Kevin Smiley The debate I hear all the time is Weight Watchers VS iTrackBites, which is better? So far, I haven't found a single reason to pay for an expensive WW membership instead of iTrackBites, unless you need the meetings for accountability. Because of that, iTrackBites is the clear winner for me. I enjoy saving my hard-earned money as much as I can! I'd love to hear your experiences with both programs. Leave a comment below!
Weight Watchers VS iTrackBites
While iTrackBites (must use promo code COACH_SMILEY to get my discount!) used to be rather clunky and not-so-user-friendly, it's caught up and is winning the weight loss app game! The truth of the matter is, iTrackBites is practically identical to Weight Watchers. With that being said, it's good to do research before dumping WW, especially if you've had success with the program in the past.
If you're wondering how to do Weight Watchers for free, iTrackBites is a solid solution – but I love the PRO version and I'll tell you why. 🙂
Different iTrackBites Plans
iTrackBites has updated its app recently and has awesome plan choices for as low as $3 per month when paid annually. I use the Better Balance program but like the Carb Conscious as well.
How to do the new myWW plans on iTrackBites
Which iTrackBites is Like WW Freestyle?
Better Balance is the same as WW Freestyle. It includes the 200+ zero point foods, only you'll see them called “bites” instead of “points. Better Balance is the best option if you want to follow Weight Watchers for a fraction of the cost.
Keeping Keto iTrackBites
Exactly what it sounds like, this is the iTrackBites Keto Program (must use my code COACH_SMILEY to save $5!). It is high fat, moderate protein, and very low carb.
Sugar Smart iTrackBites
The Sugar Smart plan helps limit sugar intake. It's based on calories, saturated fat, sugar, and protein. This plan is a good option for diabetics or anyone who should be watching their sugar intake (which is all of us!). If you're trying to give up sugar completely, Sugar Smart would be the right iTrackBites program to use as a stepping stone to that goal.
Conquer Cravings iTrackBites
Conquer Cravings focuses on portion control. If you read my post about portion control, you know it's something I struggle with! This program is based on calories, fat, and fiber.
Carb Conscious iTrackBites
I watch my carb intake but don't do Keto, so if you're like me and want to try Carb Conscious, it can help jumpstart your weight loss before and after Weight Watchers.
Check out my Zero Point Food List with calories, carbs, and fiber counts!
Calorie Command iTrackBites
Good ol' calorie counting is what the Calorie Command program is all about. It focuses on accountability and tracking calorie intake. I don't believe calorie counting is the key to weight loss for most people – especially women – but it is a good option to have for those who are sticklers about calories or those who have had great luck with tracking them.
Questions about iTrackBites
If you have questions about iTrackBites, I've tried to answer them below. 🙂
Weight Watchers not working?
Read about my (successful) Noom experience!
How much does iTrackBites cost?
iTrackBites costs a fraction of what Weight Watchers costs. You can use the regular version for free, with the PRO version costing $36 a year. Considering Weight Watchers charges almost that per month*, obviously, iTrackBites is a much better deal.
Rates for WW memberships vary greatly, which can be frustrating to someone trying to figure out the actual cost of Weight Watchers per month. Some group members reported paying as little as $7.98 a month with a work discount, while others pay upwards of $45 a month!
iTrackBites PRO features:
- restaurant guide
- online food database
- recipe builder
- calories/macro tracking
- community/groups
- FitBit or Apple Health device sync
- export food log
With iTrackBites, you can also set reminders to log your meals. This is especially helpful if you're busy and scatterbrained, or if you're new to tracking everything you eat. You can get a reminder for every meal and snack, or if you're notorious for forgetting to track just one meal, set a reminder for it.
Is the iTrackBites food database as good as WW?
One of the questions asked in my WW group was “how is the food database?”. Honestly, I haven't had any issues with it at all but there is a way to add your own food with calories, fat, etc and there are tons of blogs online that have accurate point counts. I always pre-track everything I eat, so I find the info ahead of time and have no worries at meal time!
Does iTrackBites have a barcode scanner?
Yes, yes, yes! Everything that you love about WW, you get with iTrackBites for way less money.
What about WW meetings?
Weight Watchers has cut back on zoom meetings, and perhaps discontinued them all together (not sure yet as I don't attend).
