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Original poster

How does Slimming World work?

222 replies

DrivingRound1 · 12/01/2019 15:31

I put on a few pounds over Christmas so I'm calorie counting till they're off. My friend's doing Slimming World and she's been telling me she can have a jacket potato, cheese and beans every day for lunch and it's 'allowed'. It would wipe out over half of my calories if I ate that, but it's one of my favourite meals. Does Slimming World actually work? I've always thought it was a bit of a scam and still do really, but if it works and I can have a jacket potato, cheese and beans for dinner every day and lose weight I'd be tempted to give it a go. If it dies work, how does it?

OP posts:
OxeyeDaisy · 12/01/2019 15:34

I have done slimming world in the past and had some good losses. For me I feel that slimming world focuses on eating proper food and not convenience or junk. You also have to be good at portion control just because pasta is free doesn’t mean you can eat a whole bag for lunch

TheBigFatMermaid · 12/01/2019 15:42

It is based on eating free food, then having weighed and measured healthy extras to make up the deficits the free foods don't cover, then having treats, which are allowed in limited form and called 'syns'.

So, fruit (most except avacados) and veg are free, lean meat and fish are also free, as are potatoes, rice and pasta. They do recommend that at least a third of the plate should be veg or salad.

HE A is milk or cheese, for calcium.

HE B is cereal, or bread, for fibre.

Orlande · 12/01/2019 15:45

You eat more veg and less fat and sugar basically.

You can have jacket, cheese & beans but if you have cheese you probably can't also have milk in your tea for example.

nancybelle · 12/01/2019 15:45

It should work as a high proportion of every meal should be veg or fruit. Think it’s something like 70%.

TheBigFatMermaid · 12/01/2019 15:47

Sorry, so yes, Jacket potato, beans and cheese, preferably with a large side salad would be allowed, with the potato and beans being 'Free foods' and the cheese being a healthy extra.

TheBigFatMermaid · 12/01/2019 15:49

Orlande, you can now have cheese and milk as they have changed it to allow 2 HE As, to increase calcium.

DarkStorm · 12/01/2019 15:50

The statistics for long term weight loss on any diet aren’t good. I think I read 95% of people who go on a diet end up regaining the weight plus extra within 5 years.

Some of the ‘science’ behind Sw is questionable. Speed foods which help speed up weight loss? Syns, which have no scientific basis? All the consultants are overweight. People starving themselves before weigh-in then bingeing. Lots of guilt around food and obsessive syn counting.

It just doesn’t seem that healthy, especially for mental health.

Are you active? Sensible portions and exercise should help.

Nusername · 12/01/2019 15:52

It doesn’t work.
Look at rebelfit on Facebook or insta. Or James Smith. There are hundreds of internet sources for reliable info that 95% of slimming world patrons who lose weight put it back on within 5 years

Nusername · 12/01/2019 15:52

Cross post!

Sirzy · 12/01/2019 15:55

The weight back on isn’t the fault of the plan though it is the fault of the person who goes back to old ways of eating.

I know lots of people who have lost weight and kept it off (myself included) including people who have done it via SW - as long as you change your habits long term it can work and it does work.

The issue comes when people think they can start eating the old stuff when they hit target

Nusername · 12/01/2019 15:57

teamrhfitness.com

www.rebelfit.co.uk

I’m 5 stone down for a good while now. SW in my view is about the worst thing you can do. I did it 20 years ago. Trust me.

sayitisntsojo · 12/01/2019 15:57

The trouble is that if it worked they would be out of business. How many are returning members???

Nusername · 12/01/2019 15:59

We’ll have to agree to disagree Sirzy.

Ps exactly what Sirzy has written is addressed comprehensively on the two webpages I have posted. 95% of people remain repeat customers of SW or “failed” dieters. Something not working there

Won’t cost you anything to have a read anyway. At least make an informed decision.

Sforsh49 · 12/01/2019 15:59

I've done SW for best part of 20 years, lost 5 stone and kept it off. It doesn't work for everyone but it does work for some. I'm not some crazy obsessive that makes a cake out of bran flakes or anything like that, but as an eating plan to be fair if you stick to the rules and eat your veggies then it's just as good as any, I don't agree with people eating bowl after bowl of pasta, what does that teach you about healthy eating? And it's not sustainable!

