Slimming world or the gym?

[Cosyhusky]

I'm going on holiday in just under 16 weeks and would like to (safely) lose as much weight as possible. I'm not overly concerned about the numbers on the scales, but I would like to lose a couple of dress sizes (I have about 5 stone to lose, but obviously not expecting or hoping for this in 16 weeks!) but I'm more concerned about feeling better in myself, in my clothes and my general health.

Obviously I could do slimming world and the gym, but from what I've read from other people's 'journeys', they don't seem to work well hand in hand.

These aren't the only two options I would consider, but I have 2 children and a husband to feed as well, so the meals would need to be family friendly.

What would you do?

Why would they not work hand in hand?

It depends what you plan to do in the gym. If you plan on doing weights etc and following a lean muscle building diet then yeah, that won't work with going to the gym. If you intend to eat as you currently do but go to the gym, then slimming world plus gym will work together.

I'd do slimming world and gym. You can't out exercise a bad diet.

Exercise is twenty percent of weight loss. Diet is 80 percent.

I can think of no good reason why you can’t improve your diet, and do the gym at the same time. In fact that’s the ideal way to do it.

You need to change what you eat OP.

Slimming World will help with this. Weight loss is 80% to do with diet and only 20% to do with exercise.

You could go for a brisk walk every day instead of the gym anyway.

Just for context - I have lost six stone myself in the last year, and I do absolutely no exercise at all, not even the brisk walk I suggested to you.

It is important to cut down on your calorie intake.

Do both!

Don't do slimming world. They don't make any effort to educate people about a calorie deficit, which is what you need to do rather than learn a whole different trademarked food rating called 'syns'. Any company who make their own food products aren't interested in you making adjustments to your diet that you can stick to once your holiday is over. I'd recommend the calorie calculator on James Smith academy and then use an app like my fitness pal, as that will help educate where your calories are coming from at the same time. One of the best exercises to lose fat is just lots of brisk walking - try and fit as much into your day as possible. If you can shoehorn some lifting weights I'd recommend it too, but most of the work to lose fat is to have a calorie deficit and keep your general physical activity level (called NEAT) up.

I did both for about 3 weeks . Now i just do SW. I lost 3 stone in about 20 weeks so you could lose a fair bit before your holiday

@TheMustressMhor great minds think alike on the brisk walking!

Oh and I also cut portion sizes and carbs after the first couple of stone. I think you need to lose common sense as well as SW. Their portion sizes are way too big for me now

I've been doing My Fitness Pal, set it for 'lose 2lb a week' and it gives me 1300 cal to play with per day. Can scan the barcodes of every food so it's really easy to calorie count. When I do family meals with everyone else I just have less of it/extra veg or whatever, and soups for lunch. It's a free app on your phone and I've lost 16lb since the beginning of the year.

I have gone through intense periods of going to the gym in the past, not currently going as I'm working full time and have a breastfeeding toddler and 6 year old at home, but I find that no matter how much you exercise you still need to pay a lot of attention to what you eat in order to lose weight.

Use common sense !

Do both. Losing weight and becoming healthy is honestly majority diet and the rest exercise. But losing weight won’t make you fully healthy, building up your cardiovascular fitness and muscle tone will make you healthy for the future. And also, being physically active takes the focus away from JUST being on how you look. After a few sessions in the gym / classes you begin to realise it’s getting easier and that makes you feel wonderful. It’s a much more empowering feeling than critically looking in the mirror to see if the restrictive diet has made any physical difference to your body shape.

Health and fitness is not just appearance. It’s your organ function, your CV system, your bone density, your muscles’ ability to support your joints. Feeling strong And healthy is much better than feeling thin. But you will likely find that the more you do, the better you feel and the better you want to eat. Do them hand in hand.

Good luck.

Definitely do both. Very basically weight loss is calories eaten have to be less than the calories you burn on a daily basis.

Whilst you don't count calories on slimming world the plan encourages healthy options and bulking meals with vegetables. Which should then lower the calories eaten.

