0.5lb ON in first two weeks :(

[KaraokeQueenOfTheNorth]

So, I had my second weigh in today. Last week I lost half a pound, despite having been fully on plan (consultant checked and everything!).

Then this week. I confess, I had one day where I went over my syns, I had a large glass of wine having already had all my syns that day.

Today I weighed in at a gain of 1lb.

I showed diary to consultant, she said gain is due to the wine.

I have at least 2.5 stone to lose, it is going to take me forever if I have to be 100% on plan, all the time, and if I slip even slightly I gain? That just is not a realistic way to live!

Perhaps Slimming World just isn't for me. I don't know why it doesn't work for me. I could cry.

No idea where I go from here, I feel thoroughly miserable.

[tabulahrasa]

I know you said your consultant said you were on plan...but are you sure there isn't something you're counting as free that isn't?

[PastaPot]

Don't give up! What are you eating on a typical day?

[clary]

I agree don't give up. Have you tried writing down exactly what you eat? Post on MN if it helps - I have done this in the past and 1) I was shocked at how much I ate! 2) the guilt/exposure/whatever you call it meant I stopped eating quite so much, thinking "oooh I am going to have to post this late" :)

[MisForMumNotMaid]

As a very rough rule of thumb if you want bigger losses 1lb plus you need to be thinking 5-10 syns.

If you're using all 15 then there's no room for error or going over if you want to see a loss.

Are you happy you're having enough superfree 1/3 every plate and filling up on that? Are you happy that you're eating to satisfy your appetite? Are you drinking plenty of fluids?

One more thought could it be a hormonal fluctuation, mines about 2lb typically and it rebalances.

Don't give up. Slow and steady wins the race. If you can find the right balance (you may already be doing that) its a great way to live and eat and not be hungry all the time.

I've lost about 5 stone (up a tiny bit post hols at present, but confident that'll fall of now i'm back on plan).

[KaraokeQueenOfTheNorth]

I've written down everything that has passed my lips, i measure milk, weigh cheese, porridge etc. I've even cut crusts off bread to make it fit the HExB weight.

Breakfast is fruit and yoghurt (fat free) or porridge and fruit, or SW "fry up" if I have time.

Yes I always have speed food with everything! I like vegetables so I eat a lot of them.

Lunch is either brown roll with salad if I have B choice left, or pasta and salad, or leftovers from dinner.

Dinners are curries, stir fries, chilli con carne, home made burgers (I love SW chips) etc.

I eat mullerlights for pudding, usually with added fruit and sometimes a crumbled meringue.

I spend my syns generally on low fat soft cheese in my roll, low fat pesto in my pasta, a skinny cappuccino when out, tomato ketchup and sliced cheese on my burger, that kind of thing.

I looked back over my diary for last week and my syns were 8, 12, 8, 24, 11, 6, 15.

I guess I can cut back on syns but I like adding flavour to things, a brown roll with salad in is going to be dry and boring without the soft cheeses for example. I'm not really pigging out much, I'm not eating chocolate or crisps, just adding flavour to my meals.

Today I had:

Breakfast tinned mackerel, cherry tomatoes, brown roll.
Lunch was home made egg fried rice with loads of added veg.
Snack seafood sticks and carrot sticks dipped in low fat seafood sauce (2.5 syns)
Dinner jacket potato with chilli, and cheese (5 syns worth)

[MisForMumNotMaid]

All looks and sounds pretty good. If you're confident you're on plan just stick at it and make sure you drink plenty. Give it another two weeks if you can.

Who knows maybe your body is just adjusting to the new way of eating.

Time will tell.

[TwoTonTessie]

Maybe your syns are too high? I have a lot less syns than that generally.

[TwoTonTessie]

What about exercise? Do you walk a lot at all?

[KaraokeQueenOfTheNorth]

Yes I think I will have to have less syns. I just thought that coz the plan said 5-15 it would be ok to do that! So just 5 a day? That sounds really hard :-/

I walk 30 mins to work 4 times a week, and once a week I walk home too, so about 2.5hrs walking per week, at a fairly fast pace. No other exercise (I hate exercise and I look hideous in any kind of gym wear or swimming stuff!)

[Travelledtheworld]

How old are you ? I also think you need to exercise. You need to get your heart rate up and sweat a little. Find a fun exercise class, aerobics, Zumba etc. or try swimming.
It doesn't matter what you look like. Just go and enjoy !

[KaraokeQueenOfTheNorth]

I'm 32. I can't afford gym fees which is why my exercise regime is walking at the moment...

In new members chat consultant explicitly said sticking to SW WILL work even without exercise but that "body magic" is a bonus and may speed up weight loss. Is this not correct? Am I really going to keep gaining if I go 9 syns over one day and don't join the gym?

I'm wondering if I need to look at a different diet plan. I'll see how I go this week but I just can't bear to keep gaining :(

[NapoleonsNose]

I think everyone is different. Six or so years ago I lost nearly four stone on SW. I rarely had less than 10 syns a day and regularly lost 2 or more lbs a week, particularly during the first few months. Fast forward those six years and I have put most of the weight back on because I stopped going to group and started eating badly again. I went to classes for a bit and did exactly the same and every week I was struggling. The first week I lost 1lb and subsequent weeks, I was lucky to lose 1/2. I'm sad to say I gave up. I lost most weight when I was doing the old 'green' plan and it seems that Extra Easy doesn't work for me. I'm now trying old fashioned calorie counting with MFP.

