It's difficult. Unrelated topic perhaps, but has anyone seen the SW chips that are out? That doesn't sit right with me. I get that they're healthier than normal ones, I get that not everyone has time to cook - but isn't it about changing habits? If you've had a shit day and want quick food, do an omelette, pesto pasta and salad, egg or beans on toast, a Tin of soup etc. Don't get a burger and chips from the freezer and kid yourself it's healthy.
I've tried both WW and SW and the difference is massive, for me. I'm not saying WW is perfect, but it seems a much healthier environment. With SW there was so much emphasis on pounds lost. One lady was off ill and lost 3 stone in two months, she was that ill and not big to begin with. When she came back it was all sparkly stickers and sashes and clapping for her loss. How unhealthy is that? She reason she lost that much is because she was ill. We should have been welcoming her back, focusing on her regaining her strength, not effectively applauding her illness
The thinking behind it is odd. There is no promotion of exercise, in fact it's optional and no mention of its health benefits, just that it can help you gain weight. The whole mindset of over eating. For example, a tub of halo top ice cream is low in syns. So we're told we could eat the whole tub! Well yes we 'coukd' but we shouldn't as it's binging. The treat plates. Rather than being encouraged to use your syns incidentally - extra cheese, a square of chocolate, a bit of chorizo - you're encouraged to save your syns and have a treat plate, of a mini mars, a pick up, a milky way, strawberry laces and buttons. It encourages over eating and doesn't address binging or portion control. Let's be honest, no one who is overweight eats perfect portion sizes. If you're used to eating 200g pasta bit a portion is 75g, then no you shouldn't eat 150g and add half a lettuce on top. A big bowl of pasta is no healthier once you add a head of lettuce to if. You should reduce down to a proper portion, and yes you may feel a bit hungry - or not stuffed - but that is not a bad thing!
The frankenfoods - lasagne with no cheese on top, sweet and sour chicken made without flour so the consistency of water, etc. Cheesecake made of tubs of Muller light, the whole focus on quantity not quality.
It's also more inflexible. Yes it's good to meal plan and prep. But there are days when you're asked to work late unexpectedly and have no food. Even the healthiest sandwich is way over your allowance in a shop. So your options are exist on ham and egg pots be and feel hungry and annoyed, or get the sandwich and feel like you've blown it so you get crisps and cake too! Eating out, you're encouraged to eat steak and salad or severely restrict yourself before and afterwards. They say of course that no food is banned, but when you have 15syns a day, are told you shouldn't roll them over, and a pizza is 25synsv at least, that isn't really an option.
WW isn't perfect. There's still the talk of good and bad days, still the promotion of their products, including ready meals which while nice is not as good as home cooking. There are still recipes like cakes from beans. But the difference is astronomical. The Biggie for me is the flexibility. It focuses on a week not a day. So you can have your pizza and wine, as long as during the week you exercise a bit more and eat sensibly the rest of the time. Your dailies don't change either, so you can have that pizza and wine and still have a bag of quavers the next day.
Eating out or on the go Is easier. It's perfectly possible to go to Tesco and pick up a wrap, a bag of reduced fat crisps and a drink and still be well within your points. So you feel able to do it and not binge
Your points reduce as you lose weight, which is a homage to the fact that as weight decreases, so should your calorie intake. Exercise is mentioned a lot, not just in terms of weight loss but also fitness and health.
Classes are more productive. You don't just applaud losses, although you do mention any success including non scale victories such as walking more that week or trying new recipes or your jeans feeling looser. Normally each week focuses on a topic , sometimes food based like how to optimise 0 pointed foods or helping someone plan a work trip away, but also mentally. This week our topic was our why we joined - not just losing weight, but going deeper - health concerns, keeping up with the kids etc
But a massive one for me is portion control and eating sensibly. We're not encouraged to blow out after weigh in. I'm not saying a chippy tea is banned or an extra biscuit - but we are told we shouldn't save all our points for weigh in night and then dive head first into a kebab and a massive dairy milk. We're encouraged to use our points every day - avoid feeling deprived and hopefully use it incidentally, on things like a glass of wine or extra cheese. Saving for a night out or using it for a McDonald's for eg Is fine, as life doesn't stop, however having a big blow out every week on weigh in isn't hwalthy. We're reminded binging isn't good, that it's meant to be a lifestyle change, and a whole evening off each week will probably affect things.
Treat plates aren't mentioned. We're told that just because a tub of ice cream is low points, we shouldn't eat all of it. You should still ear sensible portions. That binging is something lots of us do, however it is not a healthy habit, physically or mentally, and we should be looking for ways to change it.
I'm not saying either way is perfect. WW for eg have plenty of talk of good and bad days, they do applaud quick losses,bthey are much more commercialised in terms of products. But to me at least it seems more realistic. It's balanced out over a week not s day, so you can be kind to yourself, you can have hungry days, you can have days where you're busy and just want a takeaway, and as long as it all balanced over the week that's fine. It's easier to get a balanced diet. Rather than it controlling your life, you control it. Yes you meal plan etc but there's no need to panic about forgetting to prep lunch or similar - I find myself thinking on the day what I fancy for tea rather than planning obsessively to get all the allowances right, as on SW. Overall, you're encouraged not to binge, to exercise, to look at the big picture, to make it a part of your life not run it, and to look after your MH. That can't be a bad thing