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?

I'm not on sw but tried their biryani from Iceland 🤮

I didn't get on with SW as I'm dairy intolerant. They didn't seem to have any alternative suggestions for all the dairy they recommend. I got sick of hearing about quark.

I really don't like when people talk about food being good, bad, naughty or sinful.
If you are looking to have a different approach to food I would look into intuitive eating.
Few books that you can have a look
Intuitive eating
The f**k it diet
Just eat it
The no need to diet book
Also if you think that is affecting you a great deal, you may want to look into consulting a non weight focus nutritionist.

SW is for people who need to be told what to eat (and how much of it) for the rest of their lives. That’s the first thing my sw advisor told me when I joined years ago - that it’s a lifetime commitment for people for whom other things don’t work and said because I could eat healthily via MFP at the time that I didn’t need it (provided I kept MFP going). She was right.

So in your shoes you need to learn about calories and nutrition. I personally think MFP works well but you may find you gain weight if you suddenly start eating 1500 calories of chocolate or carbs per day rather than whole unprocessed food - but we all need to start somewhere I guess.

Sounds like Slimming World has invaded your thinking about food and now you want to change that.

You could distance yourself from external influences over your thinking about food or eating or you can seek out some new influences to give you more diversity than SW.

If you choose the latter I enjoy the Hoovering podcast by comedian Jessica Fostekew all about eating. It's fun ☺️

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hoovering/id1339405050

@Emcont your relationship with your body food were damaged before you met SW. think about it.

I find it really disturbing that you talk about wanting to break a disordered, unhealthy pattern of thinking and so many of the responses are telling you either that it's a great way of thinking or that you should just be able to get over it.

It's really hard to shift disordered thinking around food because it's so deeply ingrained societally - SW might really push the idea of 'good' and 'bad' foods, 'naughty treats' etc but they certainly didn't invent it. I think if you're at the point where eating white bread feels like it ruins your day then counselling could be helpful - if it's specifically around breaking destructive thought habits then CBT could be a good option (I never got on with it myself but lots do).

I also think it's so, so sad and telling of how bad our relationship is with food that you described things like being scared to eat pineapple and ruining your day by eating a slice of bread and people see that as entirely normal.

When I started slimming world, I already knew it wasn’t a good idea to eat foods with aspartame or similar in them. It’s not compulsory to eat them.

You have to approach healthy eating with common sense, whether you do slimming world or not. If you are constantly choosing to eat things with no real nutritional value just because it hasn’t got any points/calories/syns/sugar/fat/carbs or whatever, then your eating is disordered before any particular diet comes near you.

I find it really disturbing that you talk about wanting to break a disordered, unhealthy pattern of thinking and so many of the responses are telling you either that it's a great way of thinking or that you should just be able to get over it.

Agreed. These posters may have gone to SW and not suffered any issues but clearly OP has.

I found Second Nature (used to be called Our Path) worked well for me - focuses on building healthy habits and gives you the science behind healthy eating - really helped me shift how and what I ate www.secondnature.io/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=brand&campaignid=9303980621&adgroupid=94531299579&adid=417527221397&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-uH6BRDQARIsAI3I-UcFxOvL76-4rFcUaNOgUqePK0JrJFc5Y6F2HS3nDBBxEzuO6OHYg6AaAoGHEALw_wcB

We would have to know more about OP to know why she has these issues. She wanted people to say how they got over these things, not just slag off slimming world.

A slice of white bread. Slimming world would say your day is not ruined by eating it, but you should count it because it isn’t a healthy option.

If I had never been to slimming world, I would already know that whole meal bread was a more nutritional choice, and that while I would think nothing of eating an occasional white bread sandwich in a cafe, eating white bread every day is not a great choice, particularly if you eat a lot of other food that is low in various nutrients.

Is there a way of eating that doesn’t require you to know that kind of stuff and leads you to having a healthy diet?

The OP feeling her day is ruined because she ate a slice of white bread is a problem, but so would not having any awareness of nutrition. So how do you create a good emotional state towards nutrition?

That’s what you need to look for. Not slimming world or any other diet plan or ignoring nutrition entirely. Eating the most nutritious food should be warm and comforting because it is about taking care of yourself.

@Stripesgalore I think the point is that slimming world doesn't promote a knowledge of nutrition. It encourages a rigid and not even evidence based view on food which doesn't encourage long term health which has been a problem for OP. The vast majority of people know about nutrition before joining SW or any other healthy eating scheme.

