I started on my health and fitness journey in 2011 when I moved in Minnesota. I had been working full time in retail and hadn't really paid much attention to my health or my weight.
I went on a cruise that year and was so sad when I got home and I realized I had been too embarrassed to take any photos of myself - and the one candid one that had been taken of me, I almost didn't recognize myself!
I decided then that things had to change.
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I briefly tried Atkins but found it was too restrictive for me, so that lasted maybe a week.
I then decided to try WW and really liked that I could still eat the foods I liked and it seemed like an easier transition. A
fter a week of learning the points system (at that time, it was Points Plus), I was hooked on the program!
I went on to follow it and lost 45lbs and even got back into running! I was also able to maintain that weight loss for years...until they changed the program to Freestyle.
Program changes
This is one of the top reasons why I decided to leave WW. Every year around November, WW changes the program.
I get it - they're a business and need to keep things fresh - but the constant changing and having to relearn programs is hard for me.
I feel like I was able to easily grasp the first program I did because I had the time to work with the program, learn what worked with my body, and research other blogs and learn tips and tricks.
Now with a baby I simply don't have the time to do all that research anymore.
Learning to Eat for the Program vs. Eating Healthy
I felt as though with each program change I started to eat with the mentality of getting the most value out of my points with eating junk food instead of actually eating healthy.
I'd be on the search for junk food that was low in points (aka filled with low/zero cal sweeteners) and make 0 point sweets all the time (like the popular zero point cheesecake)!
I do feel like I learned to be more mindful about my portions but not really about how to eat a balanced diet.
Free Foods
With the Point Plus program all food except fruit and veggies had a points value. With this new program "free" foods has been expanded to include foods like ground turkey, greek yogurt, and many more.
The idea is that as long as you have reasonable portions of these free items you won't over eat - but I didn't find that true.
I slowly started overdoing it with the free foods and it slowed my progress.
Wishy Washy Policies
I could never figure out if I was supposed to eat my fitpoints on the new program.
Some coaches and ambassadors would say yes, others would say no and there wasn't any official word from WW on what to do ("Try to see what works for your body!" I'd hear).
I'd rather have a definitive yes or no.
Price
I was an online/app member and was paying about $20 a month which is pretty pricey, especially when you hit maintenance and are just using it as a tracker!
I wish they had a program similar to their studio program where once you hit your goal weight for a while (lifetime) you'd get free membership as long as you maintained that weight loss.
While I'm really thankful for what WW has done for me in the past, I decided that because of all these reasons I no longer wanted to be a member of WW.
I'm now doing simple calorie counting using MFP and am trying to focus more on filling my diet with more whole foods.
What are your thoughts on WW?
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