AIBU or is this taking it a step too far? Slimming World related.

[ThankYouStavros]

I’m still a member of various SW groups though haven’t followed it in years. I just haven’t removed myself as I do use some of the recipes.

This was shared today and I was shocked. Surely if you’re sick, you shouldn’t be worried about this kind of thing? Or am I just overthinking it?

@GinandGobbledegook

I definitely know of people who lost a stone in a week. It was celebrated like it was normal.

Slimming world is a cult. I was told to lay off the avocados and eat curly wirlys as they are less 'syns'

I lost 5 stone, had a raging ED, needed therapy and now I'm back to my start weight.

HOW? How do you lose a stone in 7 days? (Just dieting I mean?) And how is it acceptable and even 'celebrated?' No-one would expect their body to GAIN a stone in 7 days, so why is it OK to lose a stone in 7 days?

Crazy!

I don't have an issue with this. Things like lockets and lucozade aren't "medication" they're sweets and fizzy drinks. If you want to lose weight and are following that system, it makes sense to think "oh maybe I'll have a mint instead" just like you might choose a kit kat instead of a double decker because its lower in calories/syns.

Nobody is saying you have to follow it, and nobody is going to police it or judge someone for having some lucozade if they feel rough. But some people like to be in control of these things even when unwell and I don't see why its an issue to help them with that.

As others say - these are mostly sweeties, if they make you feel better then eat them (though I'd rather have chocolate).

We've done SW, wierdos! Eat fruit, fresh veg and lean meat, what's that about. We need pizza and cake!

That list is worrying and if it's an official SW post/SW consultant they should be ashamed that they're putting profit before people's health.

How is saying "take an ibuprofen instead of eating sweets" putting profit in front of health? Throat lozenges have no effect on health- they don't prevent symptoms or cure illness, they just make you feel a bit better because they're full of sugar. If this post stops someone from eating a pack of lockets, please explain how would that affect a) the consultants profit and b) the persons health.

I agree with the principle that you shouldn’t be worrying about weight loss when ill. But most of the things listed are just boiled sweets and I welcome publicity for the fact that lockets etc are not actually medicine.
I also struggle to comprehend how people find lucozade medicinal but I didn’t grow up with it.

@DockOTheBay - because a SW consultant should not be telling people to restrict medication, even simple OOTC stuff like lozenges. If you're ill, take what you need, and fuck the syns. ETibg a packet of lockets is hardly the dieting crime if the century. Consultants should support and if one of them listed this officially then they are a crap consultant. People's health should always come before any target hitting a consultant has.

Anyone who is that obsessed with syn values (calorie counting) needs to get a grip.

And I say that as someone who has great success at SW, even eating strepsils and general comfort food when ill.

It's all about balance and moderation .....that's what the messaging should be.

SlimmingWorld is ridiculous at the best of times.

If you're ill, take what you need, and fuck the syns.
Thats your attitude and that's fine, for some people that doesn't work. Some people would binge half a kilo of chocolate to help them feel better and tell themselves they need it because they're ill. Some people need to follow the plan/a plan strictly or they fall off the wagon. Giving people information allows them to make an informed decision on what to eat or not.

Paracetamol etc .. have no ‘syns’. So if you are ill … you are fine to take that.
This is just an information leaflet on compliantly remedies. Which is fair enough! Nothing wrong with being informed.

@NeverTrustaChristmasPud they aren’t OTC medicines though, they are literally sweets with no health value.
Strepsils are different though.

@DockOTheBay

That list is worrying and if it's an official SW post/SW consultant they should be ashamed that they're putting profit before people's health.

How is saying "take an ibuprofen instead of eating sweets" putting profit in front of health? Throat lozenges have no effect on health- they don't prevent symptoms or cure illness, they just make you feel a bit better because they're full of sugar. If this post stops someone from eating a pack of lockets, please explain how would that affect a) the consultants profit and b) the persons health.

They don't make you feel better because of the sugar. Hell, in the proper minty ones you can't even "feel" it.

The list also includes cough syrups and lemsip, which are actually medicine.
In fact , quite a few of the lozenges are labelled as medicated lozenges not "sweets".

They might not cure your sore throat or cough, but they do alleviate symptoms.

What's next? Counting syns in gummy bears ,lucozade , or glucose tablets if a diabetic needs a quick sugar burst? Would it still be ok? They're not "medicine" after all.

I can't see anything wrong with this at all?

It's just information which people can take or leave.

They don't make you feel better because of the sugar. Hell, in the proper minty ones you can't even "feel" it.
Soothers are literally just boiled sweets. They have no active ingredients. The description of them on the pack is "Blackcurrant Flavour Sweets with Liquid Centres"

In reality how often do we get sick?

