SW is just a weird fucking cult

[Dayzedandconfuzed]

I've literally had enough of people talking about Slimming World (or Slimmers' World shudder).

It's bullshit.

It has the odd decent recipe but generally advocates for really unhealthy food habits and weird restrictions and replacements.

My main issues with it are -

Emphasis on classifying foods as 'free' or 'speed' and don't even get me STARTED on syns.

It makes members act like fucking zombies who talk in halfspeak jargon. HexBEasySp what the actual fucking fuck?

To make anything you need to use FryLight which is a heinous invention. Rapeseed or olive oil spray is 2 cal per spray and is an actual raw ingredient, not some industrial airport lubricant with added flavourings.

The amount of shit you're encouraged to add to your diet. Diet fanta and coke are staple ingredients in loads of main meals which are touted as family friendly, as are spends and other sweeteners.

It is a fucking RIP OFF. £20+ to join, £5 per week and fines if you miss a sesh. I went to a meeting twice a few years back and the group leader still adds me in group chats when attendance gets low cos he's clearly missing the $$$ now that nobody is buying his fucking HiFi bars.

I just don't see that this works. I don't know anyone who has consistently kept weight off with it - most people tend to become either yo yo dieters or shadow ED sufferers.

Why is this still a popular industry that people keep funding even though we logically know it doesn't work?

I know sorry its a DM link and lots won't read it but this popped up on my Facebook. Same discussion

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6553671/PT-slams-Slimming-World-Facebook-post-claiming-encourage-binge-eating-misleading-us.html

@LadyintheRadiator

WW when I did it (I’m aware it is slightly different now) is basically calorie counting. So while things are high in points if they’re high in fat or carbs you’re then either staying within your points by swapping to low point foods or massively restricting your portion size of high point things.

SW is much more restrictive than WW on things with fat or sugar, but because of that you don’t need to be as restrictive on carbs.

If that makes sense?

So yes I can eat more pasta (though a third of every portion should be veg) but I’ll be having less other stuff than someone doing WW that then saves calories...

It’s picking your poison really

Hate slimming world with a passion. I joined, ended up with massive eating issues and laxative abuse, was told I wasn't trying hard enough when I gained 1 pound. Encourages eating of 'free' foods while eating chemically induced shite and teaching nothing about nutrition. The stupid words like 'syn' 'speed' and STAR WEEK are the worst.
Yes it does encourage cooking from scratch etc but the constant counting is not a realistic lifestyle choice however they dress it up. Unless you follow this restrictive plan for life then you WILL gain it all back. Or they would have gone out of business by now because there would be no repeat clients!
Rebelfit make SO much sense on this subject!
Calorie counting is the way forward and measuring rather than focusing solely on the scales.
SW definitely helped me to develop binge eating disorder. I would have a day 'off plan' eat everything in sight then loathe myself and starve for three days before weigh in.
Now I am trying to tackle my BED by choosing nutritious foods and saying 'not my food' to trigger foods. Not even looking at the scales until I get to the root cause of my all or nothing mentality.
(sorry, off on a tangent there but SW is a cult)

“the constant counting is not a realistic lifestyle choice however they dress it up. Unless you follow this restrictive plan for life then you WILL gain it all back.”

That’s how I feel about calorie counting...

I mean, I’m glad for you that it suits you, but it’s not the way forward for everyone.

Abby360 that’s terrible and they couldn’t care less once they get their money.
I’m following a few sw consultants and it’s so sad to see people whose whole lives revolve around food.
They have zero clue about nutrition.
The syn method encourages eating and the portion sizes I cannot get over how large they are.
I can’t takr my eyes off the train crash though.

Mum lost 4 stone on it around 8 years ago.. has put around 1.5 stone back on. I lost 2 stone on it when I was around 18/19 & kept it off. Now I just calorie count , eat less and move more. Eat everything I want but in moderation. It was green and red days when me & mum were there too so I've never heard of these recent descriptions of SW either... does sound a bit baffling.

Dear me, its so sad, what a waste of time. I speak as somebody who has attended perhaps 30 plus times these silly slimming clubs.
The SW leader locally is the side of a house. I know thats unkind but its not much of an advert is it?

Orangecushion says it all really?
You would want to be in complete denial taking nutrition advice from an unqualified overweight person.
The mind boggles.
What I find funny is how people join up and over complicate the entire eating process. All the names for everything.
Just eat healthy and exercise treats occasionally not everyday.

Why the obsession with bowel movements and when is mashed fruit truly mashed?

