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.

Anyone with skin in this game, be it clubs like SW or WW or those supporting low carb or other methods are ultimately pushing programmes to make money. They all offer likely success in the short term if stuck to but at the end of the day I firmly believe that there is a huge emotional/mental component to weight loss and gain and any weight loss plan that doesn't address this won't get to the root of the issue and is ultimately likely to be unsuccessful.

We can all, myself included, hand over money and be told what to do. What happens when this support ends, either through lack of willpower to stick with it or finding the programme too limiting over time?

I'm hoping for more success figuring out why I need/want to eat such big portions or far too much chocolate etc. We all know that three snickers bars are far from an ideal snack but some people eat that even knowing while they are doing it that they are going to feel awful about it afterwards and then repeat the binge, guilt, restrict cycle.I now realise I have some issues surrounding food and that failing to addrsss this first won't lead to any success in the long term, whatever about the short term.

SW can work. I lost 8 stone over 21 months, reaching target just under a year ago. I have maintained target ever since.
Needless to say, having been 8 stone overweight, you cannot revert to old habits once reaching target - otherwise OBVIOUSLY you are doomed to re-gain.
I love food - SW has enabled me to make better choices without giving up totally on treats.
The rebelfit guy is annoying - I see endless posts on FB - totally obsessed and bitter about SW. I find SW's index of "cook from scratch" recipes on their website invaluable - all of this inference that they peddle their own ready meals and other specific branded products is rubbish. Well they don't do this at any group I have ever attended.
If you want to try SW then go for it, I am not arrogant enough to say it will work for everyone but it worked for me and might just do so for you.

Any diet that works every time actually fails every time. We all need to find a way of eating less and moving more. No need to pay for that advice.

I think it's just that different types of diets work for different types of people. I think the thing with sw is that it's a group and you have group support there which can motivate some people and help them. Some people need that whereas others are able to diet alone. Anything which is ultimately trying to get people to eat a more balanced, healthier diet is a good thing.

I do have a good friend who went to sw and she did lose weight. It was slow about 1/2 lb or 1lb a week but over a year the difference is amazing and I think having done it in a group helped her a lot. But I also have a colleague who lost a lot much faster on the 5:2 diet going it alone. Each style suited each person I think. I have massive respect for both of them.

I believe diets don't work - is all about lifestyle. I've done WW with great success in that I lost the weight I needed and learned how to live a healthier lifestyle. I've kept the weight off now for 7 years and if I gain a few lbs then I have the tools to shift them. I've lost pretty much all of my baby weight too. But I don't bang on about it to anyone I meet as I know everyone is different and it probably won't work for all. It sounds like SW might not be working for your colleague if she isn't changing size x

It does work and I found the support helpful but I eventually got fed up of having to maintain such a lot of enthusiasm.

Slimming World encourages cooking everything from scratch and having lots of fruit and veg which is great but sometimes you just want something easy and that does not fit so well with the plan. Even if you have free noodles you have to have vegetables of some sort with it.

Lots of yo yo dieters at group but also a few target members who had kept the weight off for years.

The issue I have with SW is that it's seemingly pushed on me and I'm just not interested in doing it because I've not witnessed any great results by the people that have been doing it years.

Then this is about the people you know, not about SW. Not everyone goes around banging on about what they eat, whatever it is.

And what is this obsession with mullerlights and avocado? They don't remove your brain when you start SW. Just because something is a free food, doesn't mean you have to eat it. You CAN have plain yoghurt and fruit instead as a PP suggested, absolutely. You can eat blooming avocado if you feel like it.

Follow SW if you want, don't if you don't. Tell rude people commenting on your food to fuck off (ALL of them).

I've done SW so many times over the years, only to put it all back on and then some.

It does work for so many people, though. A close friend of mine has lost in excess of 7 stones on SW, and has maintained this for years. However, she is still a slave to SW IMO.

When eating out, be it at a restaurant or at a friend's/family member's house, it's very much a case of "Has this got butter/oil in it?" ... "Is that low fat yogurt?" ... "Is that fat free mayonnaise?" ...."Oh no, I can't eat that!"

Food and her relationship with it is still a major factor in her life, and it still causes tension between her and her DH, because she won't ever waiver from the plan. If she does, it's a major source of stress and tension and results in her feeling anxious and down, like she's failed and let herself down.

That's the thing with SW - once you step off the wagon for any length of time, you've probably had it, so people tend to be quite evangelical and fanatical about it, IME.

I'm now in my early 40s, and for the first time in my life I feel that I have a normal relationship with food. I have lost approximately 4 stones in under a year from a combination of smaller portions sizes, cutting out snacks in between meals, choosing healthier food and being very active.

It hasn't cost me a membership fee, or a weekly weigh in fee. I don't have to applaud endless people who have lost 6lbs overall, but have gained 5lb this week, etc etc. I'm not feeling guilty for not "staying to class." I feel liberated from decades worth of lose-weight-gain-weight cycles.

I finally KNOW that this weight loss is for keeps, because my attitude has shifted and resembles absolutely nothing of my old unhealthy attitude to food, which was very skewed & damaging, and was underpinned by all that is SW.

And going out to dinner, visiting friends, someone baking me a cake....I just love being able to eat those things in proportion, occasionally, without having to feel guilty or count syns. Waking up on a Monday & not thinking about "getting back on the plan" is a great start to my week!