WW verse Cals

LovingLillies
LovingLillies Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am currently a member of ww but leaving because I dont actually think its all that healthy for anyone's mind set .... I am extremely nervous to come over to calorie counting ... Can i please hear some of your stories from coverting over and also that you actually do lose weight just counting cals

Replies

  • kzfpr4h4jg
    kzfpr4h4jg Posts: 1 Member
    I switched from WW to MFP because I was stuck about 10 lbs above my goal weight. The zero point foods really do add up. When I was able to calculate what I was eating in calories instead of points it really helped me see where I needed to make some changes and I was able to lose the weight. Make sure you weigh or measure everything you eat and drink, when I don’t do that I start gaining weight but as long as I’m diligent, I lose. I think WW is great for teaching portion sizes and how to eat healthy, but MFP works no matter what you eat, as long as you’re within your calorie goal.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I did WW in the 90s. At the time, it was great for bringing awareness to how much I was eating (and drinking.)

    I'm very happy with the free version of MFP and wouldn't go back to WW even if it were free. "Zero point" foods, LMAO.
  • ChickenKillerPuppy
    ChickenKillerPuppy Posts: 297 Member
    I think WW is best if you have a lot of weight to lose and need to learn to pivot towards "healthier" foods. But the points formulas are not geared towards accurately reflecting calories, because they artificially inflate carbs and sugar and they artificially deflate fruits, veggies, and lean proteins. This is great if you have a lot to lose and don't know how to eat "healthy" and want to learn to make better choices with your food. I learned to eat lean proteins and lots of veggies thanks to years of WW.

    But for me, I hated that foods I knew were not terribly high in calories were costing me a ton of points. For example, I like to eat one piece of dry toast with brunch, but that one piece of toast would be like 5 points, which at the time would be like 20% or 25% of my calories for the day. Or a sweet or a piece of chocolate would be a huge number of points, even though I knew the calories were not high.

    I felt in the end like there was a secret behind the points and I just wanted to understand the data and make choices myself, which is why I LOVE MFP or calorie counting generally. It's all very transparent. I know my maintenance calories (I'm in maintenance), I am aware of how much protein and fiber and saturated fat I want to eat, and I get to make those decisions with the full knowledge of what the food contains instead of relying on WW to tell me how many magical "points' they contain. I know points are roughly based on calories and still try to create a calorie deficit, but it's still weighted to guide your behavior.

    Relying on points also made it very hard to ad-lib. I can read a package and weigh my food and know the calories, but generally trying to figure out the points something has is harder than trying to figure out the amount of calories something has. Especially considering WW changes up their formulas every few years to keep things interesting.

    The other thing that finally occurred to me was that as a business model, WW wants to teach people to lose, but not maintain. Their requirement that you need to maintain in a 2 pound range is crazy. I have an 8 pound maintenance range since hitting my goal several years ago. If everyone could lose and then successfully maintain, WW wouldn't have a business, because so many of us go back to it to lose "successfully" and then once we get to a certain point we gain back the weight, and sign up for their (pay) service again. I only learned to lose AND maintain after switching to calorie counting and listening to podcasts like "Half Size Me" and "We Only Look Thin" that focus on habit changes and maintaining your weight loss.

    I relied on WW for many years and had a lot of success losing weight with them. But what I have learned as I have gotten older is that successful weight loss means keeping the weight off, and being able maintain my goal range. Counting calories (and MFP) has done that for me, and I have never been happier,
  • Walkywalkerson
    Walkywalkerson Posts: 456 Member
    All weight loss is because of a calorie deficit- that is it - its not complicated.
    Anyone that tells you different is trying to sell you something.
    WW, Slimming world etc don't want you to lose weight because you won't be paying them.
    Calorie counting becomes easy and natural after a while - losing weight isn't easy though otherwise we'd all be slim right 😂
  • LovingLillies
    LovingLillies Posts: 9 Member
    ChickenKillerPuppy wrote: »
    I think WW is best if you have a lot of weight to lose and need to learn to pivot towards "healthier" foods. But the points formulas are not geared towards accurately reflecting calories, because they artificially inflate carbs and sugar and they artificially deflate fruits, veggies, and lean proteins. This is great if you have a lot to lose and don't know how to eat "healthy" and want to learn to make better choices with your food. I learned to eat lean proteins and lots of veggies thanks to years of WW.

    But for me, I hated that foods I knew were not terribly high in calories were costing me a ton of points. For example, I like to eat one piece of dry toast with brunch, but that one piece of toast would be like 5 points, which at the time would be like 20% or 25% of my calories for the day. Or a sweet or a piece of chocolate would be a huge number of points, even though I knew the calories were not high.

