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?

Agreed that I voted YANBU because of the Syn crap. Plain paracetamol is the best, and cheapest, remedy for a cold, and the post would do better to point that out.

Not sure I recognise this version of SW that’s all about plain, nutritious eating. When I went, the leader spent every meeting explaining which brands/flavours of shite convenience food were better than others. Bloody Muller Lights, and supernoodles. And lots of talk of too much exercise.

When I went, the leader spent every meeting explaining which brands/flavours of shite convenience food were better than others. Bloody Muller Lights, and supernoodles. And lots of talk of too much exercise

I don’t recognise that at all - that definitely wasn’t my experience from the group. The pack that comes with your membership explains the ‘free’ food, the limited foods and the syns really clearly, and it’s simple to build your meals around that. I suppose it’s like anything - if you want to lose weight and are prepared to put in the work you’ll do it, if you’re half hearted about it and expect a weight loss plan to work miracles as you chow down on bread and sugar then you’ll get nowhere.

Yes, anyone I know who has done it appears to eat a lot of sugar free jelly!

Re the original question: did anyone concerned by their calorie intake ever look at a packet of strepsils and think, yes, they will have no calories because they are medicated? Really?

In defence of Hall’s mentho lyptus and soothers, they might be full of sugar but they at least temporarily help with a sore throat.

Lockets helped me through many illnesses, obviously not serious ones.
SW are crap anyway, I joined ed a few years back, and was amazed at all the bars on sale full of fake sugars and preservatives. The leader had no idea about a healthy diet.
Still they must help some, as they have been going for years.

From the SW website:

'Free Foods include lean meat, eggs, fish, pasta, potatoes, fruit and vegetables. They’re filling and low in calories for their weight'

'Healthy Extras include milk and cheese for calcium, wholemeal bread and breakfast cereals for fibre and other essential minerals, and nuts and seeds for healthy oils'

'The foods that are least filling and are higher in calories, like biscuits, sweets and alcohol, count as Syns at Slimming World. Enjoying a little of what you fancy — like a piece of chocolate or a glass of wine — means you won’t be tempted to go off track'

Ok, the Syns terminology isn't great, but that's designed to make keeping track easier. One of the benefits is that you have to do very little counting and measuring, which is tedious and time consuming unless you mainly eat food that's packaged and portion controlled, and I think we're all in agreement that's generally not the type of foods that we need to be eating for health and weight control.

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.

What health benefits are to be gained from Lucozade or lockets exactly ?

Obsessing over weight loss when ill, firm NO from me. It's wy I will not return to diet plans like these.

@SirChenjins

When I went, the leader spent every meeting explaining which brands/flavours of shite convenience food were better than others. Bloody Muller Lights, and supernoodles. And lots of talk of too much exercise

I don’t recognise that at all - that definitely wasn’t my experience from the group. The pack that comes with your membership explains the ‘free’ food, the limited foods and the syns really clearly, and it’s simple to build your meals around that. I suppose it’s like anything - if you want to lose weight and are prepared to put in the work you’ll do it, if you’re half hearted about it and expect a weight loss plan to work miracles as you chow down on bread and sugar then you’ll get nowhere.

I’m much slimmer now than when I went to SW. I did it by eating healthily in a way that suited my metabolism. I haven’t paid anyone for it.

I recognise there are benefits for lots of people in taking part in formal weight loss programmes. The accountability of a weekly weigh in, the advice that a good leader can offer, the group support. But these programmes and their business success are predicated on the idea that people will come back time and again. They are also hugely variable as just this thread shows. For every good sensible group leader, there is at least one more peddling bad advice and ready meals. Group dynamics are something you need to be more skilled to manage well than the average slimming group leader. And they are salespeople, for the programme and for the branded goods they make extra money on - which is why so many leaders will talk about convenience branded food and snacks rather than plain healthy food.

