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?

It worked for me!

I’ve lost 4-5 stone after each of my three pregnancies doing slimming world.

You don’t have to eat all the stuff they recommend such a sweetners and coke, in fact I avoid all foods with sweeteners and never ate the stuff that contained sweetners that they suggested.

The science is that you fill up your plate with satisfying, nutrient dense, calorie/fat deficient foods, limit the high calorie/fat stuff and enjoy a treat everyday. It’s not hard!

I have lost 3 stone since September but stopped going to the meetings (can't be bothered with the clapping) the diets just sensible imo.

l've gone to slimming clubs for years, and never managed to keep it off. Before l had major surgery two years ago, l went to a weight loss session (one to one, and free!) at my GPs surgery. l was given the BHF Healthy Eating book, which is based on proper healthy eating. l found it really easy to follow, you're not filling yourself with sweeteners and rubbish, and l lost weight at a sensible and healthy pace.
lf anyone would be interested, this is the link.
www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/publications/healthy-eating-and-drinking/eating-well

My OH lost lots on SW, following the premise of lean meats and plenty of fruit and veg. We could already do the cooking from scratch but didn't do it healthily. He then decided to become a consultant. You pay a lot of money for the training and the basic kit to run a group. He lasted as a consultant for 3 months only. This was because:

1. He made no money. Some weeks we shelled out to run it. If you are in an area that already has a number of groups you cannot get the numbers. The comission structure really penalises you if you are new and starting a brand new group. Plus it's hard work.
2. He hated having to trot out the SW mantra and follow the same old pattern each week.
3. The support is pretty useless for consultants. Just the same old mantra again and again

Yes, it's a cult. But the principles are sound common sense. Eat less fat and sugar. Keep yourself feeling satisfied with bulky low fat foods.
The banana thing is bonkers but eating a whole banana will keep you feeling fuller for longer than a mashed up one. But that's about it. If you are calorie counting then it makes no difference

My SIL lost over 10 stone with SW and was 'slimmer of the year' in her region.
She's put it all back on again now.

I follow a woman on insta and she’s a darlin but she’s a consultant and I feel sorry for her she has no clue about nutrition or diet she eats so much junk then guilts herself like why do that. She would be the last person I would go to for weight loss advice. Not that I need advice it’s pretty basic eat less move more.
But it’s a way to make money as long as there are people willing to pay.

Everything tastes like aspartame. The brownie is something like 2 large pots of it 🤢

I knew it wasn't for me years ago when the consultant suggested I exercise less (I hadn't lost weight one week). Despite being overweight, I used to exercise hard 4-5 times a week and she could not handle that - it didn't fit in the Body Magic shite

I have recently discovered both Team RH and Rebelfit who both tell it as it is in respect of SW and WW and it truly is eye opening!!

Plan your menus and cook from scratch. Eat off a smaller plate. Get your dentist to pull a whole lot of teeth and fit you with dentures. Then watch the kilos fall away.

“For the groupie above who reckons fry light is natural”

Not natural, I’m well aware it’s not growing in a frylight tree ready to be harvested without any processing

But it’s oil, water, alcohol, an emulsifier made from sunflower (which you can buy separately as a supplement if you so desire, apparently it’s anti aging) and the same stabiliser they use in salad dressings, ice creams and toothpaste among other things...

Its hardly industrial airport lubricant...

I've lost 4.5 stone on SW so far in less than a year. I disagree that it's a cult! It will work for some and not for others!

I admit my nutritional knowledge and cooking skills were appalling before and for me it has given me a better understanding of this. Everyone saying that people are encouraged to eat 'unlimited' speed/free foods, this is utter bollocks!! The main principle of SW is to fill your plate with at least a third or vegetables (speed), surely anything that encourages people to eat more vegetables (especially given the obesity levels in the UK) can't be dismissed.

