in thinking that a slimming group leader who is supposedly following the programme but appears to be gaining weight

[minifingerz]

... undermines the confidence of the group regardless of how good a leader she may be in other ways?

Our slimming group leader has put on several stone over the past few years. She wasn't slim to start with and is now probably obese. She still talks enthusiastically about how she follows the plan and all the tips and strategies she uses to eat more healthily. But she's still getting bigger....

I would have thought it was a policy for group leaders to be losing or maintaining if they profess to be following the programme, otherwise it's damages to confidence of members that the programme is effective and sustainable.

Or am I being unfair? She's very good in every other way.

[Siwi]

I think Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing hing over again even though it doesn't work.
These slimming scams are the same.
If they are there for socialising (but obviously failures with weight loss) they should advertises accordingly.

[PurpleDaisies]

Can I ask wtf is in muller light yoghurts that makes them unsuitable for vegetarians? I'm hoping it's gelatine rather than hidden chunks of beef...

[DinoSnores]

"you just simply have to eat less and move more."

Except that it is sadly not that easy! About 80% of your weight is genetically determined, by the way your brain chemistry affects your appetite, your food choices, how full you get etc. It is quite a patronising simplification to reduce down to that, when research shows it is very, very complicated.

"Now that I 'only' have a stone to go its getting tough...if you have time to answer DinoSnores do you have any advice on losing the last bit?"

pumpkin, glad that was helpful but I'm not sure I have any easy answers either, I'm afraid. I tend to see people thinking (broad generalisation ahead!), "Yes, I've managed to get this weight off. I totally know what I am doing now," when actually they are beginning to be a bit less careful with, say, portion size. Sometimes having a very carefully documented week can sort that out (ah, yes, 30g of cereal looks like that not what I thought!).

I've linked to lectures by him before, but Steve O'Rahilly at Cambridge is one of the experts worldwide on this and speaks very engagingly about it, so if anyone wants to know about some of the research that is ongoing, this might be interesting:

[sonata1]

I have been to SW many times over the years and am just at the top of my target weight. I do try and go regularly for the support from the other members and quite frankly it's a social thing and we do have a laugh.If I don't go, my weight goes up.However, I do my own version of the plans and cook my own wholesome food.I couldn't eat a packet of Batchelors savoury rice if you paid me.

I have only eaten one of those "chemical" Iceland SW meals once . Never again. I have never made any of their recipes (bland) and certainly would never make a cake out of Scan Bran or a one syn cake that disappears as soon as it is out of the oven.

The leader is overweight , not massively so, although from the time we first met over 25 years ago you would think she would be lovely and slim by now. She goes on holiday and puts on loads which she loses when she gets back.This is despite all the advice she gives us for making healthy eating choices on holiday.

From what I can make out the SW leaders have to be weighed themselves each week.So how can they still be ambassadors for the organisation they are trying to promote as the most successful weight loss programme out there if it doesn't work for them?

[MmeGuillotine]

Purple They have gelatine in.

[PurpleDaisies]

Thanks. Who puts gelatine in a yoghurt? No wonder they aren't very nice.

[MmeGuillotine]

They always sound really nice with interesting flavours etc so I was pretty gutted when I found out that they weren't for the likes of me. I've been told they're rank though so try not to be too sad about it! :)

[DriverSurpriseMe]

I'm guessing they have gelatine as a thickening agent since all the fat has been removed, to give a similar "mouth feel" to proper yoghurt.

[HorseyCool]

I don't think that SW is a Scam, I pay my weekly amount of £4.95, which gives me access to their database and classes, I am very happy with the results, the meetings have given me great tips and suggestions for meals.

So Siwi why do you think that this is a Scam? Have you tried SW?

[Frostycake]

I have a friend who has done Slimming World for years.

FOR YEARS!

She now weighs more than she ever has and is considering going back again this year.

I don't understand the theory behind it. I gather they tell you to eat unlimited vegetables on certain (green)? days? or something similar.

Telling someone with a weight problem that they can eat unlimited amounts of food it never going to end well.

Like someone up thread said, it's a money making game.

[rubyflipper]

SW works for me. It's the prospect of being weighed every week that keeps me on the straight and narrow.

The thing about SW is that it's an eating plan - not a cookery course.
So if you can't or won't cook, you'll be stuck with eating processed junk like Muller Lights, Alpen Light bars, savoury rice from a packet and FryLight.

I can cook and enjoy food - so I stick to fruit, veg, lean meat and fish, potatoes, rice and pasta.

I think the reason why people gain the weight is that they're either deluding themselves that they're sticking to the plan; or they eventually go back to the eating habits that made them fat in the first place.

