MFP vs. Weight Watchers

I would say for long term health MFP beats Weight Watchers by miles. MFP helps to show you the breakdown of what you're eating (sugar, fat, protein etc) whereas weightwatchers gives you a number of points and you can spend them how you like. The weekly meetings are a good weight loss tool to keep members accountable, but I think it terms of long term health and learning about the sort of foods you need for a balanced diet the weightwatchers plan is slightly flawed.

But then I'm a failed weightwatcher so my opinion may be biased!

I would say for long term health MFP beats Weight Watchers by miles. MFP helps to show you the breakdown of what you're eating (sugar, fat, protein etc) whereas weightwatchers gives you a number of points and you can spend them how you like. The weekly meetings are a good weight loss tool to keep members accountable, but I think it terms of long term health and learning about the sort of foods you need for a balanced diet the weightwatchers plan is slightly flawed.

But then I'm a failed weightwatcher so my opinion may be biased!

I agree
And I am also a failed weightwatcher

I lost 30 pounds on WW, but after the new points system was introduced, I didn't lose anything. I don't like their whole "free fruit" concept and I felt like converting exercise into points was just way too complicated, so I rarely exercised. I think WW was great for me when I was just starting out on my weight loss journey - I was someone who had always been heavy and WW helped teach me how to make healthier choices. I think MFP is much better for long-term weight loss and maintenance. I no longer skip eating things like nuts because they have too many points. Also, I've incorporated exercise into my life and I feel so much better! I no longer have to bother with the complicated points conversion system, which is another plus.

WW is good in the begging to have a support group and be held accountable every week, but after you take off the first 1/3 of your weight loss goal, it kind of becomes useless. I like MFP so much better.

REALLYALLY1: I couldn't agree more, the 'free' fruits and veggies concept actually made me gain LOL

I've been following WW propoints since January and have lost 70 lbs so far. Like many things - you get out of it what you want. It has done a lot to teach me about portion control. The zero point fruit and veg are great and steer me towards healthier options.

I've double tracked a couple of weeks and my WW points, plus fruit and veg and weeklies (points you can spread over the week however you like) are in line with the calorie recommendations from this and a few other weight loss websites.

I tried WW over 6+ months last year. And gained 6 lbs. :huh: Go figure, lol

Using MFP I've lost almost 40 in the last 6 months this year. True I've done more with it than when I was on WW (more exercise for one thing), but anyways, MFP has worked for me. For me it seems easier and more flexible.

I lost 50 lbs. on a WW program with free fruit and all produce, also oats, lean meats, some grains, eggs. You have to use some reason and listen to your body.

If you're going through the program and gaining on the default points values, your leader will suggest you watch your fruit and/or lower your points.

I lost 1 lb/month on the new program. It's a very low deficit, if you don't have a lot to lose. Most people eat 1850ish on it.

I started on WW before I discovered MFP back in January. My biggest thing is I want to see in front of me the break down of my calories. I want to keep track of my sugar, sodium, protein, fiber, fat, etc. I couldn't do that on WW.
I am definitely not knocking WW, it just seems that MFP has been better for me personally.

Weight Watchers helped me lose about 20lbs a few years ago when they had their original Points system. Now that they changed it, I have tried (and failed) twice on Points Plus. I followed the program to a T both times and had trouble even getting past the 5lbs lost mark. I would weigh in and to my surprise actually gain weight sometimes. I tracked religiously, did NOT overdo it on the "free fruits and vegetables" thing, and it still didn't seem to do me any good.

I also started getting really angry because every meeting I would go to, the leader would try to push products on us. I would weigh in, be frustrated that I wasn't losing anything and would look for someone to talk to, and he would just say "Oh keep up with it, you'll lose weight--- HERE BUY THIS FOOD SCALE AND BOOK." I felt like they pretended to care but really all they wanted was to make money.

I actually just joined MFP yesterday and cancelled my WW membership last night. I feel richer lol and hopefully I will have more success here.

I agree 100% this system was no good for me. Also, my intructor did the same! She would almost "force" us to buy products and she would go over the meeting by 20-40 minutes going crazy over the products. Then after my time ran out I recieved post cards for months begging me to come back. I was very disappointed with the whole thing.

I lost over a stone with weight watchers but I think it forces you in to using their products out of convenience and frustration at working out the points and that annoys me. Ultimately if you follow it properly it's a way of controlling calories and would work but because it gives you the impression that you can have their crisps/biscuits/prepackaged junk often and still lose weight I think people start to slip back on their efforts and eat the real thing over the tiny portion of bland rubbish in an over priced bag! WW works best if you stick to the points and each fresh natural foods because it's limiting calories and making healthier choices. If you assume that all points are made the same and eat the ww packaged foods I would pretty much guarantee you will still be hungry and want more as they just aren't nourishing foods. If you then add in a get out clause of eating as much fruit and veg as you like then no wonder people blow it because you overcompensate on sugary fruit and eat too much.

*end of my rant*

WW can work well but it needs some common sense too, stay in your points and eat real food and I would bet most people would lose significantly over time. Most people don't do that though so MFP which shows you more about what you are eating is better for me as the numbers (macros and nutrients) encourage me to make better choices and as anything can be eaten I don't feel restricted or controlled.

I used WW for about a year before recently discovering MFP. I was only doing the on line program because I don't need the support of meetings. I was paying $18/month! I had been moving between the same five pounds for the last several months on WW after losing about 25 pounds pretty quickly. I even manually reduced my daily points target to try to start losing consistently again and it did not work. After logging a few of my WW days in MFP, I found that although I was staying under my points goal I was heavy on carbs and sugar. It was a revelation that I needed to try to pinpoint why I couldn't get past those five pounds. After a week of using MFP I have found it to be more valuable, easier to use, and I love the mobile app version. I lost 1 pound in my first week and hope to get past that mark I have been unable to get past using WW.

I did WW Online a few years ago and lost about 25lbs with it. Ultimately, I got sick of the whole Points business and stopped doing it. I went on to lose another 15lbs or so without any sort of diet plan. I kept that off for a couple of years, but gradually regained a large portion of what I had lost.

Like anything, MFP is what you make of it. I was introduced to the site through an employer-sponsored wellness plan. My eating plan was developed in conjunction with a dietician, and I initially used MFP only as a tool to keep track of my food and activity. I did eventually find that, while the forums can be maddening at times, there is some useful info here. I've learned a few things and been inspired to try new fitness routines. Plus I've got some great people on my friends list

I just cancelled my WW membership..today. While I was successful with it I find MFP much more enjoyable to use. I too like the fact that I can easily monitor how much fat, carbs and protein I'm consuming on a given day.

My leader at WW used to say your same identical phrase " I don't know anyone who got fat by eating too many bananas "... I guess WW uses the same sentences all over the country LOL But anyway, the truth is somewhere in between: if the fruits a person eats makes him/her go above their daily needed calories, yes, that person will by all means gain weight by eating bananas. The only time I ever lost weight in my entire life (41 yrs. old) has been by counting calories.

Just saying...