How can I undo damage done by slimming world?

[Emcont]

I've had a love/hate relationship with it over the last few years. I know it really works for some people. But it's not for me.

I don't know how I can undo associating foods with Syns and Speed vs Free?

I want to be able to have a piece of pineapple without worrying that it is Free rather than Speed!

Or eat a slice of white bread for 100 calories or whatever and not feel like my whole day is ruined!

Anyone got any advice on how you did it?

Im successfully losing weight on slimming world and it has changed my relationship with food which has been a positive.

I do get what you mean though in regards to the association with putting foods in categories A's/B's/ speed etc. It's always the how I think when making food or having a snack. And I hate using my syns unless its for something good (its no wonder I need SW)

This is not my 1st rodeo with slimming world and the more I ate the less I cared what category it fell into (that's why I'm back at slimming world).

The whole point of any diet or healthy eating whether its SW/WW/Keto/calorie counting/5:2 etc is to change your relationship with food and how you think about it. With SW it just comes in the form of speed/free etc. Perhaps it has been more helpful than you think.

Wow. Only one post in and the cult of Slimming World started on you, that must be a first!

They brainwash their members using wanky terminology like ‘image therapy’ and ‘body magic’. Any ‘diet’ that encourages gorging yourself on Muller Lights and Mug Shots isn’t going to work long term.

I totally agree with the intuitive eating suggestions - Laura Thomas and Pixie Turner are great resources and Tally Rye from a fitness/exercise perspective.

Another vote for Rebel Fit.

SW and WW are just mad when you look in to them. Yes they give you a plan, but so does 1500 cal a day on mfp.

@BaitandSwitch

I think that's unfair on Slimming World. They haven't done you any damage - it sounds like you did not get on with their methods, which have worked well for a lot of people including me.

No the OP is right. Syn foods have fucked the heads of many people. There might be 14 syns in a Mars Bar and 14 syns in an avocado but which is actually better for you? Surely we know it's the vegetable but SW has a way of making synthetic crap food feel more appealing because of lower syn values. I'm the same OP. SW is the only eating plan I've ever used to lose weight but it's also in my head and I don't really know how to lose weight otherwise.

Although I haven't tried it and think it's probably a rip off I think something like Noom which looks at the person's relationship with food etc might be better.

Apologies if it's been mentioned but have a look at Virtual Gastric Band. Their whole premise is about getting out of the diet mindset. There are no forbidden foods, you can eat whatever you like, but it teaches you to listen to your body so you're only eating when you're actually hungry and stopping as soon as you're full. It can be very hard to get out of the diet mindset and I think the idea of syns can be quite dangerous. I remember having a friend who liked to tell me how many syns were in everything I ate, it was exhausting and annoying!!

Look up tally rye’s guide to intuitive eating and Lucy mountain on IG if you have it.

Definitely Rebelfit on Facebook.

You need to break the diet cycle and find a better relationship with food.
Diet culture is so embedded within our society and it brainwashes you into a lifetime of 'on a diet' / 'off a diet' and you spend your lifetime counting bloody calories.
Slimming world (and others) try to convince you food is bad or good but you can break free!!

RebelFit (find him on FB)

I haven’t done slimming world but I know exactly what you mean OP.

I’ve gone from a mindless emotional eater back in early lockdown to being pretty obsessed about dieting and counting calories. I can no longer simply enjoy a nice meal out or a chocolate bar because the voice in my head is telling me it will ruin all the hard work I’ve done all week. Even though it isn’t true.

All that processed food you’re allowed, can drink gallons of crappy fizzy drinks, it’s nonsense. Start calorie counting, eat a bit of what you feel you want and stay away from processed crap as much as possible

Do your research into food. I did SW for a while a few years back but wouldn't touch it now. They scare you into not eating high calorie foods such as avocado and nuts, because they're "fattening" - however once you start looking into this you'll see they are actually packed full of good, healthy fats you need for your heart etc. Like someone pointed out above, take a simpler look at food - is it processed? Does it make you feel full?
It's scary how many people feel the way you do OP; it's difficult to establish a healthy relationship with food but as I said, do your research and you'll be fine

I know people can lose a lot of weight through it particularly if very big but once people have seen that they can move onto normal calorie counting and understand their bodies and relationship with food

My FitnessPal is a great free app for tracking what you are eating both in calories and fat/carb/other ratio so you can aim to eat a healthy balanced diet.

