Weight Watchers fed up
Replies
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HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time.
In what way did it work if you had to do it repeatedly for decades and from what you've said you're now 100 lbs overweight? That's not working to me, that's a business making sure people return.
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AlannaWulf wrote: »I will be the odd one here. I have been using weight watchers for about two weeks now and lost a healthy amount of weight. I joined to be motivated to eat better foods. It's encouraging me to eat healthier things such as veggies, fruits, and lean meats. I still eat a lot of the foods I did previously, just more in moderation. For instance, I still have a good treat (yes even ice cream) every day. I do not plan on doing weight watchers forever and plan to come back to calorie counting, but first I want to use it to motivate me to eat better foods.
It always amuses me that someone clicks "disagree" on a post about ones own personal experience. I think WW's lifestyle approach is really helpful for some folks. It was for me when I needed to look at food intake from a different vantage point. FWIW, I think you have a good approach - use what works for *you*
This!
Sure lots of people fail on weight watchers and go back and forth for years. Lots of people do the same on calorie counting or keto or whatever. It is hard to lose and keep weight off in modern society. If it works for you fab keep it up. If it stops working hey here's a free alternative. I know people who have permanently lost on ww. I for one would never do it - most of my recent weight gain was eating "free food" I love fruit and veg and can eat loads. That doesn't mean other people can't lose weight on it.5 -
Currently dual tracking on here and on my WW app and am shocked at how few calories one gets to eat on WW. Today, as an example, my breakfast, lunch and morning coffee/biscuit has been 764 calories, leaving me with plenty for dinner tonight. I’ve tracked this on WW... and have zero points left for today. I’ve eaten all 30 of them with only weeklies left. Seems like I’ve been under eating on WW for a long time. I would eat all my weeklies on a weekend, and gain 3-5 pounds by Monday, then eat within daily points for rest of week... and stay the same each week.2
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scarlett_k wrote: »HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time.
In what way did it work if you had to do it repeatedly for decades and from what you've said you're now 100 lbs overweight? That's not working to me, that's a business making sure people return.
I agree with your last sentence, but you completely misrepresented Heidi's statement with your selective editing.
Heidi's first paragraph actually said this:
I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time. And it became less prescriptive yet more complicated over time. Come on over to the CICO (calories in/calories out) side. It's very simple. Eat well but control your calories. Figure out a way to eat that is good for you. If you (and I) could have done that automatically, we wouldn't be 100+ pounds overweight.
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I was successful with WW after my first baby and got back to my pre-pregnancy weight within six months or so. After my second pregnancy I went to "Diet Centre" and had the same results. After my third and last pregnancy I tried WW again (didn't live near a Diet Centre). In fact, I tried WW a couple of different times without success. Was it their program? Or was it me? Oh, it was me. At the time there was too much other stuff going on in my life and my increasing weight was just another issue on the list of things that I was unable to deal with effectively.
To me, it was about being ready mentally to lose the weight. Unfortunately it took me 25 years this last time, but once I'd made the decision, I don't think it would have mattered what "method" I used. But if a person is not ready, then they'll just go through the motions without any real long term committment to the work that's involved. And of course they won't see the success they were hoping for, and probably blame the program. I've had great success using MFP, losing 90 pounds. Over the last couple of years I've seen an upward creep beyond my tolerance point and am now working hard to to get on top of that so it doesn't get out of hand. Its just a reminder that I'll need to be forever vigilant if I want to stay at a healthy weight.
This thread is now 2 months old and I'd be interest to know how @harley79 (the OP) is progressing.1 -
scarlett_k wrote: »HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time.
In what way did it work if you had to do it repeatedly for decades and from what you've said you're now 100 lbs overweight? That's not working to me, that's a business making sure people return.
I agree with your last sentence, but you completely misrepresented Heidi's statement with your selective editing.
