Anybody done Weightwatchers?

I did it for about 5 months last year..only lost 3 lbs in those months. I probably wasn't eating enough or working out too much. Basically, it's a waste of money. You can just as easily track your food and exercise on MFP for FREE and get the same, if not better, results.

I lost 30 lbs with WW back in 2003 (before fruits were 0). Whenever I hit plateaus, I would just get more rigid about measuring and weighing my food. I would also look at the balance of foods I was eating and switch it up (I always tend to eat way to many carbs and not enough protein). My leader recommended switching up what you eat - if you do FF - go to full fat for a few days - if you eat too much fruit, add more veggies, etc. She also suggested switching up my exercise routine to challenge my body.

What types of fruits are you eating and how much?

I did weight watchers awhile back (on the old plan) and lost a lot of weight. I kept it off for awhile but, soon found myself going back to my old ways. I prefer MFP because it's FREE. But, learned that dieting doesn't work for me. I needed to make a lifestyle change. It's a way of life for me. Daily exercise and eating heathly balanced food. The weight (for me) is coming of slower but, I belive it will stay off this time because, I am doing the right way ~ eating right & exercising. I personally think everyone is different and we should do what works for us.

I haven't.

I've also never done calorie tracking before, and I was truly amazed at the calories in fruit - I actually don't like it much, and thinking I was being healthy I made myself drink a pint of homemade smoothie for breakfast most days. Containing, as I later discovered, more or less enough calories for the day!

Other horrors were cider (I LIKE cider...) and Chinese food (I LOVE Chinese food).

They are the only things I've cut down on. I always ate pretty well, but I have made a point of using the MFP tracking sytem (which I think is brilliant) to keep an eye on my fibre and protein intake, and to remind me about my 5 a day.

So far I've lost 22lb - not very consistently, but without any effort beyond just logging.

I don't think it's a good idea to eat loads of fruit - it's a food with a calorific value like any other, although clearly on sheer health grounds you're better off with a fruit salad than a plate of fast food. That's the only reason I can think WW makes it a "free food". I'd back MFP any day - it has its quirks, but if you set it up right and stick with you will lose weight. And it's free, which means you can afford the gym membership!

I lost 30 lbs with WW back in 2003 (before fruits were 0). Whenever I hit plateaus, I would just get more rigid about measuring and weighing my food. I would also look at the balance of foods I was eating and switch it up (I always tend to eat way to many carbs and not enough protein). My leader recommended switching up what you eat - if you do FF - go to full fat for a few days - if you eat too much fruit, add more veggies, etc. She also suggested switching up my exercise routine to challenge my body.

What types of fruits are you eating and how much?

So far today I've had an apple, mango, half a cantaloupe melon, ordinarily I would have some more fruit, a banana in the afternoon and half a punned of strawberries in the evening, and maybe a small punter of cherries to snack on during the day.
Sounds like A LOT when I write it all down!

That's a lot of fruit. I lost weight with WW in the past, before having 2 kids. I tried it again at the beginning of this year, but then I realized MFP was basically the same kind of tracking tool and I didn't have to pay for it. Plus the MFP phone app is much better and I like the breakdowns it gives you. I'd start putting the fruit and everything into mfp so you can see how it all adds up for a few days.

Yes I was definitely shocked with the amount of calories in fruit. I was eating a lot of it cuz it was 0 pts and not losing weight. I switched to MFP and lost 3 pounds the first week. I also had my resting metabolism rate done, I set my calories to that and then eat back the calories earned from exercise.

Kornmaiden - what's your resting metabolism rate and how do I get it done?

I'm shocked at the additional calories I've consumed just today because of fruit.
I have two weeks till my holidays and would love to lose even a couple of pounds, my weight has stayed the same for the past 8 weeks on WW.
Going to go for a 90 minute walk now x

You can get your resting metabolism (the amount of calories your body burns without exerting any effort) done probably at your gym, I know Hyvee grocer stores sometime do it. It's done using a device called a Body Gem. You fast for four hours before, sit perfectly still for about 10 minutes, then the device which is about the size of a flashlight, has a mouthpiece you insert in your mouth and breathe in normally for 10-15 minutes. It's attached to a computer and then things like your height/weight/activity level are fed into that. You get a printout telling you how much the resting is (I was shocked to find out mine was under 1200 calories) and what your normally would burn. Both MFP and Fitbit had my calories set way too high, armed with this information you can make a more accurate assessment of where your calories out to be. It cost me $39 and I think worth every penny.

I lost 30 lbs with WW back in 2003 (before fruits were 0). Whenever I hit plateaus, I would just get more rigid about measuring and weighing my food. I would also look at the balance of foods I was eating and switch it up (I always tend to eat way to many carbs and not enough protein). My leader recommended switching up what you eat - if you do FF - go to full fat for a few days - if you eat too much fruit, add more veggies, etc. She also suggested switching up my exercise routine to challenge my body.

What types of fruits are you eating and how much?

So far today I've had an apple, mango, half a cantaloupe melon, ordinarily I would have some more fruit, a banana in the afternoon and half a punned of strawberries in the evening, and maybe a small punter of cherries to snack on during the day.
Sounds like A LOT when I write it all down!

Do you go to meetings or do WW online or are you 'winging it'? I didn't realize it but someone said here the other day that fruit isn't actually unlimited. They tell you some guidelines of what is a reasonable amount, I think she said. I'm a Lifetime member and went to a meeting to get the new materials when they first came out but it was Jan. 2011 and I don't recall (and am too lazy to dig out the materials). But it makes sense. Just because it's 0 points doesn't mean you should eat so much.

Totally understandable! Maybe start obsessing on the veggies?

You've done great so far. How long have you been stalled? Are you at 29 points? And do you eat all your 49 and your APs?

I did it for 8 weeks in 2011 and only lost 2 lbs. but I was eating all 29 and 49 and it came out to about 1800 calories for me, I think. That's too much for me to lose much weight.

I saw a study that said most people on the new plan take in around 1850. That makes sense if they eat about 300 calories of 0 point items, if you do the math. If you don't have a lot to lose and/or are older or sedentary, you might do better at leaving some of those 49 unspent. I'd like to try it again under that method myself and see how it goes. I imagine that's what WW would suggest if your plateau has been longer than 3-4 weeks. But like I said, I haven't gone in a long time so maybe not.