Myfitnesspal vs Weight Watchers

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on the finer points of WW over a consistent healthy nutritional plan (I'm not saying you can't do this through WW, but why pay a company for it?), and a clear easy to use food diary such as MFP makes this easier, the iPhone app is why I have switched to this site.

I could continue to pick apart your comments and contradictory reponses but frankly I don't feel the need.

My knowledge of nutrician and exercise has taken my own body down to low % bodyfat and six+ pack territory, without the need for any type of extreme regime.

Over Xmas I didn't bother logging food or do any exercise for three weeks and I lost weight (not my goal actually) as it is now second nature for me to eat healthily and in moderation.

When so many comments have highlighted weight gain straight after leaving WW then something isn't working.

I wish everyone on here and WW the very best as getting down to your respective weight goals is brilliant not just for looks but for self esteem and many many other postitives.

No matter what diet you're doing, if you stop doing it you're going to see a change. I maintained my WW weight loss for two years after stopping the program. Every person is different and every person is going to have a different experience. Some people can eat more than others and see larger losses (even people of the same gender, height, age and weight). There's so much more to weight loss than a simple calculation of calories in/calories out. If the strict idea that 3,500 calories = 1 pound gain or loss then it would hold true for EVERYONE. And it doesn't. One person could eat 3,500 extra calories and maintain while another might gain 3 pounds. And the opposite -- one might have that deficit and lose 3 pounds while another maintains.

There was nothing contradictory about my statements about the program. It's a simple eat healthy, eat less and move more program no different than MFP. You're just counting differently.

I totally understand why someone would choose MFP over WW (it's free, for one). But bashing the program that you still, even after having it specifically explained to you, don't understand (or at least are pretending not to understand, but I think you just don't want to admit you're wrong) is obnoxious.

You've never been to a WW meeting. You've pulled one statement off the website and twisted it to mean something it doesn't say and then based your opinion of the entire program off your made up interpretation.

You must be a really fun person to be friends with. Seriously.

I only get 1200 calories too and when I don't exercise it is difficult for me to keep to the 1200 and be satisfied. Have to choose wisely, lots of fruits\veggies with high fiber content and fish or shrimp done simply on these days is a good way to get a good dose of filling protein without high calorie count. No room for extras on those days!

I love both weight watchers and myfitnesspal. I don't follow both religiously but I do get great things out of both and feel that I benefit from both. I love the logging for when I burn calories or lose weight and the encouragement I get, as well as the great support I get from the weight watchers meetings I goto. Either way what ever works for you stick with and enjoy it, taking it one day at a time.

I'm doing both right now. I came to MFP because I work out a lot and I don't feel ww works as well for those who have less to loose and are really working out (I burn about 3000 cal per week). I was already eating a lot of whole foods and avoiding processed foods etc, so mfp seems to really be working out better for me. I just cancelled my ww etools b/c this is SO much better.

Weight Watchers is all about Points. This does NOT teach you how to really eat healthy foods unless you are committed to learning more than WW teaches. I have met SO many people on Weight Watchers who have no clue as to how or what to eat, and no idea how to do anything without WW. It really has become a crutch for some of them - they can't go off the program. Maybe they're not doing it right, but when I hear over and over again, "I can't eat lunch - I'm saving up my points today so I can have cheesecake at dinner," well, let's just say I am LESS than impressed with that program.

I agree - I think MFP does a way better job at giving us the tools to learn how to eat healthy and be accountable for everything we consume - not just lose weight.

I've done both- honestly, I like MFP better because 1.) it's free 2.) you don't need conversion charts into points, etc- which to me- makes this a lifestyle change instead of a program.

i do MFP, my friend does WW and both work as far as weight loss goes if you stick to it.
we have compared before and there are a lot of foods on here that are not in WW database so MFP can be easier to track, as its easy to find cals of unknown food items but on WW you have to enter cals/fat/protein/carb etc to calculate the points.
my friend chose WW as the weekly meetings and being weighed in help motivate her, but this does nothing for me, i would rather use the money to pay for a gym membership.
one thing she has mentioned is that once you reach goal weight you are entitled to 5 free weigh ins per year, so less than once every 2 months - a lot can go wrong in 2 months so if you rely on the meetings in order to maintain you would have to continue to pay forever, while MFP is free and the support system is always here.

I am currently tracking both and find it really interesting looking t the break down of foods groups. I know for certain I'm eating too many carbs and need to work on my diet to reduce them. I find when I'm on we I just look at points and sometimes eat rubbish even it's within my points. Ek

That's why I gained two pounds on Weight Watchers. I ate rubbish as well even though I never went over my points.

I've already expressed my thoughts on the whole eat what you want when you want as long as you are under on points as total madness!

Secondly the whole fruit equals zero points thing is completely ridiculous too;

Most modern fruits have been bred to have higher sugar (fructose) than previously;

Excess fructose is also fattening, despite the fact it doesn’t cause a blood sugar spike because it isn’t processed like other carbs, however once the liver fills with fructose the rest is stored as fat, which doesn’t take much more than a daily cupful of berries.

I am a lifetime member at weight watchers. It does work of course, but so does my fitness pal... basically they are both calorie counting. I have taken the time to look at what I would consume points wise on a given day at weight watchers and compare it to my calorie intake on my fitness pal using the old momentum program (not the points plus program in which fruits and veg are free). The my fitness pal app allows for more food, maybe a couple hundred calories more a day, but if you consider the 35 extra points you get a week to use at weight watchers then I think it is about the same. Plus, my fitness pal is so much easier and FREE to use. I am currently just trying to lose a little bit of weight 10 pounds for a trip to bahamas in Feb. In three weeks I have lost 5 pds with mfp. So, I guess we will see how it goes, but so far so good