Even if we had a bad cold every 3 months for example spending 3/4 days using those medications yet you’re following the diet plan pretty much 100% the rest of the time you don’t need to worry about the increase in calories when sick.

It’s actually that extreme thinking - counting calories in cough medicine and throat lozenges etc- that can lead to disordered eating and a consultant really shouldn’t be condoning nor sharing that! They really should be saying being sick you’re allowed to be kinder to yourself and take the medication that works for you.

Mind you I have issues with the use of ‘syn’. It has all kinds of connotations and really isn’t something I’d want around a healthy eating plan and hopefully habit change to think of your food as ‘syn’s’ and is one of the many reasons I don’t do slimming world.

Here is the information for diabetic members incidentally.
www.slimmingworld.co.uk/health/policies/diabetes.aspx

Slimming world doesn't tell anyone they can't have this or that, but gives guidance on making better choices. For example if a diabetic person needed to take lucozade tablets, maybe they might choose to have fewer syns later in the day to counteract this. Or maybe they wouldn't and that's fine too, but the syn values are given so they have that choice.

Similarly if someone wanted to polish off two packs of soothers, which would be "allowed" anyway as its under the recommended syns per day, maybe they might skip pudding that day. Or maybe not, but they would be making an informed choice at least

I have thought for a few years now that there is definitely something a bit cult-ish about Slimming World.

My mum was a member YONKS ago and I’m positive she came home one night saying they’d gone round group discussing syns on actual MEDICATION.

A press release was issued saying medication was exempt but there was definitely a time when it wasn’t!

@DockOTheBay

If you're ill, take what you need, and fuck the syns. Thats your attitude and that's fine, for some people that doesn't work. Some people would binge half a kilo of chocolate to help them feel better and tell themselves they need it because they're ill. Some people need to follow the plan/a plan strictly or they fall off the wagon. Giving people information allows them to make an informed decision on what to eat or not.

But blindly following a plan/sticking to plan/relying on others to make you stick to the plan isn't effective either. And that's why in most cases SW, WW etc losses aren't sustainable.

As other's have said more eloquently, it's about getting a balance and making the right choices. That is the type of messaging official and unofficial SW groups should be promoting.

Just out of curiosity can I ask what your affiliation to SW Is?

I’m sure official advice isn’t to count medicine. The unofficial Facebook groups are just that unofficial law unto themselves. It does show how much sugar in some medicine.

To be fair this list mostly aren't medications at all.

A friend of mine used to run a SW group and I've heard plenty of crazy stories.

I'd be willing to bet there have been plenty of desperate slimmers who have used the "medicines are syn free" line, eaten a packet of halls soothers a day and patted themselves on the back that they've stopped eating sweets.

I think the problem is that there are people out there who will feel a bit ill and then eat soothers and lozenges everyday for that week and then get angry or frustrated that they haven't had a loss because they had "stuck" to the plan. It's just highlighting that there are still calories in these things that a lot of people don't realise. This would be the same for any diet, not just Slimming World.

Also, in terms of feeling like things are "sinned" because of the use of "Syn", slimming world try to emphasise that no food is off limits. It is about making smarter choices and being aware of where calories are coming from. It's meant to stand for synergy.

Awful but not surprising - SW is a bullshit cult and if it actually worked they wouldn't make any money!

As other's have said more eloquently, it's about getting a balance and making the right choices.
And information such as this allows them to make the right choices...

Just out of curiosity can I ask what your affiliation to SW Is?
I've lots 5st with it and kept it off for 18 months so far. I haven't attended a group just done it online by myself. No official "affiliation". I'm not someone who has to very strictly follow the plan to maintain/lose weight but I know some people are.

Exactly. Nothing is bad for you (within reason,) as long as you have it in moderation

Which is exactly the premise of SW. Make most of your meals from fresh unprocessed food like fruit, veg, pulses, meat, fish, eggs, dairy and eat the right amount so you're not hungry and looking to snack on rubbish. Try to eat wholegrain bread and cereal not white, but if you do eat white bread, watch the amount you eat. Limit ready meals, plus obvious junk like biscuits, sweets, cakes, crisps, alcohol etc you eat so it's a small part of your diet.

How on earth anyone can interpret that as bad advice I'll never know.

It’s extreme… Meanwhile, if you haven’t been eating sugar, it’s easy to justify pigging out on them.
(I don’t do Slimming World, btw… have fallen off keto bandwagon crawling reluctantly back on today as I have found out we’re going away to lovely family over Christmas.)