Healthiest thing you can do is ditch processed foods which includes bread tbh!!!

Join the NObs fitness group on Facebook - its filled with people who've been damaged by years of diet culture and have found ways to eat sensibly and intuitively.

Also, very frustrating to see people on this thread telling you that SW wasn't damaging. Just because it didn't damage them doesn't mean it isn't toxic for others.

I see many others recommended Rebelfit!

I will never "diet" again after doing 2 of their missions.
They can definitely undo the damage done by slimming clubs (SW is his pet hate!)

Also, the book "The Fuck It Diet" is an eye-opener.

I am not some brainwashed SW cult member but did it a few years ago and honestly don't understand some of the shit it gets. I don't defend everything about and it's not for everyone but it pretty much encourages the NHS eat well plate. I ate balanced meals of protein, fruit, veg and unrefined carbs and haven't put the weight back on. Shrug.

It's pretty much about filling up on low caloric density foods, so it's not saying that a mars bar is more healthy or the same as an avocado, but avocado has a higher caloric density than most fruit/veg. It also bugs me a little that people don't take personal responsibility. You know an avocado is better for you than a mars bar so why would you blame a plan when it's your choice? You can eat the avocado on the plan, you can have an occasional mars bar if you want.

You can eat what ever you want within your calorie count. I down loaded my fittness pal, entered my weight and height. They told me how many calories to eat in a day in order to lose weight. I also fast (5:2), this has been the best eating plan I've ever had (I'm in my 40s). Nothing is forbidden, if I want a chocolate bar I will have it (but miss out breakfast to balance out my calories). I hated ww because the points system so so confusing that I ended up buying their calculator!! Slimming world, I didn't lose anything at all! Slim fast and juices for 12 weeks did nothing for me either. I can definitely recommend calorie counting combined with the 5:2 plan. Have a look on here for advice.

You just need to eat less nice stuff. Sounds simple but it's bloody hard.

I can see both sides of this. I lost weight successfully with SW and it did help me look at the balance of food in my diet and address it so I was having more fruit and veg and less processed food. But once I lost the weight and was at target I didn't want to worry about syns and I wanted to be able to enjoy natural fats and oils in my diet without feeling limited. So I stopped SW and now do 5:2 with a Mediterranean diet mostly. I feel SW gave me the tools to balance my meals better, and 5:2 gives me the ability to eat the healthy fats and remove chemical fat free options from my lifestyle. It is possible to change your mindset, but that said I never felt guilty for a chocolate bar or a avocado on SW either, it was part of the plan. I would say look at your tdee, and make sure you are under that, and I would look over a week rather than daily so you don't become obsessive about it. 16:8 is a good way to get a natural limit on your calorie intake.

I think sw have sort of done the job you paid them for, they sell it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet so you're supposed to continue thinking about what you're eating in terms of their plan for the rest of your life to maintain your weight loss. All you can do to stop thinking that way is to re educate yourself but it will probably mean you obsess about food in a new way then as it sounds like the way you're programmed.

Can you just read up on low GI? That's basically what SW is all about. Nothing is wrong or bad but your trying to limit calories by filling up on low GI food. If you stuff your face with low GI there should be less hunger and no need to count calories.

When I was on SW I was told by the leader that ‘Syn’ is short for ‘synergy’ and represents balancing lower calorie/fat food with higher calorie/fat food. Meaning people can have both but by giving a value to the higher fat/calorie food it helps people eat less.

I agree the whole avocado thing doesn’t make sense but I think on the whole they help a lot of people. The NHS use it and its saved them £££s in the long run.