Slimming world. Is it a con/cult?

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Basically that really. I've read positive stories but also some completely bat shit crazy ones!

I have a considerable amount of weight to lose. I have recently joined the gym. But I'm reading conflicting advice about the gym and slimming world.

Is it worth it?

It works marvellously however the second you deviate from the diet the weight will creep back on. Also I do have concerns about the long term effect of eating very little fat and excessive artificial sweeteners which frankly is what slimming world is all about! (6 stone looser on SW)

This is a really interesting article about contestants from the biggest loser and how their bodies fought to regain the weight.

www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html

My gran lost over 3 stone and has kept it off for several years now. She still goes every week. She's never followed it religiously though and openly says how silly some parts of it are. I think she basically took some tips from them and changed her eating habits- little things like using less fats and oils when cooking. I don't think she counts syns but she does avoid 'treat' foods like cake, biscuits, chocolate etc.

I guess OP will just have to see for herself, but I am in total agreement with Hobby and the screenshots.
I checked team HR after reading this thread and hated them. Not because of the swearing , as I am way worse than them, but the before and after photos. In some cases the before photos were better. I am not trying to look super toned and muscular and I find it sad that the softer bodies are seen as something to be ashamed of.
Give me Bodyposipanda and Rebelfit any time.
I am reading beyond chocolate at the moment, which also explains why diets don't tend to work.
I think there is a lot to be said for accepting your size and your body. At 40 I am a size 14. Most of my youth I spent dieting and obsessing about food to maintain a 12 and feeling sad that I wasn't a 10. With hindsight, what a waste of time, what a waste of joy.
For what? One dress size. Never been fatter, and happier, and probably healthier. Sure, my BMI suggests I should lose ten pounds but frankly, since I run, walk, and eat a balanced diet with the occasional treat, sod that.
I know it is different if you think you have three sizes or more to lose of course, but I am starting to realise , thanks to Rebelfit and the likes, that weight does not necessarily give an accurate indication of your health . Contrary to popular belief.
And I do think that SW has some very unhealthy stuff , but I also agree that some of their principles are sound, eg have lots of veg/ salad before you have the pasta, and cook more at home.
But that's about it as far as I am concerned.
If it works for some, hats off to you. It is bloody hard to go without bread and avocados!

42DuckWillow.
'Diets are not designed to be sustainable long term. Your body adjusts to you being heavier, it does not like it when you lose weight. Your subconscious brain (the bit you don’t control) will eventually drive you to higher calorie foods. ..until you are back at the weight it thinks you should be'.

Haven't there been recent studies disproving this theory? Apparently people who lose a lot of weight can eventually return to a 'normal' metabolism, which they had before putting on weight. Obviously people's bodies don't like it when they are losing the weight, but when they reach their ideal weight the theory that your metabolism is permanently damaged has been disproved. Unfortunately I cant find the study goddamit.

'This is a really interesting article about contestants from the biggest loser and how their bodies fought to regain the weight.

www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html'

Yes, this is pretty interesting.

Slimming world and weight watchers etc are 100% a con... Yes it works in the short term but mainly for larger people who suddenly stop eating kebabs 3 nights a week (so you're bound to lose weight just by cutting back on the shite)
The only way to lose fat is to be in calorie deficit - it's science.
There is no such thing as 'free food' all food contains calories!

I've done Weight Watchers but won't go anywhere near SW because they call their points 'syns' as if eating is sinful. That's massively icky to me.

I still find Rebelfit problematic. I've just read through their Facebook page and they say it's all about intention. Apparently if you change your way of eating with the intention of losing weight then it won't work in the long term, but if you change your eating with the intention of being healthy and nutritious then it will work. I have no idea how they think our bodies know what our intentions are. Sorry but it sounds like yet another thing where they claim they're a lifestyle change and not a diet. So many people claim this.

I did WW 20 years ago and lost weight under pure points.

