WEIGHT WATCHERS

Ok...... what's your opinion? I've been on it for about 3weeks. I like the support from meetings. I also record my online food. I've screwed up my eating this whole week. I'm just wondering what people's thoughts were on Weight Watchers vs. My Fitness Pal???????? Any success on either one of them in which one worked for you or is working for you now?

Thanks for your response

Missy

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I am not a fan of WW for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it costs money. :laugh: But the weigh-ins can be problematic. As you'll see said around here often, weight loss is not linear. So if you go in and you're having an up day, there's external disapproval. You might get asked what you think you might be doing wrong. It's just not my idea of a good time.

Is Weight Watchers working for you if your eating has been a problem for one of the three weeks you have been on the program? I don't know much about WW, but I can say that I met my goal here on MFP and have been on maintenance for 2.5 years. I get plenty of support here, but mostly logging my food and holding myself accountable does the trick for me.

I prefer MFP because it helps me track macros not just points so it helps me make sure I'm getting all my nutritional needs met...and it's free. I never cared about the rah-rah aspect of the meetings, and I certainly don't need to pay $50/month or more to go and have someone weigh me.

I think it's really just preference but mfp is not only free but it sets up your macros lets you also record your workouts and gives you a good guess-dimate on what your weight will be in 5 weeks which is super motivating. Ww also acts like certain healthy foods shouldn't be eaten like meats and what not if you don't over do it it's good. But at the. End of the day it's really just what works for you personally

Thanks guys for the responses. I bought a scale a little while back and stepped on it like 3times in 5-10min and it weighed like 3 different numbers. How do I know to track then????

I know...... I feel like I've been dieting forever. It sucks. It's very good advice basically do what works for yourself. Unfortunely it's super hard. Talking to people... a lot of people that are on MFP are truly going through the same. I started it on and off since 2012. I gained like 55lbs in a short period of a time. Couple years. Sometimes.. it's like why bother. Then when I lose like 5lbs I feel great again. Then I binge all over again.

As to your scale, check the battery. A weakened battery will make the scale wonky. If the battery is new it could be just a bad scale. I threw my scale out recently for that very reason - every time I got on it, even in the span of a couple minutes, with the scale on a hard surface (not carpet) and stepping on the exact same spot every time, I would get a different number every time I got on.

Granted it was usually only off by .25 - .5 a lb each time but still...it was very annoying. I got this scale from Amazon recently and I love it. I can step on it 10 times in one session and it will give me the same readout every time:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032TNPOE/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687502&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001KXZ808&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0TMB4GKPVZJ61RAY52EZ

As to the success - you have to want it more than you want anything. You can't be beholden to your moods or whims. Some days I wake up and don't feel like doing it..but I do it anyway just like some days I don't feel like going to work, but I go anyway...because I have to. And I have to "do this" in order to meet my goals for a healthy weight and lifestyle...

I do have my off days (I haven't logged in a week, oops...but I was still being "mindful" of what I was eating)...but most days I religiously weigh my food and log it, making sure to verify the calories and nutrients against the label or the USDA nutrient database.

I am very careful about exercise calories - I only take about half of the ones the machine or app says I burned.

And I make sure to drink plenty of fluids so I don't retain water.

You know I went to WW for a while and hated it. The group was click and I found that I was starving myself so that I would be "successful" each week. I joined MFP as a food and exercise diary. I am accountable to me and that's a good thing. Food diaries have been found to be the most sustainable of all weight loss programs too.

I went for awhile. The leader can make the difference, depending on their energy. I did well and I had a friend who lost 80 on WW and she can quote the points at a drop of a hat. For me, it was the money. I liked the accountability factor;however, MFP meets those needs for me. I never did log my food on WW. Just couldn't get into it but, I had had no problem for the 3 weeks that I've been with MFP.

Thanks for the input

I appreciate you taking the time in responding!

I had a co-worker who lost a lot of weight on it, 60 or 70 pounds I think. It wouldn't be my cup of tea with the "weekly weigh-in in front of everyone", though.

I'm a lifetime member on WW, I lost 40 lbs and I've kept that off (never paid, weekly wi) for 6 years so far

I did WW 6 years ago and I felt hungry all the time! Yeah, I lost weight but I think they had my, "points," completely wrong because I felt like I was starving all the time. Towards the end I was so hungry at night that I would just binge and I gained almost everything back. I hear they have a new system now but their old system was awful and I wouldn't suggest it.

With MFP I find what works for me and I'm only hungry every once and awhile (and there is usually a good reason for me being hungry)

I first went to WW almost 27 years ago (hard to believe!, I can't actually be that old) and became a lifetime member. No internet so no MFP back then so what it did for me is teach me about healthy eating. I was raised by a single mom with 5 kids who was way more concerned about food quantity over nutitional quality and i had no framework for healthy eating. I think that experience has caused my not to gain too much weight even when it has fluctuated upwards over time. I tried to go back around 10 years ago but by then I really didn't need that kind of experience and didn't like it. I like MFP because it's free and because of the resources available to learn all those things I had to learn from WW back then.

I've done both WW and kept the weight off for five years then had babies. It was ok, the online tool at the time had limited options and points could be hit and miss as its rounded up and down. I'm not a chatty person and didn't the meetings all that much.

MFP I have now lost 17kg in almost five months. It's much easier to customise, the food data base is much broader (alas not always accurate so it pays to check up on something's). Love having my fitbit linked so everything I need is in one place.

MFP if Im out and don't have my phone I can look at the nutritional value on the menu/package and know roughly how something will fit in to my plan. WW is hard because you have to calculate nutritional info using a converter to workout the points

I lost over 75lbs on weight watchers years ago and am a lifetime member. I liked it because it teaches you how to eat, at least it did when I was there. I was amazed that a serving of tuna wasn't an entire can. I also learned to think of gatherings as more than just a place to eat, but to meet with friends. It was called "reframing". A super bowl party, great food, yes, but concentrate on the great friends and the game.

I worked as a leader for over a year as well. I loved it. It kept me motivated. I had wonderful people that came to my meeting. Let me respond to one poster -- WW never weighs you in front of everyone! They should never even say your weight out loud. If you'd like to talk privately with the leader, that is there for you. I never gave anyone a hard time or asked what they thought they did wrong that week. If you encounter any of these things at a center, call the owner or report the center to corporate. That is not the way meetings should be run, nor is it how leaders are trained.

But back to my original point, WW taught me how to eat. Everything is about choice. I made some bad choices over the past few years and gained back the weight. Now I'm working to get it off again.

WW worked for me. I value what I learned there. What works best for you might be different. You need to be comfortable. Good luck!

Carolyn

I did WW last year for 9 months - it was very helpful (I was an online member, so "meetings" were not a draw for me). I liked the simple "points" counting and re-learned portion control. When I started lifting weights about 7 months in, I started also using MFP to track macros and just to get a handle once again on "calories." I stopped WW after a couple of months and continued to slowly lose pounds on schedule.

Thanx so much for the input

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