weight watchers pro or con?

hey there i'm just woundering how meny people on this site used (or in cases like mine are currently still on) the weight wathers diet. i've only been on here a couple of days and i have found that with staying in my point range i also seem to be hitting my daly callery range.

 now i find this for my is a pro situation and i was just wondering how you have all felt. pro, con, truth, or fad i would just like to here your responses.

thank you all
synner

I was on WW a few times -- I think there are good points and bad (no pun intended).  The good is that yes, you can eat quite a lot, they do emphasize exercise (even giving you the pin for consecutive weeks of exercise), and it is super easy to follow (after a few weeks).

The first time I did it, I lost 35 pounds and kept 25 of them off for about a year -- but I stopped going to meetings and finding excuses and they piled back on -- more so. The next couple of times I tried, my heart just wasn't in it.

My bad --

1.  Doesn't matter where you get your points from.  Not all 0 point foods are good for you, not all 5-7 point foods are bad for you.  I would find myself with a deficit of a number of points and "desperate to not go under" I would eat the highest calorie foods that fit the bill -- not the healthiest.

2.  The goal weights are extremely low unless you are a small framed person.  I know they say you can go to your doctor and if they agree to a higher weight, that can be your goal weight -- but that is not always easy to do.

TO ME -- the benefits of CC is that it gives me total control over my "destiny" by giving me the tools and the knowledge to use them.  To be honest, I came to the site because my cholesterol levels are less than stellar.  Since being here, logging all my food, exercising about an hour 5 days a week, eating so much food (and still having to push to meet my calorie goal) -- I have lost 16+ pounds.  More importantly, I have figured out how to eat healthily.  Ok, I already knew and wasn't a big fast food junkie, but chocolate in the most fattening forms was killing me.  I still eat my chocolate, I've just found ways to enjoy it without the extra saturated fat that came along with what I'd been eating..

This site (admittedly, I could do this with a paper journal) lets me visually see how much and what I am eating, to include all the nutritionals -- my WW journals is simply a study in basic food names with point values.

I think they both have their places -- I think some individuals will be more sucessful on one program than the other (regardless of the choice).  I also think using CC in conjunction with WW is very smart -- if you already do the WW.

Pro:
It works if you follow it religiously

Con:
You can eat a lot of really crappy foods and stay within your points

I did it years back and lost a lot of weight. I'm happier now eating healthy, non-processed foods and it's a lot easier as well.

You can eat really crappy foods by counting calories also. It's either points or cals, it's still either do you want to make the most of your cals and put good stuff in your body or do  you just want to eat crap until your cals are used up. Either way you can still lose weight. For me it's all about right sized portion's and exercise. If you exercise enough you can still eat a lot of junk and maintain your weight and be fine because your burning it off.

That's why small children can eat crap all day and still stay thin. Im not saying its a good thing but if your a junk eater it also doesnt mean you have to cut it all out.

Right chix, but I don't have to pay membership dues to eat a lot of crappy foods and count calories. You can do that for free.

I did WW for about 3 months back before my wedding and I had lost 10lbs.  I think same as with counting calories it makes you accountable for what you are eating.  You see what goes in your mouth and how it might effect you more then other things.  For me I enjoyed it (would be doing it now but don't have the extra cash).  But like others said yes it is possible to still eat the junk food on WW (same as it is here to build junk food into your calories).  I believe it all depends on if you want it to work for you or not.  Some people enjoy the little extra push and someone there backing them up.  Others would rather be in control of their own destiny.  But all in all I don't think it is a bad program.

