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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for your experiences of different weight-loss groups

54 replies

Millieja · 27/08/2017 12:45

I think I need to join an organised group as I'm not very good at sticking to stuff on my own. The only ones I know are weightwatchers and slimming world.

Could I ask for your opinions of these and any others please?

How well did it work for you? And did you manage to keep the weight off?

OP posts:
Opensesame1 · 27/08/2017 12:53

Hi there.. my only experience is of slimming world. I lost exactly 4 stone in one year following the plan and going to group every week.. I have maintained it now for over a year as I still go to group.. I now do more of a calorie counting thing though as the closer I got to my target weight the slower it came off with slimming world. I think it's really good for teaching healthy food habits and it's great that the free foods don't have to be weighed and counted.. and I think the more weight you have to lose the more effective it can be!!

OverTheHammer · 27/08/2017 13:01

They're a con. The only way to lose weight is to eat a calorie deficiency diet.

I've been to slimming world and it was the biggest load of crap ever. I remember being at group one night and a woman stated she couldn't understand why she wasn't losing weight. The "consultant" asked her what she was eating to snack on and the woman replied that she liked to have a packet of pasta n sauce for supper on a night. The consultant was all confused saying "well that's ok because they're "free"" ...

They're fucking "free"!! There is over 500 calories in one packet. If I ate one of them on top of my normal days food intake I'd put on a stone in a month!! Absolutely ridiculous. You can't eat an avocado but you can eat "hifi" bars to your hearts content. You can't eat proper yogurt but you can eat sugary chemically loaded muller lights to your hearts content ... what a load of shit.

I put on weight with slimming world as their advice is ridiculous.

Calorie counting all the way. Food doesn't have "syns" - it has calories. Teach people the correct terms and what to look for on a nutritional label and they wouldn't need to pay £5 a week to listen to bullshit from "consultants" that don't have a clue about nutrition.

Original poster
Millieja · 27/08/2017 13:27

Ok well that's two very different experiences of slimming world I guess! How about weightwatchers? Anyone?

OP posts:
Moanyoldcow · 27/08/2017 13:31

I found after the relaunch Weight Watchers less successful.

I'd favour a low carb high fat over all of the slimming clubs. Loads of vegetables, meat, fish, full fat dairy and no artificial crap. The single biggest benefit is that you don't feel hungry which makes good food choices better. Dietdoctor.com has an online group I think. The recipes and information is superb.

QuackDuckQuack · 27/08/2017 13:35

Whenever I've been (WW) there's be a checking in process where you file along a table of things being sold, then a table to take your money and finally a weigh in by the leader. The tables before the leader seem to be manned by long time attenders who get to go free as a result. But they seem to me to all be huge, so I really doubt that it works.

OuchLegoHurts · 27/08/2017 13:41

I've just lost 19lb with Slimming World in 4 months. It makes me laugh when people dismiss SW because it didn't work for them. Everybody likes different diets. SW and WW etc have worked for millions of people...no problem if you're not one of them but plenty of us find them very effective.

SoPassRemarkable · 27/08/2017 13:41

I also put on weight with SW. Stuffed my face with grapes, pasta, miller light yoghurts, hifi bars and think I ate twice as many calories as normal!

Original poster
Millieja · 27/08/2017 13:42

Thanks Moanyoldcow I'll definitely have a look at that.

Quack yes that is a bit of a concern. Are you sure they're members? I thought you could only continue to attend free of charge if you stay close to your target weight?

OP posts:
PerryPerryThePlatypus · 27/08/2017 13:44

Slimming world worked well for me, lost 5 stone over two years and have kept it off which is the most important thing. I could always lose weight easily but keeping it off was near impossible.

Original poster
Millieja · 27/08/2017 13:45

Perry that's amazing, well done

OP posts:
pigsDOfly · 27/08/2017 13:46

Tbh I know people who have lost weight on SW and I don't understand how from what I've seen of it.

I think WW has a good system. It's geared towards showing you how to get yourself onto a healthy way of eating for life and I think it works well, especially if you do their points system.

Alongside the points system ww have a no points system that is a bit like sw. The points system works best for me as your quantity limits are set unlike sw and ww no points, in which you eat till you're full.

Have a look at the 'Big/slim/whatever' topic on here. There are threads about ww and sw, it might help you decide what's best for you.

Going along to a group does make it a lot easier than doing it alone. Give it a go. Good luck.

stevie69 · 27/08/2017 13:47

OK, so I've read OverTheHammer's review on Slimming World. I haven't been to SW but I do know that it works for some. There are people in the office who got on very well with it and have successfully lost weight.

However ......... as a compulsive over eater, I don't get on with the concept of 'free foods' and 'eating until I'm comfortably full'. I don't recognise the feeling of being comfortably full and tend to overdo it: not by much probably, but enough to have led me to be well overweight.

So ..... WeightWatchers. On this programme, I count SmartPoints (SP); it's basically like counting calories but they just zhushed it up a bit—to give it a USP, I guess [blsuh] I get so many SPs per day and do my best to stick within the limits.