Heidi's first paragraph actually said this:
I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time. And it became less prescriptive yet more complicated over time. Come on over to the CICO (calories in/calories out) side. It's very simple. Eat well but control your calories. Figure out a way to eat that is good for you. If you (and I) could have done that automatically, we wouldn't be 100+ pounds overweight.
Not really sure what I misrepresented. They said they kept doing weight watchers over several decades, that it "worked" each time, and that they're 100+ pounds overweight. What exactly did I misrepresent?3 -
scarlett_k wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time.
In what way did it work if you had to do it repeatedly for decades and from what you've said you're now 100 lbs overweight? That's not working to me, that's a business making sure people return.
I agree with your last sentence, but you completely misrepresented Heidi's statement with your selective editing.
Heidi's first paragraph actually said this:
I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time. And it became less prescriptive yet more complicated over time. Come on over to the CICO (calories in/calories out) side. It's very simple. Eat well but control your calories. Figure out a way to eat that is good for you. If you (and I) could have done that automatically, we wouldn't be 100+ pounds overweight.
Not really sure what I misrepresented. They said they kept doing weight watchers over several decades, that it "worked" each time, and that they're 100+ pounds overweight. What exactly did I misrepresent?
Hi,
I felt it was a misrepresentation because she went on to clearly indicate that Weight Watchers DIDN'T work for her and that she was in favor of calorie counting. Since you didn't include that part and asked her "In what way did it work...?", to me, your response seemed "snarky." (Her full paragraph indicated that WW didn't work for her.)
I do agree with you about WW "strategy," and I hope you have a nice weekend! 😃
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🔝 Not sure why that formatting looks weird. It looked fine in my preview.
I'm not a fan of WW, and the fact that they keep having to revise their program makes me wonder about their validity. I do think the group meetings can be helpful, and I like some of the meeting handouts that I've seen.1 -
🔝 Not sure why that formatting looks weird. It looked fine in my preview.
I'm not a fan of WW, and the fact that they keep having to revise their program makes me wonder about their validity. I do think the group meetings can be helpful, and I like some of the meeting handouts that I've seen.
I don't think it's that they have to. At least because it doesn't work. I think it's more they need to to keep up with the trends and show they're worth paying for because they keep coming up with "newer, better, works with your lifestyle" ways of losing weight.
I did WW when I first started losing weight but never went to meetings. This was in the days you got a range of points with 35 extra and whatever exercise points you earned. I did stop in and buy their food every once in a while (because I LIKED it. People seem to think you're forced to eat their food.). I stopped because I hit a plateau/they changed the plan and I couldn't get the new points for free online/it never occurred to me that I could stick with the old plan.
I lost 90 lbs but found out later after converting some of my point logs to calories that I was most likely grossing 700-1000 calories a day. These were in the days I was meticulous about weighing.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this othrr than, yeah, it's good if you need the meetings for emotionsl support or to keep you accountable with those weigh ins.1 -
scarlett_k wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time.
In what way did it work if you had to do it repeatedly for decades and from what you've said you're now 100 lbs overweight? That's not working to me, that's a business making sure people return.
I agree with your last sentence, but you completely misrepresented Heidi's statement with your selective editing.
Heidi's first paragraph actually said this:
I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time. And it became less prescriptive yet more complicated over time. Come on over to the CICO (calories in/calories out) side. It's very simple. Eat well but control your calories. Figure out a way to eat that is good for you. If you (and I) could have done that automatically, we wouldn't be 100+ pounds overweight.
Not really sure what I misrepresented. They said they kept doing weight watchers over several decades, that it "worked" each time, and that they're 100+ pounds overweight. What exactly did I misrepresent?
Hi,
I felt it was a misrepresentation because she went on to clearly indicate that Weight Watchers DIDN'T work for her and that she was in favor of calorie counting. Since you didn't include that part and asked her "In what way did it work...?", to me, your response seemed "snarky." (Her full paragraph indicated that WW didn't work for her.)
