How does Slimming World work?

[DrivingRound1]

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?

It is working for me so far. I lost 6lb the first week and then a steady 1-2lbs a week since.

Been going to SW since last August and lost 26lbs, I find the eating plan very acceptable and am very pleased with the result, got another stone to go.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that diets rarely work.

There are plenty of diets where you don’t need to weigh food though.

". They [larger people] seem to lose 3-4lb per week whereas others with less to lose will only see a 0.5 or 1lb loss."

But it's quite normal for the larger people to lose more than the not so large people and doesn't necessarily mean it's working better for the larger people.

There are plenty of diets where you don’t need to weigh food though.

Like?

Off the top of my head

16:8
Paleo
Keto
S-plan

16:8 based on fastings fasting helps our body be healthier.
Paleo based feeding your body foods from Paleo times, as supposedly be healthier.
Keto you do have to measure food to ensure no extra secret carbs go into the diet

I own a business in the body building and fitness industry. I know more people that have done Paleo, clean eating, 16:8 etc. They are heath plans that primary goal isn't weight loss and they have huge failure rates.

S-plan? As is no shit sugar......well if people could do that without monitoring anything we would all be thin and no issues.

Paleo and 16:8 Are not, primarily, for weight loss they are for overall health. Paleo is very unsustainable for many.

Keto- yes you do need to keep close eye on what you are eating and how much.

S-plan. Maybe no weighing. But a lot of people cut sugar out but make up with it with other foods. So again, portion control of the foods you do it is advised. Again, it's mainly for health with weightloss being a side effect. And not many people find it easy to just stop eating sugar.

16:8
Paleo
Keto
S-plan

Well ok, you’re not having to weigh things but they’re massively restrictive.

Except 16:8... that’s how I naturally eat and you can fit an awful lot of calories into 8 hours, lol

I’m pretty ok with having to weigh my cheese when I’m not having to weigh my chilli, rice, salad and salsa tbh.

"There are plenty of diets where you don’t need to weigh food though.

Like?"

Just cutting calories. I've always been able to do it without weighing. It means I'm guessing rather than getting it completely accurate, but it works.

Just cutting calories. I've always been able to do it without weighing. It means I'm guessing rather than getting it completely accurate, but it works.

Not really, to cut calories accurately you need to know how much of something you are eating.

You can just reduce volume and therefore calories. But that doesn't work for most and many people would reach a plateau because there are under estimating how much they eat. That's why mfp is so popular. It accurately tracks calories if you know the weights of food you are eating, so you know if you are in the calorie range you want to be in.

I think the best thing about slimming world is that you hardly have to weigh anything.
I used to portion out servings of cheese in advance, or do the "easy" things like baby bells or laughing cow which you count don't measure.
Bread is slices so that's easy too, or it's weighing a little bit of cereal.
Otherwise, some syns need weighing but most don't really (tbsp of this etc. But not weighing anything majorly)
Then everything else is unmeasured so your just making 1/3 of your plate super free food (most fruits and veggies) and the other 2/3 is free foods.
Once you're in the habit it is really easy. My weight came off slowly, but previously I had been gaining. Also it meant I was eating healthier than before.
I got frustrated with the last stone and used slim fast as that last bit is hard to budge, but I don't know if maybe I need to accept that I am just a little heavier than I was before I had kids.

“I think the best thing about slimming world is that you hardly have to weigh anything.”

Yesterday I weighed cheese and measured milk... actually they’re the two things I generally measure everyday.

I put my milk in a bottle in the morning, cheese - I know roughly what portion size I’m after, and I put it on the scales to double check and I’m rarely much out... it’s like 30 seconds of my day.

The rest of the day I can just cook and eat and gauge it on my actual appetite.

If I wanted full fat yoghurt I can either buy individual tubs, which I don’t need to weigh or buy a big tub and measure out a portion.. or if I’m going to eat a whole large tub by myself I can take say a quarter and count it as a quarter of the tub knowing it’ll balance itself out over the 4 days.

So as easy or as hard as I want to make that... and what I’m not having to do is weigh the fruit I’m having with it.

It does encourage me to eat more things like fruit and veg.

@tabulahrasa

That's it exactly, I hate calorie counting because you have to count fruit and veg and I think they should be endless
Obviously there are ones you have to count like olives and avocados but for the most part it helps me to know I can have some fruit or veg sticks as a snack and not worry about it
The 1/3 of your plate is good for the same reason.

What do you all think about the new ‘free’ chips SW have just released?

Surely telling people with a food addiction that they can eat as many chips as they want is counter-productive.

And I know SW followers will say that it is the responsibility of the individual to use portion control, but people with a food addiction can’t control themselves when it comes to binge eating.

It just seems a bit dangerous really and will encourage bingeing.

“Surely telling people with a food addiction that they can eat as many chips as they want is counter-productive.”

They still fit within the SW guidelines of having them with 1/3 of your plate being the other lower calorie vegetables... so no different to how they currently treat chips made from potatoes without frying them...

People with a binge eating disorder are told to see medical professionals.

But home made 'free' chips have always been part of Slimming World, so the new ready made ones doesn't change anything.

To eat them while following the plan, you have to have them with the appropriate amount of salad or vegetables, so you're fuller for fewer calories.

If you don't, you're not following the plan, the aim of which is to eat relatively normal food without counting, measuring or not being able to eat anything substantial when you're hungry. Eat when hungry, stop when full, not stuffed, that's the aim.

I don't know how Slimming World can be blamed, because some people have a binge eating disorder or will go off plan for other reasons. Whether such people are doing SW or another diet plan, they're equally likely to binge, if that's what they're prone to do.

"Surely telling people with a food addiction that they can eat as many chips as they want is counter-productive"

But they don't say that at all....

It's amazing how so many people have such strong opinions about Slimming World, while having little or no idea about what the plan actually is or how it is supposed to work.

Besides, did anyone watch that how to lose weight well? Featuring the potato diet.

The woman lost 12lb in a week eating nothing but potatoes...

DarkStorm but free chips aren't unlimited anymore.

If you knew the guidelines of it, or read the full thread you would see it's not the case. You prioritise veg/gruit/salad.

You can't sit and eat chips all day and would need the meal to be balanced

It's amazing how so many people have such strong opinions about Slimming World, while having little or no idea about what the plan actually is or how it is supposed to work.

Totally agree.

But you are only allowed a certain number of ‘syns’ a day. If the chips are syn-free then why do you have to limit them? If you have to limit them, then how can they be ‘free’?

Also, ‘speed’ food that speeds up weight loss? I’d love to see the science behind that.

‘The stroke of genius that makes Food Optimising so easy and so effective is Free Food – healthy, satisfying food you can enjoy in unlimited amounts whenever you’re hungry.’

Copied directly from the Slimming World website.

"if you have to limit them, then how can they be ‘free’? "
Because they're free to eat on the plan, IE no syns.

"Also, ‘speed’ food that speeds up weight loss? I’d love to see the science behind that."
Because they are lower calorie, so by eating 'speed' food you will consume fewer calories so your weight loss will be quicker . Or... Speedier if you will

Yes unlimited...you could eat 12 plates of free food but you should also have 4 plates of speed with it

So, you can have "unlimited" free food, but to follow the plan you have to have 1/3 speed on the plate with it