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Has anyone on here followed SW and realised what a fucking cult it is?

36 replies

TimeToRevolutionize · 18/11/2018 07:18

By all means I am not completely shaming Slimming World. I have previously enjoyed the plan and even lost 4st from following it, so it did work!

However, I have noticed in myself that I still don't feel as healthy and energetic as lifestyle changes should make you feel, and I think that is purely down to the fact that we are scared to use oil because of the syns, so we end up using Frylight which is full of chemical and other crap! And it doesn't cook spices properly either Angry Everything is aspartame filled, tastes of tomatoes because their recipe always asks for 400g tin of tomatoes or a whole tub of passata!

Going food is very expensive.... topping up during the week because you need more low syn items or free foods, and because I felt like I had to buy low syn items to keep my day "low syn" as possible, which end up costing a fortune (£2.50 for a small bottle of sweet freedom when I can just buy normal chocolate syrup for about £1 in Aldi!) also you can only eat certain bread and cheeses... and eating unlimited amounts of free food is terrible advice! Calories is calories. Eat more than you burn off, you'll gain weight. Simple logic really!

I just felt like I was obsessing with syns too much. Going out for lunch was crap! I wanted something different on the menu but got stuck with jacket potato and beans because it is syn free. Now they've changed the plan again and I've now decided you know what? Fuck the bloody plan! I am not living like this anymore.

Enough is enough now. I lost 4st, I am still a stone our of target but you know what? I'm happy. I have learned to be happy in myself and I have decided to do exercise as well so instead of spending £5 a week getting weighed, I am spending £39 every 3 months on Beach Body on Demand. Money well spending, if I say so myself! I am still cooking nutritious meals every day at home using little bit of olive oil, I still eat plenty of fruit and vegetables BUT I also allow myself one treat a day, so it could be a packet of crisps, an ice lolly, or maybe a chocolate bar, etc.

They would've been a fuck load of syns but I am not going to count syns anymore. This is my new journey and I am going into January, following my own journey and feeling happy and content with myself!

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SuperstarDJ · 18/11/2018 07:34

I went to a couple of meetings after having DD1 and decided it wasn’t for me. My group spent most of the time discussing and trying to find ways of still being able to eat crap within the ‘system’. There was little focus on nutrition, healthy eating and exercise and changing your long term mind set.

The was one woman who would have a full-on cooked fry everyday because the diet plan allowed her to. That can’t be healthy surely.

Mass applause and celebration if someone stayed the same weight or lost half a pound that week whereas if they knocked the daily fry-up on the head they could’ve lost more.

That may just be my group and I can’t deny that it clearly seems to work for a lot of people

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TubbsAndEdward · 18/11/2018 07:36

Absolutely agree.
I was on and off it for years.
Unless you are prepared to follow the plan for life (and how rubbish is their maintenance support?) , then it is designed to make you need to go back again and again !

I don't diet anymore I just have 3 meals a day and don't snack.

My weight has stabilised a bit heavier than I'd like but I eat pretty much what I want.

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Cornflakedout · 18/11/2018 07:40

I think you've said it all really - the group I went to used to chunter on about Muller light yogurts, without actually looking at the fact they are full of sugar and other sweeteners (and taste like runny sick to boot)

I have found going higher fat, low carb is by far the quickest, least hunger-pangs-inducing way to lose weight: that said, it is HARD to stick to when you are a lover of bread and all things carb-ey.

Weight Watchers is really no better, imo.

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LotsOfHappySmiles · 18/11/2018 07:48

So true!

When the general consensus is that the current obesity crisis is fuelled by unhealthy food choices and that eating real food is a better way to live, it surprises me that SW is still out there.

I too have lost a couple of stone, by filling up on Muller lites and jacket potatoes. My shopping basket was full of Frylight, Alpen bars, Diet Coke and All Bran. I spent my syns on wine, FFS.

Now I have full fat Greek yogurt and berries, low carb lunches and dinners and have decided to give up wine. I cook with butter and olive oil, have cut out a lot of processed crap and feel better for it. I spend the £5 / two hours I've saved by not going to group on fruit and veg and cook more from scratch.

