Counting Calories vs. Weight Watchers.. I need to choose and I want your help

  Hi,

   I have had success on weight watchers in the past but now that I have started counting calories I have had successes in this too. Here is my problem though I have found that I am eating much less on weight watchers and I allways go over my points becuase my milk products and cheeses cost so many points and on calorie count I allways have calories left over at the end of the day. On weight watchers I had 24 points for the day and counting calories I have around 1800. I would like to continue calorie counting but if weight watchers is better for me then I will start that again. Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.

Calorie counting is more like a lifestyle change than a "diet." You can easily watch you calorie intake for the rest of your life, but do you really want to be "counting points." You can just look at a label for a calorie count, instead of looking up a point value in a book. Calorie Counting also doesn't require any special products or attending meetings. It's definitely more likely to be sustainable weight loss, since you notice what you eat and what you should eat more of. Whereas once you stop counting points, you'll probably start gaining weight back.

I've done both successfully as well.

In my opinion, this site wins hands down . . . it has information on any subject you could possibly need, it has experts you can ask questions of, it has great support groups and best of all . . . it's FREE! :)

Ditto! I have been successful with both CC and WW. I didn't want to pay the WW fees this time around, so I am counting calories and its working pretty much the same. I'm loosing at the same rate as I did with WW, and like a pervious post mentioned, its so much easier to count calories than have to figure out the points for everything. Good Luck!! 

I had some success with WW, but after doing CC for a few months now, I feel like it's easier. I've lost 20 pounds with CC, and it feels more like something that I can transition into real life and less like a crazy-tedious diet. I don't want to carry that damn slider for the rest of my life. Plus, I love the support I've foun here much more than the meetings ever gave.

The two are not mutually exclusive.  Weight Watchers provides a simplified way of counting calories.

The problem I ran into with the Weight Watchers plan (4 different times) was losing my 10% then hitting a plateau I couldn't break.  When the instructor would imply that I must not be sticking to the plan, first I'd try to eat less, then I'd give up and gain it back.

Now I know that a big downfall for me is undereating and starvation mode.  I just wasn't getting the calories I needed on Weight Watchers, and I certainly didn't get the advice and guidance I get here.

If you like Weight Watchers and it works for you, go ahead and do it.  Stay in touch with friends here too, and do a calorie count check once in a while.  There are lots of CC members who do Weight Watchers.

I get a bit confused when people say they have successfully dieted using x-method before. If that was true then the weight would have stayed off. To me success is not just losing the weight but it being a change forever that I can keep up. Because of that I think either weight watchers or calorie counting will only be as successful as your attitude to it.

If 'a diet' is something you do and try and get finished as soon as possible you will put it back on if you use your 'change in diet', the weighing and measuring, to learn what a portion looks like and are willing to eat sensible portions to maintain for the rest of your life then that is a success.

 I have to agree. After a long talk with my husband he felt like I just wasnt consuming enough. He notices that I eat under my portion sizes just to satisfy weight watchers. I dont want my body to starve and potentally stop my weight loss. I will stick to CC. I will use weight watchers as a diet to help get me back in the game if im off track and then come back to CC.

Thanks every one for your help!

I've gone back and forth doing both - I was always hungry on WW and would wind up blowing it a lot.  So I started tracking both points and calories and found that my points allowance was averaging me (5'6, 145-150, regular exerciser) around 900-1100 calories.  No wonder I was so hungry!  Since I've been on here - trying to average around 1400-1500.  The weight is coming off slowly but I feel so much healthier and this is something that I can maintain.

I've also used both WW and CC. CC wins hands down IMO! As others have said, it is more of a "lifestyle change" then a diet like WWs is, it's free, more informative regarding nutrition, there is lots of support here, and again...it's freeeeee.

I find WW is really restrictive on fats/ dairys, which I personally could not do with out - cheese is my favourite food, and I love that I can still have it!. Too low in fat diets probably account for why you end up eating less calories on WW then you should to effectively lose weight. I'm pretty sure their point system is not just about the calories involved but the fat/sugar contents e.g. a girl I work with told me a cookie we ate one morning would amount to about 12 points on WW (which is close to half her daily allowance!). When I computed the calories, I got around 180-200 - which is nowhere near of a big deal on a 1300-1600 daily allowance!

