Weight Watchers? Why not just count calories?

[CrispyBiscuit]

I don't get all the free foods with WW.     If I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, then how can all this count as ZERO?   And, having to look up FOUR things (fat,fiber,carb,protein) for EVERY thing I put in my mouth or put in a recipe!   --- calorie counting just seems so much easier.    So why do people do WW and not just count calories?    I've heard people say, "It's easier to deal with counting lower numbers" (6 points for a SUBWAY sandwich vs. saying 450 calories for the SAME sandwich) -- but when you've had to look up 4 things per item on the sandwich ! --- how is this easier?

 

 

Please help me understanding this.  

 

Now I GET that it offers the meetings/support, but other than that (assuming one doesn't need the support), what are the advantages of this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Catwoman]

I have never tried WW, but I have a few friends who were successful with it when none of the other programs they tried would work for them.

 

Can you call them and ask for a clear explanation, or perhaps get some sort of free trial membership? I know they have an online program in addition to their in-person programs.

[Mom22ns]

I did weight watchers long long ago, before they used points. They used servings back then instead of calories.

 

I think one group of people it is easier for are those who eat a lot of pre-prepared foods where they can look up the points for the item, or it comes labeled.

[momto5blessings]

Hi there,

I just joined WW last week.  I love the program.  The reason food is assigned a point value is because calories are not equal.  It depends on carbs, protein, fat, etc.  It really does teach you how to eat healthier.  I suspect that after I am in it long enough that it will be easier, as far as counting points.  They have nifty, inexpensive books that can help you with your calculations without looking at each individual component of an item.  There is one called Shop which I use to look up tons of stuff, Eat Out with tons of restaurants and menu items, Power Foods, etc.

I am not very technical, so I chose the book route.  But if you have a smartphone, you just log in and can look up stuff online which is probably quicker than using the book, but I just got a smartphone a month ago, and I am not ready for that, lol. 

I also love attending meetings.  It really helps and I am learning a lot about nutrition.

You really can eat as much of the power foods (fruits, veg, etc.) and I, who have never been much of a fruit or veggie eater, have even been incorporating some of this into my meals.

Hope this helps you some.

Pamela

BTW  I lost 3.8 pounds my first week.  I am so excited, and I have not been hungry much at all.

[redsquirrel]

I think for some people, it makes them eat in a healthier manner. You have to put the bread down after so many number of points and if you get hungry you need to have a salad or an apple etc. IIRC, some items are more points, count more heavily towards your daily total, and than helps people make more balanced choices.

 

Calorie counting (which I do) can be a pain for some. I don't mind and now it is LOADS easier with an app. But for a long time WW was an easy way to navigate the 'real world'' with food. Out to lunch at subway? I bet you can find out the points.  It is so easy to remember basic points vs actual calories. 

 

Again, with a calorie app on my phone, that is a totally different thing these day.

 

I say whatever gets people eating in a mindful manner, thinking about portion control and increasing veggies is a good thing no matter how you make it work for you.

[HiddenJewel]

Not all calories are created equally. So to just count calories misses important parts of good nutrition.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Because eating, losing weight, gaining weight, emotions, social cues and expectations, etc make weight loss an extremely personal and variable thing. What works beautifully for one can flop with another. I truly believe there is one way to lose weight and it is different for everyone.

[Night Elf]

I'm on WW maintenance after losing almost 50 lbs. and I don't like their free foods either. If I eat all of my points in a day and add fruits and veggies on top of that, that's additional calories I'm eating and it simply doesn't make sense to me to not count them. Now, some veggies truly are free. They are so low in calories that when you calculate them using the 4 components (fat, carbs, fiber, protein), they calculate as zero. When I joined WW in 2011, we didn't have free fruit. A banana was 3 pts. so I continue to count that in my points now.

 

As for the purpose of counting points, I think it has something to do with understanding a food's nutritional value. For example, foods with higher fiber will be calculated differently than food that is high fat. Simply looking at calories makes all food the same nutritional value. At least that is how I look at it.