I go to the class, which is a half hour group chat, every week. I find this incredibly useful and well worth my £5 per week. It's OK saying 'it's a con' and 'just do it yourself' but I'm a human being, with all the trappings of weakness and frailty, and I do get led into temptation. The classes keep me on the straight and narrow; they really do Smile

I started out at 15 stones (size 20). I'm now 8 stones 12lbs (size 8). It works for me is all I'm saying.

Join a group, OP, whether it be SW, WW or some other. Try it and see how you get on. If it's not for you, try another. You'll find the one that suits you.

Wishing you lots of luck. S x

MsRinky · 27/08/2017 13:56

Is it just the accountability of someone weighing you every week?

My friend wanted that, and she wanted to lose 4 stone. So every week, she came round, gave me a fiver and I weighed her. Even made her a wee record book. Occasionally did an impression of that Fat Fighters woman off Little Britain, that kind of thing. Gave her a pep talk if she was flagging. Plus that was the only time we would talk about her diet, as people who go on about their diets are really dull.

It took her a year, but unlike any of the clubs, when she'd reached her target, I gave her back the money she'd handed over every week, and she had £250 to go buy new size 12 clothes with.

stevie69 · 27/08/2017 14:00

Is it just the accountability of someone weighing you every week?

Possibly, there's a bit of that, yeah. But I do find it useful, rather than dull, to talk about the plan, recipes and get a bit of motivation, just for that solitary half hour per week, too Blush

I like the setup you had with your friend, though. Whatever works, is best Smile

DontTouchTheMoustache · 27/08/2017 14:05

I've started doing slimming world last week so I'm a bit concerned by the negative reviews. I think the "free" food idea is misleading so I'm trying to be sensible about it (i.e. I can't sit around eating pasta constantly) but take away the healthy recipes and the idea of limiting syns (like choosing a nice dessert or a drink on a Friday night and not both).

pigsDOfly · 27/08/2017 14:10

I'm the same Stevie. Free food would never work for me. I find the limit I'm given on ww is really the only way for me to lose weight - I'm now a gold member and I still have to keep going or I'll start eating the wrong things again.

The group I attend is a big group with a great atmosphere, they're a really friendly bunch with a good leader. Groups do vary and it's helpful to find one you feel happy with.

If you're like Stevie and me OP, ww would be ideal for you.

iamyourequal · 27/08/2017 14:20

I have lost weight with WW. It's straightforward and like any diet club, knowing you are getting weighed every week can really help you stick to it. I only joined SW for a couple of weeks. I found the group I attended really cliquey and the meetings lasted far too long for me. However I kept all the info and am about to try it again myself. People are doing it a dis-service saying it's all about stuffing in as many mullers and mug shots as you like. From the info, it is made quite clear you are only to eat when hungry and fill 1/3 plate with v low calorie (speed) foods. It is a low fat diet that encourages you to eat lots of fruit, veg and lean low fat protein and minimal choc/cheese/alcohol etc. so pretty healthy and I will give it my best shot.

Original poster
Millieja · 27/08/2017 14:28

Very helpful post, thanks stevie

OP posts:
OuchLegoHurts · 27/08/2017 14:30

This is my lunch on SW plan. not the most exciting but totally healthy and balanced. Weight falls off when you avoid sauces and sugars and just eat like this.

To ask for your experiences of different weight-loss groups
OuchLegoHurts · 27/08/2017 14:32

Oops pic didn't upload!

To ask for your experiences of different weight-loss groups
Bigoldsupermoon · 27/08/2017 14:35

What a cracking idea, MsRinky - I love the fact that you kept the money for her instead of treating yourself to a night out Grin and it was a brilliant reward for her.

Bigoldsupermoon · 27/08/2017 14:37

I tried SW but it wasn't my cup of tea, really - I found the meetings a bit cringe, and I soon stopped going. I'm also somewhere between veggie and vegan, and I found it too restrictive. Friends with a more diverse diet have done really well on it, though.

I quite liked WeightLossResources (website) but it is dependent on you managing yourself.

Original poster
Millieja · 27/08/2017 15:36

Lego that looks ok... is no type of gravy allowed though?

OP posts:
OuchLegoHurts · 27/08/2017 15:38

You can use gravy and count it as syns or else make some SW recipe ones. I prefer to keep it plain though

JaneEyre70 · 27/08/2017 15:41

I found Slimming World awful....too much processed crap being pushed, and too carby for me on the green plan. I put 4lb on one week Shock.
WW is better, it's more accountable and there is none of the free food nonsense, but it can be very restrictive in that you are weighing everything. The best way I've found is using online forums, it's free and buy a fitbit so you're keeping track of your exercise. It's not rocket science, eat less and move more.....but still bloody hard Sad. I've found the low carb diabetes UK forum invaluable, and some great recipes etc online. I've lost 3 stone this way, with same to go again.

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