Ok, Slimming World - is it for foodies? any good for vegetarians?

[oysterpots]

I am 12 stone 5 and 5'6" - 2 stone heavier than I was before getting pregnant with DS in October 2006. And really quite miserable about it.

Think I've got myself into bad habits, basically. Thought I was immune to weight gain while breastfeeding, ha ha

But I am a total foodie and not sure I could do a plan that isn't very interesting... would SW keep me motivated and interested? And would it be good for vegetarians (SO many diets aren't)?

Have looked on the website but can only see a cost for the online membership (£60 for 3 months) - can anyone tell me how much it costs for classes, and how much for postal membership?

And I don't understand the free foods thing! Read on a previous SW thread that you can eat loads of foods basically unlimited, but some of the things mentioned seemed to me to be more than I'm eating now if I ate them all day long! What exactly am I NOT eating??

[nikkid21]

sw works as a veggie because you can follow the green days and eat unlimited pasta, couscous, potatoes, & rice. All vegetables and fresh / frozen fruit is free on a green day as are herbd and spices. The things that you will miss as a foodie are butter, olive oil etc

What it does cut out is the bread (white bread is the food of the devil to slimming world) and restricts your sugar and fat intake. It will also make you think about the sauces that you put on pasta ie going for the tomato based rather than creamy ones.

Classes cost £4.50 each - if I stop going I put the weight back on but now that i'm at target it's free to attend.

[Furball]

SW is a fab diet for veggies. You just choose a green day everyday.

That means you can eat as much pasta, rice, potatoes, cous cous as you want (honest!)

you can also eat as much fruit and veg as you want (honest)

as much quorn or tofu as you want (honest)

you can also eat as much non fat, sugar free yoghurt ie most mullerlights as you want (honest) oh and as many eggs

and have 4 healthy extras a day (honest) - which consist of 2 calcium based, so I have 1 oz of cheese (which goes a suprisingly long way) and something like (sorry can't remember exactly) 1/2 - 3/4 pint of milk. The other 2 are your choice from a list such as a choice of breakfast cereals, nuts and seeds, cereal bars, bread, stewed fruit.

and it works - I lost 2 stone last year on it, quite easily and I was obviously never hungry

[oysterpots]

Cor, that does sound good.

But I just don't understand... HOW can you lose weight eating all that stuff? Surely it's not possible? Or the things they've identified as being extras are the foods people prone to weight gain end up eating a lot of (bread etc)?

Seems too good to be true!

Is there a cheaper way of doing it other than the classes/membership? CAn you do it from a book?

[Furball]

It does work though, so ask no questions and eat yes you can do it from a book. Personally I believe the cheapest way is to join a class (half price atm I think), get the blurb and then don't go back. There are boks on ebay but they are ££££'s

There is also a monthly sliming world magazine, which you could get to top up your menus/ideas.

I also forgot to say you get 10-15 syns a day as extras to spend on whatever you choose whether it be wine or chocolate or fresh cream, they all have syn values (available on their website, the password is usually knocking around the sw thread each week)

[Furball]

have a shufty round www.slimmingworld.com there are recipes and a weeks worth of menus there too

[oysterpots]

Great, ok, thanks Furball (great name by the way, we were going to call our cat Furball Sharkey ).

So you go along, join, get the bits and bobs, and just don't go back? Do you need to tell them you're cancelling?

And the syns - how do you calculate how many syns you can have? is it 10 for some people and 15 for others? sorry, asking so many questions

[oysterpots]

... and what is the sparkly place???

[Furball]

Thanks for the compliment on my name, Furball Sharkey is a fab name, I might have to nick that. (obviously I'm far to young to know who he is )

yes, just go to a meeting - You may even like it and want to go every week?? then don't go again, the consultant may ring you the first week to see how you're getting on, just say it's not for you. Don't be scared of her, she gets it all the time with people comming and going.

Most people (in fact everyone I know who's done it) has 10 syns a day.

[Furball]

oh and sparkly place? have no idea

[ProfYaffle]

The sparkly place is a Slimming World support forum that a few of us on the SW thread use. It's very pink, sparkly and ticker central.