I went to the lot growing up as my mother was a fan. WW, SW, Jenny Craig. I’ve seen the programmes change and evolve, and catch up in many cases with what science is suggesting can help weight loss. But every single weight loss business model is predicated on failure, because long term sustained weight loss is incredibly hard to maintain, and every harder if you’ve done it by following a prescriptive branded diet that isn’t sustainable.

SW material may promote basic good eating, but as many posters have said, many, many leaders and groups are not following that model, and the company doesn’t appear to be concerned about that.

@Wookiewoo29

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.

Syn is short for synergy NOW, but back in the day 'off plan' foods were definitely called Sins

Two family members are currently doing SW and whilst it's working, one of them told me the other has no understanding of what's good for you. Using water on their breakfast so they can have milk in the coffee but filling up on coleslaw because it's veg.

They both talk about SW every time I see them and suggest I join.

filling up on coleslaw because it's veg

Which is ridiculous - because they will know about the calories/syns/whatever you want to call them if they’d bother to read the info that comes with SW.

I think too many people expect SW snd all the other plans to work miracles and aren’t truly committed to changing their dietary habits - they want to continue to eat too much crap. If you change your diet by eating more healthily, or you reduce you calorie intake, or you fast, or you follow a commercial plan and then stop then the weight will go back on - every single time. It’s not rocket science.

I was part of an expert patient group which was asked to be part of overseeing a new NHS intervention on weight loss, which was going to involve commissioning SW. There were quite a few conversations with medical professionals about whether it was appropriate, and they did acknowledge reservations about elements of SW's approach.

They said that in their view, the people who benefit from SW are those who are genuinely ignorant of the basics of healthy eating. So for example, massive benefits are seen when someone stops drinking 2-4 litres of Coke a day and switches to 2-4 litres of Diet Coke. Or eats low sugar rather than full sugar. Easy wins basically. So the change to cooking from scratch, eating lots of veg, wasn't the aim, or even in sight. It was changing the truly unhealthy habits to start off weight loss. From my own experiences (more than one attempt at SW) that fits with the messaging I observed, which wasn't right for me, but I can see that it could work as a first step for some people.

I genuinely have never experienced a weight club leader of any brand who didn't talk more about 'weight loss substitutes' like branded ready meals than simple healthy eating.

Have a friend that went to SW, lost a lot of weight, started running her own group.
She gradually put most of the weight back on again. Now she posts pictures of the SW Gang out to afternoon tea.

If you have a sore thoat, gargle with peroxide.
Not only will it help get rid of the sore throat, it tastes so foul you won't want to eat anything for a while.

the people who benefit from SW are those who are genuinely ignorant of the basics of healthy eating

Not so in my case - what a sweeping generalisation. However, what you describe is true for any weight loss plan - you certainly wouldn’t lose any significant weight by swapping to sugar free coke. It requires a lot more input than that, and from my experience it was far more about focusing on the big wins and then the maintenance, rather than tinkering around with fizzy pop and Muller Lights.

Ultimately if it works for some people then great. If it doesn’t - well, other approaches are available, just pick the one that works for you and stick to it.

@SirChenjins

filling up on coleslaw because it's veg

Which is ridiculous - because they will know about the calories/syns/whatever you want to call them if they’d bother to read the info that comes with SW.

I think too many people expect SW snd all the other plans to work miracles and aren’t truly committed to changing their dietary habits - they want to continue to eat too much crap. If you change your diet by eating more healthily, or you reduce you calorie intake, or you fast, or you follow a commercial plan and then stop then the weight will go back on - every single time. It’s not rocket science.

I think they found all the info overwhelming. Breakfast is ok because they have found something that works. They use the SW recipe books for meals but whenever they leave the house and eat out their lack of understanding is apparent, like the coleslaw example.

They dropped by unexpectedly one dinner time and were shocked at the amount of veg we have for dinner (1/4 carbs, 1/4 protein, 1/2 veg is our normal plate). They kept commenting on it.

I could see them dismissing the cough sweets as medicine and not counting them as syns.

Other family member has said they eat more syns then they think due to lack of understanding.

