You’ve heard of Weight Watchers and calorie counting, but what’s the difference? Both can help you lose weight, but there are some key differences between them. For instance, Weight Watchers assigns food a point value based on nutrients, while calorie counting just tracks calories. So, you might cringe at the thought of monitoring food again. Additionally, What are macros and micros?
But it doesn’t have to be tedious. Innovative technology can speed up the process and make it easier than ever. This guide will explore the differences between Weight Watchers and calorie counting and how an AI calculator can help you count calories faster.
Table of Contents
The Difference Between Weight Watchers and Calorie Counting
Understanding Weight Watchers: The Program with a Point System
Weight Watchers, also known as WW, helps people lose weight through a structured program that encourages healthy eating, physical activity, and group support. WW was initially founded in the 1960s by Jean Nidetch, who lost weight with the help of friends before developing a structured plan to help others. The program has changed over the years but it remains one of the most popular weight loss programs available today.
Weight Watchers uses a point system that assigns values to foods based on their nutritional content. The program aims to help you eat fewer calories while consuming a more nutritious diet. Healthier foods that are lower in calories and higher in nutrients will have a lower point value. You will be assigned a daily points target based on your age, height, weight, and gender. The program encourages you to track your food intake to stay within your points allowance. Every food you choose will have a number attached to it.
Your goal is to stay within your allotted points for the day. Weight Watchers also emphasizes the importance of regular physical activity, encouraging you to engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. The program provides support through weekly group meetings, where you can share your experiences, receive guidance and encouragement, and learn from others. Weight Watchers has evolved over the years and offers various programs and tools to help you lose weight and improve your health. These programs and tools include personalized coaching, online resources, and mobile apps that make tracking progress and staying motivated easier.
What is Calorie Counting?
Calorie counting is tracking calories to manage your weight and improve your health. A calorie is a unit that represents the energy contained in food and drinks. You can find the calorie contents of any food or drink item by looking at the nutrition label or the calories of each ingredient if it is not prepackaged. When you consume more calories than your body requires for energy, you will gain weight over time as your body stores the calories as fat.
To count calories, you must determine the calories in the foods and drinks you consume and then track the total number throughout the day. You can do this manually by looking up the calorie content of foods and beverages in a reference book or online database and writing them down. You can also use a calorie-counting app or website that does the tracking for you. The number of calories you need daily depends on various factors, including age, gender, weight, height, and activity level. You will first need to calculate the calories your body needs to maintain its current weight, known as Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
To simplify, your TDEE is composed of the total calories your body burns from three sources: basal metabolic rate, thermic effect of food, and any movement you complete. Your TDEE is your maintenance calories. To lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than your maintenance calories, creating a calorie deficit to burn fat. A deficit of 200 to 500 calories daily is typically recommended for safe and sustainable weight loss. Maintaining a calorie deficit safely and sustainably is essential to maintaining progress.
Finding your individualized TDEE is very easy. You can use an online calculator. There are many free TDEE calculators online. Choosing any of these calculators will give you an estimate of your maintenance calories. However, keep in mind that these calculators only provide an estimate. Calorie counting is all based on trial and error. You begin by consuming daily calories less than your TDEE and track your progress for a few weeks. A few adjustments may be needed, but once you find your sweet spot, you will begin to lose weight by being in a calorie deficit.
How to Follow the Weight Watchers Program
1. Stay Hydrated
Water is your ally when starting Weight Watchers. Staying hydrated has many benefits, including weight loss, improved digestion, and decreased fatigue.
2. Create a Meal Plan
Meal planning might sound tedious, but it can be helpful when starting a new diet, especially one like Weight Watchers. Take an hour to plan your weekly meals, including snacks. Create a grocery list with the foods you need for those meals and stick to it. Avoid going to the grocery store hungry, too. If you do, you’ll be much more likely to stray from your list.
3. Satisfy Cravings Smartly
Cravings are inevitable, especially when starting a dieting program such as this. Weight Watchers recommends satisfying those cravings by finding other avenues to do so. For example, if you have a sugar craving, satisfy that craving with a delicious piece of fruit. Or if you want something salty and crunchy, try popcorn instead of chips. Looking for some snack ideas? We have a ton of healthier snack recipes for you to pick from.