Which was basically leafy and green stuff was free, as were other veg, but anything starch and sugary was pointed,

You had a points allowance which was calculated based on a formula and points values were based on calories and saturated fat (I know the formula but repetition of it means they would have to kill me)

It worked

Then they went the same way as SW - fruit cannot be free as its high in calories and if we all could stop when full we would not be fat in the first place

I do calorie counting using the old points principle - if it was free - I estimate - if it wasn't I weigh it

When I stick to it an exercise, I lose weight

ELEM diet

Eat less exercise more

Walnut blossom actually it's not quite like that. The idea is that if you try very hard to lose weight, you are unlikely to be successful. Well, you will lose some probably, but you will not keep it off.
If you stop focussing on losing weight and start eating intuitively ( no dieting or calorie counting or restricting), if you exercise more, if you relax around food, if you stop weighing yourself, in short, if you stop trying to get thinner, you may lose weight as a bonus. No guarantee that you will, but in a nutshell yes, not stressing about your weight may be the best thing to lose weight and keep it off. Still, it is a " may".
Mind you, I find being more relaxed about food and accepting my body rewarding enough. I am done fighting with food.

I think the " eating when you are full" is absolutely key here.
That's the one thing I can't do.
Many of us can't recognise the signs any more.
Many of us want to eat because we are stressed, tired, sad, thirsty, in company, or simply because the food is there.
Or because it's our cheat day and if we don't eat all the food now it will be another week til our next cheat day.
Yo yo dieting makes things worse.
I know Paul Mc Kenna is right with his principles of eating when you are hungry, eating what you fancy, and stopping when you are full.
But ( to quote Rebelfit again), this is not the solution, this is a description of the problem.
How we get to that mindset of trusting our bodies again, eating when we really need to instead of following the clock, and ostopping when full , is the hard work, and I really don't think it can be achieved through dieting. On the contrary.

Stopping when you are full is key, sorry.

I eat too. much because I just like food

I like the tastes and the textures.

I suspect back in the 30s I would be thin as food was boring.

DH often suggests a gastric band - I tell him I'd rather be dead and I would,

I'm fat and I know I am - size 22 - but I can lose weight if I want to - I need to exercise and eat less. Once I lose it I can keep it off. I did once until I got bed bound for 9 months then spiralled down - but that's another story.

But I would hate a gastric band as I just like food.

“It works if you stick with it”

Means that it doesn’t work! Why should you have to stick with it. If it works, it would be easy and second nature!

I have repeatedly tried SW but am one of the 90% that put it all back on again. I now follow Beyond chocolate which is about intuitive eating, and RH fitness and rebelfit Which debunk lots of slimming and weight loss myths. The only way to lose weight and keep it off, is to consume less calories than your body uses.

You get one shot at SW. First time you stick to it properly, weight falls off. But it doesn’t teach you how to maintain, it doesn’t deal with underlying food issues and psychological factors, so the weight goes back on. After that you might lose a few pounds getting “back on plan” but it’ll never work as well as that first time. So you keep trying, hoping the weight will fall off like last time. Until you give up, stick your head in a chocolate fountain and a little down the road realise you are fatter than you’ve ever been before.

I know dozens of people who lost weight on SW. I know precisely none who stayed slim.

I have lost about 10 stone in total with SW. Not all at once. In fact, the same 5 stones I’ve lost and regained then lost and regained... I’m heavier than when I have ever started SW. it works whilst you’re following it obsessively. Long term it hasn’t helped me.

Lost 5 stone on SlimmingWorld in 8 months maintained for 4 months so far. Last January I was 18/20 now a 10/12. Been obese for many years. Healthy eating and never hungry. You don’t have to eats mugshots, muller lights and loads of carbs. Instagram helped me I post everything I eat plus get lots of ideas on there.

SW was the first diet that i ever stuck with long enough to lose 3 , in six months. But then I got bored and the best I can say is that sort of following it mostish of the time has meant i have not regained that 3 stone in 2 and a half years.

I am joining again next week, as the original goal was to lose 6 stone so maybe I can repeat the process.

And yes, some people get ridiculous about creating sweets that arent. But Ive observed that with WW too, and other diets. Some people are just like that, it isnt SW's suggestion! SW cookbooks are full of meals with vast quantities of vegetables, and thats the trick to it in my opinion. Lots of bulky and slow to digest plant matter keeps you feeling full.

Little in your opinion (Not being sarky) have you any suggestions for a weight loss/healthy eating programme that really works long term?

