Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Weight watchers vs Calorie Counting

So this past week I started the great debate in my mind.  Which is better?  Calorie counting or Weight watchers points counting?    How to decide what method to follow????

I started my weight loss journey years ago with some rudimentary calorie counting.  I started with good old pen and paper and a calorie book.  But then I started to use a website, I  believe the website that I used was fitday.com.  Eventually I switched over to Weight Watchers and I had great success with the plan.  I even made lifetime.  But at some point I had issues......I know that some of the issues that I had were in my own head , my attitude and behaviors.  BUT, I also know that when they changed the plan and added so many additional free foods (fruits for one) that I struggled.  I worked the system, even before they added so many free foods.  And it worked for me when the free foods were limited.. Yes, I ate green beans (free) and Sourkraut (also free) and a Wasa cracker (the one I got was free points) EVERY. DAY. FOR. LUNCH.  I ate green beans and sourkraut so much in the year or so it took me to lose my weight that I didn't eat those things for a few years afterward.  But the free foods were limited and so I was limited and restricted.....which for a food addict is a good thing!

When weight watchers stopped working, I started counting calories using myfitnesspal.com.  This works too.  Recently though I had figured out that my body is whacky!  I only lose when my calories are down at about 1200 to 1400 calories.   If I hover around 1400-1600 calories I maintain and anything over that I gain.  I know...I know....this is not typical.  By the numbers I should be losing at 1500 calories...but I can't help it!  It is what it is!

But a month or two ago I decided to rejoin weight watchers.  And I had success for the first few weeks but then it just became a constant struggle.  I want to know why??

So about a week ago, I decided to double track.  I did that for most days this past week.  And I remembered a few things and learned a few things.  Number one....I love the fruit and all of those 'FREE" fruits still do add up in calories.  Number two......my daily points, without my weekly points usually take me right to the 1500 calorie mark.   I have already ascertained that I don't lose at that caloric level!  So maybe it is no wonder that I am not losing.  Those first few weeks on weight watchers, i was gung ho and I ate below my points goal each day......so I was most likely eating down around 1200 calories!  Then when I am 'spot on' and expecting a loss because of being spot on with my points I am really sitting at 1500 calories...which is maintain zone for me.  And Heavens...those weeks when I drill into my weekly points (which I could never eat many of my weekly points....or activity points even way back when I was losing the weight the first time)  I am up in my gain zone!

It all makes sense for me!   So that leaves me with the question........weight watchers points or calorie tracking ?    I haven't decided yet.   They both have certain aspects that I like.  I know that double tracking is just to unwieldy and time consuming. But I just hate to make that decision!   Hmmmm...maybe I will just push off that decision for another week..or two!

11 comments:

Shelley said...

I was a calorie counter and never quite understood the "free" items that WW has. It still adds up, right?

*Stained Glass Butterfly* said...

I liked old school Weight Watchers, back when they handed out those little paper trackers that were like checkbooks, ha ha. They keep messing with it, adding to it, trying to jazz it up, when it worked best before they changed it. It was intuitive, made sense, helped me eat much healthier. I looked at their website recently, and now there's something about being classified as a color...blah. I just left. I don't like silliness.

peppylady (Dora) said...

I do fitday and also a member of T.O.P.S

Mrs Swan said...

YAS! I used WW before my wedding in 2003. I liked it and it worked well. I am not into all those free foods and the like.

MaryFran said...

It does! Amazingly enough it kinda seems to work out....as long as my food addict brain doesn’t decide to eat a banana with breakfast, lunch and dinner and then make a two frozen banana ice cream for a snack! As an addict I tend to try to manipulate the system and free foods are bad!!!

MaryFran said...

I agree whole heartedly...the paper trackers were when I lost the weight....and the little cardboard sliding points scale! Old school weight watchers is what I liked! Maybe I should try to find my old papers from that era and go back to that system! However I fear they are long gone!!

MaryFran said...

I may have to go back into fit day! The thing I loved most about that is how they had a more intuitive section ‘of you cut your calories by this much, you will reach your goal on such and such day’. It was motivational for me!!

MaryFran said...

Free foods just seem to set me up for failure! Not a good thing!!

Anonymous said...

I find calorie counting works for me. I did 21 Day Fix (the one with color containers) what it told me is I am very carb heavy. I eat too much fruit too. So now I pick veggies first and limit fruit. I also found I didn’t eat enough protein either so I try to pick a protein with every meal. But number one thing for me is counting calories. It keeps me in line. I have tried many diets & I learned something from them all. But the main thing is to eat wholesome foods & watch portions. There is no magic pill. I just wish I could figure out the stress/boredom eating. It happens to me especially during this pandemic! I know, no excuses.🙂

Paula C

Mrs Swan said...

Winning points is the name of that version. That is the version I did as well. I went down the rabbit hole of googling after I commented her there other day. Lol

MaryFran said...

I tend to go more toward fruits also. Luckily I usually can keep my complex carbs in check.. So that’s a plus. It’s crazy the complexity of our food intake! Sometimes that is the worst part of this journey...the loss of the ‘carefree’ feelings!