I don't attend meetings – we live in a small town and the options are limited. Online meetings are the way to go if you're like me and don't want to have a set schedule of attending meetings. If you're not sure about them, read this post: Weight Watchers Online vs Meetings. It will help you make a decision.
Is iTrackBites accurate?
iTrackBites uses the same formula Weight Watchers does, so yes.
The Bottom Line: iTrackBites vs Weight Watchers
iTrackBites gives options that Weight Watchers does not. If Freestyle isn't working for you, there are several other programs to choose from and THAT is worth noting! 🙂
I absolutely love the WW program and the formula, but I just can't justify paying so much more for literally the same thing.
Whatever you decide, let me know by leaving a comment below! 🙂
I personally worked with iTrackBites to get my readers a $5 discount on the PRO program! Use this link and you MUST USE MY CODE COACH_SMILEY at iTrackBites to save $5!
I am trying out iTrackBites, I am using the Sugar Smart plan because it uses the formula as the WW Smart Points, since WW switched to Freestyle I have struggled. So I am using iTrackBites free for a couple of weeks. If I like it I am going to go Pro and drop WW. Thank you for the info it helped a lot.
Hi it’s Pam again, after using both the WW app and the iTrackBites app I officially decided to switch to iTrackBites, the cost is the biggest reason and since I cannot attend meetings due to my location it’s a no brainer. I am able to stay on track and I will reach my goals. Another issue I had with the WW app is it didn’t always work with my internet service, again small town in the mountains of Utah, iTrackBites works much smoother. Thank you Kevin for your tips and encouragement.
Thanks for letting us know, Pam! Good luck on your journey, friend.
I was wondering if you can help me please. I’m currently on WW on the Green plan which I guess is similar to The Conquer Carbs on Itrackbites. I’d like to make the switch but I currently get 30 pts per day w WW w free fruits and most veggies. On Itrackbites I would only get 23 and no zero point food. That can’t work. The Conquer Carbs is nothing like the Green plan on WW. Which one is? Thank you!!!
It is the sugar smart plan on iTrackBites. Here is a link on how to get it to work for you. If you need any other help please reach out. iTrackBites GreenPlan
Thank you! I have been looking for something cheaper than WW, and I think you gave me a winner!
Thank you for all the information. I am trying itrackbites free for a couple weeks to see how it goes.
I saw that it syncs with FitBit. Does it also sync with an Apple Watch?
Yes it does. My Apple Watch Sync. I love it.
For those who need weekly scale accountability but have budget issues and can’t afford WW, (which is me), I highly recommend joining a local TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) chapter, and my local chapter is fun. Weekly weigh ins, and we also have games and contests, nutritional and motivational programs, and it’s very inexpensive. $36/YEAR for national dues, and $5/MONTH for local chapter dues. AND, I frequently win back my dues plus more from the contests and games. Every week there is a weekly high loser, and every month there is a monthly high loser. Just two months ago I won $21, which paid for my monthly dues for the rest of this year. And other contests with monetary payouts.
So I get my weekly motivation, accountability, and information from TOPS, and use the iTrackerBites app for the daily tracking, and use the WW plans for a nutrition plan which will work for my lifetime, not just temporarily.
Although TOPS still recommends what is essentially the same as the early WW plan of calorie tracking and tracking food exchanges, it allows each member to choose whatever nutritional plan works best for the individual, as determined by the member in collaboration with their health care provider. It isn’t a one size fits all plan.
Also, TOPS does not impose a certain goal weight like WW does. Instead, they have each member get a goal weight from a health care provider (which can be a doctor, nutritionist, or even a chiropractor or nurse practitioner), and that goal weight can be changed if health issues cause it to. Because sometimes, some of us with certain health issues and age and physical limitations and disabilities, and other factors will never be able to make an artificially imposed number based on older height/weight tables. I will never be able to reach WW’s goal weight for me. It was demoralizing to try. I met with nothing but failure, which produced the opposite of hope and perseverance. But I can reach a goal weight my doctor and I believe to be possible, and healthful, for me.
So TOPS simply works better for me on a number of levels, and it is affordable on my very small social security income. And, I prefer the WW eating plans and tracking for what works best for my lifetime plan of eating. So I’ve had to cobble together something that works within my budget. I just do not have $50/mo for WW. I also can’t bear signing up for WW with an impossible to reach goal because of my particular health challenges and issues. It was be demeaning and discouraging. Been There Done That too many times. It triggered a ton of shame. Now, I feel as if I have a reasonable goal and am on my way to reaching it in a reasonable, workable, for the rest of my life way.
