Do slimming clubs actually work ?

[Thequeenisdeadboys]

Decided I'm going to join a slimming group this week. Could do with losing a good couple of stone and simply can not do it alone. Which one is best SW or WW ? Tried researching and SW seems to sound good but unrealistic. I can't see me losing weight with the amounts you can eat !! and WW seems a bit complicated !! What to do ? What do you folks reckon ?

[Justgivemesomepeace]

Slimming world has worked for my dsis. She's lost 7st. She's been doing it for 2 years though. A guy I work with is also on slimming world. He's gone from 29st to 16st. Amazing. They were both determined, have stuck it out but it's worked for them both.

[Thequeenisdeadboys]

driggle Interesting. I'm a bugger for massive portion sizes and Slimming world seem to encourage it !?

[Thequeenisdeadboys]

Wow ! Justgive That's incredible.

[PasDevantLesElephants]

Have a look at Rebelfit on FB, they have a lot of interesting information on how slimming clubs work.

[MTB45]

Only if you have the willpower to go with it. If not, no.

[ItsLikeSputnik]

It’s working for me. I go to my local Scottish Slimmers class and I’ve lost 52 pounds in the last year (average of one pound a week loss). I’ve still almost 3 stones to lose, but I’m happy with the slow and steady approach.

[NerNerNerNerBATMAN]

The evidence suggests they both work. However, they are more effective the more weight you have to lose. So, if you've only got a couple of stone to shift, you'd be unlikely to find them as successful compared to someone who had say 4+ stone to lose.

Also, the groups are more successful than doing the online version alone.

I've tried both and failed, but I preferred SW. I only have a couple of stone to lose though. I already eat a balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg, I just eat too much and do too little exercise. I think they work best of you have very bad diets that need a wholesale overhaul.

[StripySocksAndDocs]

Yes they work. If members follow the 'rules'. Generally once a person leaves a club they put weight back on (to some degree) because they feel they are 'freed' from the control of they club.

Slimming world doesn't encourage huge portions. There's no weighting involved so if you want to eat huge amount you could. But even if you do, if you follow their guidelines you'll still lose weight. Because youll be eating huge amounts of vegetables. Problem would be once you're done with SW you'll problem go back to eating huge positions but without the guideline.

As with all slimming clubs it isn't really the club's fault if there members can't or don't follow the diet.

I speak as someone who lost 2.5 stone two years ago and has now put a stone back on.

[wombatron]

I do slimming world and have had steady 1lb a week losses which is positive. They advocate big portions but do this by suggesting your plate be 1/3minimum speed food - which is veggies and fruit.

It's also supposed to be a lifestyle change rather than a one off diet. I had a week 'off plan' and gained a fair bit which was irritating - you are supposed to maintain the plan to maintain target weight. I personally think this is to encourage repeat business IYSWIM.

I have some fairly big issues with it though which I'm currently still happy to look around. You can't mash banana as it apparently changes it's Syn value.... but you mash a banana when you chew so WTF. Perhaps I've missed something. They are constantly changing what's 'free' and what's to be synned, which is good sometimes. But please explain to me what Mother Nature changed about blueberries that took them from being a syn food to free. And why advocate that I could eat a Muller Light yoghurt full of flavouring and sweetener for free but certain fresh fruits are off limits as free foods. I would prefer to eat the fruit but I like to stay on plan.

Some meals I see on some FB pages seem unbalanced (think 4 eggs and some beans on a plate).

There's certainly no denying it works wonders for people, and their achievements and dedication is not to be lost in my critique, I will stick with it for a while but I'm already questioning if it's the diet for me.

Do check out Pinch of Nom and Slimming Eats for some recipe ideas - fab websites with some yummy midweek meals even if you're not doing WW or SW (one of them has the points/syn value for both diets on their recipes).

[cardibach]

Do you mean work as in make you lose weight or work as I help you stay a healthy weight after? Yes to the first, no to the second. Most people who diet put on all the weight and more afterwards. I second looking at Rebelfit.

[NerNerNerNerBATMAN]

Oh god yes I forgot SW obsession with muller light yogurt and Cadbury twirls. The basics of their plan is essentially eat a shit load of fruit and veg, plus a muller light every day, and the occasional Cadbury twirl. Pretty sure that covers the basics.

