Weight Watchers vs. MyFitnessPal

Having worked in health and fitness-we always encouraged clients to use myfitness pal to track food and water...but do not enter your exercise routines into it. It accounts for too many burned calories and allows you to eat however many extra calories you "burned". If you just stick to the calories and macros is provides-you should lose weight without too much trouble

@amanda thanks! It seemed to have worked pretty well. I signed up for WW because it was an easier way to track food but because of the points instead of calories I have no real way to know my caloric intake and fear that may be the reason the scale is not moving.

I love my fitness pal and it helped me to lose 10 pounds.

Agree 100%! It's definitely an easier system than my fitness pal.. but if you are like me and tend to eat basically the same few things for breakfast and lunch regularly-it saves all your commonly eaten items which makes it much quicker for entering.

I lost over 25 lbs in a year using my fitness pal. It is tedious but it works. If you really want to lose weight, you have to watch your protein and carb ratio, not just your calories. I'm not saying cut out pasta or rice, because I ate both almost daily. But keep the numbers on the low side, and my fitness pal can help you track these macros.

Also do not skip exercise. Even if it's going to the mall, walking around and staying active is the easiest way to shed weight.

Also, Drink water!!! Water burns fat like crazy. Just my drinking more than 80oz you are increasing your digestion system and giving your body the tools it needs to burn fat.

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!

Another thing that may be helpful is watching your sodium intake-if you limit it to **** mg of sodium per day-you'll most likely loose weight because it will cut a lot of processed/prepackaged foods out..my fitness pal tracks it under the nutrients tab

^ agreeeeed! Frozen dinners (even the "healthy ones") are packed with sodium, which makes you retain water and counters your progress

Thanks guys! So it sounds like I should cancel WW huh? Lol

Weight watchers does work but it's really beneficial to go to the meetings. They will tell you what's working and what's not.

MyFitnessPal tracks pure calories, sugar, carbs, etc. It operates on the idea that if you create a calorie deficit of about 500 calories a day (give or take, depending on the rate at which you want to lose), you'll lose weight. So, MFP is simply calories in versus calories out.

Weight Watchers has a more complex program. The idea behind WW is that not all calories are equal. You get a daily amount of "Points" that you can eat, and all foods have a different points value. For example, 100 calories of popcorn costs me four points, whereas a 100 calorie apple is "free" (zero points), and I think 100 calories of grilled chicken would be like one or two points. So, WW incentivizes you to eat healthier foods because they cost you fewer points. But still allows you to have your higher-point favorite foods if you've budgeted for them.

Does that make sense?

I've tried both and had way more success with MyFitnessPal. I liked it so much better. I have friend who have had a lot of success with WW though. It's really just a matter of finding what you like better and what's easier for you.

@runawaybride thanks for that! I agree that it has gotten me to eat a ton more fruit and home cooked meals and they have some awesome recipes that don't taste like diet food at all. So which have you had more success with?

@kayce thanks! I feel like i definitely saw the scale move a lot faster with mfp but i feel like my eating habits are changing for the better with WW but the scale has yet to move even though I am making those healthier choices and working out 4 times a week. So weird!

MyFitnessPal. 1. You can track your macros (it's not just CICO) 2. The forums 3. It's free

@MrsLosacco, I just started Weight Watchers again after using my Fitbit for food tracking (it's just like MFP). I've hit a serious plateau and I'm hoping Weight Watchers will get me over the hump! Truth be told, the problem is probably my workout routine. As my username suggests, I'm a runner. I desperately need to add weightlifting into the mix, and be consistent about it. But I HATE it. And I LOVE to run. So my motivation is lacking

I've never actually used WW- but it teaches you how to prioritize by assigning points and prioritizing food.

MFP's bottom line is calories (Which really is the important part)

so you have to self teach yourself that in order to meet your calories that you probably are going to need to prioritize your food (low calorie- but filling)

MFP is free- but some learning is required

WW- not free- but it's self correcting because of the points- and you don't really have to self learn.

I like MFP- I've been using it for years.

But use which ever one works for you. There is no right answer.

@runawawybride I am the exact opposite of you! I HATE cardio with a passion! I love to lift and lift heavy! It is such a great feeling and stress reliever for me. Running has always been so hum-drum for me.

I've tried both, and have had more success on WW than I've ever had on MyFitnessPal. I never lost more than 5-10 pounds with MyFitnessPal, and I'm down about 40 since August on WW.

I never used WW myself, but my coworker has lost 15 lbs so far (but he's a guy, sooo).

I really like using MFP in conjunction with a heart-rate monitor so I can see exactly how many calories I actually burn. As everyone else said, it's really helpful to get an idea of the kinds of macros you're consuming - my problem actually happens to be that I get too much protein and not enough fat - it's been super helpful.

I think the most eye-opening thing is when you first start using MFP honestly. I used to skip putting in dessert or alcohol because I knew it was bad, I just didn't want to know HOW bad. When I started adding all the extra junk it became really obvious why I wasn't losing weight.

I like my fitness pal it really tracks better lost over 50lb but you have to faithfully add everything and not go over your calories