 

I have their etools. I can calculate points for a food in seconds, but yes I need the nutritional label. If I don't have one, I google for it. I don't like when people make blanket statements that WW is too hard and stupid. I find it easy and simple. It's a program that makes sense to me. And it was good enough for me to lose down to my goal weight and maintain for 2.5 years so far.

[DawnM]

I'm on WW maintenance after losing almost 50 lbs. and I don't like their free foods either. If I eat all of my points in a day and add fruits and veggies on top of that, that's additional calories I'm eating and it simply doesn't make sense to me to not count them. Now, some veggies truly are free. They are so low in calories that when you calculate them using the 4 components (fat, carbs, fiber, protein), they calculate as zero. When I joined WW in 2011, we didn't have free fruit. A banana was 3 pts. so I continue to count that in my points now.

 

As for the purpose of counting points, I think it has something to do with understanding a food's nutritional value. For example, foods with higher fiber will be calculated differently than food that is high fat. Simply looking at calories makes all food the same nutritional value. At least that is how I look at it.

 

I have their etools. I can calculate points for a food in seconds, but yes I need the nutritional label. If I don't have one, I google for it. I don't like when people make blanket statements that WW is too hard and stupid. I find it easy and simple. It's a program that makes sense to me. And it was good enough for me to lose down to my goal weight and maintain for 2.5 years so far.

 

 

The new point system is only around 900-1,000 calories for the average person.  The fruits are "free" but I was told that they assume you will eat 2-3 servings, which would account for the remaining 200-300 calorie deficit you would need to equal the same points as before.

 

They told me one reason they did it this way is because people were NOT eating the fruit.  If they could have a WW sundae for 3 points OR a banana for 3 points, most people were choosing the sundae and not getting enough fruit, which has fiber and is healthier.

 

So, they limited the points so that you automatically would fall back on fruit if you were still hungry.

 

It is just a mind game really.

[DawnM]

Oh, and there is now an app where you can scan food in the grocery store and it will spit out the points value for that item.

[Night Elf]

The new point system is only around 900-1,000 calories for the average person.  The fruits are "free" but I was told that they assume you will eat 2-3 servings, which would account for the remaining 200-300 calorie deficit you would need to equal the same points as before.

 

They told me one reason they did it this way is because people were NOT eating the fruit.  If they could have a WW sundae for 3 points OR a banana for 3 points, most people were choosing the sundae and not getting enough fruit, which has fiber and is healthier.

 

So, they limited the points so that you automatically would fall back on fruit if you were still hungry.

 

It is just a mind game really.

 

That makes sense but still doesn't make me want to count them as zero. That's what my weeklies are for. Also, for a while, I was counting calories and points and 26 - 28 pts for me is about 1100 - 1200 calories. That's plenty for me to maintain my weight. When I started the program, daily points were calculated on weight, for one I think. So someone heavier would get more dailies than someone who weighed less. Is that still true? If not, maybe some people don't like WW because they feel they are hungry. My stepdad is obese and the hospital had him on an 1800 calorie diet to lose weight. I'd be stuffed to the gills if I ate that much. There has to be a difference surely.

[DawnM]

That makes sense but still doesn't make me want to count them as zero. That's what my weeklies are for. Also, for a while, I was counting calories and points and 26 - 28 pts for me is about 1100 - 1200 calories. That's plenty for me to maintain my weight. When I started the program, daily points were calculated on weight, for one I think. So someone heavier would get more dailies than someone who weighed less. Is that still true? If not, maybe some people don't like WW because they feel they are hungry. My stepdad is obese and the hospital had him on an 1800 calorie diet to lose weight. I'd be stuffed to the gills if I ate that much. There has to be a difference surely.

 

Are you talking about the old points system or the points plus system???

 

 

Yes, it is based on weight, but pretty much if you weigh 220 or less, you are on 26 points per day (not counting your weeklies or activity points)

 

This is the points plus system, and the calories per point are less than they used to be.