I managed to get out of the awful dieting cycle, which heavy included SW by reading www.amazon.co.uk/Have-Your-Cake-Skinny-Jeans-ebook/dp/B00B9JKNBC/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&crid=1ZPTPP52KLE2O&keywords=you+can+have+your+cake+and+eat+it&sprefix=have+you+cake+%2Caps%2C133&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1599656422&sr=8-11
It took a few months to get my mind set straight and did initially feel like a bit of a way wood feeling but after a few months things just fell into place and I practiced this kind of relationship with food for nearly a year before falling pregnant. I cannot tell you how much happier I felt without realising. My other half made several comments about no more "silly" recipes and random food in the house. I wouldn't say I lost lots of weight but definitely felt like i lost a few lbs but the benefits massively outweighed the negatives. if i really wanted to lose weight i am sure i could have still done it with intuitively eating. give it a go, nothing to lose. After the baby i am sure i will go back to this frame of mind and not be so had on myself or my post partum body

If you want to undo the diet programming and have a healthier relationship with food I would recommend reading Geneen Roth’s books. She’s really excellent on this.

There’s also a UK-based programme (online and face to face) called Beyond Chocolate. They also have two books called Beyond Chocolate and Beyond Temptation. They’re very good at focusing on letting go of rules-based eating and diet culture.

Fat is a Feminist Issue by Susie Orbach is a really good book if you want to change how you view body image and the judgements that you and society make based on weight.

Another veggie who couldn't get on with SW. WW was somewhat better, but I am suspicious of these clubs because they sell their own brand of junk foods. Shouldn't be encouraging people to eat this stuff if they care about health and nutrition. On the subject of Mullerlight yoghurts, why would you? Fat-free natural greek yoghurt is nicer, cheaper, and can goes with any fresh fruit.
.

Just to say, the resources I suggested are both practical and psychology oriented. I found understanding the psychology really helpful.

If you register with myfitnesspal and log your food for a couple of weeks you can then use the reports tab to check your protein, carbs, fats, vitamins etc. I find this really reassuring because I can see that over a month I am eating roughly the recommended amounts. I might have a day where my carbs and fats spiked up (I blame birthday cake) but my overall levels are fine. I am eating so much proper food now. You would want to eat the pineapple for the vitamins.

I totally understand where you are coming from. I think I'm in the same boat but I'm getting better. I was getting hysterical with it and my mental health around my weight and food was in the gutter.

The one thing I will praise them for is teaching me to cook. I was moving away from home for the first time at 21 and they shared recipes etc. with me.
What I struggled with was portion control and hunger. I would fill up in pasta and I swear 30 mins later I would be starving again.

I had to find out more about how the body works and food that makes me feel full. I ended up reading the obesity code by Dr Fung and it teaches about insulin and spikes and hormones. Which helped me think about things more scientifically rather than made up syns and such.

Also I don't have a huge amount of help to offer except I eventually felt better over time about it. I track my kcal but not religiously. However I do do fasting so it's not as necessary to count.

Im following rebelfit but haven't yet learnt to eat in a way that helps me lose wieght. I know for sure dieting wont help either though!

Handful of dust, I don’t think any of these diets promote a knowledge of nutrition. There’s no money to be made in promoting nutrition, as people can learn it for themselves. My advice to the OP would be to focus on nutrition and not any kind of diet.

I also agree with reading Fat is a Feminist Issue and its sister book Hunger Strike.

TeamRH

@BaitandSwitch

Wow Yaottie, I've never been called "hun" before, that's a new experience here. I was not dismissing OP's experience, but I feel that the opening title talking about "undoing damage" by SW was not fair. I found the guidance and methods catered for a range of people, lifestyles and food preferences and though there is some promotion of processed food and the Hi-Fi bars which is not my taste, it does go down well with a cohort of members. But they do stress free foods (an abundance of!) and encourage you to eat them with lots of easy to do recipes. So healthy eating and cooking from scratch is very doable on SW. I don't see that SW is doing any harm or damage here.

I think any program that calls foods 'bad'and sinful is doing damage.

I did SW. Lost a stone each time. Stopped, then put it on again.
I found I snacked on low fat foods, which are allowed on SW. However, they tended to be overly processed with not much nutritional value. So if you’re not concerned as to processed/non processed, then I found SW good.
That was a few years back.

In the last couple of years, I’ve thrown the whole ‘diet’ theory out of the window. I exercise regularly, sleep better, drink more water...and eat non processed healthy foods. I don’t panic over an olive, or avocado anymore! I cook with rapeseed oil and not fry light! Everything I eat is nutritious.
I’ve lost 2 stone without trying. I’ve just adopted an all round healthy life style, and in doing so, my weight has dropped.

Rebelfit has fans because it offers people 'the red pill', and once you start reading his posts and even doing a mission or two you won't look at diets in the same way ever again. In fact, you won't look at yourself the same way ever again. You'll look at yourself with more compassion, love and belief than you ever have.

I ❤ rebelfit, btw 🙂