4. Use Your Slow Cooker
Just because you’re eating healthier and trying to cook more doesn’t mean you must make it so hard for yourself! Your slow cooker is a great appliance when trying to eat healthy, especially when your days are busy. Our 50 healthy slow cooker recipes list is a great place to start. Plus, most of them are stuffed with those zero-point foods.
5. Get Active—And Make It Fun!
Working out isn’t just running on the treadmill or lifting weights. So many other fun options will get you sweating in no time! Try swimming, pilates, yoga, or even cycling. Better yet, call up your friends and plan to go for a long walk early in the morning or after dropping the kids off at school.
6. Bank Up Your Points for One Delicious Treat
One of the best things about Weight Watchers is that it helps users understand their favorite treats and how they affect their overall diet. Compared to other popular diets (like the Whole 30), they don't completely eliminate these treats. The best part? This new program allows you to rollover SmartPoints! So if you ate well throughout the week and have extra SmartPoints to blow, I can treat myself to something sweet. It’s all about balance, right?
Related Reading
• Do Minerals Have Calories
• How Long in a Calorie Deficit to See Results
• How to Use a Food Scale to Lose Weight
• Can You Eat Pizza on a Diet
• Do Carbs Make You Fat
• Why Am I Not Losing Fat in a Calorie Deficit
• What Are Net Calories
• Is the Fitness App Accurate
• How Many Calories Below Bmr to Lose Weight
How to Count Calories
Use DietAI for Insanely Easy Calorie Tracking
DietAI transforms calorie counting with our AI calorie counting app. Take a picture of your food, and our app instantly analyzes your meals from a simple photo, delivering accurate calorie and macro information without manual logging. Beyond photo recognition, the app provides comprehensive progress tracking, personalized nutrition insights tailored to your goals, and convenient barcode scanning for packaged foods. Whether you are trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or simply maintain a balanced diet, DietAI makes nutrition tracking effortless by eliminating the tedious aspects of traditional food journaling. Download now to effortlessly track your calories and macros with DietAI, the AI-powered app that makes logging meals as simple as snapping a photo. Download today for 80% off!
Check Labels on Shop-Bought Foods
Calorie information is usually found on food labels and is generally broken down per portion, 100g, and pack. Per-portion information may be more useful than per 100g, but remember that your portion size might not be the same as the manufacturer's portion—this can make a big difference to your calorie intake over the day.
Try Weighing Your Portions
To begin with, weigh your portions. This should give you an idea of how many calories you consume and whether you need to adjust your portion size.
Keep a Food Diary
Keeping a daily record of everything you eat and drink can make it much easier to keep track of your calorie intake. Try it for a week or two to get a good idea of how many calories you're consuming, and continue to keep a food diary if you find it useful. Remember to include the calories in the oil and spreads you have cooked with, any toppings or accompaniments, like cheese or yoghurt sauces, and condiments such as mayo and ketchup.
Pros and Cons of Weight Watchers vs Calorie Counting
Weight Watchers: The Benefits
Balanced and Flexible
It's no secret that one-size-fits-all diet plans don’t work for everyone. That's where WW is different. Swapping out a meal plan for points allows you to choose foods you want to eat and portion them out as you see fit. The ability to eat more of the foods you love while on a diet improves adherence to the program. WW has made some changes, like the ZeroPoint list, designed to make flexibility even more achievable throughout the diet. Choosing what you eat throughout the day from a list of balanced foods makes Weight Watchers more flexible and is a likable aspect of the program.
Teaches Lifelong Skills
Diets are meant to be temporary. However, WW aims to teach lifelong healthy habits and skills, like measuring portions and tracking your food, that you can continue incorporating into your daily routine even when you're not following the program. Studies show that tracking your food intake is associated with long-term weight loss success. While measuring portions is essential to avoid overeating, learning to eat more significant portions of low energy-dense foods (as in ZeroPoints foods) and smaller portions of energy-dense foods is more important for sustained weight loss and weight management. Weight Watchers also offers a library of healthy eating tips, advice, recipes, and more that encourage you to cook at home and teach the skills to make it happen.