The thing is, no diet really works - SW, intermittent fasting, low carb, meal replacement. They all have very poor long term success.
Lots of devotees get evangelical about their thing though!

SW has worked for me, but I think that's because I do essentially have a good relationship with food and didn't feel the need to do lots of substitute treats etc.

I do like diet coke and low fat yoghurt though

Some SW tips have been incorporated into our normal family diet now though eg I only use 1cal spray no cooking oils now, slimming world chips, making chilli or bolognese from scratch instead of jars.

Essentially it's just healthy, low fat/sugar eating with the accountability of being weighed. You don't have to do hifi bars etc unless you want to.

SW hits back.Though other research has shown the opposite.

Guess we are all different.

www.bntmedia.uk/Qvrdkw

I have lost 4 st on SW and it has stayed off so worked for me but I did combine it with lots of excercise which I still do - mainly 5k runs .
I liked some of the recipes - eat loads more fruit and veg than I used to . I mostly use fry light spray but don't have a problem with it. It doesn't taste iof anything so I'm not sure why it's s problem. I agree classes are pretty weird but the discipline of a weekly weigh in helped me . I don't have scales at home and only weigh now at the gym. Easy to dismiss it but it works for many people

The thing is I don't think low carb is brilliant - everyone has different bodies and different things work. Besides that, there's no need to cut out food groups eg carbs, sugar, fat. No silly VLCD diets which are now being reccomedmndsd by the NHS. Just balance. Smaller portions, less snacking, less junk, more exercise. Ther s different ways of doing it but that's what it comes to

The diet talk in work is maddening. Grown women refusing to eat a chocolate because it's naughty and they can't control themselves - well work on that then and learn to just have 1! People putting their food diaries on FB boasting that they haven't even had peppercorn sauce with their steak, or that lunch was a salad and apple that was boring but they want their beach body.

I don't see what's wrong with enjoying your food.m, in their mind. If you want a proper change and not just another failed attempt, then don't just live on salad and cut out chocolate. You're setting yourself up for failure

I think the meal plan gets people in the door. If you realised you are not going to be starved it is easier to join therefore easier to get more picky in food choices.

Rebelfit explains very well why diets don’t work.

It’s all to do with biology and your ancient brain proecting you from starvation. So when you lower the intake too much your brain goes into starvation mode driving you to eat high calorie foods to protect you. It’s why most people cannot stick to a diet.

This isn’t just belief as there is lots of research now behind why diets don’t work long term, Rebelfit explains it well.

He loathes SW by the way as with all slimming companies but particularly SW as they market so heavily.

But he provides links to research for everything he says,

Be aware that he can be a bit sweary but he can also be very very funny while getting his point across. Point is that everything he says is backed up with evidence.

Do t get me started about VLCD being recommended by the NHS, based on a trial of 300 people funded by....The Cambridge Diet.

Revisit every participant in five years and 95% of them will be back to square one and in 2/3rds if cases they will be heavier,

Biology people...biology, your brain doesn’t want you to starve.

To lose weight.

Set fitness goals...move more
Set your food intake high and play around with calorie intake. Losing more that 1-2lbs a month then you are losing muscle, water as well as fat and your body thinks your starving. Aim for 1-2lbs loss a month....slow but you will stick to it as your body isn’t starving, achieve calorie deficit through movement.

If you were buying a tumble dryer and the reviews said only 2 in 1000 would work how many of us would buy into it? And yet, due to low self esteem and sheer desperation we hand over millions of pounds to these big businesses. It's quite sad.

I agree ... to be honest I did WW years ago and did really well on it, this time when I joined I couldn't keep to it at all. I tried SW a lot of years ago too, but ended up eating tons of rubbish and couldn't lose hardly anything ... best way to lose weight is to eat properly, ie choose lean meats/salmon/white fish, eat in moderation (not easy I know, but sensible). I think these groups help certain people as they don't have a clue about how to cut down on rubbish and need a group atmosphere to help them, but it's not a permanent solution and encourages unhealthy eating really

Eat less. Move more. That's the long and the short of it.

Obviously "eat less" has a world of nuance in it both in terms of what to eat and out relationship with what we eat. And this is where SW, WW, Cambridge etc cash in.

But SW and WW both try to teach eat less calorie dense food, more low calorie vitamin rich food, add some protein to fill you up. Use carbs sensibly as part of a meal to satisfy. Restrict calorie dense 'naughty' food so that they are treats not the core of your daily intake. That should result in more fullness for fewer calories, but with some allowed treats so you don't feel too restricted.