To think that slimming world doesn't work?

[Waifwafer]

Many of my friends (including myself) have joined Slimming World over the years. There is a trend - they all lost quite a substantial amount of weight over a relatively short period of time. Kept it off for no more than six months, then ended up putting it all back on... Sometimes more.

Looking at the plan, it doesn't look like a sustainable, long term lifestyle and it doesn't even seem like a healthy way to lose weight. Viewing treats as "syns" seems dangerous. Encouraging in group for members to eat unlimited pasta is ludicrous. It's essentially a calorie deficit just like every other method of losing weight, but encourages members to view food in a negative way.

Also, the whole experience is based on the number on the scales, which may fluctuate week-on-week and not actually be anything to do with fat loss.

AIBU to think that Slimming World is all a big con and doesn't work on a long term basis?

@Frankola

Slimming World is a commercial business. Its designed to suck you in and keep you there as long as possible. I've known so many people yo yo on Slimming World. Its terribly unhealthy.

The fact they have their own food products that they encourage you to buy rather than fruit and veg says it all really.

My friend was once sat with a huge tub of pasta which she gleefully told me was a "free" food and she could eat as much as she wanted. Unbelievable.

I think you've been misinformed...

...They do encourage you to buy fresh fruit and veg... They promote their foods as a convenience that you have to add veg to...it even says it on the bloody packet.

And your friend wasn't following the plan by eating a huge tub of pasta... Unless of course, that same tub was 1/3 speed food and she was listening to her appetite...?

When I did sw I was eating a lot of the free food but not loosing any weight. When I entered my food intake into a calorie counter it turns out I was eating 2800 calories a day roughly. So when I discussed this with the sw consultant she said to cut out some of the free food. Which is fine but I only joined sw because I thought I could eat loads of the free food mentioned. If I had to portion control then what was the point of paying to do sw🤷🏻‍♀️. Calorie counting and being in a deficit is the only way to lose weight.

I think it's unfair to say the plan "doesn't work" when actually it does. Like any weight loss programme, it depends on people actually following it, not interpreting it as they see fit, and also not committing to a lifestyle change for life.

SW et al all say they're "not diets" but a change in lifestyle etc.

The same could be said for all these 'just count calories' a d eat what you want. It works, IF you continue to count calories, however if you stop counting cals and things like an extra biscuit, or another slice of cake etc creep in, you'll out in weight again.

@00100001 it sounds like you've been assimilated by the borg.

SW use these insta influencers, both directly and indirectly with products they endorse by featuring in their mags - like JD Seasonings for example. It might not be "plan" but because there's absolutely no control over what consultants come out with and agree with in "therapy" it's endorsed.

And one third "speed" is a third if its with 80g of pasta or 2kg of pasta. Its not a magic getout. Even if it is called speed. Its still unregulated, unqualified part time sales people advising people on their health.

And I beg to differ on not pushing SW food. They do. If only by offering people the easy route so they'll stay members. Consultants are drive by membership sales.

00100001 I'm glad to hear it's not part of the plan, but it raises the question of how the plan is being explained to SW followers so they can interpret it so woefully and unhealthily! I mean, the person who posted it used all the SW hashtags including – oh the irony – #foodoptimising!

[quote MeredithGreyishblue]@00100001 it sounds like you've been assimilated by the borg.

SW use these insta influencers, both directly and indirectly with products they endorse by featuring in their mags - like JD Seasonings for example. It might not be "plan" but because there's absolutely no control over what consultants come out with and agree with in "therapy" it's endorsed.

And one third "speed" is a third if its with 80g of pasta or 2kg of pasta. Its not a magic getout. Even if it is called speed. Its still unregulated, unqualified part time sales people advising people on their health.

And I beg to differ on not pushing SW food. They do. If only by offering people the easy route so they'll stay members. Consultants are drive by membership sales.[/quote]
Yes but no-one is eating 2kg of pasta at a meal are they?

The plan is fine. It says to eat lots of veg, lean meats, fruits, some carbohydrates, some fats, calcium etc.

It literally is the eat well plate....

Yes, they offer their weird cereal bars...but noone is forced to buy them.

Also noone needs to have artificial sweeteners or even use spray oil etc and they can still be "on plan".

And yes, the consultants are sometimes guilty of not following the plan...

But it doesn't mean the plan doesn't work!

Of course it doesn't work if you think eating a casserole dish full of pasta is going to lose you weight! You do need to engage your brain too. Slimming world actually encourages you to cook proper meals, using fresh veg, beans, lentils etc. It also encourages you to eat more fruit. The basics of it is to eat free (healthy) foods, cut right back on bread etc, eat a moderate amount of pasta, rice etc. By free pasta they mean a sensible amount for yourself. So if you're 20 stone that would be quite a large portion, if you're 10 stone then not so much. The weight loss happens because you almost stop eating crap like crisps and biscuits but you can have about 300 calories of your desired food per day. Of course you will go right back to square one if you stuff your face again once not following the healthy eating guidelines. At some point you do need to take responsibility for yourself.