I used to go when it was red and green days and then it changed to extra easy. What new changes have they introduced this time? Are they still encouraging you to have mug shots and the awful scan bran? Grin

The SW business model is only sustainable if people keep coming back, and I can't get my head around that. Surely if it worked, that wouldn't be necessary.

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Flyingsouthwiththeswallows · 18/11/2018 07:48

Totally agree.

The focus on Syns was a real turn off for me. Food is food and you shouldn't be made to feel guilty about it.

I also found the meetings obsessive and the charts telling you how many biscuits etc. you could have for 1 Syn ridiculous.

Every lb I lost on SW went straight back on after trying to stop the Syn obsession.

Now I eat healthily, plenty of fruit & veg, no meat, and low sugar. I also aim for 10,000 steps every day. I weigh less than I did 30 years ago and am bursting with energy.

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errorofjudgement · 18/11/2018 07:51

Actually I think WW is much better.
You have to point all your carbs and red meat, but chicken, pulses, fruit & veg are free.
I don’t use fry light or muller lite at all (having been SW indoctrinated for years), but instead use olive oil and Greek yougurt. My weight is coming off and I’m sticking to it plus I feel so much healthier.

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N0b0dysMot · 18/11/2018 07:55

Yeh the fact that they called a treat a sin put me off.

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LotsOfHappySmiles · 18/11/2018 07:56

Yes, forgot that one - the main discussion of the meeting being how to cheat on the plan. Muller lite rice pudding, scan bran cake, some godawful soup where you combined a tin of tomatoes and a tin of baked beans (boak).

The SW leader used to refer to it as 'food abuse'.

And half the group never counted syns on weigh in day and called for a chippy tea, McDonald's or Chinese on the way home.

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lanbro · 18/11/2018 07:58

I own a coffee shop and so many of my customers are on slimming world...I have introduced syn free breakfasts to hit the market, and I do know some who have lost a good deal of weight, but the majority are still overweight and have been going for years, which suggests it isn't as good as everyone reckons!

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Blondiecub0109 · 18/11/2018 08:07

Please check out ‘wearerebelfit’ on instagram - great support for ex SW people - I think you’ll find the post weight loss support you’re looking for

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MaybeDoctor · 18/11/2018 08:17

I have read quite a few reports and evidence reviews around obesity.

My understanding is that the evidence base around these slimming clubs is around:

A) keeping a record of what you eat - good evidence for this, but it could also be a paper diary.

B) calorie reduction

I have never been to Slimming World but find the language around it just bizarre - like being a medieval churchgoer.

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BookwormMe · 18/11/2018 08:21

SW and WW and all those other paid-for programmes need people to FAIL at long-term weight loss for their businesses to survive and profit, so the plans are cleverly designed to stop short of helping people achieve it. The plans do just enough to help lose people lose weight in the short term, but these companies need people to keep going back! It's not rocket science when you think about it.

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FrightsaidRed · 18/11/2018 08:34

I have to admit everyone I’ve known who has lost a lot on it has then put it all back on again and returned to SW...and so the cycle continues with yo-yo dieters. Whereas the people I know who have made overall lifestyle changes and taken up exercise are still at their ideal weight years on. I guess that speaks volumes.

I liked how ‘easy’ it seemed but equally parts of it made no sense to me as although allowed they seemed unhealthy. If it’s fat free but loaded with sugar, that’s not great!

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Waitingonasmiley42 · 18/11/2018 08:41

I totally agree there are many flaws to the plan. However it totally changed how I cooked and made me step away from using jars. I honestly hadn't considered how many calories oil or a jar of curry sauce had until I saw how many "syns" they were on SW.

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FaithInfinity · 18/11/2018 09:12

I went for 18 months. Lost 3st in 9 months and got to target. I looked the best I had done in years. Unfortunately I got ill, couldn’t exercise much (limited to walking and gentle yoga), took drugs which increased my appetite (I ate all the biscuits) and I put 2 stone back on.

