Switching
 

I am thinking about switching from Weight Watchers to calorie counting. What do you like most about calorie counting??

I like it because it is simple, basic and works for me.

I actually do both Weight Watchers and calorie counting through MFP. What I like about the calorie counting is that I can see how much specific foods are without the filter of Weight Watchers points. And, I personally like to see the calorie counts of the fruits/vegetables that I eat.

Also, I sync MyFitnessPal to my Fitbit so I see the amount of calorie deficit in Fitbit which is central to my daily goals. While my Fitbit does sync activity to WW (for activity points) the food part of WW doesn't sync to Fitbit. I need calorie count to show the calorie deficit in Fitbit.

The reason I don't just do calorie counting instead of both is that I like the accountability and short term goal of the weekly weigh in and going to WW meetings keeps my head thinking about weight loss.

I like calorie counting because I don't have to count the calories of my non-starchy veggies.

YMMV, of course, but for me that small fluctuation in calories doesn't make a difference in my weight loss (at least, for now). Personally, I could not do any diet that required me to track the calories/points in the slice of tomato and the slice of lettuce that goes on my sandwich. I don't have the patience for that.

So for me, calorie counting allows me more flexibility. Which I like.

Also, I tend to shoot for a weekly count rather than a daily count, which helps me be more flexible throughout the week for social events and such. If I got to a party and overindulge, I simply cut back a bit the next couple of days to get my week on target. It's easier for me than daily counting.

For me, calorie counting was good for me because it allowed me to track exactly what I was eating and putting into my mouth--it was that simple. I can't compare it to weight watchers since I've never done that (although I do like the weigh watchers snacks I see at the grocery store since they are usually low calorie options)

Banananutmuffin: I think in weekly terms also. I do a daily count, but I also use a spreadsheet to show me my overall weekly average for comparison purposes.

I like your idea of not counting non starch veggies; it makes sense.

I actually made that switch about 2 months ago :)

I found my results were more consistent with calorie counting than WW. With the variety in how the points are calculated depending on what you ate, my weight loss fluctuated between a half a pound and just over 2 pounds each week. With the calorie counting, it's settled to a pretty steady 1.5lbs a week (between 1.4 and 1.6)

I'm more careful with what I'm eating, as there's less ways to 'game the system' when it's calories instead of points. If I want popcorn with butter on it, I make sure that the points are available that week and have it instead of worrying that I wont lose anything if i use more weekly points than normal.

WW was great in that it taught me proper portion control, but once I had that down calorie counting gave me more flexibility in my diet.

Bear in mind that it isn't an either/or thing. I find it fine to do WW with calorie counting. Each gives me things the other doesn't so I do both. I use WW for the meetings and weigh in and I just CC to keep track of food and Fitbit to track my overall calorie deficit. It all works.

It's free! It works!