Yes you can have jacket potato, beans and cheese for lunch, but with it you should have half your plate as salad (which you should try to eat first) a small jacket, a portion of beans (so a small tins worth) and 30g of cheese. Trust me, 30g of cheese is nothing, even grated it's very little, so it's not a huge handful of cheese dumped on top you're allowed, it's basically a sprinkle. Milk is measured just like cheese and so is bread and cereal, and you don't get a lot of it in your allowance.

So if you have half a plate of salad and eat it first you start to fill up with that so that if you leave anything it's not the minimal calorie salad it's the potato and beans.

It's like any plan, it works for some but not others, just as calorie counting doesn't work for me!

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 12/01/2019 15:59

Same old bullshit is sprouted out by skinny fun bunnies desperate to tell fatties they’ll never do it.

What do you want us to do? Not try? Do you think it’s really that kind to tell people they are almost guaranteed to fail before they’ve even started?

summerlovingliz · 12/01/2019 16:00

It does work. As another says it's when you stop following the plan that you are likely to gain weight. Not the fault of the plan. So yes you can have daily Jacket, beans cheese but the cheese has got to be a smallish portion and best if served with salad

Original poster
DrivingRound1 · 12/01/2019 16:02

Are you active? Sensible portions and exercise should help. Yes, I am, I exercise a few times a week. I'm not overweight, just heavier than I'd like to be & where I was before Christmas.

Even when I'm not dieting I would consider a jp with cheese and beans, or pasta or rice treats and eat them rarely. The idea I could lose/sustain weight and eat them regularly blows my mind. I eat avocados every other day though and my friend tells me they're 14 of 15 daily syns.

I'm also told wine is a high syn so I'm going off the idea.

OP posts:
MissUGirl · 12/01/2019 16:05

I did it a few years back and lost 2 stone in 3 months. I'll tell you I never want to see a jacket potato, tin of beans, diet Coke or Muller Light yogurt again as long as I live!

Personally I don't think it teaches about eating in moderation or enjoying food—I just stuffed myself with potatoes and pasta because it was "allowed". None of it tasted good after the first few days.

Yes I gained it all back after a couple of years.

Knittedfairies · 12/01/2019 16:05

30g of cheese isn't very much. How many grams of pasta is considered 'free'?

MissUGirl · 12/01/2019 16:07

Even when I'm not dieting I would consider a jp with cheese and beans, or pasta or rice treats and eat them rarely. The idea I could lose/sustain weight and eat them regularly blows my mind

Eat your pasta without any added oils or cheese and you won't want to eat very much. The appeal of pasta with tinned tomatoes and steamed veg will quickly wear off!

Ditto with your jacket potato—the amount of cheese you're allowed is miniscule and you can't have butter on it either!

MaisyPops · 12/01/2019 16:13

Most programmes function because people fail and they can pull you back.

Personally OP, I would use My Fitness Pal, track your calories, try eating more fruit/veg/wholemeal and less fat/sugar. If you keep active and eat a good, healthy diet with portion control then that's much better in terms of health than SW.

I remember a friend always snacking on fruit pastilles because they were free on weight watchers.

Sirzy · 12/01/2019 16:14

All this thread really shows is different thinks work for different people - the tough bit is the finding what works for you not only for the initial loss but to keep it off.

notsurewhatshappening · 12/01/2019 16:18

Someone I know was slimming world slimmer of the year 5 years ago. She is now 24 st. In her experience it encouraged some very unhealthy behaviours around food.

Oysterbabe · 12/01/2019 16:23

I think it's harsh to blame the 95% for regaining. With that level of failure rate it shows the plan is unsustainable for most and therefore shit.

DayManChampionOfTheSun · 12/01/2019 16:32

I think it's harsh to blame the 95% for regaining. With that level of failure rate it shows the plan is unsustainable for most and therefore shit

I don't think the success rate for keeping weigh off following obesity is much better in general, regardless of the plan. At least with SW, they encourage you to keep attending meetings when you have reached your target, for free.

The main problem is people lose the weight then return I to eating how they did before. No matter how you lost the weight, you will always regain it if you do this.

I'm not a SW member by the way