Weight Watchers dropout (what's different about calorie counting?)
Hi, my name is Theresa, and I'm a Weight Watchers drop out. I've been doing WW online for a few months now. It's more or less working, but I just can't stomach paying $17-some a month for a fancy calorie counter. Yikes.
So I'm switching! Yay!
What should I know that's really different? Besides no longer getting extra credit for fiber (boo!), is there any thing that tripped you up when switching from WW to calorie counters? What do you use to track your calories?
Honestly - they are the same. I think the big difference is veggies have calories - no more zeros there. Although, I have read of some calorie counters that don't count veggies.
Overall, I find calorie counting easier and it works better for me [then weight watchers]! Good luck!
Oh and for counting, I use SparkPeople - I find it the fastest. Its not my fav site out there, but it is the quickest for entering my food. I also like the member database, so you can almost always find what you are looking for. The only problem is calories of foods differ in Canada so I find a lot of things are off by 5 or 10 calories, but I don't worry about it too much.
I did WW and lost 25 pounds. The good thing was meetings, online didn't have much to offer me. I like calorie counting because I know exactly what I'm eating - measuring points didn't seem transparent to me, and I wanted to get a full two points, not just one rounded up.
While calorie counting you'll notice that you do get extra credit for fiber, in that high fiber things make you feel full for less calories. Good luck to you! Calorie counting has been good to me.
I like calorie counting because I know exactly what I'm eating - measuring points didn't seem transparent to me, and I wanted to get a full two points, not just one rounded up.
This was EXACTLY my problem with Weight Watchers. I felt cheated.
I think calorie counting must be easier and you have more control. You know exactly what you're eating and can account for every part of the meal nutrition wise too. It's more of a lifestyle than a diet.
For counting, I LOVE myplate at livestrong.com. It has a great database, you can track your water consumption, and your fitness activities as well. Plus, it will calculate your calories based on your weight loss goals. It has great charts as well- and even breaks down your nutrients so you know what you need to eat.
Okay, so after everyone here commenting on mydailyplate I tried it and me likey! It sucks that ALL my recipes and custom food are at sparkpeople so I dunno if it is worth me switching - but I love the way you add food, so fast and easy!
Well, like you said, WW is $17 a month and counting calories is FREE. Take that $17 you save each month and buy yourself a pair of smaller shorts, or save up every time you need to down size panties and bra's.
I have nothing against WW, for the most part, I think it's a well rounded nutritional program, but like I've said before, WW is a multi-million dollar company. They want you to lose weight extremely SLOW, so they can profit off your SLOW weight loss. They also push "junk food" in the form of processed WW products. Like those little 2 point brownies suck...and they just make you crave the good stuff.
Good luck. I use livestrong.com. It has all the brands and foods you can think of. I myself did weight watchers. I love calorie counting. Call it lazy but theres relatively no thinking involved. you track the points online and theres no need to remember the points amount. I think calorie counting also helps you. Your noticing whats in things instead of counting points.
Okay, so after everyone here commenting on mydailyplate I tried it and me likey! It sucks that ALL my recipes and custom food are at sparkpeople so I dunno if it is worth me switching - but I love the way you add food, so fast and easy!
it sucks switching but you can add recipes and also search other users recipes as well. i promise, you will love this site!
I have nothing against WW, for the most part, I think it's a well rounded nutritional program, but like I've said before, WW is a multi-million dollar company. They want you to lose weight extremely SLOW, so they can profit off your SLOW weight loss. They also push "junk food" in the form of processed WW products. Like those little 2 point brownies suck...and they just make you crave the good stuff.
So true for me. I lsot on WW twice and never learned what the cost of food was to my body. LoriBell also hit it right when she seaid it is deliberately slow.
Re: veggies - I do track them all but with the lower carb/lower calorie veggies, I am not quite so compulsive about weighing and measuring as I am with most foods. It's not really that big a deal if I have 2 cups of lettuce or three, since the difference is about 6 calories. But it's a bigger deal if I have 1 cup of broccoli or carrots or two, because that can be a 60 cal difference and that does start to add up.
I also find that with WW, it becomes tempting to eat more of the processed foods they offer. Not that you can't eat them and count the calories, but I've gotten completely away from all of the WW and Lean Cuisines that I used to eat and am much closer to a whole foods diet, which I think gives me more nutrition and is more filling for the same number of calories.
Weight Watchers dropout (what's different about calorie counting?)