[Thequeenisdeadboys]

Thanks guys. wombatron Bloody hell re the mashed banana and muller lights ! (they are gross and taste artificial) but I agree .. baffled as to how they work out sin values. Is scottish slimmers a variation on SW ?

[Marcine]

I had two stone to lose and Slimming World is working for me. Think I have been going for 6 weeks now and have lost a stone, I have one more to go.

I have found the plan very simple and easy to stick to - make 1/3 of your plate veg, eat lean meat, snack on fruit and veg, limit bread and dairy.

I like that you can still have chocolate, wine every day if you want but you just have to limit it. Or you can skip the wine and cook with butter or oil instead.

Some people don't like the group aspect but I enjoy it and I think it does keep you on track. Once you reach your target weight you can keep going for free too, which is good motivation.

Today I have eaten:
Oats, fat free activia and berries with a coffee for breakfast
Apple for a snack
Sesame rivita with chicken and cucumber and some veg soup and a lilt zero for lunch
Alpen light bar and a coffee mid afternoon
We're having chilli con carne with rice for dinner

I've been losing 2-3lbs a week generally which I'm pretty happy with.

[Thequeenisdeadboys]

NerNer

[wombatron]

@NerNerNerNerBATMAN it's curly wurly's now!!!

It's def flawed for me... but I will continue to use it for now to keep me on track!

[Thequeenisdeadboys]

Wow marcine that sounds great ! Well done with those losses !

[NerNerNerNerBATMAN]

Wombarton argh! Curly wurleys, how could I have forgotten! As if they'd let you enjoy a full twirl!

OP i may be taking the piss slightly but they are both good and worth a shot if you fancy it. They absolutely do work for people.

[Marcine]

I understand the issue with processed fruits not being free while whole fruits are is that if you blitz or juice them you end up having lots of sugar with little fibre - for example you might sit down and eat one banana as a snack and feel full, but you could turn a banana, some strawberries, a kiwi and some mango into a smoothie and drink it all in one go. Chances are you wouldn't sit down and consume that much fruit if you ate it whole.
So just use your common sense with it - if I was just having one banana mashed on toast for example I wouldn't count it as a syn, several fruit in a smoothie I would.

[Thequeenisdeadboys]

Luckily I don't have a sweet tooth or I would devour the Curly Wurly's !

[MonkeysMummy17]

I've only tried SW so can't comment in comparison to WW.
I found SW great initially, having a bit list of free and speed foods and a few suggestions on recipes were great. However my weightloss stopped because I wasn't mixing it up enough, you really need to keep changing up the meals every week so your body doesn't just get used to things. I found this quite hard work trying to come up with lots of recipes (scrolling through two chubby cubs and pinch of nom every week) and it really got expensive buying ingredients.
I also found myself questioning the logic more too for example as many Muller lights as you want but make sure you syn sweetener when baking with it, or fruit is fine unless you're mashing/making smoothies in which case you have to syn them even if you aren't having any more than you'd have eaten in the first place.
I think it's ok, you can lose the weight you want to but I don't see it as a sustainable diet for life which is very much what it's sold as

[Luckycatsplat]

Yes.
If you're not going to stick to it then no. You still need will power and to make an effort but the accountability and support make a huge difference.
You need to find an eating plan that works for you long term though. WW would never work for me. MFP drove me mad because I kept forgetting to work everything out. I don't have issues with portion control, mine is more about self control around sweet things so SW works for me.
At my group, there was a girl who was struggling and ended up in tears one week. The non jydgenental friendship and support everyone gave her was amazing. The next week everyone genuingely cared about how she did. When she lost 2lb she got a cheer and the leader (with everyone's agreement) made her slimmer of the week. You could see the difference that made to her.
I do find it odd that people at my group just go there and eat. It also gets a bit frustrating when people clearly aren't doing it and then moan that they've gained.

[Thequeenisdeadboys]

Ah, That makes sense marcine .

[Marcine]

Usually syns are 20 calories per syn so basically limit yourself to 100-300 calories worth of treat food a day. If you want to use them on curly wurlys or avocados it's up to you.

[liquidrevolution]

Most people who lose weight on diets will gain it (and more!) within 4 years.

Think about it - if they worked why do we have an obesity epidemic? The Slimming World and WW companies aren't in it to get you healthy, they want to make money by having REPEAT customers and to flog you their branded foods.

As a PP said. Check out rebelfit. Just follow his page on facebook.