I lost 5 stone in 8 months on SlimmingWorld and have maintained a size 12/healthy bmi.
I focus on lean protein, lots of veg, protein yoghurt like skyr etc. You don’t have to eat crap like muller lights etc.
I’m also sensible with portion sizes - just because a pouch of rice is 1 syn don’t eat it all if it serves 2 etc.
My group leader is sensible.
Lots of people diy slimming world or believe myths their auntie or hairdresser has told them eg you can’t just eat big bowls of pasta that’s not the plan.
I eat mostly natural healthy food. It’s family friendly. I cook from scratch mostly and don’t eat a lot of processed food.
Usually eggs or porridge and berries for breakfast. Lunch homemade soup, sandwich, omelette. Dinner - I do sw recipes, slimming foodie, slimming eats or pinch of nom.
I have a sweet tooth and have something like a Kit Kat most days.
I’ve found it very doable and feel healthier eating this way. Personally I like the group support and have made friends we go for coffee or walks etc.

2020nymph you get 2 A (dairy) choices so no idea why you wouldn’t have milk on porridge if you like that. I wonder if she’s got outdated info (you only used to get one A years ago).
I usually have 250 ml Semi milk plenty for hot drinks plus cheese but you can have 350 ml skimmed x 2 or 400ml unsweetened almond x 2. Most people find the dairy allowance generous.

@Jibberjabberhutt

Slimming World is a crock. You might lose weight but you won’t keep it off. It’s unsustainable. It teaches nothing about good nutrition and a good diet.

I disagree with this. Agree the whole "syns" name is a bit infantile but the whole point of SW is to encourage you to eat lean unprocessed food in enough quantities to satisfy your hunger. and to minimise the amount of shite you eat. That's the definition of good nutrition and a good diet!

The consultant at my group is very clear on this, although I have experienced others who aren't as sensible as her and suggest you snack on Highlights stirred into quark etc

@SirChenjins

I really liked SW - found it really easy to follow and lost weight very easily (and have kept it off). It’s basically a low fat, low carb diet with plenty of protein and fruit/veg and a limited amount of crap each day. If you’re watching the syns then this just makes it easier to see how many are in these sweets - no-one if holding a gun to anyone’s head.

Ha that's what I meant to say but is much better expressed!

Totally agree. This isn't new. When I did sw years ago, I remember reading this. Made me paranoid about using a bloody cough sweet. Thankfully I've turned my back on sw now!

Most people I know who have done SW including myself, have lost weight BUT haven't really kept it off (again including myself). They've gained it all back and more. Doesn't teach long term habits.

Ihavespoken I thought you put it well.
SW works on being satiated - it’s not rocket science if you eat at least 1/3 plate veg every meal you’ll be eating less calories.
The portion sizes sw recommend are in line with bupa healthy portion guide eg 40g oats, one wholemeal roll.

you certainly wouldn’t lose any significant weight by swapping to sugar free coke

Actually, this was exactly what their three year medical research survey had shown. The biggest weight losses occurred when people who had never thought about nutrition and were very overweight stopped consuming the very worst food and swapped to substitutes, and those who were drinking large quantities of sugary soft drinks lost substantial amounts of weight when they changed to diet versions, because they stopped consuming what was often thousands of empty calories a day. SW was considered a very effective way of getting people in this position to consider what they ate and drank and find easy alternatives and therefore lose weight quickly at the start.

The survey had also revealed what many people on MN don't want to believe, which is that weight loss is enormously complex, and what works for some people won't work for others, so there is no one guaranteed way to lose weight over a sustained for those who need more involved support.

I don’t understand why people stop going and pile it back on. It’s totally free to go at target - we have lots of targets at ours. You don’t need to go weekly.
The habits of eating lots of protein and 1/3 veg each plate are natural to me now.

barbaraofseville yes the maintenance plan is very sensible. Suggestion to add an extra fibre or dairy choice and add a few extra calories but emphasis on healthy choices that won’t cause you to slip back into old ways - so add a few nuts or avocado not a Mars bar. Yes wording savvy syns is a bit naff but concept has suited me.