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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that Slimming World just doesn't work

671 replies

insomniasucks · 07/07/2020 08:05

Ok, so I have been following SW for a week and have lost nothing! Exactly the same weight as last week. What am I doing wrong or does SW not suit everyone. Here is a typical SW day for me:-

Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled in Frylight, tomatoes and mushrooms fried in Frylight, slice of wholemeal bread from a small loaf (HexB), cup of tea with milk from allowance (HexA)

Lunch: Batchelors Pasta N Sauce Cheese & Broccoli made with water (2.5 syns), jacket potato and a huge salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, beetroot, onions) balsamic vinegar

Dinner: Either syn free Quorn lasagne with HexA 30g cheddar cheese, salad and maybe syn free chips cooked in Airfryer or syn free Quorn curry and rice, or jacket potato with salad, or roast Quorn dinner with Frylight potatoes and loads of steamed vegetables

Snacks: Fruit, syn free homemade soup made with loads of speed veg, sometimes homemade crisps in AirFryer, Fage yoghurt with frozen fruit

Help! 😩

OP posts:
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5
heartsonacake · 07/07/2020 08:07

That’s because diets don’t work. They’re not healthy.

Exercise is the only healthy and safe way to lose weight and keep it off.

Didntwanttochangemyname · 07/07/2020 08:08

I've never done SW, but that doesn't sound like the kind of food I'd b le eating if I was trying to lose weight.
Have you totted up how many calories you are eating a day? To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit.

BIWI · 07/07/2020 08:09

I don't know about SW - and I'm a low carb advocate - but that looks like a huge amount of food to me. A packet of pasta and a jacket potato for lunch?!

And all based on carbohydrate. I'm not surprised you're not losing - in fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see a gain with that amount of carbs in your day.

BIWI · 07/07/2020 08:10

@heartsonacake

Exercise is the only healthy and safe way to lose weight and keep it off.

You have to do massive amounts of exercise to lose a lot of weight. As the saying goes, 'you can't outrun your fork.'

Dinocan · 07/07/2020 08:10

Umm, that sounds like lots of food to me and I have a pretty big appetite. It’s also a lot of carbs. It will depend on what you were eating before and how active you are but if you’re not eating a calorie deficit you won’t lose weight. It’s quite simple. Do you feel hungry? IME when losing weight you should basically aim to feel a little bit hungry. I’ve never calorie counted but have lost large amounts of weight after both pregnancies with this fail safe method. The 16/8 fasting diet is great for resetting your appetite. Do exercise that you enjoy, not for weight loss because it’s not going to help you shift the pounds compared to diet.

Abbazed · 07/07/2020 08:10

I've previously lost ten stone on SW. I'm going to be cruel to be kind. You're eating too much. Try an egg and toast, try pasta ora jacket potato and a small salad. It's free as in till you're satisfied not stuffed. Hold the balsalmic

Zoecarter · 07/07/2020 08:11

Are you having a 3rd of a plate of speed food everymeal.

@heartsonacake that is actually wrong it’s diet that helps you lose weight. And excercise gets you strong

Newtothis213 · 07/07/2020 08:11

Diets don't work, just eat whatever you want in moderation and count cals if needed. That's seems like an awful lot of food to me though!

Chicchicchicchiclana · 07/07/2020 08:11

It's only been a week!

HoneysuckIejasmine · 07/07/2020 08:12

This is the problem with SW - that's still quite high calorie stuff. The insistence that you can eat free food as much as you want is silly - free foods still have calories.

I think they've tried to counter this by now suggesting that most of your plate is "speed food" i.e. actually low calorie food like salad and low cal vegetables.

If you follow it exactly, you'll lose weight. But as soon as you stop you are at risk of gaining it all back again. Especially if the cause of your obesity isn't addressed e.g. portion size, emotional overeating, etc. As soon as you stop having massive portions of free food and switch to massive portions of even low syn food, you're going to gain gain gain.

otterlielovely · 07/07/2020 08:12

It does work because people have lost weight on it but it can be confusing in this sense because that really is a hell of a lot of food! Grin But it’s all free, so yes it is confusing.

If you’re a big eater I think another plan might suit you more, to be honest!

Railingsohno · 07/07/2020 08:12

It’s such a con to make you buy all their own branded food.

