To say Slimming world food is disgusting?

[CountingThePennies]

I joined Slimming world again on Monday. I did it for 4 months around 4 years ago and lost 2 stone.

Im now bigger than i ve ever been so rejoined.

I didnt do any of the recipes last time from the books and found the diet boring which is why i gave it up.

This time i was determined to buy the cookbooks and do a variety of different things to avoid me getting fed up with it.

So far i have cooked 3 meals out the books and all have been disgusting!!

I ve even tried the slimming world meals from iceland, again it was disgusting and i had 2 mouthfuls and that was it.

Im a member of a slimming world group on facebook and people are posting pictures of their tea and saying it was delicious!

Aibu to think the meals are far from delicious?

I have done slimming world and I think the reason it works is because you can tailor it to your own tastes. I can't stand artificial sweetner so would never use that. However savoury foods are very very similar to what I cook whether following SW or not. I am confused by what you mean it's all disgusting surely you just cook as normal but remove the fat and flour (if you wish or syn it.)

I've lost 2st 8lbs with Slimming World so far and I barely eat any processed or "low fat" foods as I don't like artificial stuff (although I am partial to a Mullerlight).

I tend to make healthier versions of my usual meals and mince and potatoes is one of them, other than 2 tablespoons of gravy granules its free as is fresh fish so I don't get why you think those things are out of bounds?

I agree about some of the "improvised" recipes though. Diet Coke chicken, pulled pork doused in sweetener filled sauce and the baked canelloni filling are amongst the worst foods I have ever eaten!

I definitely think YABU. Like others have said, you just need to adapt your own recipes/cooking to make them slimming although I found that the way I cooked, it already was.

The recipes are there to give you an idea. You don't have to stick to them religiously.

There is so much that is 'free' that I struggle to see how you can't find anything you like.

I joined slimming worlds month ago and am disheartened. I lost a stone but they really push the processed stuff to make you feel as if you are still eating crap. I want to move away from that to good, wholesome eating but constantly had diet coke chicken pushed in my face

Before i started slimming world i would eat fish from the counter, veg with mash and gravy
Same with lamb and chicken - lose the mash and make sure the gravy is as low fat as possible and you'll be fine.

I would make mince meat and onions with mash and gravy either lose the mash or use quorn mince instead. - you don't really have to change what you're eating, just be aware of the combinations of food.

The problem with me is the sweets, cakes and biscuits ontop of what i cook thats the problem - well that's your answer really isn't it? Just eat the food you like but cut out the treats?

Mmmmm, mash with no butter and smash coated chicken........delicious.
Seriously, it's all a massive con, same with WW, it obviously doesn't work for you because you're back again and by your own admission bigger than ever.
You know why it doesn't work? Satiety. The SW meals just aren't satisfying, hence not being able to stick to it. Muller lights and pasta n sauce and options hot choc are not food, they are chemical, sweetener laden shit that do nothing for your body. A year ago I threw all my low fat shit away and replaced it with full fat butter, cheese, full fat greek yogurt etc. I only have a little but the full fat stuff is at least natural, in 12 months I've lost 20 pounds and 20 inches from my body. The biggest change though has been how much energy I have, how good I feel, no headaches, no pms, nothing. A few of my friends do SW/WW and I cringe hearing about their 'white chocolate mousse' (muller light with a white choc options stirred into it) or how they're using their 'syns' for a naught glass of wine.
It's not sustainable, cut out the shit diet food, eat real food and exercise.

CountryMummy1
I joined slimming worlds month ago and am disheartened. I lost a stone but they really push the processed stuff to make you feel as if you are still eating crap. I want to move away from that to good, wholesome eating but constantly had diet coke chicken pushed in my face

Change your group. The group I went to was emphatic thatthe key to a sustained weight loss was taking control of what goes into your meals.

I'm doing well with S/W but I haven't bought any of the recipe books - I'm just working out the syns as I go.

However who ever said that quark and sweetners is the same as double cream were very, very wrong..

Kew

Thats exactly what i ve been saying over the last few days, i seem to have eaten alot but im really hungry come 7pm

I think YABU to say its disgusting. You've just cooked meals you didn't like that came from the Slimming World Cookbook. I wouldn't say that Jamie Oliver is an awful chef because I tried a few of his recipes and didn't like them.

My consultant doesn't push processed at all! She encourages us to cook from scratch. There's many a Slimming World 'thing' I disagree with, I think synning a mashed banana is stupid (however blending 6 in a smoothing and calling it healthy would be equally as stupid) and replacing all sugar with artificial sweetener is really replacing one evil with another, but overall it comes down to what you cook for yourself doesn't it? For some people who are eating a take out twice a week, diet coke chicken might fill that void without 1000's of calories, masses of sugar and salt. It's about appealing to people, and making sure you don't FEEL deprived of your favourite things.

