer calories than you use and your body will draw on that stored body fat to make up the deficit.

    All programs like WW and SW do is take the very concept, obscure it behind some convoluted program, package it up and sell it to consumers. And since you're only being taught their program and not the underlying concept as soon as you stop paying them money the weight will likely come back which ensures them repeat business and more of your money.

  • BeccaColliesBurton
    BeccaColliesBurton Posts: 79 Member
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    Danp wrote: »
    Weight comes down to to the simple concept of calorie balance. Eat more calories than you use and that energy will be stored as body fat. Eat fewer calories than you use and your body will draw on that stored body fat to make up the deficit.

    All programs like WW and SW do is take the very concept, obscure it behind some convoluted program, package it up and sell it to consumers. And since you're only being taught their program and not the underlying concept as soon as you stop paying them money the weight will likely come back which ensures them repeat business and more of your money.

    Definitely obscure. No obvious formula to work out syns etc
  • BeccaColliesBurton
    BeccaColliesBurton Posts: 79 Member
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    Danp wrote: »
    Weight comes down to to the simple concept of calorie balance. Eat more calories than you use and that energy will be stored as body fat. Eat fewer calories than you use and your body will draw on that stored body fat to make up the deficit.

    All programs like WW and SW do is take the very concept, obscure it behind some convoluted program, package it up and sell it to consumers. And since you're only being taught their program and not the underlying concept as soon as you stop paying them money the weight will likely come back which ensures them repeat business and more of your money.


    Thank you. I needed that encouragement x
  • jhanleybrown
    jhanleybrown Posts: 240 Member
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    While I like MFP, I find the MFP evangelists annoying and perceive them as thinly veiled marketing interns.

    MFP calorie counting works for me because it's very efficient. And I'm goal oriented so it helps me stick to it because I'm trying to hit goal each day. It has most foods due to crowd sourcing and because I tend to eat similar things it's really fast and convenient.

    My inlaws love Ww. But it's the in person interaction (and accountability) and in person weigh ins. And for them the point system is efficient. And its basically the same thing as MfP just simplified. And it works if you stick to it.

    So different strokes for different folks. Both work if you stick to it and they both also teach you how to eat healthily if you are paying attention.

  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
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    No matter what program you follow, someone is figuring out the calories you may eat, and instructing how much you may consume, to allow you to be eating at a calorie deficit required to lose weight. They make it more complicated than it has to be. Package it and sell it to consumers. Those of us calorie counting, figure it out ourselves and make our own choices. Some people like more structured programs and the accountability factor, of paying for a diet program.
  • Lobsterboxtops
    Lobsterboxtops Posts: 92 Member
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    Can you not do both? Follow the WW/SW model, but at the same time log your calories into MFP. It seems to me that you’d get the best of both worlds.

    I’ve not done either program, but from what I know it gives you the framework of the foods to eat, and MFP will give you the sanity check and the future maintenance tools.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    edited November 2019
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    as someone once pointed out to me - WW/SW etc would cease to exist if people lost the weight and kept it off - which is why they continually rebrand themselves or plans - eating the same foods in smaller portions and logging just isn't sexy or a money maker
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
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    I was an online member at WW for many years. I never ever reached my goal weight. I lost some then gained and so forth. What worked for me was MFP. If your family are happy where they are and losing well then good for them. It sounds like it doesn't work for you. What I finally realized after losing weight was that I needed a program or lifestyle I could live with. WW wasn't that for me. You need to find what works for you. There is no magic but One Size does not fit all in the dieting world. If calorie counting (which I agree is the only thing that counts) works for you then use that method. Nevermind what works for others. The funny thing is even though I am at a healthy weight (I lost 100 lbs.) I still have people trying to convince me I should maintain on Keto. It works for them and they want to evangelize others even if they found what works for them. This never seems to end so find a polite way to say no thanks and do what works for you.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
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    I think you've answered your own questions. The way I've lost weight in the past has been calorie counting.
    Don't change a winning game.
  • New_Heavens_Earth
    New_Heavens_Earth Posts: 610 Member
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    deannalfisher wrote: »
    as someone once pointed out to me - WW/SW etc would cease to exist if people lost the weight and kept it off - which is why they continually rebrand themselves or plans - eating the same foods in smaller portions and logging just isn't sexy or a money maker

    WW just launched their new plan, which is 3 plans in one. Ironically 2 of them are successful previous plans and the more current one.