I only share this information in case someone here reading this also has some monetary and/or health challenges which might prevent them from joining WW. There are some low cost alternatives and still be able to use the lifetime plan of eating which I think is supremely healthful and workable, unlike most other diets.
And you know if you don’t want to pay anything you can track with your fitbit. I am a lifetime weight watcher so would never change to something else. I gree that it can be expensive but if you don’t have a huge amount to lose just get the weight off and once you are at goal you never pay at ww unless you go over your goal weight. It is all about commitment, no matter what plan you are on
Thanks so much I just switched from WW to iTrackBites pro it’s cheaper and does the same as WW online which is all I did. Thanks for the tip
Personally not into the fact that I tack bites essentially stole WW idea. I can’t be loyal to a company that does that.
Thank you for your loyalty and support, You are truly entitled to your opinion and I am not here to try to change anyone’s mind on anything. I want to share the best information and help people lose weight and reach their goals. I found that iTrackBites will allow you to track just like WW but at a fraction of the cost. For those who are on a budget or want to save money, even if it is only to get through the holidays, This may be an option so they can stay on track and at least maintain until the holidays are over. I am always on the lookout for ways to help people succeed. Success to me means obtaining my goals and helping others to obtain their’s
How do I know which purple, blue and green plan are called on ITrack Bites
I am glad you asked. Here is a link that explains how to do the blue plan on iTrackBites. Towards the bottom of the page, there will be links to how to do the other two plans. I hope this helps.
Here ya go:
http://smileyspoints.com/wwgreen
http://smileyspoints.com/wwblue
http://smileyspoints.com/wwpurple
Just wanted to point out that every company has a competitor so I wouldn’t be so quick to say you can’t be loyal to a company that took an idea from another company because that is essentially what every company does when another company in the same space has a good idea. Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Sam’s Club, Costco, Huggies, Pampers, Walmart, Amazon, Coke, Pepsi, Ford, GMC, Nike, Reebok, etc. etc.
I can’t support a company, WW, who fires all their employees when the COVID 19 first occurred
I noticed my allowed points are completely different from WW. With ibites I’m allowed 30 points per day with 28 extra weekly points. Where as with WW I’m allowed 23 points with 30 extra weekly points. Why the big difference and is there a way to edit my allowed points on United to speed up weight loss?
My guess is you have a different plan selected… Looks like 30 = Sugar Smart… 23 = Better Balance /Freestyle. Email me at [email protected] I will see if we can figure it out 🙂 or you can send an email to [email protected] She is the guru I look to when I don’t know something 🙂
On itrack bites what plans are eqivalent to WW green blue and purple?
Blue https://smileyspoints.com/how-to-do-the-ww-blue-plan-on-itrackbites/
Green https://smileyspoints.com/how-to-do-ww-green-plan-on-itrackbites/
Purple https://smileyspoints.com/how-to-do-ww-purple-plan-itrackbites/
After using WW’s Freestyle App for a year, I’ve switched to ITrackBites Better Balance plan. However, it seems that there’s a discrepancy between the two programs with some items I regularly eat. ITrackBites seems higher for several items. For example – Popeye’s blackened chicken tenders is 1 smart point on WW Freestyle, but 4 points on ITrackBites Better Balance. Does ITrackBites not account for the zero point value of the chicken and include the chicken info in its formula? I don’t want to use any more points than I have to – so it will make transitioning more difficult.
From iTrackBites staff: WW individually calculated the totals for restaurants, prepackaged frozen meals, and some canned items to account for the zero item foods. They did this arbitrarily for each item and there is no replicable formula like the standard SmartPoints equation. Those items will often show at the last known full nutritional data and therefore will be higher in some items in the database. To fix this she can track the listing at a different serving size just to get the right points.
Or if she does not need to track the nutritional information for calories or macros, she can simply create a Quick Add and track that.
QUICK ADD
🔹 Go to the big green [+] button and tap FOOD or tap the + beside any meal.
🔹 Go to the CREATE FOOD [+], which is green in the bottom right on Android and the white + in the top right on iOS.
🔹 Fill in NAME + on the third line down that says the name of your plan – enter known BITES if that is all you need.