I do agree with you about WW "strategy," and I hope you have a nice weekend! 😃
besides which there are many folks here at MFP who have the same story - came to MFP, lost the weight, went into maintenance, lost control, regained, came back to MFP again. The program doesn't create the boom and bust cycle, nor does the boom and bust cycle invalidate the program; the success or failure lies with the participant. If WW helped Heidi lose the weight she wanted to lose in the 70's, but she lost control and gained it back, so went back to WW's in the 80, lost it, regained it later, went back, etc; the regain doesn't invalidate the success she had in reaching her goal each time or mean that the program didn't work - if she lost the weight she wanted to lose, then it DID work; it just means that she needs help in learning how to manage maintenance no matter what program she uses to get there. And isn't that the boat many of us reach or are at least attempting to reach?
I tried WW online when I was in college in the early 2000's and lost some weight, but over time too much entered into my life with all the transitions of that time period and I lost the focus. Not to mention couldn't really afford it any more. I regained all the weight and then considerably more over the next 15 years. Doesn't mean it didn't work; just means I wasn't able to maintain it. That isn't WW's fault; its mine.
I have since found, however, that simple calorie counting works best for me as its the simplest method and allows me the most freedom in what I eat and I feel fuller and able to eat more and still reach my goals while letting me monitor my exact intake because I can't trust my eyeballs or my brain to judge the correct amounts. I don't think I'd like the new style of WW at all because I don't like the idea of free foods; I know I could easily over eat on those and wipe out whatever deficit I had created without a second thought.
But I know some people do very well on WW and if it works for them, or Jenny Craig, or TOPPS, or Keto, or South Beach, or Atkins, or whatever other programs are out there, and its a healthy process, then more power to them and I'm very glad they found the method that works for them! That's the beauty of weight loss - there's a myriad of methods that can and do work, which means we've got a lot of variety to choose from in tailoring an individual approach that works for us as individuals.2 -
Yes, it's a good thing we have choices, because one size does NOT fit all. Also, while I credit MFP with a lot of my weight loss, I know how easy it would be to gain it back. I hope I never take my weight loss for granted.1
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I'm coming out of WW and Points myself and it's been an interesting adjustment. I'm in a bit of an "experimental" phase, but I figured I'd give myself 4 solid weeks of counting calories instead of points and see how I feel at the end (this is combined with the few weeks of loose double tracking that brought me to the decision that I should look more into calorie counting exclusively).1
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party_lots99 wrote: »Currently dual tracking on here and on my WW app and am shocked at how few calories one gets to eat on WW. Today, as an example, my breakfast, lunch and morning coffee/biscuit has been 764 calories, leaving me with plenty for dinner tonight. I’ve tracked this on WW... and have zero points left for today. I’ve eaten all 30 of them with only weeklies left. Seems like I’ve been under eating on WW for a long time. I would eat all my weeklies on a weekend, and gain 3-5 pounds by Monday, then eat within daily points for rest of week... and stay the same each week.
I find it interesting that so many people struggle with undereating on WW. I had the OPPOSITE problem. I was eating too many calories. I've learned a few tricks here and there- mainly things like maximizing points by seeing how many extra grams I can get in a serving. If I can get an extra 20 grams of a side dish before adding an extra point, I will. Combine that with eating a lot of lean protein (I was on Green so I had to count points for my chicken and eggs) and most days I was eating enough calories to maintain or gain.2 -
scarlett_k wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time.
In what way did it work if you had to do it repeatedly for decades and from what you've said you're now 100 lbs overweight? That's not working to me, that's a business making sure people return.
I agree with your last sentence, but you completely misrepresented Heidi's statement with your selective editing.
Heidi's first paragraph actually said this:
I did WW in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s. Yes, each generation of it worked each time. And it became less prescriptive yet more complicated over time. Come on over to the CICO (calories in/calories out) side. It's very simple. Eat well but control your calories. Figure out a way to eat that is good for you. If you (and I) could have done that automatically, we wouldn't be 100+ pounds overweight.