    See what they did there? Secured retention and threw out something to get former members to return. Nice marketing.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 1,994 Member
    edited November 2019
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    jhanleybrown wrote: »
    While I like MFP, I find the MFP evangelists annoying and perceive them as thinly veiled marketing interns.

    MFP calorie counting works for me because it's very efficient. And I'm goal oriented so it helps me stick to it because I'm trying to hit goal each day. It has most foods due to crowd sourcing and because I tend to eat similar things it's really fast and convenient.

    My inlaws love Ww. But it's the in person interaction (and accountability) and in person weigh ins. And for them the point system is efficient. And its basically the same thing as MfP just simplified. And it works if you stick to it.

    So different strokes for different folks. Both work if you stick to it and they both also teach you how to eat healthily if you are paying attention.
    No evangelist here, but MFP is a great tool and has a great community..and get this...IT'S FREE! BTW, I lost my first 50 lbs logging in a notebook and my next 33 lbs and counting on MFP. MFP is so much more easy and accurate, and IT'S FREE!
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    I have a tremendous mistrust of middlemen - someone inserting themselves in a process especially when they cannot show improvement. SW and WW are middlemen that have a bad track record of success and show little or no return on investment.

    MFP by comparison is a tool. The public enters in data and uses this data to track and trend. You could do the same task with any spreadsheet, but MFP simplifies the process. The cost is offset by providing advertising space. Win-Win.

    SW and WW are more social clubs and designed to appeal to those who place emotion over reason.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    BeccaColliesBurton wrote: »
    Sorry this has probably been done to death. I've been pi&&ing around at slimming world as my sis and mum think it's marvelous. I have tried with mixed efforts and with mixed enthusiasm. About three months losing and putting on the same few pounds over and over. The way I've lost weight in the past has been calorie counting.
    I have a lot going on health and fatigue wise and maybe it's just not the right time for dieting, it's been such a struggle. I've just recently paid for another twelve weeks of sw only to acknowledge I really don't feel committed to it. I'm torn as I'm struggling to stick to anything and I don't want to just pile weight on. I like the flexibility of calorie counting. I need to somehow find some self worth and prioritise my needs. Rather a ramble...
    Any thoughts?

    I think it depends on the person...personality...if they need/want in person support. For me, MFP was a fine tool. I have never had any particular "food issues"...I've never been a binge eater...never been a stress or emotional eater, etc. I was just a guy that used to be really active and then wasn't and put on some weight because of it. MFP was a fine tool for simply sifting through the data.

    My mom on the other hand had great success with WW. She benefited greatly from in person meetings because she had "food issues" and it was beneficial to meet up with other people and just be able to talk and have support. While she wasn't directly counting calories, she did learn a lot about nutrition. She has maintained her weight loss well over 20 years now.

    I disagree with the notion that if someone hasn't/wasn't calorie counting then they'll just put the weight back on when they're done. Most people, regardless of how they go about losing weight re-gain that weight...calorie counting or not.

    Really, for something like that I think it just depends on whether or not you need in person support. IMO, online support like these forums can only go so far and for some people be discouraging more than supportive. I'm an alcoholic in recovery and I absolutely need the in person support that AA provides. I tried a long time to deal with my drinking with various online forums and they were of limited use to me and often discouraging...so not quite the same thing, but I do think it depends on whether or not you need that kind of support.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
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    I feel calorie counting is much more cut and dry. I lost 50lbs just using MFP. My mom is an old school WW'r. But she regained some weight lately and wanted to get it off and didn't really know which plan to follow because it had been a while. I said "do MFP, I'll be your coach". So that's what we did. We are both down about 16lbs and much happier. I'm done (I'm 5'11, she's 5'4) we are both near 150, she feels she has 5lbs to go. She told me the other day how much simpler MFP is. I said yes "Losing weight is and should be simple, even if it's not easy at times". You still have to do the work, but doing all those Points and free foods would kill my "non-math" mind.

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