Weight Watchers versus counting calories

imincancunbitch
imincancunbitch Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
Opinion? Does Weight Watchers work faster/better than counting calories?

Replies

  • chusheto1
    chusheto1 Posts: 29
    it's the same basic principle. you are counting points versus calories. WW just charge you for it.
  • todaysanewday
    todaysanewday Posts: 91
    Poster, you have read my mind tonight! Its the exact same question I wanted to post and I like the answer you've gotten so far...true!
  • michellepierce1
    michellepierce1 Posts: 26
    I was doing weight watchers for a while and like this so much better. This is so much easier and healthier. I had no idea how much sugar I was actually taken in while on weight watchers because fruit is 0 points I would eat it all the time. I now know I was taken in way to much. I think you learn more about your eating habit with MFP.
  • Pont32
    Pont32 Posts: 8
    Ease for some to count 30 points instead of say 2000 calories.
  • sherry9300
    sherry9300 Posts: 149 Member
    I've done Weight Watchers....twice. This works better. The points were too restrictive for me. Also, since you are tracking points, the focus does not tend to be on learning nutrition. Don't get me wrong, they both work well, but for me this is better....and cheaper. :)
  • iwantahealthierme13
    iwantahealthierme13 Posts: 337 Member
    On Weightwatchers I was starving myself and eating melba toast and salsa every day for lunch (because salsa was zero points and melba toast was I think 1 or 2)

    On MFP I can eat whatever I want as long as it fits in my calories and macros, I'm also learning more and it's free so MFP is much better.
  • KCoolBeanz
    KCoolBeanz Posts: 813 Member
    I didn't do well on WW. I found I was concentrating too much on what I couldn't have, and it just wasn't good for me. I really think it comes down to personal preference, and what you feel works best for you. With that said, I do think that this site helps you focus more on healthy eating and exercising, as a whole.
  • deedah1216
    deedah1216 Posts: 16 Member
    I agree with Michelle. I've done the Weight Watchers thing with some success, but hit a road block. My thryoid doctor asked what foods did Weight Watchers consider to be "free". The point he brought up is all foods have calories and suggeted I try calorie counting. I love MFP so much better than WW. I never realized how much sodium I was taking in and that fresh foods naturally had sodium. Now that I'm able to track the sodium on MFP I have less swelling in my ankle. I'm slowly working past the roadblock and have started to see the scale go down. The best part is MFP is free.
  • mangosabayon
    mangosabayon Posts: 53
    I gained weight in college about 30lbs and lost it on WW, I am a life time member. I have kept the weight off for 6 years and gained it back after a major illness. I returned to WW and was losing, but the new system makes it much more difficult. I too was eating a lot of fruit, which they no longer count into the system. I understand why, people were choosing low cal brownies vs. fruit and they want the focus on healthy foods. I agree with this 100% but it was harder to lost the weight. On the flip side, the meetings always make me feel good, even when I don't lose one week. That motivation can make a world of difference, for me anyway. Being at a meeting around people who you can see an talk to and share with isn't quite the same as online chat rooms.

    You can always go to the website, find a local meeting and give it a try. The first meeting is always free. :)
  • misspgreenwood
    misspgreenwood Posts: 55
    I have defected from WW (as of last week). I lost 12 lbs on WW but after a month of STS I started counting as well and realised that the one size fits all mentality wasn’t helping me. I was on 26 pps but I was eating well over 1400 calories by the time I added the 0pp fruit and veg in and was eating rubbish to make up the points.

    I think it’s probably great if you have a lot of weight to lose and want/ need to learn better eating habits. It is also more of a diet system with more focus on food, than a fitness plan.

    The points are easier to think of than calories, but frankly if you are logging on one app it makes no odds which app you are logging stuff on.
  • sarahcuddle
    sarahcuddle Posts: 349 Member
    I left weight watchers in April and on the advise of a friend joined MFP. Although I agree with a previous poster that the meetings are good and I do miss them, it very much depends on your leader and how inspirational they are. I did lose some weight with weight watchers but I feel much more motivated now and am eating better and doing more exercise than I was when I went to weight watchers. The £20 a month fee I'm saving is a good bonus too!
  • lucylousmummy
    lucylousmummy Posts: 348 Member
    i did weight watchers a few years ago, yes i lost weight but as soon as i stopped following the diet i gained all the weight back and then some, i think personally my problem was that although its easy, it doesn't really learn you the values of food, a good example is the amount of sugar in fruit that they allow you to eat without measure, counting calories has been an eye opener lol, not only have i lost far more weight, and i have kept going for longer as im not "bored" with the food
  • notamoment2soon
    notamoment2soon Posts: 6
    I am also a WW defector. I was successful and lost my first 80lbs on the diet. However after a while I just couldn't seem to get my head in the game. I put back on 30 of the 80 and with still a lot to lose I kept trying to work the program. On the night I went in for my weigh in and I hadn't eaten anything all day because I was trying to conserve points and just totally not being healthy I was told by a WW employee and I quote wow well you can go out and have a hot fudge sunday for dinner! I left the meeting and never went back. I realized that the one thing WW doesn't focus on is nutrition. Most of the focus is on what can I eat for the fewest points even if that something isn't the healthiest option. So I took my monthly dues for WW and joined the gym. I figured even if I only went during the time I had set aside for my WW meeting it was going to be healthier for me. The trainer I worked with told me about MFP and I found it very eye opening because for the first couple weeks I played around following WW points and logging it into MFP and the numbers were astonishing.

    WW works for a lot of people. You have to do what works for you. The only plan that truly works is the one you can maintain consistently.
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    i did weight watchers a few years ago, yes i lost weight but as soon as i stopped following the diet i gained all the weight back and then some, i think personally my problem was that although its easy, it doesn't really learn you the values of food, a good example is the amount of sugar in fruit that they allow you to eat without measure, counting calories has been an eye opener lol, not only have i lost far more weight, and i have kept going for longer as im not "bored" with the food

    THIS

    I will say WW is good for someone starting out that has no clue which way to turn and needs to be held accountable...so it that fact it isn't bad.

    I did WW years ago and lost about 40 lbs...and gained back 30 of them...I am so close to having lost those 30 lbs again but I did it my way of reading and researching and trial and error to find out what works best for me.

    I did it a few years ago and they have changed their plans...but when I went the points were drilled into you at every meeting and there wasn't much in the form of education about food in general - I would stay away from things like avocado because it was too high in fat and calories and would instead have a processed chocolate like WW snack stick because it was lower in points and that was better for me, right??? oh soooooo sooooo WRONG....I eat avocado almost every day now....

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