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Original poster

To get irritated by patronising slimming world?!?

77 replies

TheDonOfWinterville · 17/10/2016 09:37

I'm not overweight but want to lose a stone for my self. So I joined slimming world only to be greeted with language such as "heap mounds of spaghetti", "shove it all in your face" and "pile mountains of fruit onto your plate" etc etc!!!

Sorry but isn't mountains and mounds of food what makes people fat in the first place?? Also at group the consultant said we all have weight problems. Actually, I don't - I just want to lose a stone to feel better! I'm clinically within my ideal weight range so no I don't have a weight problem actually! I have a good problem in which I make crap choices.
It makes me quite angry and is putting me off going back. All this talk of "piling" and "mountains" etc etc is like slimming world have thought "we know what kind of language will appeal to the greedy fuckers".

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 17/10/2016 10:53

I find it worrying that someone who knows they are not overweight is going to Slimming World. Have you spoken to your GP about it, OP?

I don't find it worrying at all.

According to the NHS BMI calculator I could gain approximately 2 stone and still be just in the healthy weight category.

But for me personally, that would make me uncomfortable, feeling bloated and definitely too fat.

We all carry weight differently.

badtasteflump · 17/10/2016 10:57

2 stone Worra? That sounds nuts! Are you 7 ft tall? Grin

Czerny88 · 17/10/2016 11:03

Do you really need support to lose a stone though? You could easily do that in a month.

Is that not a bit fast? I thought the advice was to aim for one to two pounds a week?

FairyDogMother11 · 17/10/2016 11:03

I'm 5ft 7, so my healthy weight range is around 8st 11lb - 10st 13lb so Worra is right!

bibbitybobbityyhat · 17/10/2016 11:03

Op, did you just describe the people who go to slimming clubs as "greedy fuckers" ? Shock

WorraLiberty · 17/10/2016 11:06

Badtaste Grin

No, I've just double checked and the healthy weight range for my height is 7st 6lb - 10st 2lb.

I'm 8st 3lb.

loobyloo1234 · 17/10/2016 11:06

LOL ... going to SW with no weight problem Confused

OK OP

My SW leader is lovely ... I'm only a couple of weeks in, could really only do with losing a stone ... it definitely works if you stick to it aswell

WorraLiberty · 17/10/2016 11:07

Sorry, meant to add I'm 5ft 3" and a fag butt Blush

badtasteflump · 17/10/2016 11:07

Hmm the problem now is that I'm tempted to 'check' how much I would be allowed to 'gain' and still technically be healthy - maybe I shouldn't Grin

LadyStoic · 17/10/2016 11:10

Which of these weight loss programmes is the best in folks RL experience?

misses point of thread

WorraLiberty · 17/10/2016 11:13

The thing is badtaste I wouldn't be healthy, because anything I gain over about 8st 7lbs, just goes to my belly which gets bigger and bigger. So all that visceral fat would probably cause problems eventually.

That's what I mean about everyone carrying weight differently.

I wouldn't mind if a bit of it went to my boobs Grin

ExcellentWorkThereMary · 17/10/2016 11:14

Slimming World does not teach healthy eating for life. I honestly don't know anyone who has lost weight with slimming world and kept it off. I made some great friends at my group 4 years ago and every one of us has put the weight back on that we lost, and each time I have rejoined group I see the same old fat faces who have lost and regained and lost and regained. It's why SW is such a good business model, it keeps people coming back and spending money. Problem is, it doesn't teach portion control, or exercise, so when you fall off the plan you are used to stuffing your face so you eat too much of the "wrong" stuff and gain weight again. SW is a business designed to make money, its in their interest for you to get fat again...

I wouldn't bother with SW for losing a stone. I can almost guarantee it'll go back on again. Eat less, move more.

Or do what I have done, learned to be happy with a slightly chubbier version of myself, and enjoy my food. I exercise twice a week which stops me ballooning, and I eat lots of fruit and veg, but the SW model just doesn't do it for me and they have had far too much of my money already.

NutellaLawson · 17/10/2016 11:16

No I dont think so. The OP says this message is implied in the language used in SW's materials and takes issue with it.