You need to just eat less calories than you burn off. Aim for around 1500 and get plenty exercise in. Eat lots of veg and protein and cut back on the carbs a bit - that’s what works for me.

Killerqueen2244 · 07/07/2020 08:12

I don’t think you’re going to notice a change in a week! There’s 3500 calories in a pound of fat so you need a 500 calorie deficit a day to loose a pound a week. What exercise are you doing?

Zoecarter · 07/07/2020 08:12

Sorry I read it as pasta or jacket potato

Alexandernevermind · 07/07/2020 08:12

Don't do double carbs, even though they are free. Most of your plate should be vegetable or salad. It didn't work particularly for me as I'm vegetarian and ended up eating the same thing over and over again and getting bored. It seems very geared up to meat eaters. I found that SW was okay to loose a quick half stone, but long term damaging as it encourages you to eat a lot of carbs.

Abbazed · 07/07/2020 08:13

Ps quorn lasagne not free its 6.5 syns

Original poster
insomniasucks · 07/07/2020 08:13

But SW says you can eat as much free food as you like. So it's a con then?

OP posts:
Fatted · 07/07/2020 08:13

It does work if you eat the free food within reason. It's not meant to be about portion control, but in reality you can't eat stuff just for the sake of it. It works if you eat three sensible meals a day and just snack on fruit. Replace food on your plate with the third 'speed food', instead of adding to it. Your portions are where I would start. Or your snacks. Do you really need a bowl of chips as a snack? Are you really that hungry?

Zoecarter · 07/07/2020 08:14

@Railingsohno I didn’t get on with slimming world but it’s actually about cooking from scratch. Not buying there products

stressedhousebuyer · 07/07/2020 08:14

I agree it's abit too much, soup isn't a snack it's a meal.

BUT ..... ITS BEEN ONE WEEK!

How much do you have to lose? It will take time, it's a lifestyle change.

Persevere and you will do it, good luck

Georgielovespie · 07/07/2020 08:14

It has been a while since I did it but Sw works on the principle that if you cut out all the extra calories from sugar, fats etc then you should lose weight.

If you are following SW and not losing then your portion sizes are too big.

At the end of the day a SW approved zero syn yoghurt still has calories, just because they are free doesn't mean you should be eating 10 in a day (which some people did at my SW group)

SW is not a "diet" it is a stop eating all the crap, eat loads of veg with your meal etc and you can sustain it.

That lunch sounds huge by the way. I think it should be one or the other not both the jacket potato and the pasta. But like I said it has been a while since I have done it.

SayakaMurata · 07/07/2020 08:14

It worked for me, I lost nearly 3 stone.

The biggest thing that helped, I think, was having a third to a half of my plate full of veg, salad or speed fruit.

So breakfast is fruit such as pear, peach, melon, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, with zero fat natural yogurt.

Lunches and dinners are free proteins and small amounts of free carbs with lots of veg or a large green salad.

For example, jacket potato, tuna, with lettuce, cucumber, pepper, radish, spring onions. Very small amount of low fat mayo or natural yogurt with the tuna.

Or a piece of cod, rice and broccoli, kale, carrots etc.

If I need a snack between meals I try a cup of tea or coffee first, then if I'm still hungry I will have some fruit, 2 or 3 pieces if needed.

Forget all the ready meals, slimming World chocolate bars etc, just eat real home cooked food, and limit your bread intake.

It worked for me but everyone is different, you have to find what works for you.

Smile
Ulrikaka · 07/07/2020 08:14

If this is true rather than a SW bash...you do know you dont have to eat ALL the food over the course of a day? The average person would not eat a jacket potato with pasta and a 'huge' salad for lunch. In addition to a huge breakfast and huge dinner.
You can lose on SW, but you still need to check portion sizes regardless of what they say and you need to increase the veg side of your meals.

otterlielovely · 07/07/2020 08:15

Not quite. The idea is that as much as you like won’t actually be all that much.

I agree though, I found it hard. I did it in the days when Muller yogurts were free. So I’m guessing fourteen in a day is too many - but four? Six? Saying something is free just doesn’t work so well for some of us, unless it is celery, I suppose.

Fatted · 07/07/2020 08:15

It's as much as you like to satisfy your appetite if I recall their literature correctly. Not as much as you like cos you fancy something to nibble while the telly is on.