Weight Watchers vs MFP

joandumas42 · February 2023

I quit WW when they started making fruit free. With that method, you could eat 5 bananas a day and not have to count any points. In actuality, that would be many many calories and I found this unrealistic. Then they went to making other foods free such as chicken breast. What's the point of even counting points then? I much prefer MFP and counting calories for everything.

Jackie9003 · February 2023

I tried WW in lockdown as they were doing zoom meetings, I didn’t enjoy them as I found it a bit cliquey I didn’t get on with the points system either as I’m used to calorie counting.
I do keep thinking of rejoining now they’re face to face as the weighing in each week and being accountable is quite motivating for me, and I would hope there would be some good nutritional advance, however, there is a lot of branded food so it might not be as informative as I expect.

threewins · February 2023

I've never been to WW but I went to a similar group a number of years ago. I much prefer the social aspect of weight loss, this website is nice but I mustn't be the only person who has noticed that the number of active participants on the forum is dropping, especially after the pandemic. I really wonder how many active (and successful) weight losers there are on the challenges forum. I want someone to look up to and admire because of their consistent weight loss.

nsk1951 · February 2023

I have a 6 month subscription to WW online app right now that I am not using. I've cancelled it but still need to pay the monthly fees until the end of the program period. A big waste of money for me, and I knew it could be but wanted to try it once again.

My thought is ... unless you want to retrain yourself as to what selection of foods you consume, stick with MFP and look stay within your calories to do what it is you are trying to do with your weight.

geodrone · March 2023

Well, I've done all three now. Weight Watchers, MFP, and Noom.
]WW: I lost a bit of weight, the meetings were a nice way for my wife and I to bond. And that was it-when both of us did it, the environment at our house was "clean." When she or I did it alone, it was another story-stressful days, eating in front of the TV, 2nd helpings...I realized after reading Charles Duhig's and James Clear's books about habits, that environment (for me, at least) was key. So we both eventually stopped doing it.
Noom: I tried Noom (twice) and though it had some nice psychological tricks, the way they paced the program was idiotic. Like, 'today we'll uncover those dark reasons you overeat. Great! That's cured! Onto the next topic!' Uh, no.It's a macro based diet, with certain green (feel free) orange (moderation!) red (eat only a bit!) codes. It was too damn cutesy poo for me, really targeting the TikTok generation.
MFP: verdict is still out. At my healthiest, I'm usually exercising at least once a day. I'm trying to get back to that!

stuffnmore · March 2023

I find weight watchers points system difficult to understand portions in any significant way until I learn/memorize the current system (and difficult to relate the WW points to my calorie needs for the day which is easy to calculate here). But can't say it makes sense on the macros for me.

MyPlate Exchanges: That said, I find the food exchanges/swappables of the myplate guidelines easier to learn and understand; for building meals and choosing how it fits when I am out and about. I double check with calorie counting for quantity and overall fit for the day. The swaps (once learned) are easy - like bread or rice or noodles... the benefit is free using the food exchange together with calorie counting. I have not really been able to translate WW points into something understandable in practical terms when I am out eating.

For support: The in-person meetings at weight watchers or TOPS can be fun/supportive (or excruciating) and, for me, not wild about online meetings - not much difference to me than watching an online conference discussion. i find it hard to stay engaged.

Accountability: I prefer a soft touch, when I want it - so if I am doing well, meetings are fine. When I am struggling, sometimes they can get me going again. Other times, I don't want to talk about it or weigh-in with others.

MFP: Appreciate there is so much to read here for information and motivation, and can come chat when desired - for free. The cool tools are awesome, but support is available here if we want to reach out for it or just lurk.

kshama2001 · March 2023

WW was a good fit for me back in the 90s. My group met at my (large) workplace, so it was extremely convenient and there was a nice social component. I think work partially subsidized it as well.

Now a days, MFP (free version) is a much better fit for me.

MagicalWanda · March 2023

cyn_love wrote: »

I've done WW many times over the years. I recently switched to MFP. My observations:

1. WW over-inflates point values for "bad foods". For example, I had a brownie bite at applebees (300 calories) but it was about 19 points for WW. I only got 35 points for an entire day. Some people (depending on age, weight, gender, etc) only get 18 points for the day... They say you can eat whatever you want in moderation, which is true, but they make it very difficult to enjoy treats without guilt. MFP allows you to budget in treats more easily.

2. WW makes you rely on it. You have to have the app or some sort of WW calculator available at all times to calculate the points. Calorie information is much easier to find/track.

3. I do enjoy the meetings. Doing just the online version of WW isn't worth it to me. You might as well just be doing MFP.

4. WW is EXPENSIVE! I'd rather spend that money on experiences than to go talk about my eating for the week. I can do that for free here on these forums. There are a lot of support groups available on here.

5. I didn't learn anything about nutrition from WW in all the years of doing it. I've learned so much more about healthy habits and lifelong lifestyle changes/moderation in a couple weeks of MFP.

In summary, I always thought counting a few points is easier than thousands of calories. However, now that I'm counting calories, I much prefer it over WW.

All of this. Well, except that I hate meetings. My problem with WW is that they want you to adopt their lifestyle. That's great! And when you've adopted that lifestyle, they change their marketing and come up with a new plan. And they stop supporting the lifestyle that they wanted you to adopt. So you have to adopt a new one. It's how they get new members.

I'll stay here, for free, and not have to worry that what's working for me now will be pulled out from under me. Nope.

PamelaJones3 · March 2023

If you are looking for peer-to-peer support to supplement MFP, you might consider TOPS. A virtual TOPS club chapter is a way to get the peer support and accountability of WW without the cost or the bothersome “points” system. TOPS costs about $50 a year. The virtual chapters consist of 10 members from all over the US and Canada meeting weekly via zoom. Typical meeting: members report progress on compliance with their personal SMART goals. We report losses (or gains) and recognize group members’ weekly achievement. We have a short program and discussion on a weight / health topic We set a personal intention for the upcoming week. Many of our virtual chapters members use MFP to log meals, monitor calories and macros, etc. The TOPS zoom meeting is just an additional support tool.

putotherpeoplefirst · March 2023

I did WW many years ago before they introduced the new Points system. I found it ok but it got a bit expensive.

Weight Watchers vs MFP

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