    I felt in the end like there was a secret behind the points and I just wanted to understand the data and make choices myself, which is why I LOVE MFP or calorie counting generally. It's all very transparent. I know my maintenance calories (I'm in maintenance), I am aware of how much protein and fiber and saturated fat I want to eat, and I get to make those decisions with the full knowledge of what the food contains instead of relying on WW to tell me how many magical "points' they contain. I know points are roughly based on calories and still try to create a calorie deficit, but it's still weighted to guide your behavior.

    Relying on points also made it very hard to ad-lib. I can read a package and weigh my food and know the calories, but generally trying to figure out the points something has is harder than trying to figure out the amount of calories something has. Especially considering WW changes up their formulas every few years to keep things interesting.

    The other thing that finally occurred to me was that as a business model, WW wants to teach people to lose, but not maintain. Their requirement that you need to maintain in a 2 pound range is crazy. I have an 8 pound maintenance range since hitting my goal several years ago. If everyone could lose and then successfully maintain, WW wouldn't have a business, because so many of us go back to it to lose "successfully" and then once we get to a certain point we gain back the weight, and sign up for their (pay) service again. I only learned to lose AND maintain after switching to calorie counting and listening to podcasts like "Half Size Me" and "We Only Look Thin" that focus on habit changes and maintaining your weight loss.

    I relied on WW for many years and had a lot of success losing weight with them. But what I have learned as I have gotten older is that successful weight loss means keeping the weight off, and being able maintain my goal range. Counting calories (and MFP) has done that for me, and I have never been happier,

    Withouth trying calories, (this is my day day committed - I finally got rid of the ww app I agree with the big amount of weight and thats were it helps. I lost 32kilos and now i have around 10ish i want to lose BUT i want to lose it by eating everyday foods i will eat forever
  • LovingLillies
    LovingLillies Posts: 9 Member
    Hiawassee88 wrote: »
    WW points are based on calories. Are you conducting the Personal Points program. It's been awhile but it's all about portion control. The calories are budgeted for you. You choose your foods and WW is like counting calories with an abacus.

    We've come a long way, baby. You choose your foods, weigh items on a food scale or use measuring cups. You search the MFP database and voila. Track your data points and place them into your personal diary on the daily. If you want the bar code scanner, go premium.

    I was a card carrying member of the WW. Suffice it to say, I felt like a cow walking down the cattle chute every time they made you stand on the scale. Some leaders are better than others. Mine talked about food in such childish terms. Were you a good girl this week? Here's your badge or some tiddlywink. It was mainly a social event and the ladies went out to eat after the big weigh-in. No one really lost all that much. They dieted all week and celebrated after the meeting.

    One day, I decided to leave all of that hippy dippy happy horsesheet behind me and I never went back. There's not a thing to be fearful of. You might really enjoy those meetings, but I didn't. It will take awhile, but you will find your balance if you stick with it. It's been 7 years now and I'm still standing in maintenance. Dream weight intact. We all have one, don't we?

    Thankyou for replying. I finally got rid of the app so Im on day 1 of calories which i have commited too. I think what freaks me out is where so used to having foods low in numbers where calories are so much differently numbered if that makes sense. I just need to get used to all the new numbers lol
  • LovingLillies
    LovingLillies Posts: 9 Member
    Walkywalkerson wrote: »
    All weight loss is because of a calorie deficit- that is it - its not complicated.
    Anyone that tells you different is trying to sell you something.
    WW, Slimming world etc don't want you to lose weight because you won't be paying them.
    Calorie counting becomes easy and natural after a while - losing weight isn't easy though otherwise we'd all be slim right 😂

    exactly, its all about the money made
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,349 Member
    I have been an on and off member for more years than I care to admit. I first found MFP when I'd been off WW for a long time and didn't want to pay for it, plus I was frustrated with the meetings. When I first started MFP I was SO resentful of counting veggies (at the time only veg and fruit were 0 points). But once I got used to it, I felt so much more in control. I still do guesstimate the amounts of veg I eat.

    After going back a couple years ago I had middling success due to the changes, then finally left WW because of the crazy move to multiple 0 point foods. Under the newest program I could have chicken, all the veg, avocado, and legumes (plus more, I don't recall) as 0 point foods and then they STILL wanted me to eat 26-odd points a day. I kind of get what they're doing but Points stopped being based solely on nutrition long ago and are now very heavily weighted with subjective judgements on various foods - "bad" food gets allocated punishment points, and "good" foods will be low or even 0 points despite being calorie dense. It was messing with my head.

    With MFP I generally keep my carbs lower (30% of my intake) and make sure to get plenty of whole foods, I find room for treats and I'm much happier. It's also MUCH easier to eat out and to assess foods for how they will fit my day without having to constantly check an app.

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