I stopped going a few months ago. I just couldn’t get back into ‘diet’ mode, because you know, despite how much they tell you it isn’t, it is in fact a diet. Also it never really addressed my biggest issue which is binge eating.

So I’ve turned things around. I’m better now fortunately. I’ve stopped dieting. I’m eating proper portions of real food. How nice is normal yoghurt?! I’m avoiding sweeteners. I’m sure further research will say they’re terrible for your health. I’ve read Brain over binge by Kathryn Hansen and I’m listening to the podcast as I run. I’m optimistic that over time I can normalise my eating habits for the first time since my teens and that gradually I will lose weight and tone up in the long term.

I think it spoke volumes that when I text my consultant to say I was leaving SW she didn’t even reply. Ultimately it is all about money and if you maintain at target they don’t make any money!

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Petalflowers · 18/11/2018 09:20

I think for some people, it does get you out of the cycle of eating unhealthily, and people obviously do loose weight.

However, I didn’t get much from the meetings either. By the time we had weighed in, and gone round everyone finding out how much people had lost, then the meeting time was almost up. There was little or no discussion on healthy eating, exercise etc. I admit, like the poster above, I did stop using jars of pasta sauce due to their sugar content, but not much more.

Also resented having to pay £5 for missed weeks, which I also think is beetle spent on buying fresh fruit, better quality meat etc.

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UserMe18 · 18/11/2018 09:22

I tried it this year and the consultant was a bloody dictator. According to her the plan is only successful if you go to group every week mindlessly clapping and sympathising with the trivial gains and losses of that week, exercise doesn't make you lose weight apparently (it only tones you 🙄) I bought a 12 week course and found that I always put on weight on my period (was obviously just water retention, would have a big loss the following week) and she would relish in telling me it was because I didn't go to group. It was pretty toxic tbh because I was only a size 12 at the top end of a healthy BMI, I was only looking to change my lifestyle and get healthier. Anyways I gave up within 1 month and switched to calorie counting but carried on getting weighed, I relished in reaching my goal by the end of the 12 weeks and saying it wasn't because of SW :)

Hated the diet, it's not sustainable for me and I don't think it's very healthy promoting diet sodas etc. 2 months later and I'm still at my target weight.

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TimeToRevolutionize · 20/11/2018 11:18

Thank you to everyone for your replies! Instagram is the worse for it. Constantly promoting advertisements for a load of shit to make money out of it. I really like carbytobarbie on Insta! She's a breath of fresh air and says what we are all thinking! And she says it how it is.

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mypoosmellsofroses · 20/11/2018 11:25

I went years ago and it was crap. Had a week where I had a bad throat infection, could hardly eat anything and the leader just kept banging on at me about how many syns were in Lemsip. Never went back.

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halfwitpicker · 20/11/2018 12:49

Just the fact that they call it 'syn' indicates that its a diet for stupid people. Sorry.

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Flowersonthewall · 20/11/2018 12:58

It's a business that doesn't want you to succeed! If you did get to your goal weight on so then you wouldn't continue to go so they work on the premise that you won't lose the weight so keep going back!!
I went one meeting with a friend and the fact that the leader was rather overweight spoke volumes to me! If you want to promise a weight loss programme at least have people at a healthy weight leading it!

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PaulHollywoodsSexGut · 20/11/2018 13:00

Oh my god
Fucking Muller Yoghurts

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greendale17 · 20/11/2018 13:13

I know 3 people who did slimming world and became absolutely obsessed with food. Not healthy to me at all

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Nicknamesalltaken · 20/11/2018 13:19

So it worked for you, you’re not ‘completely shaming it’ but you think it’s a ‘fucking cult’.

Just step away from it then. You don’t need it anymore. Lots of people find it helpful. Just as you did.

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BirdyKRos · 20/11/2018 14:32

I tried slimming world but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. Since August I have been doing Herbalife and I have managed to lose all of my baby weight plus an extra 9lbs so far. I was pretty sceptical before I started, but it deffinately works for me. We just need to remember that different diets / eating plans for for different people.

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