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Original poster

Does SlimmingWorld work?

38 replies

DanteThunderstone · 13/06/2022 19:30

I've got lard to shift and noticed they have a weekly meeting in the church outside my son's school just after school drop off time (no coincidence, I'm sure). Am I likely to become svelte and gorgeous if I sign up and go along or will I just spend all my money on SW ready meals while remaining bulgy?

OP posts:
NewtoHolland · 02/07/2022 07:44

Hi, well like any diet it works of you stick to it. I do respect slimming world as they do pay researchers and adapt their programme to make sure it's evidence based. I've been going for 10 weeks and lost 2stone so it's working for me. Did you give it a try in the end?

RenegadeKeeblerElf · 02/07/2022 07:49

If you do it properly, ie focus on increasing the proportion of fruit and veg and decreasing the amount of more calorific stuff then it absolutely works. If you do what some people do and find all the ways you can 'tweak' foods to be 'Slimming World friendly) and spend all your syns on low fat processed crap then it's not so good for long term change. I've lost 9.5 stone over the last 3 years doing it, so it definitely works, but signing up isn't a magic bullet, you have to really commit to changing how you eat.

MrsAshleyWilkes · 02/07/2022 08:08

Yep, just as others have said. It definitely can work, but only if you commit to it.

Honestly, you won't become svelte overnight, but when it's done right, SW is the epitome of slow & steady wins the race!

MrsAshleyWilkes · 02/07/2022 08:10

I was also really sceptical about staying for the group session, thinking I'd prefer to just weigh & go. But there's def something about being accountable and swapping ideas & stories with other members that helps focus the mind and keep you in the zone from week to week.

DontLikeCoffee · 02/07/2022 08:13

Yes it works, but just like any sort of diet, if you start eating ‘normally’ again then you’ll put the weight back on.

Also, you can’t actually eat as much as pasta as you like so don’t believe that rubbish. And remember your ‘speed food’.

JLQ1020 · 02/07/2022 08:16

It does work, and you don't need to buy SW branded food, in fact it's encouraged to make things from scratch.

Hermanfromguesswho · 02/07/2022 08:18

It worked for me. I lost 2.5 stone over 6 months ago and have kept it off since then

Hollygoshitely33 · 02/07/2022 08:20

It does work. I lost a lot of weight on the plan. Unfortunately it wasn't a sustainable diet for me and as soon as I began eating off plan again I put all of the weight back on. I know that's the case for any 'diet' but it seems particularly quick with SW. So yeah you will lose weight but only if you commit to it for life.

ThreeKneeRepeater · 02/07/2022 08:20

Yes it works if you stick to it. You will never be hungry either, and contrary to MN SW haters, it’s not all about Muller Lite yogurts and unlimited pasta.
5 years on I’ve kept the weight off. I don’t follow it religiously now but the main principles still work for me.

PutinIsAWarCriminal · 02/07/2022 08:21

It does work for lots of people but I didn't like the group eataholics anonymous type setting! I'm vegetarian and didn't manage to loose anything each time I tried, I think I took the eat as much rice and pasta as you like a bit too literally, and became frustrated with being told to just leave out the meat from recipes.

DontLikeCoffee · 02/07/2022 08:22

I never bought any of the food either.

Once you know the rules and have got your head around syns etc then it’s easy to follow without actually joining. There are so many fb groups or insta recipes out there. Joining a group can help your motivation though.

JudgeRindersMinder · 02/07/2022 08:22

It “works” in that if you follow it you’ll lose weight, but it does nothing to address the behaviour that has led to you being overweight. Consultants don’t tend to know anything about nutrition, but only about “the plan”, and will actively discourage you from “too much”exercise.
if these things worked properly, there wouldn’t be repeat members.

Ragwort · 02/07/2022 08:27

It does work if you follow the guidelines - like any 'diet'!!

You don't need to eat SW ready meals, muller yogurts or any other branded food. I can remember the original 'green' and 'red' plans which were all based on 'real' food .. not processed.

Its basically low fat, plenty of veg, some fruit and lean protein .. limit carbs, cheese, sugar etc.

Ragwort · 02/07/2022 08:28

Jusge it does depend on your group leader ... of course some are much better than others. Some really do encourage exercise and encourage group walks, runs etc.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 02/07/2022 08:29

A family member has lost 5 stone in a year and looks fantastic. Never buys the special food and always has seconds of every meal so never goes hungry,I'm amazed at the amount she eats actually. She's managing to stick to the maintenance diet and says it's pretty lenient and she's surprised at what she can have and still keep it off. It's all fresh food which is never wrong and what our diets should be really. Seriously considering doing it tbh.

RollOnWinter · 02/07/2022 08:32

Any diet works, whilst you're on it.

I tried Slimming World a few years ago, didn't like it. There were women there who had been going for years! Losing 1lb a week is no good to me (I need to lose about 6st) so I'm doing SlimFast (2 a day). 15lb lost in 3 weeks so far.

GetThePaddlingPoolOut · 02/07/2022 08:34

It definitely works if you stick to the plan. I lost 3 and a half stone over 9 months. When I was sticking to plan I kept it off. I need to go back.

User0610134049 · 02/07/2022 08:34

I’ve seen it work for some people but I personally don’t know anyone who has kept it off.
They’re genius because people generally lose - regain then rejoin and give them more money

User0610134049 · 02/07/2022 08:35

(As demonstrated by previous poster)

User0610134049 · 02/07/2022 08:36

But no judgement, it’s so hard and arguably losing weight then regaining it is better than just going up and up

Thegirlwithnousername · 02/07/2022 08:36

I working for me I started in Feb and I have l have lost 3st 10.5lbs.
You really have to be in the mindset to do it!.
I have a lot more to loose but it's working for me.
It's not about dieting and then going back to how you used to eats no diets ever going to work like that. It's a lifestyle change that you have to continue for ever.

Thegirlwithnousername · 02/07/2022 08:39

The few comments about the exercise isn't true for our group we had a talk on it this week.
They don't encourage you to join a gym for example but they do encourage you to increase your exercise by doing other things like generally moving more instead of sitting around.

Original poster
DanteThunderstone · 02/07/2022 10:40

Thanks all.

Am I imagining it or was there talk of slimming club fees getting waived if you were referred by a GP?

OP posts:
ImFuminHun · 02/07/2022 11:14

I stuck to it for a couple of months and gained 1lb.
However, weightwatchers works very well for me.
And good old MyFitnessPal and 5/2.

but for some reason Slimming World did not.

DrRuthGalloway · 02/07/2022 11:23

I have done SW several times over the years.
It does work.
However, I have some issues. These may have changed as I stopped going 10 years ago.

First, they never talked about portion sizes. They had phrases like 'the more you eat, the more you lose' and how you could have as much as you like of "free" food. This never really encouraged a changed mindset about portion control. So once you slipped off the diet at all you hadn't retrained yourself out of the issues that caused you to gain weight in the first place.

Second, they spent a lot of time and energy at meetings talking about cheat ways to make foods. For example, how to make cake out of weetabix and scan bran, or how to make cheesecake using quark. This again meant your mindset continued to be focused on cakes and sweet treats.

Thirdly, they recommend artificial sweeteners and very low fat food substitutes (eg margarine) and as I get older I become more convinced that it's far healthier to have a very small amount of the real natural food (eg butter) than a larger amount of fake food made with emulsifiers and gums.