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?

Because you have to balance roughly the amount of chips (in your example) with veg or salad. Prioritising the veg/salad, whilst eating.

The point being that the veg etc will fill you up before you eat 12 plates of chips.

Speed food speeds up weighloss, because it's low calorie food that will fill you up. Therefore reducing how many calories you eat, which makes you lose weight.

Potatoes are free on sw and you can make free chips with the spray oil but you can't have unlimited plates of chips as each meal needs to be 1/3 speed food ie veg or certain fruits.
So eg breakfast omelette with toms and mushrooms. You choose how many eggs but 1/3 needs to be veg in or with it.
Dinner can be chicken breast, veggies and chips but must have at least 1/3 veggies.
New book for 2019 very much puts emphasis on moderation.
It's basically 3 meals a day, all meals at least 1/3 veg. Plus measured portion of dairy x 2 (healthy A) and measured portion of cereal, nuts or whole meal bread (healthy B)
You can't eat plates of chips between meals they suggest fruit or veg if you need to but aim is 3 filling meals so less snacking. A few syns to spend how you like on things to jazz up your meals like avocado, dressings, gravy or a glass of wine or something sweet.

People tend to eat same volume of food. So by eating 1/3 veg you are still having a decent portion of food, feel full and don't feel deprived.
Using ops example if you have just baked spud and beans/cheese on a plate you probably will have a bigger portion than if you start off with 1/3 salad on plate.

My aunt has recently lost over four stones following SW, she's eating a vast amount of eggs, chicken and fish and sweetener. As well as fruit veg, fat free yogurts and black coffee. She seems happy with it but I'm not sure how good for you it is in the long run. And yeah the amount of cheese or milk you can have is tiny.

“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.”

They’re not two separate things, that’s where you’re going wrong...

If you eat as much as you want of free foods, whatever they are, the chances are you’ll create enough of a calorie deficit to lose weight... over time...

I’d lose weight at 1400 calories a day, I’m tall and overweight and fairly active... so if I wanted to eat 1.3kg of chips in a day - I mean I’d struggle, that’s a hell of a lot of chips, but I’d lose weight.

If I’m managing to eat say 2200 calories of chips a day, I personally wouldn’t lose weight... but I also just physically couldn’t eat that - you’re at over 2kg of chips at that point.

However, someone used to eating that volume of food is going to weigh a lot more than me, so the chances are that they would still lose weight.

I’d lose more if I my 1.3kg of food is made up of 860g of chips and 460g of lettuce because I’ve eaten the same volume of food, but saved nearly a third of the calories... so speeds up your weight loss.

If you’re doing SW properly and not your own approximation of it, you’d be swapping out that 1/3 for veg, but you’d also be looking at why you’re still hungry enough to eat 1.3kg of chips, looking to see if actually the issue is that you’re not eating enough protein and then if it’s not that, looking at whether you’re actually eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re comfortably full.

She seems happy with it but I'm not sure how good for you it is in the long run. And yeah the amount of cheese or milk you can have is tiny.

But again, they are her choices. I avoid sweetness and low fat yoghurt. Therefore if her diet wasn't healthy it's down to her choice.

Do you know what the recommended portion size is for cheese? It's only about 12 grams more than SW portion. Not surprising really, since SW is for people to lose weight.

They have also altered plan in 2019 to have 2 portions of dairy of your choice a day for calcium so eg 2 babybels and 250 ml semi skimmed milk a day or 30g cheddar and 350ml skimmed milk. I have milk in brews so am liking you can have cheese aswell. Plus you can have in addition fat free dairy like natural yogurt and cottage cheese aswell.

. And yeah the amount of cheese or milk you can have is tiny.

You can have plenty of milk and cheese. because you can have more if you just syn it :/ They're not saying you can only have 30g of cheddar a day - they are saying you can have 30g as your HEA, and anything after that you syn it.

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.

And how many people seem to have so much information about it, for example, the SW chips when they don't do the programme. Don't like Slimming World? Don't do it. It's not a government enforced Fat Camp, its a slimming club that some people join if they want to and leave if they don't like it. I have only done a slimming club of any kind once. I had no idea about any of them before. They weren't on my radar. Without looking up the Weight Watchers threads on here, I'd have absolutely no clue about Weight Watchers because its nothing to do with me, so I cant comment.

Aargh! I'm going to have to go back to group to find out about all these changes!

As regards dairy though, I easily meet my servings... synned dashes of milk in coffee, cheese, sometimes an extra laughing cow light or extra light synned, natural yoghurt with fruit, some cottage cheese or yoghurt in cooking, a fruit yoghurt if I fancy it, still plenty of wriggle room for some other syns.