If you can't afford Weight Watchers, try Overeaters Anonymous.  The folks there are very supportive and friendly and boost your morale tremendously.  The down side to OA is that folks there are looking to better themselves so they won't say that just cause Twinkies have the same calories as say chicken and vegies, the Twinkies are ok to run your body on.  This web site reminds me of OA in many respects.  OA is a place to rev up your lifestyle and over all health.

thank you all for responding and giving your input. and yes i am currently fallowing WW as well (as i have said i have been on it a few times and i know what to do) but i am doing both of these at once. i want to se for my self what i can do and i hope that doing these two together can help me reach my weight loss goals. i still don't think that for a 5'2.5" female with and mezo/endo body type that a weight loss to 120 pounds or less is healthy.

 that is why i am doing both. and i do agree with you if you fill up your day with bad points or calleoiry foods that can be furstrating. personally i try to balance it out. the lighter stuff in the morning (fruits veggies cerials milk) when i know that i will just munch and the heave stuff at nightfor when i need the energy for all nighters. but thank you all for your help

The down side to OA is that folks there are looking to better themselves so they won't say that just cause Twinkies have the same calories as say chicken and vegies, the Twinkies are ok to run your body on.

This is a "down side"??

I think with calorie counting, when done properly, gives you a better picture of your overall diet and since it doesn't require a membership, meetings, spending money, it is something that people are more likely to keep up with. I know my mom used to do WW and lost around 40 lbs, but once she stopped going to the meetings she gained it back. That can be chalked up to personal accountability, but I think if it was something that didn't require so much time out of her day or money from her wallet, she would have been more inclined to continue with it.

Just my 2 cents :)

I also noticed my 2 friends in WW aren't as interested in the quality of their foods that make up their points.  One friend eats a whole box of stove top stuffing (not everyday but in a pinch) because it is within her points and will fill her up. 

BUT, this may be just them as individuals.

I have been on south beach and decided to do WW as well to make sure I am eating the right amount. once I went on WW I started eating crap bc it allows it. I do know that WW works great though, my mom lost a lot of weight doing it a few years ago. I think I just need to be on a stickter diet .

Since I plan on eating healthier for the rest of my life, I opted against Weight Watchers and more for just a healthy, balanced, count-my-calories, count-my-carbs, cut-out-the-crap style of diet. 

I really should call it the "READ THE LABEL" diet, hee hee hee ... because I spend a LOT of time reading labels these days and opting FOR whole grains and natural and organic foods rather than those with hydrogenated fats and High Fructose Corn Syrup.  For me, I wanted to know WHY some foods were so high calorie and so "bad" for me ... rather than just looking up its calories and moving on. Because I want a diet with the proper balance of fats-proteins-carbs, I care about why something is high in calories ... is it high in fat? Is it dense protein? Is it high in carbs? How much fiber does it have? How many chemicals are in there?

For me, my goal is not "just" to lose weight ... I also need to count carbs and manage my diabetes, and make better food choices to manage my high cholesterol. Just looking at points and not paying close attention to labels and what sort of food I ingest just doesn't let me learn healthy eating habits.

But, if others can learn healthy eating habits from WW ... go for it.

=^..^=  MOLLY 

Molly has the right idea! I started reading labels religiously.

 

WHY DO SO MANY THINGS HAVE CORN SYRUP?!?!

 

I am baffled by this :P

I don't go to meetins, but I do use WW points rather than calories.  It's just easier for me to count to 22 than 1400.  Some people have mentioned that WW doesn't focus on healthy eating, but you can eat all junk food and stay within your calorie range too-- it is something each individual chooses to do.  Also, if you are doing WW, I would try to follow the 8 healthy guidlines-- especially the fruit/veggie servings, dairy servings and water.

i did weight watchers for a while, and i think the problem i had was that i was so obsessed with the points in a food, that the actual calories or fat in the food wasn't even an issue.  i know that's part of the points, but i would never actually look at that. i don't think it really teaches you how to eat as a lifestyle, unless you plan to stay on weight watchers forever, in which case, you could definitely keep the weight off. at the end of the day, food is food, and not points.

for me personally, right now i'm just trying to lose weight, so although i'm definitely eating more healthily, i'm still eating 100-calorie packs and pudding (which are essentially still junk food). those things are making it easier to lose weight, and once i'm at where i need to be, i'll really focus on healthier eating.

Pro tip: the best foods in the store don't have labels! Nature made it very simple for us-fruits and veggies and plain nuts and grains.