To be a bit dubious of the whole slimming world thing.....

[LEMmingaround]

Ok so i am on a diet - i feel like the dog is in danger of being eaten if he sits down too long!

I am looking at the slimming world website - but i'm really irritated by all the BRANDS! Nearly all their recipes from the "cook from scratch" diet has a tin of Baxters something or other, Jordans cereal etc - why can't they just say - a tin of soup, a generic breakfast cerial - they even specified nestle products..........

Im not going to get on iwht them am i?

[redskyatnight]

I think they are trying to make it easy for you- because actually any old tin of soup isn't good enough, it depends on the nutritional content. You may like it better if you do it freestyle rather than following the carefully concocted menus.

[mymiraclebubba]

it is to save people having to work out points etc and spend hours in the supermarket scrutinising food labels etc but just sub it for the supermarket low fat versions and you shouldn't be too far from being ok

weight watchers do it too they just have all their own branded things

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

Yep,. they are giving brands as the nutritional value is all worked out and you know exactly what you are having....brands differ so much, generic just wouldn't work.

[TalkieToaster]

What Redskyatnight said.

The emphasis really is on cooking from scratch, but that can get a bit lost when you have people raving over making 'chocolate cake' out of an egg and a sachet of hot chocolate. Ignore all that.

[CailinDana]

Yanbu. IMO things like SW and WW are gimmicky and (generally) only give short term results. The support group style meetings are great but the approach to food is all wrong.

[Nancy66]

I don't like the SW diet. its main attraction seems to be that you can stuff your face which, in my opinion, isn't really a good thing.

[candycoatedwaterdrops]

Swap it for a supermarket brand. Slimming World is not as brand friendly as some of the other similar diets but for the healthy As and Bs, you do have to hunt around for the cheaper options. I loved SW but found it quite expensive.

[candycoatedwaterdrops]

I disagree that the approaches are wrong, just that there's a reason they make so much money and why so many people return. It's about your mentality; slimming world is not a diet, it's a healthy eating plan and has to be for life.

[candycoatedwaterdrops]

Nancy You are not meant to stuff your face but it is easy to overeat on it, I agree. You do have to exercise portion control or it won't work. I'm thinking of trying it again but I don't know...

[CailinDana]

That's exactly what I mean though candy. Even the name tells you it's a gimmick - the aim shouldn't be to "slim" but to change your relationship with food in a real and permanent way.

[Greybrows]

I agree about the brands, and the implication you can 'stuff your face', I got really cross about super noodles and mullerlights at one point, but you don't need to eat that crap and when I just did extra easy using fresh food I found it worked really well for me.

[LEMmingaround]

yeah, what it is with the mulller lights - apparently you can have loads of those why would you want to?? i didn't see supernoodles that would have definately put me off. Oh and one of their "recipes" involved spreading slices of ham with six laughing cow cheeses - wtf??

I went to weight watchers years ago but had to stop going to the meetings because the utter shit that the group leader was spouting was giving me the rage - i wouldn't mind, but she had skin like leather and a really unhealthy pinched look to her face.

Oh and don't even get me started on low fat yoghurts - i don't tend to eat yoghurts anyway, but got some last week and thought i should go for the low fat option. I compared labels - yep, the low fat version contained more calories than the full fat version.

I might actually go to my doctor to discuss things. I have been "dieting" for about a week now - knocked alcohol on the head, no more take-aways and sugary snacks, not really done very much else but i AM hungry. I do feel better and have more energy in a short time and have lost 2 whole pounds I think i might go it alone.

[Russianfudge]

You have to find what works for you... I've tried every diet going and i have come to realise that my relationship with food is so fucked that I'll never achieve thee illusive "healthy lifestyle" or a stable weight for longer than nine months. I've fallen upon something that does work though... I use myfitnesspal, I keep my protein high to stave off hunger, and I keep calories fairly high at around 1700.

Then I have a massive blow out in a Friday night.

Every six months or so I stop for about a week or so and put on a few pounds, then get back on it. Lifting weights helped a lot as it seems to keep my metabolism high.

Slimming world wouldn't work for me because it relies too much on intuition like: eat as many vegetarian sausages as you like... Well for me that would be 10. Which would be around an entire days calories.

However, my sister in law has been doing SW for about 18 months and looks incredible. She raves about it!