For me personally the group gives me the accountability aspect. Charming of PP to suggest it's the only social aspect of our life, we have a hell of a lot of younger people in our group who are very social, including me so that's just ridiculous and rude What is wrong with wanting to go to group and get a pat on the back for doing well and trying hard?! Horses for courses, some will like it and some won't. I see loads of threads with people saying losing weight is lonely, feel unsupported and they're unhappy etc and I enjoy that aspect of SW. A lot of people have personalities that need encouragement and praise, I'm like this at work as well, is there something wrong with that too?

I can't see how anyone can get themselves that worked up in dislike of something that is helping people lose weight and eat a vegetable or two!

Muller light gate is ridiculous by the way as is the poster that said you use Diet Coke in meals, it's one meal, any others aren't slimming world recipes. Surely it's better to have a Diet Coke chicken (which I hate!) one night rather than order a takeaway ?!

YABU.
Might not be a diet that works for you, but it does for others including me.
It's nowhere near £20 plus to join, where have you got that from?
Joining fee is a one off just under £10 I believe.
Also ridiculous to say they tout fizzy drinks etc.
No they don't. You do realise you don't have to drink them, right?
Adapt your own diet to eat and drink what you enjoy, you don't have to deprive yourself of anything, if you want a slice of cake or a diet Coke, have it.

@fairylea - "there's no push to move more"

Yes there is. You're encouraged to do what's called body magic - exercising every week whether it be walking more, swimming, whatever exercise you like best.

*And if there’s a bloke in the group fucking forget it because he’ll win every week!

So bloody true!

They only have to have a poo and there's stone gone!*

Lol 😂

I'm with you. I've tried them all and SW was the one I liked least. The group leader used to correct my use of English to SW-speak, which I hated. I also said 'I've been really bad this week' and she told me 'children are bad, you're an adult'. I thought 'Oh FFS.' It did feel like indoctrination, and not at all friendly or supportive.

Hilda, thats sad about the 10 stone loss and gain.

Please anybody involved with this ,provide a link where we can read about the success of it long term.

Thanks so much.

Has anyone mentioned quark?

scan bran? or is that the other lot?

Has anyone mentioned quark?

Mixed with an options hot chocolate to make a “delicious” pud 🤮

At a class I went to with the thick consultant someone was making “crisps” out of lasagne sheets. She was soaking them to cut them into triangles, drying them out in the oven and then eating them in unlimited quantities as they were “free” Jeezo who could be arsed with that shite?! Even at the time I thought that didn’t sound right, as surely pasta was only “free” when eaten as intended and not this monstrosity? The consultant said fuck all though but lo and behold years later it was deemed a “tweak” (or “tweek” as she spelled it 😬) and Not Allowed.

I once went to a couple of meetings before realising I was eating way more than I was normally of the wrong stuff! And I was baffled when nobody could understand why a woman had gained a lb when she had stuck to it. She said the only thing I’ve done is eat about 6 muller lights a day. The leader responded but that’s fine, it’s free! Errrm no it’s not fine to eat 6 muller lights every day!

My issue with any diet plan is that it doesn't teach you good, healthy habits. Now the subscribers will argue that they do, but they don't educate people on why they are eating a certain way or what nutrition your body requires.

So while any plan may help you to lose weight, it won't always make you healthier long term. Particularly with people who are severely overweight or obese (I've been both), it is as much about re-education as it is the physical weight loss itself. This is why people on these plans don't do well long term, they are not given the tools to be healthy because the leaders want to keep them in group.

Ultimately SW and WW and the like exist to keep people coming back to them time and time again and the only way to do that is to keep people needing to lose weight. They are not designed to be your friend.

Your're encouraged to do whats called Body Magic FFS how can anyone take seriously an organisation that spouts such drivel? Its called exercise, dont give it a wanky name to make it sound more appealing than it actually is.

I lost 4 stone on SW a few years ago and have kept it off easily and effortlessly. My group leader was amazing and the other group members were lovely and many have become good friends of mine. I definitely never found it cult like. I suppose it depends on the group you go to though.

It worked for me. But then I'm not a sneering misogynist who despises fat women (especially if they're a bit... common ), unlike so many on this thread.