I am a typical yo-yo dieter. I have successfully lost weight on many 'diets', SW, WW, RC, low carb, calories counting, lots of exercise etc etc but I have never managed to stay slim basically because I am greedy and love food (& wine). I have also read books about food addiction but they all seem to think you are using food to avoid painful or unhappy areas in your life. I don't think I am, I have a happy, comfortable, stress free life with a job I love, lots of hobbies, friends and interests, no financial or health worries etc etc - I just love food .

@Ragwort I'm very similar to you, in that I don't eat due to negative aspects in my life, infact I'm happier and more contented than I've ever been. But I've found I do use food.

If I'm happy, or we need to celebrate, we go for a curry, if it's Friday 'let's celebrate with something nice to eat, it's Saturday 'let's treat ourselves to something nice to drink. It's Monday 'boo let's commiserate by having a nice tea, it's the kids birthday 'off to KFC, it's my birthday 'off to my favourite curry restaurant I even congratulate myself after exercise, 'yay we've had a lovely walk with the dogs in the late district 'let's stop off for a few drinks in a nice pub lunch - you get the picture I need to find something other than food or drink to celebrate with - someone suggested go to the gym - oh how i laughed

The thing with the biggest loser is probably the fact it is a crash diet.

I echo the PPs who mention the use of the word syns to describe foods. IMHO that is dangerous as nutrition categorically isn't a syn: without it we'd die. The other issue I have is the group weigh ins and the suggestion that going off plan has caused a stall or even a gain. Doesn't take in to account that as women our weight fluctuates a lot because of our cycles. For me weighing myself daily for some time has helped me recognise trends so I don't panic if I'm a bit heavier than expected the day after I've had a meal in a restaurant (sodium), in the run up to my AF, or around ovulation.

Calorie counting and small deficits, as well as getting out of the habit of cheat days, has done me wonders. I was bad in the run up to Christmas and I put on weight, but I reach my "crap food limit" much more quickly, and my weight gain is manageable; I don't go back to where I was before.

I don't always fully calorie count anymore, but when I cook I still weigh off the carbs to ensure I eat normal portion sizes of those. I'll have chocolate every day if I choose to, but within limits. Others always go "ooh, I really shouldn't", but hey, if it fits your calories then who cares?

That's the thing though. Food is so readily available that we have it regardless of whether we need it, and most people don't need to make a packet of 50p pasta stretch very far, so they just cook however much they dump in the pan. And we can't be seeing to waste food so we eat it.

So to come back to the original question whether SW is a cult: Well, cult is a big word. The main problem is that it doesn't teach people truths about food. Food is demonised through the term syns, people aren't educated about the true nutritional value of food and thus don't learn to develop long term healthy habits.

There are so many posters on this thread who have heard the free food and syns bit and jumped to the wrong conclusions.

Loosing and staying thin with WS is possible and easy but you have to see it as a was for you to learn about food and your body.
Yes there are people who want to 'cheat' their way around the diet using sweetness and living off muller lights which is why those things now have 'syns'.

Sw isn't about eating as much pasta and potato as you like, it's about portion control using 1/3 of every meal as veg or fruit.

Stop knocking what you don't understand.
If someone is struggling with their weight they need help and support which is what these group provide, when they stop going they put back on.

The amount of people who can't/won't cook from scratch and use jars full of sugar etc for every meal is staggering, they join a group and learn to cook healthy meals from other members- why is that deamonised?

I think we've largely lost sight of what a 'portion' should be. If you make veg 1/3 of a meal but your portion sizes are huge, it still won't work as a diet. Just look at the 'servings' on a box of cereal and then seriously weigh how much you think a portion should be and I bet you will be surprised.

People seriously underestimate just how many calories are in food and how much food you can eat. One short walk won't even burn enough calories for a single biscuit, but people justify eating with 'oh, I've done exercise today so it won't matter'.

thetreeisstresdingmeout Agree. I’d put on weight due to serious health problems in my 30s. I’d got out of habit of cooking. But I can cook so have fully embraced all the sw recipes. So many people at group or on my Instagram are amazed at what I make but it’s everyday food nothing fancy.