Weight watchers or CC?
Hey all, I just happen to find this website just now out of curiosity. I am a weight watcher (ww) member and have been an off and on again member and wondering if I should continue with WW. am wondering if calorie counting is just easier? Are there others that calorie count and do weight watchers on here? I have signed up here because I think it is great that it is free, but wonder if meetings would be more beneficial for me...
I have done both Calorie Counters and Weight Watchers... I think it all depends on what you want... WW works by dieting until you get to your goal weight and then you add points until you get to your maintenance level (each food is assigned a point value and you only get a certain number per day). I did WW and lost about 25 pounds pretty fast... I struggled to maintain because I felt like I had starved myself to lose the weight faster. I like the approach of CC because it seems like they are more interested in taking things slow the first time around... yeah, you lose the weight slower, BUT you stand a better chance of keeping the weight off... at least, I hope that's how things turn out for me! Still, I am HUGE fan of Weight Watchers. My mom has lost 100 pounds using WW and I think that the program definitely works for some people... let me know if you have any other questions... you could always do both for a month to see what works better with your schedule...
I'm a weight watchers drop out (twice!), I wanted to do something that was free and that didn't take the time weight watchers takes. I don't have time to go to meetings and all that so I figured I'd try this. I never stuck with WW for very long, usually it was 6 weeks then I was out, I've been on here for almost 6 months now and I really enjoy it. The forums are a great resource and there are lots of people who can help with questions. Give it a try, it's not like you'll lose money or anything right?
I don't know much about Weight Watchers to be honest - but I wanted to point out one thing - if you are "on again off again" with ANY weight loss plan you try it is not going to be long term effective.
You have to make the lifestyle change and stay dedicated. And CC is great that it is free. Maybe make your own online "meeting group" in the forums.
If you dedicate yourself to CC I think it helps educate (Education is the best tool you can get in the weigt loss battle!) you on permanent lifestyle changes...
Weight watchers may do the same 'education' but I'm not as familiar with the program - so a one sided perspective from me!
Free though! Try it - What have you got to lose? (haha...)
another weight watchers dropout here!!!! counting points and stuff was just too much for me, and meetings! i am new to this website though so too soon to have an opinion on this.. but i am hoping that just by counting cals and posting in these forums i will be able to stay motivated without WW or the meetings!
Hey all, thanks for the replies, I think I may try both, see what I like. I don't really have anything to loose since this is free, and it looks really helpful.
Hope everyone one has great weight loss this year
another weight watchers (lifetime member) drop out. Had been at goal 3x in lst 30 years. I found cc in 2006, then got serious in Nov 07 and got back to old WW mantra of "Weigh and Measure"
Both WW and CC focus on three similar areas, e.g.
- journaling - knowing what you eat. WW points ~ CC calories
- exercise - WW activities add points, CC activities add calories
- support - WW has scheduled meeting, CC has free form, near real time forums.
Overall I like CC better because it can be more supportive because of the near real time forums versus scheduled meetings and that they are documented (historical) versus scribbled notes and forgotten memories. And don't forget the online recipes versus paper handouts at the meetings. Both require dedication and behavior change to be successful. I find CC more accessible because it is online and FREE. I've never tried WW's online resources because you have to pay for them. I am not attending WW meetings these days even tho they are free for me now that I am under my 30 year old goal weight. I find it to restrictive - but that is me. My wife still weighs in every month and attends some meetings (she's a lifetime member having gotten to goal once (-55 lbs) and stayed there for 9 years) but is not technology focused and so doesn't use CC, even after I showed her she was eating to many calories to lose the few pounds she wanted to take off. She doesn't like online journaling. Technology adverse.
So - bottom line - whatever works for you. CC has worked for me even better than WW because it got me realizing I had to exercise more than WW ever did by showing me how few calories and old fart like me burns in a day. That's one thing WW never discussed that I can recall.
Another former WW here... something I haven't seen mentioned yet but which is a big thing for me is the real life info that I get from CC that I didn't get from WW. WW is a good program and they try to simplify it but for me that backfired. I find knowledge empowering and instead of just saying "x" points and it's veggie or meat, with CC I can look at all the values and analyze so much more, protein, fat, fiber, sodium... It's just so much more informative to me and I feel like I've learned to make even better choices. I also find the database to be more extensive with CC and the recipe builder/analyzer seems to be a lot easier to use. I'm totally sold on CC - I love it! I feel like I finally have the tools I need to make a lasting difference in my health.
I agree with bobev...the 3 big focus points of WW and CC are what you need to get under control to lose weight.
But I also think the biggest difference in WW and CC is the amount of support you get.
In WW the "idea" of support is there, but you are just one of many with one or two 'experts". Also, the once a week meeting wasn't always enough support for me.
On CC I have found groups and threads and challenges that mest better with my personality. Plus it's not just once a week, it's as often as I need it...24/7.
Also, there is a sense of anominity here that I think helps us all reveal our true feelings whereas in a group of people in a room, in real life, you may not be as quick to reveal person issues that are affecting your life, stress level, happiness which all directly affect our weight loss/gain.
Good luck with whatever path you choose!
Its like bottled water VS Tap water...they both do the job, but only one of them is free...
So crank up that CC tap and use ur weight watcher $ to buy urself a present after u achieve ur weight goal
:D
The idea of using the WW money to buy yourself something is a really good one. Maybe you could put the money aside each month (or week, I don't know exactly) and set mini-goals for yourself and when you reach those goals you can have XX amount of money to do something fun!
Anyway, the only problem my friends that have done WW ever had after quitting was that they didn't have that support they got from the meetings. I think you will find that pretty easily here. Over the summer I was a big fan of the message boards because they are constant reminders that there are a lot of people doing this together. Or you could join a challenge and that will be a great way to get the same kind of meeting as you did with WW (and still free!).
I think that CC is a much better choice than WW because of the money, but also because of the support you get and all the free tools and ways to determine what the best weight is for you. I'm sure I am biased towards CC because it's the only thing I've ever had to do for any serious weight loss (like over 10 pounds), but it has also worked great for me.
Original Post by cypherous:
Its like bottled water VS Tap water...they both do the job, but only one of them is free...
So crank up that CC tap and use ur weight watcher $ to buy urself a present after u achieve ur weight goal
You are brilliant!!!! Love it!
WW did not work for me. It maintained my weight but I could not lose a pound.
I was shelling out over 10 bucks a meeting or 40-50 bucks a month and that got expensive besides the initial costs. I dropped out after 6 months.
I found CC by accident on a web search and have lost 36 pounds since June. There are no 10 dollar meeting, no fees to join and no boring meetings that reminded me of Amway rah rahs.
So, for me, CC is the ultimate guide to success in weight loss and control. It's like putting your car on cruise control. All you have to do is steer it in the right direction.
By the way, WW now offers their program online.
Good Luck!