For me, I don't like the taste of plain yoghurt so much, its too sharp, so for a recipe using it I might just save my syns to use cream instead and have that, I guess it depends what type of person you are. However, being 3st down now something about it works for me!

Agree queen

Where I think SW have gone wrong is messing with a winning formula. The junk food replacements are not great.

The previous focus on healthy, balanced eating was what I liked about it - I knew I could never do weightwatchers as I'd use all of the points to have a bar of chocolate first thing in the morning then starve all day, but I liked the "structure" of SW which meant I was actively encouraged to eat a certain amount of dairy/fibre, fill up on healthy "free" foods and limit anything else - that's basically it. It was easy to follow and worked and wasn't a diet as such but a programme of healthy eating.

OP from what you were eating originally, you sound like you'd get on much better with "original" SW (red days and green days) - which would just mean minor tweaks to your existing diet. Speak to your consultant - that's what they are there for.

I did SW a few years ago and never bought any books. But did plenty of my own recipes. Mum used the book and they always tasted nice, but she is a good cook and, I assume, tweak them. She would use seasoning in the quantities she felt were right.

I've lost 6 stone on Weightwatchers and have never eaten any of their products.

I've got quite a few books from slimming world and thought they were ok. The curry book is great.

I don't think it's that hard to follow - choosing lean meat ect....

Were starting on Monday .

You don't need their recipes, just cook as you would anyway, but use lean meat, lots of veg and fry light. If you are making mash use your milk he(a) . If you are making Bolognese or chili etc do it from scratch with lots of veg, lean meat and fry light. But the cakes and biscuits are the problem!

Only specific recipes I have followed is diet fanta/ diet coke chicken to replace calorie heavy stir fry and bbq sauces.
Oh and Ferrero Rocher and cous cous cake ( I know that is cheating) to replace the cakes/biscuit/ chocolate craving.

Whoops forgot potatoes were ok on both red/green days! OP ignore my post at 14:22 and follow bedraggled 's advice at 15:32. I was getting mixed up with rice/pasta etc. You can indeed still have mash with meat/fish so long as it's made without butter and only using healthy extras. If you use butter you'd have to use syns. Sorry for confusion (it's been a while!).

Diet fanta chicken????

YANBU OP. I've never done SW but it has always struck me as gimicky and designed for people who eat a lot of processed food. Mushy pea curry anyone?!

Imo a low fat diet of fresh unprocessed food and limited refined carbs is infinitely preferable and more conducive to health.

you wont find a diet where you can eat all that stuff with mash, gravy, cakes and biscuits tbh

Have you thought about eating your normal food minus the sweet stuff, and in smaller portions, but with more veg.

Or try www.myfitnesspal.com/

Anything that uses quark/muller light/low fat fromage frais instead of cream is bound to be disappointing.

The ones which just use free vegetables, meat and herbs and spices are ok though.

Really surprised by the posts. This is exactly the opposite of my experience with Slimming world. I'm in Ireland and we only use one plan. The extra easy. I get the impression there are multiple plans on the go in the UK. The plan I follow (extra easy) is all about clean eating. Lots of fruit veg, lean meat, fish, a moderate amount of dairy for calcium and a moderate amount of fibre. I still cook the same as before but use frylite instead of olive oil and snack on fruit instead of junk. I've cooked a few of the recipes such as the butterfly chicken fillet used as a pizza base with pepper, onion, garlic and tomatoes on top with some cheese and slimming world chips. I like the hairy bikers cook book and almost all of their recipes can be adapted to make them SW friendly.

Of course you can eat quark etc but you don't need to. Eating as much pasta or rice as you want is a good thing imho. For me knowing that I can eat till I feel full rather than starving myself with 3 pieces of pasta. I'm far less likely to binge if I eat till full at dinner

Completely agree Cakeface.

Agree with cake face. Extra easy was really good for me & DH. I've lost 5.5 stone, DH nearly 8 and it's stayed off. It really helps if you can - and enjoy - cooking and using herbs & spices in your cooking, experimenting with recipes.

The Slimming World recipes are for busy people that can't decide what to make and to give people ideas. There is no law that actually says you have to eat them. You can adapt your own stuff to make them healthier and you don't have to use processed anything if you don't want to.

My daughter lost 8 stone on SW, and went from a size 24 to a size 8-10, and it has stayed off.She goes running now, she couldn't before due to the weight damaging her knees. So it does work.

I've heard good things about The Hairy Bikers diet book. Maybe worth a try.

I put lots of different seasonings in my food too.

No comment on SW because I've never tried it.

That's exactly it Cakeface - the basic SW methodology is good, healthy and gimmick free. Where I think it has gone wrong is where it has tried to diversify and become all things to everyone - the thought of adding SMASH to anything is just awful!

I was amazed when I first tried SW at just how little tweaking I had to do to the meals I ate anyway - I just needed some minor changes and then had to limit sweets etc (as you'd expect!) but I never had to calorie count or limit my food intake so long as I stuck to the rules about combinations.