Not really sure what I misrepresented. They said they kept doing weight watchers over several decades, that it "worked" each time, and that they're 100+ pounds overweight. What exactly did I misrepresent?
Hi,
I felt it was a misrepresentation because she went on to clearly indicate that Weight Watchers DIDN'T work for her and that she was in favor of calorie counting. Since you didn't include that part and asked her "In what way did it work...?", to me, your response seemed "snarky." (Her full paragraph indicated that WW didn't work for her.)
I do agree with you about WW "strategy," and I hope you have a nice weekend! 😃
Ah well I didn't intend it as snarky. Genuinely curious what their definition of it "worked" is, if, as they say, it worked every time (which is a contradiction in itself and something I commonly see associated with WW and slimming world).1 -
lissakristinej wrote: »party_lots99 wrote: »Currently dual tracking on here and on my WW app and am shocked at how few calories one gets to eat on WW. Today, as an example, my breakfast, lunch and morning coffee/biscuit has been 764 calories, leaving me with plenty for dinner tonight. I’ve tracked this on WW... and have zero points left for today. I’ve eaten all 30 of them with only weeklies left. Seems like I’ve been under eating on WW for a long time. I would eat all my weeklies on a weekend, and gain 3-5 pounds by Monday, then eat within daily points for rest of week... and stay the same each week.
I find it interesting that so many people struggle with undereating on WW. I had the OPPOSITE problem. I was eating too many calories. I've learned a few tricks here and there- mainly things like maximizing points by seeing how many extra grams I can get in a serving. If I can get an extra 20 grams of a side dish before adding an extra point, I will. Combine that with eating a lot of lean protein (I was on Green so I had to count points for my chicken and eggs) and most days I was eating enough calories to maintain or gain.
I think it’s easy to do either or both of these. Finding very interesting how much more I’m eating for mycalories than I could for my points.0 -
Feel much less restricted too which is odd since WW feels very free0
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"There are many strategies for success, and many excuses for failure. You need to decide how important weight loss is to you and if you're willing and ready to put in the effort to get to where you want to be."
This is one of the best statements I've read in awhile and needs to be framed for my fridge.
IF WW is the tool that works for a person(just like MFP or anything else) then more power to use it. I did WW for maybe 4 months a million years ago, lost 10# the 1st week, then 3 more total for a month. For myself, I got sick of spending the money and veered off too often. WW has also become such a money-maker.
You have to find what the best way of eating is for you; that'll be what works, IF your heart. body and mind are ready to make the changes.1 -
Come over to Intermittent Fasting. It works and there is no counting point, calories etc
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Come over to Intermittent Fasting. It works and there is no counting point, calories etc
Mmm.....for some.
Intermittent fasting is an eating schedule. If limiting your eating time-frame (one protocol) or zig-zagging your calories (a different protocol) - helps you reduce your calorie intake naturally, then yes you will lose weight without counting calories. But I would guess plenty of people already have an eating schedule, yet here they are.....needing to lose weight.
It's still going to come down to portions for many of us.7 -
I've done the WW program 3/4 times. The first time I lost 60 lbs (then regained), the 2nd time I lost 40 lbs (then regained). I struggled a lot with the new programs the last few times until I finally quit and came to MFP. I'm finally finding my way however that's been a struggle in it's own way to see what number of calories is really sustainable for me daily, not just lose weight. I like counting calories for now as I learn reasonable serving sizes that fuel me as I learn to listen to my body's hunger and satisfaction cues. I know what the problem with WW for me was, and a podcaster I love (Corinne from Phit n Phat) said it perfectly:
They teach how to follow a program but not how to eat only until satisfied. No foods are "free" and a 2 lb "allowance" at goal isnt realistic the way our bodies naturally fluctuate. After reaching goal, you still dont know how to eat without the program.
That said she encourages everybody to use what works for them but I thought it was interesting.2
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