Weight Watchers VS SparkPeople

[MushyMushy]

If you've used them, which do you prefer and why?

I've been on WW in the past and did really well with it, but only as long as I tracked my points. As soon as I quit tracking, I go off the plan. I'm the type who has to see those numbers in order to keep control.

I also did SparkPeople briefly, but for some reason didn't get into it as much. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset.

I could use some thoughts and opinions to help me make this decision. The cost isn't an issue. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I recently came to find out that we've been paying for the WW site all along and I didn't realize it. It was on DH's credit card and I don't look at his statements. He assumed I knew. So it won't be a big deal to continue with the WW site if I choose to use it instead of Spark.

 

[Jennifer S]

I have done both and I prefer Sparkpeople. I hated going to meetings at WW and I HATED figuring out the points. Never tried their on-line version.

SP I lost almost 30 pounds. Here I ate whatever I wanted. I just stayed in my range for caories, fat etc. Also w/ SP I exercised more. I loved that they had trainers to ask questions.

 

[Christine]

I used SparkPeople for a month and I really liked it. I've never "formally" done WW watchers but have only done it loosely using some "pirated" materials I had.

I will tell you that I am pretty much against WW. I don't think it teaches people to eat properly, it keeps you tethered to the plan making you depend on POINTS, and IMO encourages people to use a lot of food substitutes to get in as much food as possible for the amount of points you are given. I'm not saying that it doesn't work, it just goes against a lot of what I believe in learning to eat healthfully. But, it does work and if that suits you then use it.

I liked SP in that I got my calorie range for the day and I could fit stuff into and used the other charts to actually learn how much fat, carbs, protein I should be getting. After a while, I got a really natural feel to how much fat I was eating every day and what sort of ratio would keep me full and keep me within my range.

 

[DMickey28]

I haven't even heard of Sparkpeople but am checking it out right now. I have done WW before and it's the only place I have had success. I think it's because I need to have things written down to be able to keep track of what was what. I also liked that I could eat anything I wanted and it taught me a healthy way of eating that even know I can go back to fairly easily. I haven't started up again yet but have lost 5.5 lbs in that last 3 weeks just by drawing on the information I did learn.

 

[LoraJ]

I've used both and prefer sparkpeople.

There's even a DIS team on sparkpeople.

I really have to get back into it if I want to fit into my wedding dress. I have been doing too much stress eating.

 

[DMickey28]

Here's my question with counting calories. How do you know how many calories things are? Aside from the obvious, written on the side of the box things of course.

 

[luckywife]

I've been doing WW since March and have lost almost 45 pounds. I recently stopped going to the meetings because things got too hectic with summer, my oldest son in sports, etc. I did enjoy the meetings but didn't like writing everything down. I haven't been keeping track too much of my points since I stopped the meetings but I do feel it taught me how to eat better so I have been following that and have continued to lose weight.

I have never heard of SparkPeople but think I will check it out.

 

[Christine]

Here's my question with counting calories. How do you know how many calories things are? Aside from the obvious, written on the side of the box things of course.

Are you speaking of SparkPeople or just in general? Just about everything has a count on it. For produce, or other things that don't, you just enter it into SparkPeople and it has an archive of calories. Every bite you put in your mouth, you enter into SparkPeople and you get a tally all day long.

 

[Tybug]

I've used both and prefer sparkpeople.

There's even a DIS team on sparkpeople.

I really have to get back into it if I want to fit into my wedding dress. I have been doing too much stress eating.

Oh I didn't know that! I love sparkpeople!! Just recording what I put in my mouth everyday has made a world of difference(and lost pounds!). I'll have to go look for that team!

 

[cats7494]

I have been doing sparkpeople since May and have lost 30 pounds. I really love the website! But you have to use the tracking parts of it - well, at least I do -to keep me on track. I also love the "teams" and challenges you can be a part of.
It has helped me quite a bit. The articles are good too!

 

[phorsenuf]

I used SparkPeople for a month and I really liked it. I've never "formally" done WW watchers but have only done it loosely using some "pirated" materials I had.

I will tell you that I am pretty much against WW. I don't think it teaches people to eat properly, it keeps you tethered to the plan making you depend on POINTS, and IMO encourages people to use a lot of food substitutes to get in as much food as possible for the amount of points you are given. I'm not saying that it doesn't work, it just goes against a lot of what I believe in learning to eat healthfully. But, it does work and if that suits you then use it.

See, now I don't agree with that at all. My DH and I have been doing WW and love it. It has taught us to eat healthy and make smart choices of what we do eat. Counting points also makes us accountable for what we eat and makes you think twice about whether its something you should be eating.
I haven't been counting my points religously like when I first started because now I know what is good for me and what is not.

And whether you do WW or SP you still have to count, whether its points or adding up your calories. WW really is nothing more than a low fat calorie restrictive diet just calculated in a different format.