🔹 SAVE will become active. This will add this item to your personal food list.
🌟On the next screen, you can add to your Favorites [tap the 💙 in the top right] or TRACK directly.
*PLEASE NOTE – Doing this will give you inaccurate information if you are tracking calories or macros as you have not included that information. *
I hope this helps you and helps.
Kevin Smiley your friend in weight loss
While this is doable, you would have to know or check each item against a current to WW subscription to know it is different which defeats the purpose. Same with the extra zero point foods for purple, unless you already know WW, you won’t know when this is different.
They hired people to do that for us. 🙂 Everything we’ve checked so far (hundreds of items) has been accurate. We love iTrackBites because it’s accurate *AND* cheap! 🙂
Hi, I read that the sugar smart plan is equal to the we green plan. I was wondering why I have more point allowances on itrackbites than on ww?
This is a pro feature but the points should still be the same even on the free side. There is a hack I mention in my post to set up your rollover points. I don’t know why your points are different. Can you send me a screenshot of your app maybe I can help you better that way. Send it to my email at [email protected] I will get it faster there. Sorry, it took so long to answer my wife has been hospitalized. Your friend along your weightloss journey. Kevin. https://smileyspoints.com/how-to-do-ww-green-plan-on-itrackbites/
Is the 40% discount no longer available?
It is still available my link was broken it is fixed now 🙂
Can you help me with changing my tracking from calories to points? I can’t seem to figure out how to do that and also when I scan food it comes up as calories, not points.
can you send me a screenshot of your app? The iTrackBites app tracks in Bites instead of points like WW. Calories or macros can be tracked as a secondary tracked item. All food has points. Even in the myWW app if you scan a zero point food it has points. We don’t scan zero point foods, we just track them as zero and enjoy the meal 🙂 I hope this will help a bit.
Is itrackbites good for breastfeeding moms? I’d like to start the plan but I want to be sure points aren’t too low and affect my milk supply. Will I get extra to compensate for breastfeeding?
Absolutely! You can turn on the nursing feature by clicking on Profile, ⚙️, My Profile, tap on Gender, and change it to “Female – Nursing (Full-time)” or”Female – Nursing (Part-time)”.
I tried iTrackBites and just wasn’t as successful as I had hoped. I was pretty faithful to the program. Some of the iTrackBites values are higher than for Weight Watchers; in the end, I wasn’t consuming enough calories. I’ve started Weight Watchers Blue program and have lost 10 pounds in one month…and that’s with eating a substantial menu! Weight Watchers isn’t that expensive right now: they offer three free months and 6 more months on contract at $19/month. That’s 9 months for $120, or about 63 cents per day. Works better for me; like the community and recipe shares more as well. I think we all find what works best for ourselves!
I agree once you find what works the best for you I would say stick with it. I don’t know which plan you were on with iTrackBites but I have found they are spot on with the Weight Watchers values. If you would let me know which plan you were on and what discrepancies you found I will look into it and see if there is something we can do to fix those issues. Thank you for the comment and if there is anything I can do to help let me know. I know right now Weight Watchers is less expensive than it has been and that is great for our budgets. 🙂 with iTrackBites being a less expensive option I wanted to share everything I have found so that as a community we can help as many as possible achieve their weight loss goals no matter what their financial situation is. MY goal is to help everyone I can get to where they want to be. Thank you again for your comment and if there is anything I can do to help you get there please reach out and let me know.
Just purchased Pro plan so I could do Better Balance. Eggs come up as 2 bites where they should be 0. Have logged out and back in again, checked to make sure on Better Balance. Now I’m worried that other foods will be wrong points. Thanks for all your explanations, they really help.
Sorry, found another, nonfat plain greek yogurt comes up as 4 bites instead of 0.
all foods have points. If you search for a food in the app just like with WW it will come up with points. To see you zero point foods use your pocket guide. Here is a link that may help explain it. If you need any other assistance please reach out and let me know. https://youtu.be/4aPMxabVt9I
I am currently using itrack pro. I am technologically challenged and find the app very difficult to use. While the ww app would cut out when I needed it most in supermarket in was much less challenging to use. Sticking with itrack Pro hoping it gets easier because the cost is so much less. Thanks for all you do. Stay Well!!
