Converts from Weight Watchers - questions, please

Hi! I'm currently on WW and am looking at MFP as a place to continue my weight loss. I was on Momentum and did well; however, PointsPlus just isn't doing it for me.

If you were on WW but are now doing MFP, do you mind if I ask you some questions?

1. On WW you were allowed to dip into your weekly flex points. On MFP, you are supposed to stay at or under your calorie target. Do you do that or do you go a bit over, the way it would have been on WW?

2. Have you been more successful on WW or MFP or about the same?

3. Do you find it hard to "deprogram" yourself from counting points?

4. Any tips or tricks you'd like to share? Are there any boards I should know about? I'm still learning my way around here.

Thank you so much!

I have had way more success on here.

?1) MFP gives you a deficet of 500 calories already, plus if you work out you get extra calories to eat, so yes it is like dipping into your extras.

?2) MFP has been way more successful for me.

?3) I did at first, so I counted points and calories. Now I just count my workouts and my food log.

?4) I found that once I started making friends on here, everything else just fell into place.

Good luck on your journey, and you can add me if you would like.

I switched over a while ago (before Points Plus). I am in maintain now but when I joined MFP I was still losing so I'll answer your questions based on when I switched.

1. I stayed within my MFP calories but I did eat my exercise calories back. About once a month, I would have a "cheat" day but not go totally crazy.

2. I like MFP better but my success has been about the same. I never did the Points Plus though but I have heard nothing but negative about it.

3. Not at all.

Welcome to MFP and best of luck to you!

To the question about the calorie goals.... when you first started this it should have asked how much you wanted to lose a week, the cal goal that it gives u per day is the allowed cal's. From what I've been told, you have to at LEAST eat those cal's to lose those pounds per week. It's ok to be a lil under the goal but if your alot under it will tell you that your not eating enough. Has far as WW, I haven't done WW in a long time but when I did i lost 20 lbs but put it back on when i stopped. I think either one would be a good tool but I feel a lil more freedom to eat certain things using MFP. If you have a smart phone you can download the app for MFP and log ur items on your phone if your not close to a computer (ie: at work, out for dinner...) Hope all that helps and if you have any other questions please feel free to friend me and ask away! We are in this together !lol :flowerforyou:

I too have tried WW points plus. I like MFP much much better and I find it is alot easier to keep on track. Add me as a friend if you want and we can support each other.

I was more successful on WW, but that's only because I started on WW when I weighed 217 lbs. I weigh 149 now, which I've managed to maintain and even lose a little on MFP (when I signed up, I was about 152), but overall weight loss is much harder now that I'm smaller. I'm happy with my body now, though I would like to lose more and I've thought about going back to WW to see if I'd be more successful, but unfortunately I can't afford it.

The main problem I have with MFP is that it gives you 1200 calories -- no matter what! I'm participating in a Weight Loss program at my gym right now, and they figured out my BMR (the calories I burn at rest) and gave me 1800 calories a day. I eat that much or under every single day, even if I work out. I changed my calorie goal on MFP to that and it works for me -- even though according to MFP, I should be GAINING weight eating that much (I'm not, I'm actually losing about .5 lb/week -- it just comes off slower when you weigh less, I guess -- I miss the days when I was heavier and lost 2 or more lbs a week, but I like being smaller!)

I like MFP because you don't have to focus on weight loss. I went through the summer just focusing on maintenance because it was hard with all the fun and vacationing to stick to a restrictive diet.

But, overall if you think about it, they are really the same thing -- keeping track of what you eat, exercising, staying within a calorie range. It just goes to show that being diligent about calories in/calories out is the way to lose weight -- even if it takes a while!

P.S. Please feel free to add me as a friend. I only have "real life" friends on MFP now and I'd love to have more people to follow!

I was doing really well on PointsPlus between Jan - April and then broke my ankle. It was impossible to do WW when I wasn't cooking for myself and I am lucky that I managed to only put on 5-6 pounds in my five months off. I am trying to get back up and running...I have started doing MFP in the last few days and think that this is a much easier and manageable way to lose weight and actually live life normally.

As someone mentioned, with WW the points calculations are not accurate and you spend half your time trying to figure out how many points something has. Calories are a bit more defined - even when trying to guess when eating out. I also think that it is easier to overeat with the flex points they give you. Their product sales also really start to get you after a while...

There are definitely issues with MFP but it is more about the product/site vs the concept.

I did WW for years and was successful, but slowly realized that while it helped teach me portion control, it seemed like the program was about "getting the most food for the lowest points possible". So they were big on selling their snacks and frozen foods, which, to me, didn't seem like the healthiest options. I quit counting points and concentrated more on calories and eating more healthful food.