What is you Slimming World meeting (group) like?

[LL12]

I have been going to slimming World since the end of Sep and have lost a stone.
During the meeting, the consultant goes thru everyone's name and say's what they have lost etc, she then cheers and everyone claps. She then ask's what you did differently that week and what your goal is for the next week.

To be honest I find it very boring and wish she would talk about certain subjects and give hints and tips etc so that people can join in and give their ideas. This only happened once when somebody made a point of butting in and asking a question.

what are your 'group' meeting like?

[annielostit]

I think this is standard sw. I find it boring too. No one ever talks about food, only if its a 'confession' from a bad day. Its not very motivating is it?
I think it shouldn't be focused on losses but what you ate that week or what you could eat. I look at these threads to find out what's cooking, so to speak.

[MsJupiter]

I feel the same. I would prefer a topic each week and for people to share stuff if they feel like it and choose whether to talk about their losses or gains. I find all the reading out the losses really tedious and some people tend to chat amongst themselves once they've had their turn which is rude.

I also hate it when people have had a gain and the leader asks why and they list all the nights out and takeaways they've had, or say it's their birthday etc.

When there was the Marjorie Dawes/ FatFighters thing on Little Britain I thought it was just made up as ww meetings were never like that but this really reminds me of it. "So you've had a gain this week... But you've still lost 3 and a half pounds in just 17 months!"

The people are nice and I like the diet, just hate the meeting format.

[lynniep]

Exactly the same as that format. The leader does a bit of spiel first. Last night she started REALLY late due to new starters, and there was a lot of kerfuffly about choosing Miss and Mrs Slinky. Which went on and on due to the more wordy members of the group. Our lot are a talkative lot in general, and tend to butt in as they like to give their pennies worth. Which is kind of nice (everyone gets on) but kind of irritating (its taken you an hour to get to me and I've only managed to say a couple of words before someone has interuppted me. I don't find it very therapeutic ('image therapy') at all.

[Viviennemary]

The SW meetings are totally boring and dire. I really don't want to know about a dumb recipe for fake ferro rochers made out of all bran. Can't think of anything more disgusting. I wish somebody would start up a brand new support group for people trying to lose weight. WW is equally as dire. They need to rethink.

[TheDietStartsTomorrow]

I went to to one meeting and it was exactly as you described. It was very boring and just about cheering each other on. Was a long hour.

[CrumblyMumbly]

As above - very tedious. I think they make it boring on purpose so people pay, weigh and go and the consultant doesn't have to do much! We get a newsletter every week which has some good recipes and what's new in shops - which is more useful. I go because I can't be trusted to go it alone and like the online content and cheaper magazine. Have lost 3st since June so doing something right.

[FloozeyLoozey]

I love group! really keeps me motivated. I need the support!

[annielostit]

I'm sure the dust that marjarie Dawes encouraged fatfighters to eat would have to be classed as syns!?

[AliceMum09]

Our group is not boring at all. The consultant makes an effort to have something different to talk about each week, and she does a raffle with a prize of the ingredients to make a recipe from one of the books and an 'extra' like some digital weighing scales or one of those mesh trays for doing oven chips. We always talk about food, so it's great for getting tips. We had a taster week for the Xmas launch, people brought some lovely food in.

However I did go to a different group a couple of years ago and that was just like others have described - boring! When the consultant was doing the new members talk she might as well just have pressed play on a tape recorder, she couldn't have sounded any less enthusiastic if she'd tried! I got into a habit of just getting weighed and then going home, which probably explains why I got to target but then put nearly 1 1/2 stones back on and had to re-join! That's why I looked for a different group, I knew going back to the same place would not work.

It's a shame there are so many rubbish groups out there, because if you find a good one it really makes a difference.

[LL12]

I think that if I actually lose some weight this week I will carry on with the diet but give up actually going to a group.
My Mum's scales seem to give the same weight as the one's at SW so I will just use them each week instead.
I don't feel that I get any actual support from going to the meeting and get more from reading this website and other sites so I will spend the £4.95 I would have spent going on fruit and veg instead.

AliceMum09, your group sounds great.

[IgnoreMeEveryOtherFuckerDoes]

My SW is like your OP so much so that I now decided to save myself £4.95 and quit group. Quite a few pay, get weighed then leave. I got to that point last week and thought it was expensive way of getting weighed when I have scales at home.

Not all bad I've lost 11Ib, have 10Ib more to go and it has made me look at food different but picked most help up from just reading threads here.

[6031769]

ours is quite a good laugh, one of the highlights of my week! This week consultant talked about as its coming up for christmas we'd be going out for meals and what were good things to choose, good places to go etc etc, also talked about the woman from ireland who won slimmer of the year. She does the going round thing still at the end but it doesn't seem to take too long even tho there are about 40 people who stay to group. Ours is a morning group and we are able to get breakfast aftering weighing in, there is toast and fruit available and this is paid for by the raffle. Slimmer of the week also gets a basket of fruit/ food which the other members bring in.

[sandgrown]

I do sometimes stay but resent waiting around for half an hour while she gives new members their chat. I think she should do the group stuff first. I would go off track if I stopped going though and I want to reach target to get my free membership!

[Jamrollypolly]

SW groups do vary. I am going to to start SW in January and have tried two groups to see which one would be more suitable. One group was really well organised the leader talked about syn values in buffet food and members had to predict the total syn values on the plate. She offered practical advice and the group had a good feel to it with members committed to loosing weight.

The other group was a bit disorganised, it took a long time to weigh everybody because people did not come on time. The leader went round and talked about everyone's weight loss but didn't offer the same targeted advice as the other group leader. People were talking all the way through and babies crying it was really hard to hear.

It's definitely worth trying different groups to see which suits you and also the quality varies. I know the second group is just not right for me. You don't have to go to the same group every week I think it says on the website.

[Midori1999]

I've been to quite a few SW groups over the years and my current one is the only one I've enjoyed going to or stayed at long term. It's all down to the consultant.

The consultant at my current SW group is fantastic. She is funny and entertaining, as well as honest. I do feel as though she genuinely cares about the people in her class and her classes are always very full and most people stay each week.

The class starts with a talk about what's on the 'table of interest'. This might be a new book or products either the consultant or a group member has discovered recently that is nice and low syn or something that someone was shocked at the syn value of. There's usually a lot of chat and feedback from members. There are two recipes on the table each week and the raffle prize is usually the ingredients to make one of the dishes. There is also a folder of previous table recipes. Then we go through each person's loss/gain etc, although only losses as really talked about, unless someone wants to talk about their gain. People talk about new recipes they've tried or what a days food roughly looks like etc.

I actually feel like this SW group is an enjoyable evening out. There's always lots of laughter and I've made some good friends there too.

[Jamrollypolly]

Midori I agree. I have visited 3 groups this week as I'll be joining soon and the best one did all the things you mentioned above. I want the group session to teach me something new which I can use to enhance weight loss.

Slimming world should have secret slimmers a bit like secret shoppers.