[ManateeEquineOHara]

They are not trying to make it easy for you, they are not trying to promote a healthy attitude to your body, they do not care about your health. They are just trying to make you spend money.

[LaurieFairyCake]

How can you eat as much as you like?

How does that work?

[afromom]

I have been doing slimming world for 4 months now and lost nearly 3 stone.

It does work if you stick to the plan. I know what you mean about the brand thing though. That got to me at first too! I don't really buy much branded stuff though, I have really changed the way I eat to mainly cooking from scratch and eating fresh meat, fish, fruit and veg. And the bit I love too is that fact that you can still eat the carbs and lose weight.

The extra rules help me to focus on exactly what I am eating, but I think if you ignore the branding issues and just aim to eat fresh food and cook from scratch it can work really well.

[afromom]

I think the 'eat as much as you like' is slightly misinterpreted.

It's more 'eat until you are full' and 'eat the right things if you are hungry'.

If you eat until you feel sick, then obviously you would not lose the weight. It's more about not being hungry.

[hippoinamudhole]

All of the major "diet plans" are owned by food companies. They have a vested interest in you failing. Even if you follow the plan you will be eating food from companies they are owned by. A lot of money is invested in getting us to buy more and therefore eat more

[SanctiMoanyArse]

My sister lost about 5 stone on SW and kept it off for at least as many years now, and is still going strong.

I lost 3 st with WW and whilst I did gain it back, that was pregnancy followed by time on meds that are linked to weight gain more than anything.

Both diets concentrated on changing your lifestyle as well- back then WW said stop eating when you are full, a meal must end 45 minutes from your first mouthful (which is a good deterrent to picking when cooking!). There are extra rewards for exercise.

Some people lose well alone and I say to them go for it, some people like me need a stronger structure and weigh ins to remain motivated. Nobody is forced into choosing any one route so it's good there are a variety.

[Russianfudge]

The problem is though afromum - if you have a bad relationship with food you don't know how to stop when you're full

[RiverRocks]

OP - it depends very much on the person as to whether Slimming World works.

As a previous poster said, it's not a diet so much as a healthy eating plan. My whole family did it for my sister's wedding a few years ago and we lost between 1.5 and 4 stone, so it does work.

The idea is you substitute the 'bad' things (such as takeaway and 400g bars of chocolate in a night) for healthier choices, pretty much what you've done.

I've never come across a recipe using Baxters soup, but I hate soup so wouldn't use those anyway.

Have you tried buying one of the magazines? Or on the website there is a sample week menu.

Ultimately, you just have to find what works for you. Good luck

(ps, I also hate Supernoodles and Mullerlight but managed to lose 1.5 stone by following the plan and still living a relatively normal existence (takeaway once a week and drinking))

[Pippintea]

The gimmicky stuff is for people who can't give up processed good and snacks.
If you cook from scratch meat, veg, pasta rice dishes (all eat as much as you like) - limit dairy, bread and cereals to recommended amount - cut out sugar and fat and pretty much all processed food - you will lose weight, feel full and not need to eat laughing cow ham roll ups!
It's a real healthy eating diet if done properly.

[Smoorikins]

I love slimming world, but don't buy into much of the branded stuff. You get a huge list of free foods (meat, fruit, eggs - mostly basic stuff), and for the main plan the basis is a third superfree for - which is vegetables.

I do it online rather than in class, but find that there is so much less sales talk compared to weight watchers, who want to push their sweets etc all the time.

But, like everything else, theres no one size fits all plan. This one is great for me because it really is a case of focussing on healthy eating most of the time, but if occasionally you have a blow out, you can still do that on plan (with a tweak).

[specialsubject]

Slimming World aren't in it for their health. And not really for yours, either!

low-fat means high sugar. Buying branded will double your shopping bill.

what you are doing (eating less or no crap but good food and moving around) is the way you lose weight. I don't think you need to pay to be told what to do!

[Rosduk]

I was losing on slimming world when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It turns out most of what I was eating, potatoes, pasta, fruit, rice with bread and milk as healthy extras etc were exactly what I shouldn't have been eating, however, it's the only diet they suggest for pregnancy. Whoops!

I've no doubt it works, but I agree that if you are used to large portions and have a bad relationship with food it doesn't stop you from Constant snacking or help to combat portion sizes! Now that I have a risk of type 2 in the future, it would be one of the worst diets for me to follow, which is a shame..