Slimming world. Is it a con/cult?

[Emcont]

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?

Death of the calorie

Rebelfit repeatedly calls out Slimming world and asks them to sue him if they don't agree with what he says. As Slimming world are quite happy to sue Asda, Aldi, Porky Whites etc, it's amazing that they have never gone after him. Perhaps because it would shine great big light on what a con Slimming World is.

Diets of any type, even healthy eating cause an on or off mentality which is why people often regain the weight.
rebelfit.co.uk/blog/2019/can-temporal-delusion-cause-weight-gain
You are better off eating well and exercising more to cause the calorie deficit you require than restricting calories and then failing because you can't sustain the restriction.

It's a load of non-evidence-based bollocks which carries a strong possibility of developing disordered eating and an extremely high probability of weight gain over the medium to long term. Avoid it like the plague (along with all the others).

Death of the calorie - I think you can read it at this link without an account. The previous one is free, but you need to sign up.

For me following any sensible eating and then being weighed once a week was what worked.

It was the weigh in each week with a group of people and knowing I wanted to lose not gain

Everyone is different in how their mind works

But there wouldn’t be any issue with a group of people just weighing them self’s together and then talking about what’s worked for them each week

Works for me and wouldn't have lost weight on my own without a weekly weigh in. I was of the 'I'll start again on monday' attitude once I'd had what I would've considered a bad eating day.
Now if I go out to eat, I eat what I want and get straight back onto slimming world the next meal.
Works for me, although much harder to stay in target than actually lose the weight.

I agree with @needmoresleep1 about looking up RH Fitness - they’re very critical of slimming world because it doesn’t follow the basic cico which really is the easiest most sensible way to lose weight. Obviously as others have said people have their own reasons for over eating or having an unhealthy relationship with food so this should be worked on in conjunction with cico

SW is like a casino. The house always wins

This.

I f

I'd love to attend a meeting just to see if it's like the Little Britain sketch.

I’ve never done it, but like any diet if you stick to it you’ll lose weight. stop deliberating and give it a go.

SW does encourage portion control. You should fill a third of your plate with speed foods, (most veg) then add your pasta etc. This naturally limits how much you eat. It is not supposed to be eat as much pasta as you can.

Syns are there to stop you feeling deprived. You can use the whole 15 if you want to. If you want some chocolate, you have it and syn it. You don't need to feel like you've ruined the diet. You are less likely to binge if you have a little bit of what you fancy.

Someone addressed the mashed banana up thread. It's a lot easier to eat multiple mashed bananas than whole ones. That's why mashed bananas are synned.

Personally, I can't be doing with calorie counting, I'd get completely obsessed. Also I don't believe all calories are equal. Must be better to get your calories from fresh food etc than processed foods. SW promotes eating fresh foods and cooking from fresh ingredients.

Has nobody mentioned that many SW 'consultants' are overweight or obese? I have lost count of the different SW groups I went to and all but one consultant was fat.

@49MrsPnut that's a great article!
Really spoke to me. I am not a fan of slimming clubs because they usually cater to the lowest common denominator eg desserts made with farking ryvita, minimising syns on booze, shite substitutions, etc....never mind weighing 30+ people and all that entails.

I'm interested in the what matters now, and the cumulative effects it has. Thank you for sharing!

@TheSquitz Yes! Only ever been to 1 group with a healthy weight consultant. The rest have ranged from slightly overweight to very, very overweight. Did make me question the plan and whether it actually worked!

Look at SW on Instagram and you’ll see the size of portions that most members are having.

I just did and I cannot comprehend how are some of them losing weight. Is it the only meal of the day? I am not going here for competitive undereating of 2 bites of apple, but seriously. I eat 2/3 of that max and lighter meals, more veg and am fat

It really depends how you do it. I chose to stick to unprocessed foods and used syns for small treat like chocolates or bag of crisps. I didn't resort to taking food or any of the weird stuff

@aufaitaccompli Rebelfit really understands how it isn't just a case of calories in and calories out. It's the sustainability of the lifestyle, it's being happy in yourself now, it's not what the scales say but it's how you feel.

Do find him on Facebook or insta, he talks a lot of sense.

It’s a con. Just read the weight loss threads on here. So many ‘I’m going back to slimming world’ or ‘I lost loads on slimming world but...’ posts. They want you to put weight back on, they are a business and want your repeat money.

Also the people saying ‘the gym doesn’t work’ - the gym does work. I am a trainer and know zero people who have significantly altered their body shape without doing some form of high intensity exercise coupled with a sensible nutrition plan.

I do CrossFit 6 times a week and within reason eat what I want. Have birthed two babies, have a six pack and just ate half a Lindt bear with a brew.

If I went to the gym 5 time’s a week and walked on the treadmill half an hour, I wouldn’t be able to eat as much. There’s going to the gym, and there is going to the gym to get results.

A two pronged sensible eating/high intensity exercise programme (using weights ideally) yields the best and most sustainable results, time and time again.

Look at SW on Instagram and you’ll see the size of portions that most members are having.

And that is the issue, as many photographed meals show that members are not having 50% of free food on their plate, it’s just not there and they won’t be eating 50% free food or even speed food. Then their habits won’t be changing

As never above says the exercise is so important, it’s like the golden key, but that is rarely understood how important exercise is. If you lose weight your body will firstly lose muscle rather than fat unless you exercise to keep the muscles

It works in terms of losing weight in a diet but like any other diet if you stop and return to your old ways then the weight returns. If you want to lose weight for a a reason (specific dress for a wedding etc) then give it a go, lose the weight, wear the dress and go back to where you were.

If you want to keep the weight of you need to stick with it, not so much a diet as a change in the way you eat.

Exercise is good for health and fitness but you need to do a lot of exercise to make a difference and it has the same effect, stop and you will put any weight back on. Exercise people are as much a 'cult' as diets. How many of us start at the gym and fail to keep it up. As for its benefits, think of the number of posts about cycling on here . Like the diet weirdos fitness regimes get more than their share of acolytes.

Diet involves eating, something you do anyway, exercise takes up a lot of time which is a problem if you don't have the time to spare.

So whatever you do, diet or exercise you need to keep at it to make a difference and not just until you get to an acceptable weight. If you're eating unhealthily now and diet then go back to your current diet you're wasting your time (unless its just to get into that dress for that occasion).

It does work (especially if you’re very big) but the food is minging and some of it is definitely questionable such as being able to sup low calorie coke etc with all the weird nasties in it! Calorie counting and moderation and if you can cutting out one big factor (eg lager/crisps/sweets) and you’ll see the weight come off

I lost 3 stone on slimming World and found the support great (as long as you stay for group after weighing). I reached ny target weight in 10 months but then found then put it all back on again because felt the support wasnt there anymore.

End of the day, its a business and they want your money and they can only do that when you feel you are overweight.

Basically, eat less and move more. Increase fruit and veg with every meal and cut back on the alcohol. Simples.

Nobody can force you to drink Diet Coke or minging food, it’s your choice whether you eat fresh vegetables, salads, pulses, lentils, oats, fruits,

I don’t think it’s a cult, but I’m uneasy about the idea of syns and food being “bad” because it’s calorific and/or contain fats. I also think the promotion of sugar-laden processed foods is unhealthy. I’ve lost in the past with WW and SW but have always regained - I’m now just eating sensibly most of the time and exercising moderately and this is what works best for me.