[CrispyBiscuit]

Thanks all!  

[Night Elf]

Are you talking about the old points system or the points plus system???

 

 

Yes, it is based on weight, but pretty much if you weigh 220 or less, you are on 26 points per day (not counting your weeklies or activity points)

 

This is the points plus system, and the calories per point are less than they used to be.

 

You know, I honestly don't remember what system they were using when I joined in Sept. 2011. My aunt gave me a sliding calculator that I used for a while, but I can't remember if I used that when I joined the program or not. That was just so long ago. I do remember that my DH weighed just a few pounds more than I did and he was given more daily points than me. I think when they calculated how many points you got they looked at weight, height and sex. I just can't remember though.

[Laurie4b]

My good friend uses the version of their point system called Simple Eating (or something like that. It has the word simple or simply in it.) In that program, pretty much everything that has solid nutritional value such as lean meats, fruits, veges, whole grains, nonfat dairy, and 2 tsp olive oil per day is 0 points. The only points then that you have to count are for extras. You get 7 extra points per day. She has lost quite a bit of weight on that method. I will consider that program if I hit a wall with what I am doing now because so many 0 options means that you don't get obsessed about food and learn to eat treats in small amounts while eating plenty of healthy foods.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I was on WW when they moved to their Points Plus system.  I was eating a more whole foods diet.  I was frustrated because the old point system rewarded eating a bunch of processed foods with fake ingredients.  I did not want to eat that way.  When they moved to the Points Plus system, you are rewarded for making healthy, low calorie food choices and penalized for food that are not healthy. Part of the fruits and veggies being free is that most people tend to grab the high-fat/salt/sugar comfort foods when they are wanting something - which can lead to binge eating and falling off the wagon.  This system rewards them for choosing a healthier alternative.  Even though fruits and veggies have calories, they are negligible compared to the common binge foods.  Also, foods with more fiber and protein tend to make people feel fuller longer than the empty calories.  It is not just about counting calories, but choosing an eating pattern that will help you be successful long term.

 

Night Elf, I don't know how you survive on under 1400 calories a day.  The minimum I can tolerate is about 1600 or I would be terribly grumpy and have no energy whatsoever.  I wasn't allotted that many points to make up that much in calories and I was always hungry.  So, I had to earn points by exercise. 

 

I probably need to go back to WW because I am just not disciplined and have gained a bit of weight from emotional eating (lots of stress in my life - things outside of my control that give me a great deal of worry.) 

[BrookValley.]

I don't get all the free foods with WW. If I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, then how can all this count as ZERO? And, having to look up FOUR things (fat,fiber,carb,protein) for EVERY thing I put in my mouth or put in a recipe! --- calorie counting just seems so much easier. So why do people do WW and not just count calories? I've heard people say, "It's easier to deal with counting lower numbers" (6 points for a SUBWAY sandwich vs. saying 450 calories for the SAME sandwich) -- but when you've had to look up 4 things per item on the sandwich ! --- how is this easier?

 

 

Please help me understanding this.

 

Now I GET that it offers the meetings/support, but other than that (assuming one doesn't need the support), what are the advantages of this?

OT, but OP, your avatar pic was taken by/belongs to a close friend of mine. I'm going to assume you don't have permission to use it.

 

As for your original question, for *me,* points work better. Why? It's a mind game I need to play with myself. Counting calories seems so much more restrictive. The WW database is huge; I rarely have to calculate points, and when I do, that food is added to my database, so I don't have to calculate points for it again. As for free fruits and veggies, that works really well to encourage me to fill up on those first.

 

In short, it's really about what works for you. WW works wonderful for me, but it's definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea.

[MeghansMom]

I just started WW and lost three pounds the first week. I am cautiously optimistic. I like the points and I do find myself making healthier choices and feeling better.

 

I would make worse choices if I was using the old points system or counting calories.