Compared to when I'm not on SW when other than too much full fat cheese I don't have much at all

The only thing is.... Eat less and exercise more!

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

Yes, really. It works for me.

Yes, really. It works for me.

I don't get your response. Most people counting calories will need to weigh their food. Not just weighing cheese and measuring milk.

You may be very accurate at guessing the weigh of food. Most people aren't and think they eat far less calories than they do.

So the majority of people who are losing weight by just cutting calories, will be by weighing food. All their food

"The only thing is.... Eat less and exercise more!"

Nope. You need to have a calorie deficit. That could be through eating less OR exercising more (although most people wouldn't have the necessary time to do it through exercise alone and 80%-20% diet to exercise is recommended).

"So the majority of people who are losing weight by just cutting calories, will be by weighing food. All their food"

Done a study, have you? I don't think I have any special skills. Most people can cut calories without weighing food. It's pretty easy to know that if you eat a salad with a low cal dressing, it will have fewer calories than a big cake or something.

Personally? No i haven't done a study. But plenty have. If people found it easy to estimate how many calories they are having, then there wouldn't be a weight problem in the country.

If people don't weigh food to cut calories why do millions of people try MFP?

It may be a simple as just use low calorie dressing for you. But not for most. Because then weight loss would be easy and everyone would do it. The problem is that just cutting down, doesn't work for most. Especially if they aren't keeping track.

You can dent it all you want. You may not weigh food. But most would.

Even the NHS recommends weighing food when trying to lose weight

Weigh your food. Use kitchen
scales to weigh your ingredients
before you cook. This will help you
stick to the suggested serving sizes.

This is from their website.

“It's pretty easy to know that if you eat a salad with a low cal dressing, it will have fewer calories than a big cake or something”

Well yes, but that’s not estimating calories, that’s swapping cake for salad...

"No i haven't done a study. But plenty have."

But you provide no evidence so just your opinion at the moment.

"If people found it easy to estimate how many calories they are having, then there wouldn't be a weight problem in the country. "

Of course there would be and there is because people LIKE high calorie food. It generally tastes nicer. Some overweight people have particular problems with overeating or emotional eating, but the average person just likes cheese more than they like lettuce.

We don't have a problem with obesity because people can't judge how many calories are in something.

"
Well yes, but that’s not estimating calories, that’s swapping cake for salad..."

It's estimating calories as well if you're keeping track of calories. If I have a sandwich I can see how many calories are in a slice of bread as it tells me on the packet and then add a bit for the filling. If I'm having anything pre-packaged the calories will be on the packet. If I'm having something like a clementine, I know the calories are quite low or I can goolge how many in an average clementine. It's not necessary to check the weight of the clementine to get the exact amount.

Yes unlimited...you could eat 12 plates of free food but you should also have 4 plates of speed with it
But you're also told to stop eating when you're full and not to eat just because you don't think you've eaten enough of X. If you eat 16 plates of food you won't lose weight but I'd also suggest you need to go to the doctors if you ate that withhut getting full. If you ate PAST being full then that's not SW

Sleeping the point is, you could eat as much as you wanted...within the guidelines.

of you can eat 16 platesof pasta and salad and not feel full - yeas there's something wrong. but i was using hyperbole....

But you provide no evidence so just your opinion at the moment.

You don't have Google? This is mumsnet, not a court of law. If you really think I am wrong you go look.

High calorie food doesn't matter. If you could accurately estimate calories in it, then you could still have it and be a healthy weight. The issue is that many people find estimating it difficult and so need to weigh the food.

It's estimating calories as well if you're keeping track of calories. If I have a sandwich I can see how many calories are in a slice of bread as it tells me on the packet and then add a bit for the filling.

A bit for the filling? How many? It depends on the filling and how much you use.

Estimating a reduction in normal calories and calorie counting are not the same. I know I have eaten less this week, couldnt give you a calorie figure for you. You are just eating less.

Again if it was that easy for everyone there wouldn't be so many people with weight problems. Whatever way you look at it, calorie counting does need most people to weigh food. It's not easier to stick to than any other diet and as many people fail at that, as they do another diet.

Again, use Google. One of the reason for obesity is that people are not realistic about the amount of calories they consume and underestimate what's in their food.

Which is why the NHS recommends weighing food

Calorie deficit.

of you can eat 16 platesof pasta and salad and not feel full - yeas there's something wrong. but i was using hyperbole....
But your hyperbole mises the point. The point is you stop eating when you get full and you can't eat endless of things like chocolate, cheese, crisps etc.
So even if you DO feel the hunger for 16 plates of food the chances are before SW those 16 plates contained more "limited" than your allowed so you'd still be eating healthier. No one is going to go from an average ungethy diet to feeling hunger for excessive numbers of plates of pasta. So your point is pointless