No Foods are Forbidden
Off-limits or forbidden foods tend to lead to disordered eating behaviors, including binge eating. You may notice this in your own experience—the more you tell yourself you can't have a particular food or food group, the more you crave that food. Permitting yourself to eat anything has a nuanced way of giving you more control over what you eat. Studies show that when dessert foods or common off-limits foods are served with a family meal to children, they end up eating less overall at that meal, regardless of the portion size served. Instead of a list of foods you can and can't eat, Weight Watchers gives you "PersonalPoints" to count and FitPoints that allow you to gain more PersonalPoints as you work out.
Slow and Steady Weight Loss
WW is designed to help you lose 1-2 pounds per week—the same rate that the National Institute of Health recommends as safe weight loss. Anecdotally, countless stories are on the WW website and through a quick internet search. Scientifically speaking, a variety of studies have come to the same conclusions. For example, a 2017 study published in Lancet compared weight loss among those using self-help materials, Weight Watchers for 12 weeks, and Weight Watchers for 52 weeks.
The 52-week program led to better results than the 12-week program, and the 12-week program had better results than the self-guided program. Another 2015 systematic Annals of Internal Medicine review examined several commercial weight-loss programs. The study found that those on Weight Watchers lost 2.6% more weight than control groups. Rapid weight loss results in a greater likelihood of weight regain over the long term—it's ok that this weight loss method sticks to a "slow and steady" mantra. Slow and steady wins the race if you want to lose weight and keep it off.
Tons of Support and Resources
A solid support system is necessary for successful weight loss. Weight Watchers offers support through virtual coaches, in-person and online support groups, and a members-only online community available 24/7. Studies show that almost any weight management program will be more successful if accompanied by support services. WW has an extensive library of recipes and on-demand workouts for every membership. It also has a barcode scanner for easy meal tracking, creating, and saving recipes. You can easily sync your device with the WW app for smooth activity and nutrition tracking if you have an activity tracker.
Promotes Exercise
The National Institute of Health recommends adults aged 18-64 do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity throughout the week, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic physical activity throughout the week. In addition, muscle-strengthening activities should be performed two days a week. WW helps you create daily and weekly activity goals and then encourages you to meet those goals by giving you additional PersonalPoints for every workout added to your weekly budget. Weight Watchers keeps it light and enables you to choose workouts you enjoy. Your WW membership includes an on-demand workout program for instructor-led cardio, core, yoga, Pilates, and stretching exercises. You're also encouraged to try local workouts in your area with free trial class offerings.
Weight Watchers: The Downsides
Can Be Costly
When you sign up for WW, the first thing you'll do is choose the duration of the program and cost per duration (6 months, 3 months, or 1 month). From there, you'll select add-ons like one-on-one coaching or instructor-led workouts, all of which come at an additional fee. Be sure to consider how much you'll pay each month for the duration of the program before deciding if it fits within your budget. Pay upfront for several months or lock in a promotion to make it slightly more affordable.
Also, check with your insurance provider—many insurance companies will offer discounts or reimburse you for participating in Weight Watchers. If you're still unsure, a 2019 study analyzed the cost for a group of women to lose 5% of their body weight using Weight Watchers, which came in at a total of $1,610.14. While this sounds like a lot, this amount was still far less than the other weight loss programs studied. Curves Complete costs $8,613 to achieve the same goals over two years. This brings the price to around $67 per month.
Counting Points Can Be Tedious
Many people find it annoying to count points and track their nutrition. It can also become stressful trying to stay within your daily points budget. Not to mention, for some people, focusing so intensely on what they're eating throughout the day can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and create disordered eating behaviors—quite the opposite of what is necessary for sustained and healthy weight loss.
Weekly Weigh-Ins Are Necessary
You'll need to weigh in once weekly at an in-person or virtual meeting to track your progress. For some people, this can create unnecessary stress surrounding the number on the scale, while others may feel uncomfortable being weighed in front of others. If you have a bad day based on your weight on the scale, weighing yourself often is probably not a wise habit to form. On the other hand, some people find weekly weigh-ins helpful and encouraging in monitoring their progress and keeping them accountable and on the right track.
Too Much Freedom
For some, unlimited access to zero-point foods may be too challenging at this stage in their weight-loss journey. If you find yourself overeating zero-point foods or saving up PersonalPoints for less nutritious foods later in the day, finding a more structured weight loss plan may suit you better.
May Lead to Unhealthy Dieting
Avid dieters can vouch for the stress of counting points and following a program. If your diet program interrupts your social life or takes over your thoughts, it's becoming unhealthy for you. Many of Weight Watchers' components, including tracking foods, counting points, and saving points for overindulgent foods, can contribute to unhealthy dieting.