[TurnOffTheTv]

I know on SW they can say its fine to eat free foods etc, but I still try to cut down my carbs. You had bread then rice then a potato yesterday. I would try and cut out carbs for at least one meal in the day. If I use bread for my hex B I don't tend to eat any rice or pasta that day.

[MisForMumNotMaid]

potential syn savers for you:

home made seafood sauce. Use extra light mayo 1/2 syn per tablespoon, squirt lemon juice and squirt tomato puree. So its about 1 heaped tablespoon for 1/2 syn.

Cottage cheese (low fat) rather than soft cheese - aldi do some flavoured ones which are syn free.

Alternatively try quark mixed with strong cheese or parmasan for that extra cheese flavour but far less syns.

I think aiming for under 10 syns allows for hidden syns and the odd over run.

Two weeks in is early days. Give it a chance. If you can enjoy your food and don't feel restrained at 10-15 maybe keep with that for another few weeks and see if you end up net down. This isn't about this month or next, its about finding something that works for you and your lifestyle for life.

[KaraokeQueenOfTheNorth]

Thanks everyone. Ugh. I chose slimming world because I thought it looked the most straightforward and easiest to stick to. Now I'm being advised to watch my carbs, give up proper seafood sauce, and eat cottage cheese :-/

I heard so many wonderful things about SW not being a diet, not feeling deprived, a way of life etc and I was really excited to start. But it appears for it to work for me it does have to be a diet. A low carb, low taste diet.

Sorry for the pity party, I am just so bitterly disappointed by all of this. I thought during the members chat that it all sounded too good to be true. And for me it seems I was right! :(

I am going to give it two more weeks.

[tabulahrasa]

You've understood it all fine, body magic is a bonus not essential and there's no need to limit carbs or not use your syns.

The most common reasons new members don't lose is that they didn't understand it (so you can cross that off the list) or that they're eating things as free that aren't or are eating things that should be counted and aren't doing so...

It's way easier than you'd think to buy for example the wrong mince and not notice or to steal a chip or two from the DC and forget about it, but things like that can add up pretty quickly.

Talk to your consultant about working out what's going on - it's what you're paying her for.

[MisForMumNotMaid]

You don't need to eat cottage cheese or stop buying a ready made seafood sauce. They were suggestions to save syns. Thats the point of slimming world its about your priorities, not mine, your advisors or anyone elses.

For me i would save those syns and have a bag of salt and vinegar ringos (my big weekness is crisps). Neither way is right or wrong its about making your own choices and finding the food combination that works for you.

Good luck, i hope this week is your week on the scales.

[dragonfly007]

You are doing great and I would encourage you to stick with it!!! As a target member I don't do bread, it doesn't fill me adequately within the hex range. For bf I've had porridge with a peach made with water with a Muller added for sweetness, lunch is a massive salad using hex a choice cheese for tea I would normally have spag bol/ hunters chicken / curry for tea. Use salad cream, hifi lights / fruitoplois
and hot choc on syns.

[KaraokeQueenOfTheNorth]

Thank you everyone, sorry if I sounded grumpy or ungrateful for the advice!!

This week I will stick to under 10 syns each day and see if it helps :)

Thanks all

[DipsoHippo]

You're getting good advice from others here, the only thing I'd suggest is to look at the volume of speed food vs free food. When I did SW first, I got this totally wrong, and assumed that as long as my meal was free I was fine. Resulting in man-sized plates of free chips.

When I copped on, and started putting 1/3 veg/fruit on to every plate, as a result my potato/rice/pasta portion went down. So, I wasn't weighing/counting carbs as such, but naturally reducing the portion. And, yes, you don't have to limit carbs... but you have to have the 1/3 speed with them each time. So, if I wanted a second helping of chips, I was usually not hungry enough to have a lot of veg too.

So, my only tip would be to make sure you're following that as much as possible, and it might give you a kick start. The odd glass of wine or day over my syns didn't make much difference, it was the weeks that I wasn't 100% on my speed portions (or super free as it was then)

If you're already doing the above, ignore me! - with Hex A milk, obvs

[JennyOnAPlate]

Is your period due this week? I always gain on period week no matter how strict I am.

[emmaluvseeyore]

My period definitely affects my weight loss. I don't always necessarily gain when I am on/due, but I lose less/stay the same (as I did last week).

Are you drinking a lot of water? I find I lose more when I drink plenty of water because my body doesn't retain it. I also don't really eat bread as it now makes me bloated and doesn't fill me up. I find cereal much better for that.

I have to say that most days I struggle to eat 5 syns, and my food is full of flavour. I mostly eat pasta and rice dishes for dinner and then have the same for lunch the next day (I cook double portions). I use lots of herbs and spices to give it that flavour. I always try and reach for the fruit and veg first for a snack, but ham is definitely my weakness! But it is still better than reaching for chocolate or something.

Do you need pudding? I always find I am full up from my meals so don't need pudding afterwards. Although Mullerlights are free, you would be better to either not have them or have fruit instead. I have noticed that people will eat multiple Mullerlights per day, which you shouldn't really do as it isn't particularly good for you.

[lynniep]

Slimming world doesn't work for everyone. For others its fantastic. I'm the former. I don't like the format, I don't like the plan, and I don't lose weight. Weightwatchers is a better plan for me as its much more flexible. However since I'm currently without any form of will power, nothing works :z

However I would agree that you need to try for a bit longer. You may just be eating too much (I know it says unlimited but you have to still keep portion sizes sensible) or adding too many syns for your body.

[ChessieFL]

OP - what are you having as your A choice? You have mentioned synning cheese but you could have this as your A choice.

[KaraokeQueenOfTheNorth]

A choice is milk which I have in tea/coffee throughout the day :)