With CC I feel I have more control (it is in my hands rather than some WW Guru's hands) over what I eat, know more about nutrition and can eat what ever I want so long as I plan well/bank calories etc. And this way of thinking about food can take me through til the rest of my life. I'm also not as scared about gaining weight back, cos I know that as soon as I get serious and motivated, I can go back to CC and lose, lose, lose!  I am actually rather shocked to have found that when I' started CC'ing (only a few months ago now) and eaten more during plateaus etc, I've started to lose weight again, in some cases more weight than before! So, before CC, I think I ended up undereating a lot without even realising it, which is not good!

I'm now starting to find the right calorie deficit goal to aim for, and I love that as long as I stay under my maintanance range and over 1200 calories I will still lose some weight that week.

Well many would argue that WW is easier to follow with the points system etc, I would argue that after calorie counting for a matter of months, you don't have to be consumed with constant calorie counting, especially if you eat a lot of the same things week to week, and I find I just plan my meals the day before and have got to the stage where I can quickly add the calories up in my head.

So...I'll say it again, CC hands down!

I have tried both as well and would always do this site over weight watchers.

Reasons:

1. Its free, weight watchers isn't

2. Weight watchers recommends their products which ends up being dearer and less easy than using your everyday groceries which cc does

3. CC I found to be less restrictive as you can still have your naughty treats its about looking at your overall daily eating plan

4. I can keep doing CC for the rest of my life whereas I probably wouldn't do weight watchers indefinitely.

5. I am not someone who wants to do check ins, I like the autonomy that I feel with CC and not having someone else checking my weight and discussing it with me

6. When you start looking at weight watchers products they might be low fat but alot of them are high in sugar and cc is more diabetes friendly which means my husband can use CC with me whereas weight watchers was less user friendly for him.

Original Post by clairelaine:

The problem I ran into with the Weight Watchers plan (4 different times) was losing my 10% then hitting a plateau I couldn't break.  When the instructor would imply that I must not be sticking to the plan, first I'd try to eat less, then I'd give up and gain it back.

Now I know that a big downfall for me is undereating and starvation mode.  I just wasn't getting the calories I needed on Weight Watchers, and I certainly didn't get the advice and guidance I get here.

Clairelaine, you seem to have had the same experience(s) that I did when I gave WW a try. The first time, I lost 30 lbs and then plateaued ... then gained it all back plus some ... then lost 20 on WW ... then plateaued ... then gained it all back to end up the heaviest I've ever been (205). I never knew, until joining CC and educating myself on nutrition, that I wasn't getting enough calories or nutrients when following WW points system. Now I do, and NOW I can eat enough to stay satisfied while continuing to lose weight (aside from a 4 week plateau that've I've already gotten over).

My vote is for CC - you become more educated about nutrition in general and you have a better chance of learning and keeping healthier habits. Good luck!

I think counting calories will work better because like another poster said, it's more of a lifestyle change. Weight watchers costs money, and you probably don't want to be paying for weight watchers and going to the meetings and weigh ins for the rest of your life, but counting calories is something you can do easily for the rest of your life. Plus, once you've counted calories for a while, you get the jist of how many calories will be in what you're eating, even if you don't run home and look it up on CC.

I've had a tremendous success on WW. I lost 35 pounds before I had baby number 2 and 3 and another 35 pounds after baby 2 and 3. I LOVED WW because I could still eat food I wasnt quite ready to give up - like chips and salsa - and still lose the weight. Once I reached my goal and got serious about weight training, I am watching calories, carbs and protein through a clean eating diet. (Tosca Reno's eat clean diet) - Once I began serious weight training, I found that WW just didnt satisfy my hunger. I think both options are great - and what I tell my friends is - do what works for you! Good luck! 

In my opinion, they are the same.  WW allows me 20 points per day to lose weight, which amounts to roughly 1000 calories per day.  Some people would say this is not enough calories per day and you'll end up feeling hungry.  But, WW allows you 35 weekly points.  If you divide this out, you are allowed an extra 5 points each day (about 250 extra calories).  CC allows me 1250 calories each day to lose weight.  My best advise is to average your daily allowance over a week.  If you have a cookout or dinner date on the weekend, eat a little less throughout the week so you'll have extra calories left over for the weekend.  It's the same principle as WW.  I like both equally.