Calorie Counting: The Benefits
Mindfulness
You become conscious of what you put in your body and gain portion awareness for the calories in your food. The quick snacks you might grab are put back on the shelf or only taken when the calories are deemed valid.
Education
You learn that the foods you think you should eat might have a higher calorie content depending on their ingredients.
Control
This newfound knowledge gives you more control over your body weight and how you feel. Processed foods are swapped out for homemade meals that make better use of the ingredients and feel good to eat.
Purpose
Calorie counting helps us learn which foods serve what purpose and where we should go for that reason, like finding the right energy source for those all-important workouts.
Goals
Once you understand what your food’s calorie count is, you can make better choices that help you reach your goals. However, we’d say take this with a pinch of salt. You might struggle to reach your goals Without knowing the nutritional value behind the calorie number.
Action
(Following on from above) Now that you are actively looking at calorie information on your food, you’ll discover the nutritional information on the back of food labels. These provide you with better facts on which to base your decisions. Whether you want to increase calories for muscle gain or decrease calories for fat loss, now you know which foods to adjust for your goal.
Calorie Counting: The Downsides
Perspective
Calorie counting can affect everyone differently. We do know that for some, it can become obsessive when taken too far. When you’re in search of a goal, it’s important to maintain consistency, which is better managed by tracking food. It forms a habit that isn’t always easy to break.
Inaccurate and imprecise
If you forget to log or weigh foods, the count for that day doesn’t mean much. Not to mention, if you’re using an app to count calories, you might find discrepancies.
Unhealthy eating habits
As we covered above, the actual number is that the food doesn’t provide enough information to base your goals on. Daily, you could fill your calorie count with chocolate, cake, and ice cream. As long as you hit the calorie goal, it doesn’t matter, right? Wrong, the nutritional value of your calories is more important for your goals than the number itself.
Repetitive
Its novelty can wear off quickly. No one wants to make dinner for 30 minutes, add another 15 minutes to log my calorie count, and sit down and eat for all of 5 minutes. It takes time to do, and the results take a while to appear, so it can easily be given up.
Joy
After a while, starting to count calories can become something that stops your mind from being relaxed when eating. You might end up limiting yourself to the food that brings you joy, which can only ruin food for you.
Related Reading
• Carnivore Macros for Weight Loss
• How to Track Calories When Eating Out
• Macros for Mediterranean Diet
• How to Stick to a Calorie Deficit
• Losing Weight and Gaining Muscle
• How to Track Alcohol Macros
• Macros for 1200 Calorie Diet
• Intermittent Fasting and Macros
• Macros for Pcos Weight Loss
• Paleo Macros
Download DietAI Today for 80% Off!
When we talk about the nutrients in food, we often refer to them in two categories: macros and micros. Macros, or macronutrients, are the nutrients that provide us with energy, or calories. The three main types of macros are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Micros, or micronutrients, are the vitamins and minerals in food. While they don’t directly provide us with energy, they are crucial for helping our bodies convert the energy from macronutrients into usable fuel. Both macros and micros are essential for health and optimal body function, and each type has different roles. Understanding the differences between macros and micros can help you create a balanced diet that meets your health and nutrition goals.
DietAI transforms calorie counting with our AI calorie counting app. Take a picture of your food, and our app instantly analyzes your meals from a simple photo, delivering accurate calorie and macro information without manual logging. Beyond photo recognition, the app provides comprehensive progress tracking, personalized nutrition insights tailored to your goals, and convenient barcode scanning for packaged foods.
Whether you are trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or simply maintain a balanced diet, DietAI makes nutrition tracking effortless by eliminating the tedious aspects of traditional food journaling. Download now to effortlessly track your calories and macros with DietAI, the AI-powered app that makes logging meals as simple as snapping a photo. Download today for 80% off!
Related Reading
• Vegan Macros
• Endomorph Macros for Fat Loss
• Hitting Macros but Not Calories
• Ketosis vs Calorie Deficit
• Macros for Menopause Weight Loss
• Macros for Bariatric Patients
• Nutracheck vs Myfitnesspal
• Noom vs Myfitnesspal
• MacroFactor vs Carbon