By exercising you will further increase the calories you burn.

To lose 1lb you need to burn approx 3500.

I think a lot of people don’t exercise with slimming world because it’s a lifestyle they’re used to. They’re used to not exercising so it’s an easier change to just focus on food.

Exercise has huge benefits for your overall health and well-being not just weight loss. I know when I drag my fat ass swimming and exercise I feel like a new person. You’re building a better body for the future.

Also I agree with a PP about learning about how to make your own healthy diet rather than become dependent on a money-making business like SW. Eat wholegrains, lots of fruit and veg, cut down on saturated fat (animal fats and coconut oil) and have some unsaturated fats (avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds) and reduce refined sugar intake and you’ll become much more self-sufficient. SW makes people totally dependent on their methods and isn't actually teaching people how to be healthy.

Both! You’ll lose a good amount of you stick to a diet religiously but you’ll allow some room for treats, improve your overall health and you’ll improve your shape if you add exercise in as well. Good luck

It depends. What would you do that the gym? Would you prefer a different exercise?

How is your diet anyway? I’m anti paid-for diet culture but maybe the accountability is easier than my fitness pal. Only you know you and what it is you need.

EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall was there a reason you stopped going to the gym after 3 weeks?

I work in a health-focused industry and I have to say, it shocks me how little emphasis people place on being active in their lives. People even seem to take pride in doing no exercise.
A fit, healthy body, not just a thin one, is going to help prevent so much disease and degradation as we get older, thus easing (to a degree) the burden on healthcare.
Everyone needs to move more. It’s utterly baffling to me that people don’t, any physical restrictions aside.
A healthy diet and exercise is literally the best preventative medicine, physically and mentally, for most people.

I can why doing both might feel counterproductive for you.
If trying to lose weight fast you feel starving after a work out, I rarely suffer hunger at other times so for someone who suffers hunger it might be scary.
You can satisfy hunger with slimming world food.
Food plan for after the workout, do the gym early in the day, you won't go wrong

For the last week I've gone to the gym most days and have been doing 30 minutes on the cross trainer and then 30 minutes doing weights. I've gained 2lb.. Which I'm assuming and hoping is retained water?

I have a love/hate relationship with slimming world. The whole syn thing gets me. But I feel like I need the structure?

A week is too short to see proper results. You need to give it longer.

@damnthatanxiety
I stupidly let a friend talk me into signing up to a gym that was too far away to get to without her driving and she lost interest

I do walk more now and I've started looking into some classes that are easier to get to

Ive lost just over 4 stone now and my bmi is in the healthy range but feel like I should be doing more to get fit .

It’s so personal OP but from my experience of having to lose a lot of weight at a few points I would not be doing 30 minutes of weight training, I know there’s a lot of info out there about it burning fat etc. but all it ever does is bulk me up.

It’s completely personal but for me what works is sticking to pure cardio for at least a couple of months, upping the intensity as my fitness improves, then adding in 15 minutes of low weight or body weight based resistance and strength training at the end of a cardio session.

Would you feel comfortable doing a class?

You absolutely need to work on your diet. Exercise alone will not shift the weight.
I'm currently doing intermittent fasting and it's working really well. You fast for a portion of the day, then have a "window" where you eat. When fasting you can only have water, black / green tea or black coffee. In your window you can eat what you like. No calorie counting, no carb ban etc. Obviously you need to to think about how to improve your diet during your window in order to eat healthily, but nothing is banned.
There is lots of scientific research behind this way of eating that shows it's a healthy way of living, and it's surprisingly manageable. I started doing 16:8 but now usually do 20:4, though change this as needed. I've lost a stone in 6 weeks.

There's a Facebook page called Delay don't deny, and lots of research online.

I've done Weightwatchers and Slimming World previously. Both worked and I lost weight. But I agree that they don't encourage a healthy relationship with food. I ate a lot of Muller Lights and Hi Fi bars, but limited avocados and cheese. Ridiculous!

Good luck OP.