[Siwi]

I was told in my teens that diets caused weight gain.
I heeded that advice and have never gained weight.
I tell my daughters the same.

[minifingerz]

Siwi, all thoughts of things cause weight gain.

I was slim my entire adult life until the age of 43, when I got ill, got a gyppy thyroid, and gained 2 stone.

I'm now dieting to get back down to a healthy weight.

Prior to this I simply didn't think about food at all. I might have eaten quite badly (I have always enjoyed fried food) but it didn't make me gain weight so it wasn't an issue.

I've now stopped eating fried food, stupid amounts of butter and tonnes of cheese, and what do you know, the weight is disappearing.

I mourn the days when I could regularly eat 10 slices of buttery toast and still fit into a pair of size 10 trousers though....

Sadly realised that being middle aged and relatively sedentary means I need to eat... um, not a lot. Boo hoo.

[Siwi]

I'm sure that you are right, Mini, but that advice has saved me any obsessing.
I know loads of pp who have spent their adult lives thinking about what the should or should not eat whilst remaining overweight.

In one 'slimming club', the person who had lost the least weight had to wear a pigs head.

From the outside it is a clever moneymaking scheme playing on people's fears. Failure is part of the business model. If it worked there would be no fat people.

I think that at ww, you don't need to pay if you stay below a certain weight. So you are being used as a free advertisement for the success of the program.

Makes me sick.

(No wish to offend. Fwiw, Thyroid problems are frequently undiagnosed and I think that they are behind weight gain as well as other problems)

[chrome100]

I don't have any knowledge of slimming clubs, but surely if you go to one for years that means it isn't working?

[Siwi]

I'm only thinking about this because I heard that Ophrah has just made a huge investment which I think is a cynical ploy to make money out of women's insecurities.

[flyrobynfly43]

my local group was very cliquey
They weren't too happy when I said I didn't like muller lights.

Really?
What's so special about muller light?

Do they sponsor SW? Is that why SW raves evangelical about what is basically, at the end of the day - boring yoghurt.

[flyrobynfly43]

From what I can make out the SW leaders have to be weighed themselves each week.So how can they still be ambassadors for the organisation they are trying to promote as the most successful weight loss programme out there if it doesn't work for them?

SW should threaten to fire them if they don't meet the criteria.

They would soon stick to it!

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

notquite

Try not liking muller light, and not being able to eat eggs. It rely fucks with their heads:o

[SomeWeirdPumpkin]

I think that at ww, you don't need to pay if you stay below a certain weight. So you are being used as a free advertisement for the success of the program.

Makes me sick.

Why is being able to stay for free a bad thing? You also get a gold token or something for every year that you remain at goal...it would be interesting to see how many goldmembers (shagadelic baby) are on their books? I'd rather be a goldmember than still 4 stone overweight.

Thank you for the link DinoSnores, I will watch this later when the DCs are in bed.

[Stanky]

My mum did really well with SW, reached her target and has kept the weight off. She liked that she could set her own target, because from what I have heard, ww set people's targets very low, and they seem impossible. She doesn't go to the meetings any more, but it's very nice to see her healthier and happier.

I tried it, but it wasn't for me. I lost a few pounds, but I never managed to stick to it. I didn't like some of the people in the group, completely taking over the conversation with their whinging and excuses, while others were basically ignored. A bit too cliquey and talking bollocks for me. Any way, it might work, if you're determined any way.

[Siwi]

It would be interesting to see how many gold members are still on their books.

Very interesting.

[notquitehuman]

I'm not sure where the Muller Light cult thing came from. There were just endless conversations about how you could substitute this or that for a fecking Muller Light. Mmm, yes this watery shitty yoghurt is really getting rid of my cravings for a big fat chocolate bar. And the recipes were just ridiculous. Mix a Muller Light with some oats and make syn free porridge etc.

Most of the people at the SW group where nice, but there were a couple of long termers who I felt were very jealous of new members who were losing large amounts. I got a few sarky comments about starving myself because I'd lost 5lbs one week. Yeah it's a big loss, but I had a lot to lose at that point.

I also wondered why some people bothered. There were a couple of total drama queens who were there for months yet barely lost a pound. They'd take up about 90% of the leader's time in group and post endlessly on Facebook about their delicious scan bran cakes etc, yet they would lose about half a pound a week and then gain it as soon as they went on holiday. It must be exhausting running a group and dealing with that shit.

[HildaFlorence]

I had one sliming world leader who told us proudly that she had a drawer of chocolate bars in her fridge that she used to teach her grand daughter self denial . Apparently the right year old was allowed to look but not touch
She was also a great beliver in Muller Lite and anything with artificial sweetener in