Calories or Weightwatchers points ?
Ventnorman
Posts: 45
Hello,a while ago I did Weightwatchers and lost a lot of weight on there old points system,but when they brought the new pro points system out I did not get on with it so I left ! So two years forward I have put my weight back on !
So the question is do you find it better to count calories or points ? For me it's calories.
So the question is do you find it better to count calories or points ? For me it's calories.
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Replies
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I too had problems with the new pro points, I think WW has seriously lost it's way for the average dieter in an attempt to gain NHS recognition and funding for the morbidly obese. I have had huge success with Lighter Life Lite and am now maintaining successfully. I find that LL is a more ethical organisation and does really deal with the underlying causes of overeating.
I also find MFP invaluble for checking my calories especially when I think I have seriously overeaten, get a bit panicky then log it and realise that I have not done huge amounts of damage.0 -
My gf does weight watchers and I use this. For me calorie counting is easy, where as it can take her ages to find the point value of something, esp if we are out for food.
I love that I can scan bar-codes to track my food and its so much easier to try to stay under a calorie goal than a point system.0 -
I have never tried WW but don't like the sound of being able to eat as much fruit & veg as I want... I mean we all know there is about 100 calories in a banana and what happens if I eat 6 bananas every day??? it makes no sense to me Better to be accurate and simple, by tracking actual calories, via MFP!0
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I havent done WW, but I can see major flaws in it.
Firstly you dont know what your eating in terms of number not only from a cal point of view but also Sodium, sugar fat etc,
Secondly - If your trying to lose weight you should be redudcing your cal intake, not maintaining it, advising to eat as much fruit and veg as you like is great for your 5 a day, but as sittingduck says these still contain cals.
Dieiting should be about a healthy lifestyle within a set cal range and exercise to meet your target weight. They are promoting the wrong idea about living a healthy lifestyle.
I think the NHS recognition for them is great is you are morbidily obese or obese, and probably does work, but when you are just over weight cal counting should be the way to go, but also the promotion of exeercise. Peopl need to learn they all come hand in hand.
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Yes it does work if you are very overweight but not for the average person who might want to lose a couple of stone. It is OK at first but everyone seemed to reach a plateau that they couldn't break and were not near their reasonable target weight. I just could not get down from the overweight to the normal weight catagory even though I only had a few pounds to lose and started putting weight on. I had to leave WW and find something else that did work. It is a shame because their previous plans were very effective.0
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Never done WW, and never will, simply cos it's way too expensive for me! MFP has been the best discovery ever for me. Calorie counting with the proper figures really does work, and the support and advice on here is amazing. :happy:0
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Never done WW, and never will, simply cos it's way too expensive for me! MFP has been the best discovery ever for me. Calorie counting with the proper figures really does work, and the support and advice on here is amazing. :happy:
Being a huge skeptic I've always found WW food overpriced and a bit of a con. I'm not a fan of their processed meals, and puddings they have worse sweeteners and low fat replacers than cooking from scratch! The cheese and and chive crisps are lovely though.
Calories all the way!!! It gives you a better idea of what you're intake is without have to fuss with the silly calculator... the scanner on the MFP iPhone app is brilliant for calories, I used it at the supermarket today0 -
I started my weight loss journey with WW and had some success. When I discovered MFP, I tried tracking points and calories for a while but now I just track calories. I still attend the meetings, I go for free because I help the leader set up etc, and I like the discipline of the weekly weigh in. My particular meeting is very friendly too. WW is a good way to get started IMO, but if it's a real lifestyle change you're after, then I think MFPs method of tracking simple calories and nutrients is better.0
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Calories all the way!! :bigsmile:
I have some ex-work colleagues on FB who're trying to lose weight the Weight Watchers way and aren't doing so well on their own now they've stopped going to the Weight Watchers meetings.
In all honesty I think it's a waste of money as at the end of the day it's teaching people to rely on both Weight Watchers and their points system to control their eating habits, rather than teaching folks how to eat healthily for themselves. Just my opinion.0 -
I like you did the old WW and lost weight but couldn't get on with the new WW, despite trying twice. I find counting calories so much easier and it's got an android app which is fantastic because WW only have one for the iphone.
I think it's important to get to realise what calories are in food as well as the fat content etc. It trains your mind as does the WW system, but a lot more practically if you ask me. How WW calculates the points is so secretive and it should be based on the same nutritional information that you get from this site and the packets!0 -
Anyone that claims WW is easier than counting calories has been brainwashed.
I did it for several years, even helped out at my class with clerking and weighing - meant I got it free which was nice. I stopped tracking and fell off the wagon and ended up leaving long before Propoints however so can't comment specifically on that.
The bottom line is they are doing exactly what we are doing on MFP. They are encouraging you to eat less and track what you eat. The points values of food are all simply calculated using a patented formula (the old formula could be found on the Interwebs, I bet the PP formula is out there somewhere) and the formula preferred food with a lower fat percentage as we should on MFP.
Allowing people to eat as much fruit and veg as they like isn't a bad idea. Most people who follow weight watchers don't want to count calories. If they did, they would do it without spending bucket loads of money on WW meetings, and eating as much low calorie-dense foods as you like (most F&V is still predominantly water) is far better than stuffing your gob with chocolate. It may not be 100% perfect, yes, there are calories in fruit too, but gram for gram, there are damn site less than there are in chocolate and that is what they are trying to get across (most people actually eat the same weight in food per day - its when you pack that weight with calories that you are in trouble).0 -
I did WW for just over a year and managed to lose 3st, at the beginning of this year I hit the dreaded plateau for about the 3rd time and just could not lose anymore weight, needless to say I then messed about with it and ended up gaining a stone!! I cancelled my membership and started calorie counting which if I am honest works better for me, wouldnt go back to WW now.0
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