PoppyBirdOnAWire · 17/10/2016 11:16

SantasLittleMonkeyButler:

You have lost 6 stone? Brilliant - but what about the loose skin you must be left with? You are 41 and apparently at that age residual skin is almost as big a problem.

badtasteflump · 17/10/2016 11:18

You have lost 6 stone? Brilliant - but what about the loose skin you must be left with? You are 41 and apparently at that age residual skin is almost as big a problem

What a lovely, supportive comment Grin

itsbetterthanabox · 17/10/2016 11:20

If you don't have a weight problem why are you there?
You are meant to be able to eat large quantities of the right food whilst still loosing. It's healthier eating for those who have a big appetite and deprivation diets haven't worked for.
If it works and you get to not feel hungry all the time then that's good for a lot of people. Obviously it isn't the quantity that causes weight gain.
Don't go if you are going to be a downer.

ample · 17/10/2016 11:22

If I don't watch what I eat, my weight can yo-yo (and I'm hour glass on the curvy side to begin with).
I agree that it's not all mountains of food that add on weight. I don't eat large portions, and I don't pile on the plate but even with this, my ideal weight is way off.
So for the likes of people like me, it's not about masses of food at all, it's all down to the picking. And the picking of wrong kinds of foods and my lazy arse not wanting to exercise
Sounds as if the consultant there needs to read up on a few things!

Runningupthathill82 · 17/10/2016 11:33

DEmum - I was there for work. A group of us spent a month doing different diets and I was given Slimming World.

I hated the emphasis on sugary snacks (Muller lights, Options drinks, etc etc) and the encouragement to use shite like Fry Light instead of olive oil. One woman memorably told us she ate "chips" - potatoes covered in Fry Light - every day. And this was encouraged.

Anyway, I gained around 4lb over the month and was glad to go back to normal afterwards.

Also agree that people don't have to be technically overweight to want go to SW. Like worra, I could gain 2st and still be in the healthy weight range, but at that size I would definitely want to lose weight.

ItShouldHaveBeenJessMass · 17/10/2016 11:33

worra. Makes a good point about how we carry weight. I'm the same height and nine stone - I've gone up to ten and a half before and it all goes on my tummy. I've been asked if I'm pregnant! Much more dangerous to long term health than carrying excess weight on your bum, hips and thighs.

flump Someone posted that?! Let's hope they're not a Slimming World coordinator! Jeesh!

ItShouldHaveBeenJessMass · 17/10/2016 11:35

Ah, it was poppy - not the most considered comment I've ever read on MN!

ohforfoxsake · 17/10/2016 11:35

Don't go if you don't like it.

Dontpanicpyke · 17/10/2016 11:43

czerny take your point but I couldn't be arsed with the 2lb per week, that just didn't do it more me. I lost a stone and a half after dds birth, she was 4 by the way. Grin and did it In just over a month.

It's a blitz for me and then maintenance.

TheColonelAdoresPuffins · 17/10/2016 11:44

Slimming World does not teach healthy eating for life. I honestly don't know anyone who has lost weight with slimming world and kept it off.

SW can't force people to stick to the diet forever and not go back to the eating habits that caused them to put on weight in the first place. No diet can. People return to it and pay because they feel they got some benefit from it last time. They wouldn't bother if they felt there was no benefit to it.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 17/10/2016 11:57

If you read your sw book it says eat until you feel full and always have 1/3 plate super free foods, even for snacks and second helpings. This is 'portion control'. I personally have lost a lot with slimming world but failed to lose the last few pounds until I counted calories. I find sw too carby and too easy to overeat. If you're concerned, use mfp and calculate a days sw food in calories. I found it really eye opening and realised I was eating too much and not really following the plan.
I agree that it can be patronising, and the focus is on getting as much quantity for your syns such as muller lights, highlights drinks and pink and white marshmallows wafer biscuits rather than learning to manage on occasional treats of good quality. It's as if their target market is people who are so out of control with food that they need to constantly never be hungry and always have food available. If you are never hungry, you are eating too much. I switched to a low carb/ high fat plan and was amazed at how much I had been eating on sw, both quantity and calories.

talksensetome · 17/10/2016 12:07

I went when I only had a stone to lose and found them to be very supportive. I have lost a stone of baby weight with them twice now (two babies) although this time I did put it all back on again.

What has worked really well for me is getting braces on OP, I hardly snack and half of anything I do eat gets stuck in them so automatic portion control. I highly recommend it!