If you use the online tracking method at WW it really makes it so much easier. They even have a recipe converter where you enter in a recipe ingredients and it will figure out the point count. Pretty cool


I also know that some people do a combination of the 2 with good results. They use the WW points system but use the SP's website and challenges.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I did/do WW and lost 25 pounds. I thought it was very good as far as teaching the right way to eat and making wise choices. I've never heard of Sparkpeople.

 

[WDW4ever]

My Aunt did great on WW. She loves it. I never was successful on it, even after multiple attempts. In fact, the only thing that's worked for me and I was able to stay on for the long haul was low carbing (Atkins).

Everyone is different. It's most important to find what works for you. What do you feel you can commit yourself to? You're making a lifestyle change so you also don't regain your weight back and you learn to eat properly (I assume). What works for one won't always work for another. Only by trying things will you be able to decide what's best for you.

Good luck and I hope you'll be a big loser

 

[becka]

I really liked WW and I was successful on it but I joined sparkpeople almost 2 months ago and I have been very successful with it. I really love the food and fitness tracking on the site and it helps me be very accountable. Really all the points were was just a scale for calories for the most part so I still eat about the same amount of food on either plan.

I lost 16 pounds on WW over 2 months but I have lost 24 pounds on sparkpeople in 2 months so I think I will stick with SP for now.

 

[Jennifer S]

I've used both and prefer sparkpeople.

There's even a DIS team on sparkpeople.

I really have to get back into it if I want to fit into my wedding dress. I have been doing too much stress eating.

Hey what is the Dis team name on sparkpeople? I must have missed it.

 

[LoraJ]

Hey what is the Dis team name on sparkpeople? I must have missed it.

I found it by doing a search for teams. It came up right away.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I use the WW online..

Alot of my friends are on sparkpeople, so I have a page there, but as you can see..WW Online worked REALLY well for me so far and calorie counting only did not...Fruits and Veggies on WW don't have many if any points, they count toward your calories on SP.

My SP name is betsydmbfan

 

[kfeuer]

I will tell you that I am pretty much against WW. I don't think it teaches people to eat properly, it keeps you tethered to the plan making you depend on POINTS, and IMO encourages people to use a lot of food substitutes to get in as much food as possible for the amount of points you are given. I'm not saying that it doesn't work, it just goes against a lot of what I believe in learning to eat healthfully. But, it does work and if that suits you then use it.

I've done WW and there's some truth to the above. There were people who'd eat a 1-point hotdog with a 1-point bun and low-fat chips for lunch...technically they were sticking to the program, but there was no nutrition in what they were eating. The Core plan (do they still have that?) was much healthier, IMO. Alot depends on how the individual person chooses to follow the program--it can be done healthfully or unhealthfully.

 

[MushyMushy]

See, now I don't agree with that at all. My DH and I have been doing WW and love it. It has taught us to eat healthy and make smart choices of what we do eat. Counting points also makes us accountable for what we eat and makes you think twice about whether its something you should be eating.
I haven't been counting my points religously like when I first started because now I know what is good for me and what is not.

And whether you do WW or SP you still have to count, whether its points or adding up your calories. WW really is nothing more than a low fat calorie restrictive diet just calculated in a different format.

If you use the online tracking method at WW it really makes it so much easier. They even have a recipe converter where you enter in a recipe ingredients and it will figure out the point count. Pretty cool


I also know that some people do a combination of the 2 with good results. They use the WW points system but use the SP's website and challenges.

Now there's an idea I hadn't thought of! My big thing with WW is that I'm very familiar with it. I've been on the points system off and on for several years, and I can look at just about any food and tell you the approximate points. That's a big bonus for me being on WW. Since SP is free, it wouldn't hurt at all do use the rest of the site aside from tracking.

I agree with you about WW and healthy eating too. I think it all depends on the leader. The first leader I had who taught me the points was really big into junk and eating as much as you could in a day to fill up. She had all kinds of tips and tricks (mixing cake mix with diet soda for a low-cal cake, yuck!). When I found a new leader, she was all about healthy eating, but also learning how to eat the stuff you want in moderation so that it would fit in with your plan. She was the best leader I'd ever had, but I can't do the meetings anymore since they're in the mornings.

I just joined the DISboards team on SP, so we'll see how it goes trying to keep up with two sites. I just need to get into the swing of things.

Phors, are you and your DH on WW online now? I'm there as Marseeya, although I rarely post on the boards. I might check it out.

 

[WeirdEyes]

I've done WW online and SparkPeople and I use SparkPeople for two reasons:

#1 - It's FREE!
#2 - With SparkPeople, I think in calories and not points.

I also like being able to log my exercise, etc. on SparkPeople.

Look for me on SparkPeople under weirdeyes.