To not be convinced that Slimming World works?

[firstnightwemet]

A woman I work with constantly bangs on about it. I dared to have a protein shake for my lunch and got told to throw it away and that SW is the way forward.

I've known this woman over a year and she's the exact same weight. No judgment at all but surely if you're raving about how great something is then there should be results?

Every woman but one I've known who has done SW or WW has lost and put back on.

Sw. Is fine if you stick to it and encourages you to eat more . So many foods are free that you can't be hungry. However I think that the low fat angle is losing ground at the moment. And personally I don't like the new easy plan with free pasta and rice , it just does not suit me .

Watching this with interest as my GP has recommended SW to me . After canvassing opinion in rl I have come to conclusion that if you follow the lots of veg / lean protein, cook from scratch it works. My own mum lost 2 stone on it about 15 years ago and has maintained. I'm on about day 4 using her old book and it's pretty simple. Weighing myself on Weds and will know if it's working.

Different diets work for different people. If SW worked for nobody tje company would have failed years ago. Do what works for you. No need to slag off what works for other people.
It's like Marks bras and Clarks shoes on MN. If you find they work for you, you are silly and WRONG. Tiresome.

SW and WW are both decent tools, you'll lose weight it you follow them, it's reducing the calories. WW works for me, but I always cook from scratch and it's not difficult to stay within limits.

Slimming world is fine if you do it correctly. I've lost 90lb since April last year doing it. I don't eat muller lights or do ridiculous tweaks with smash and lasagne sheets, I just eat lots of fruit, veg, lean meat and grains. I also have cheese and chocolate every day. It's worked for me, but that's because I understand how it works and don't eat excessive amounts of carbs like a lot of people seem to think they can when doing it.

I don't bleat on about it though, offering out diet advice is pretty offensive if someone hasn't asked for it.

There's definitely a cult around Slimming World. The people who do it are really fanatical about it, and get very offended when you criticise it. My DM is a long term member and she seems to hover up and down around the same weight and is still miles off her 'goal'. She's been going for about three years! The recipes are revolting as well. Slimming world chips in particular are disgusting, as are their roast potatoes.

It also doesn't teach you about portion control. This idea that you can pile your plate with anything as long as it's 'healthy' is utter bollocks.

The Whole Porky Lights episode shows just how messed up and cynical SW is. It's a marketing tool.

I think any diet which restricts calories will work if you stick to it. Some are easier to stick with than others. SW works for me because it fits in with the way I like to cook and eat. Yes, they do bang on about certain foods (Muller lights and Mug Shots anyone?!), but they are not compulsory and I have never eaten them. I do dislike the "syn" terminology, but I just ignore it. Basically it's horses for courses - find what works for you.

Maidofstars, I think that's my point, people do see it as a lifestyle change not just a fad diet.
It just allows for more carbs and take away the condiments etc. Very bland food and not nutritional in my opinion

Runny, if they're piling their plate high with anything as long as it's healthy, then they're doing it wrong.

When I went to SW the leader must have been about 20 stone and didn't appear to lose anything in the few months I stuck with it. Hardly a good advert for the plan.

From what you say though, the problem lies with people who advocate SW while criticising other plans and usually while not losing weight themselves. That's not SW's fault.

The SW diet does work for many people and they don't follow Red and Green days now. If you take out all the crap bits, like the MullerfuckingLights and packets of freeze dried pasta and sauces, etc, you're left with a good, solid, old fashioned eating plan based around meat, fish, dairy, potatoes, rice, fruit and vegetables. They don't force feed you Alpen bars, they just say you can eat them as part of the plan, if you choose.

All diets work in the short term if you stick to them, you just have to find a plan which suits you. Research shows that no matter how you lose weight, from liquid diets to Atkins, or whether you do it quickly or slowly, the chances are (I think it's over 90%) you will regain either all or more than the weight you lost.

I like sw because it incorporates nicely into how we like to eat as a family - lean meat, lots of veg and restricted treats. Most family favourite meals can be easily adapted - mostly by just making sauces yourself rather than out of a jar.

I do avoid muller lights and mug shots though and am not a fan of trying to recreate things like mousses and creamy sauces using quark. Much rather just have them less often and have the 'real deal' so to speak.

Having said that, I don't eat pasta and rice very much anyway so them being free foods doesn't impinge on my weight loss.

I can see why it wouldn't work for some people and hate some of the terminology - syns, body magic, image therapy etc. And dont get me started on star week!

I suspect the reason it's worked for me is that I didn't have huge food issues initially and had just got into some bad habits so it allowed me to reset.