Let me know what you are having trouble with specifically and I will help you the best I can 🙂 I am glad you are choosing to stick with it, I am sure as long as you never give up you will get the hang of it. I am here to help. Thak you for the comment and I hope you and yours are staying well 🙂
So are the points the same as on ww? I’ve been thinking about doing ww because I tried MyFitnessPal and found it was very hard for me since I cook so many of my meals and don’t know the nutritional information. I see a lot of recipes online with ww points already calculated so I really love that. If I can use those same point totals on itracnbites I would rather do that since it’s so much cheaper and we are on a budget.
Yes, the points are the same. make sure you choose the plan you want to be on and see if there is a workaround needed. I have the work arounds listed on my blog. if you have any questions feel free to reach out. The recipes on my blog are all calculated using the myWW app and are accurate at the time I post the recipe. enjoy the wonderful meals and new recipes. l’
I am new to this all and would love some input on which plan might be the best for me. I gained 30 pounds during pregnancy that I am looking to lose. I’m nursing full time and have issues with carbs and sweets. I eat 90% of my meals at home. Looking for something that will be easy to keep up with because I have two little ones that are very attention seeking so I don’t need anything that’s going to be hard to keep up with or time consuming or I just won’t be able to keep up with it.
Here is the information I received from the group. Bri recommends: “If you have an exact caloric goal, you should probably do straight calorie counting while nursing. And I would encourage her to incorporate steel-cut oats, milk stout, and other foods that help promote supply” “As well as hydrating more than she thinks she needs to hydrate” Shannon says “I am doing calories because it is easier with an oversupply. Bites wise I am not sure how to make it more custom if an exact calorie goal is needed. Or use a bites based system but shoot for the calorie as a second metric.” “Also the WW breastfeeding groups advise nursing moms on bites plans to eat all their weeklies.” I hope this information helps you and you continue to be healthy as well as move towards your goal. 🙂
I don’t know if my other reply came through but I would love some advice on which plan to do. I would like it to be easy to follow. I want to lose 30 lbs but need to eat 1798 calories a day because I’m exclusively breastfeeding and don’t want my supply to suffer. I struggle with sweets mostly and sometimes carbs. Thank you!
So I signed up for the sugar smart plan which I’m reading is like the Green plan. When I do a calculator for ww Green plan it’s telling me I have 30 pts which I add 14 to because I’m nursing. But on itrackbites it’s giving me 52 pts. Do you know why there would be such a big difference? I thought all the points are supposed to be the same as weight watchers? I want to be able to use weight watchers recipes but I’m getting super confused so it’s very discouraging. Thank you for your help!
I think 52 is the minimum you get while you are nursing. I hope this helps. The points are the same and you can use the WW recipes. If there is anything else I can help with please let me know.
Hello-which of the itrackbites is equivalent to 2016 weight watcher program of smart points? I was very successful with that program& am interested in it. Freestyle did NOT work for me.
Thank you so much for your help! It’s great that you are assisting others in success.
I believe the plan was called Beyond the Scale and is most similar to the new WW green plan. On iTrackBites that would be the Sugar Smart Plan. Here is a link that shows how to set up iTrackBites to work as that plan 🙂 I hope this helps. How to do Weight Watchers Green Plan on iTrackBites
Hi. I first got this app to do the 2009 version of WW. Which one on here is the equivalent now? It updated and now everything is different.
That would be conquer cravings, 🙂
Tendinitis not send me anywhere. Very interested.
Thank you for putting together all of this info! My friend is doing WW and I’m trying out the Conquer Cravings plan. Would you please let me know which WW color group would be comparable to the CC plan? Thanks.
Conquer Cravings is similar to the older 2008? I think WW plan. It is not like the new color plans. You can track alongside your friend and do the same plan she is. I have a list of the different plans and how to make them relate to the new myWW plans. You will find that info here. Towards the bottom you will find links that show you how to do each plan. I truly hope this helps. Thank you for your kind comments and let me know if I can help you som more 🙂
You said calories are secondary on one of the plans. How do you find them?
Which plan are you using? Calories, Macros, and the like can be set up as a secondary tracking tool. It is set up as a secondary metric here is a link to how to do it 🙂 Secondary Metric – Calories & Macros
I did the flex plan on WW back in 2000 which plan would that be on i track bits
Conquer Cravings 🙂
Is there a UK version?