I have done SW and WW over the years and just yo yoed with my weight and ended up fatter than ever so no more slimming clubs fir me.

This time I'm 7 years older than I was when I last did SW and pushing 50. I was expecting progress to be slow but my balancing calories in v calories out I lost 2 stone in 12 weeks versus 19 weeks whilst doing SW.

The challenge with any weight loss is keeping it off. I'm now af about 52lb loss with more to go so will have to see whether I can keep the weight off long term. I'm far more confident I can than I was doing SW though.

End of the day it is what works for your individual mindset. I do hear lots of people saying SW works for them if they stick to it. That's the issue I have , it seems to be an issue for people to stick to it long term.

Do they have shares in Muller or something? The awful 'low fat' yoghurts that are full of artificial sweeteners and set off my IBS sonething chronic. My DM gorges herself on those because apparently they are syn free, but then she moans she has a bad stomach, can't think why?

Surely it would be healthier (and cheaper) to buy a large carton of natural Greek yoghurt and fill it up with fruit if your own choice?

It's worked for me (lost 2 stone and kept it off) and has worked for my mum (lost 5 stone and kept it off), I also have friends who've lost weight (one of whom lost 8 stone) and kept it off.

But.

I also know people who stuck to the plan, lost weight but then put it on again as they went back to their old eating habits.

I guess it's like any diet, you need to keep up the healthy eating and eating certain foods in moderation for the rest of your life. You can't follow a diet once and think that's it and it'll stay off no matter what.

A friend has been doing SW for many years - possibly since it started and has followed the rules slavishly.
Problem is that she has continuously increased in weight and ignores this seemingly connected fact.It cant be the SW diet that's at fault as she 'knows' the science behind it and can quote all sorts of facts and figures to support its efficacy.
Nonetheless she is hugely overweight and puts it down to her hormones.

YNBU. None of them have a long term effect. Practically everyone I know who has lost weight has put it back on, including myself! Mine's mostly steroid related though!

They're all a business after all. Save your membership money and use it on fresh fruit or veg or a new pair of trainers to go out and do walks with.

Works for me. Lost three and a half stone in eight months and keeping it off. Most diets work if you follow them properly.

So normal people eat like this in the day

Breakfast: bowl of cereal, milk maybe a yoghurt and a piece of fruit
Snack: couple of biscuits
Lunch: sandwiches, bag of crisps, fruit and yoghurt
Dinner: chicken stir fry and a glass of wine

My food intake was this:

Breakfast: McDonald's double sausage and egg mcmuffin hashbrown and full fat Coke
Snack: cheese pastry
Lunch: chicken and bacon panini, 2 packs of crisps, 2 chocolate bars
Afternoon snack: while bag of sweets
Dinner: takeaway kebab and chips and onion rings full day Coke and a cream cake

I'm not lying either.
Slimmingworld for me is a way of life because my intake of food is not normal. If I was normal then yes it would be a diet but I'm not I'm dangerously obese and I have no self control it's something to be learnt. I lost 6 stone on sw then had some medical issues and stopped going. I've put on 5.5stone because my food intake went back to my old habits. So yes for me it's a lifestyle change

There's a slimming world consultant with a blog. She bangs on about being able to eat as much as she wants but if you see what she's eating it's quite restrictive and weird stuff. She also sticks to it like glue permanently. She doesn't look like a lot of fun as it affects her eating out and with family and friends. Works for her because she is so restrictive

It does work. I lost 4 stone in just under a year. Shock horror if you don't keep up ANY diet and go back to eating the same way that got you into trouble in the first place you'll put weight back on. Doesn't mean the diet doesn't work. it means if you stop eating sensibly again then you'll put weight back on.

I am a SW me,bee and enjoy it mostly. I am certainly eating far more fruit and veg which I am loving.
I have to say though that there are some days I cannot stand it and in those days I count up to 1500 calories instead and log them on MyFitness Pal.

I enjoy the group I belong to though as the women and men who attend are great.

I have had long term issues with food and am an emotional eater. I have to build that awareness in otherwise I will never stick to healthy eating. This is about me exploring different ways of eating to find a lifelong way of eating.

It's not a diet even though I am losing weight ...diets have end points,

"Surely it would be healthier (and cheaper) to buy a large carton of natural Greek yoghurt and fill it up with fruit if your own choice"

I doubt buying lots of fresh fruit would end up cheaper. It's also more hassle so people (ok I ) would be less likely to do it.

It doesn't. No diet works. You lose weight, more goes on. You blame yourself, diet again, lose again, more goes on. Lifestyle changes work, but 'lifestyle change' means giving up the car/swapping a sedentary job for an active one/emigrating.