But it's calorie controlled. And that's the point of the diet.

Beef - 150 cals
Rice - 198 cals
Chips made with potato in airfryer - 150
Sauce - 100
598 calories for a very satisfying dinner.
Also add onions and mushrooms to sauce.

@MrsTrumpton

00100001 I'm glad to hear it's not part of the plan, but it raises the question of how the plan is being explained to SW followers so they can interpret it so woefully and unhealthily! I mean, the person who posted it used all the SW hashtags including – oh the irony – #foodoptimising!

I think the problem is, when people start following SW groups etc they see people posting pictures of a massive plate of pasta carbonara, and think that's the plan... and people are all like "that's looks delicious!" And "wow, syn freeee!"

But if more people said stuff like "oh whoops, you forgot the speed!" Or shared pictures of their chicken salads etc then the misinformation wouldn't get out so easily.

We're all human and love an easy option, wouldn't we all love to eat a massive plate of creamy bacon pasta and lose weight...??

Sorry my reply was about the mayflower curry. I did quote it but hasn't worked for some reason.

Deep down we all know how to lose weight. I cut right back on sugary snacks and fill up on veg and fruit. You also NEED to learn how to cook. That is the biggest thing to weight loss for me. The hardest thing is eating healthy all the time. It takes a lot of discipline. I always find preparing the food for dinner early helps me stay on track for healthy eating. If I plan ahead then I stick with it. I'm not a fan of 'diets' as they cause all sorts of mental issues but Slimming World does push for healthy eating.

Of course it doesn't work if you think eating a casserole dish full of pasta is going to lose you weight!

Well, you know that won’t work and I know that don’t work but SW deliberately market themselves towards people who don’t actually know this. The “free food” concept attracts people and they really think they can eat a whole mixing bowl of pasta and lose weight. But SW isn’t interested in educating them how to think beyond “free food” and that they just need to eat more of this and less if that to lose weight as they will then realise they don’t need to spend whatever it is they spend each week to go to the meetings. And that’s all that counts for SW. Keep those weekly meeting fees rolling in.

My mum did SW and I found it worrying how she suddenly started to see certain foods as “I’m not allowed those”. This was during their “red and green day” plan. My mother was sucked into it and became obsessed with following the plan. It was a fate worse than death to have a green food on a red day, and calling things “syns”. It controlled her life. She turned down invitations to lunches with friends because the chosen restaurant menu didn’t fit with the SW plan. She would look at the menu and say “I can’t have this, I can’t have that..”. It was quite upsetting for me to see my mum punish herself like this. She did lose a good amount of weight and looked good. It had all gone back on now but she’s much happier and it’s so nice to be able to say “let’s go to this cafe for lunch” and not have the “I can’t have this, I’m not allowed that” like she was being held prisoner.

So, yes she lost weight but she was so miserable throughout. And she hasn’t touched a Muller Light since, thank heavens.

The "plan" does work but it's not healthy. And how the business is run is not healthy. If the people "consulting" don't understand and are motivated by keeping people in group to recoup their costs, then it's potentially really unhealthy.

I've no doubt there are really good well informed consultants out there who get nutrition and aren't thick as mince but unfortunately a large proportion seem to be. If they addressed that. But they won't. They want desperate women who want an income to buy a franchise. At any cost.

What gets done & said in group is nothing like what the official documents say. And I can take accountability but quite a few people out there will believe what they're told. In group.

@MrsTrumpton

My mistake, there are a few more eating disorders that are medically recognised, including Orthorexia. BEAT lists them here. My point stands though – the majority of dieters don't have eating disorders but suffer with ingrained disordered eating patterns like yo-yo dieting. They're not discouraged from joining SW, but probably should be.

Of course not all dieters have eating disorders, but someone binge eating until they actually feel sick very likely does.

Slimming world isn’t set up for that sort of help, nor should you realistically expect it in a 40 minute group session focused on weight loss.

Like I said, I know someone with a diagnosed binge eating disorder which wasn’t even helped with intensive help from mental health professionals - so expecting slimming world to help is fairly unrealistic… and actually the person I know for join slimming world and was then told to go to see her doctor as they couldn’t help her…

@MrsTrumpton

00100001 I'm glad to hear it's not part of the plan, but it raises the question of how the plan is being explained to SW followers so they can interpret it so woefully and unhealthily! I mean, the person who posted it used all the SW hashtags including – oh the irony – #foodoptimising!

What about individual responsibility? Because for me, that would explain how people who get the same information at the same time in the same meeting interpret things differently!

Have you ever done SW yourself? I haven't either, but my DH does and has kept his weight loss off so the plan seems sustainable and easy to follow to me because we eat the same when I'm home (shifts so I'm not home for every meal). No muller lites in the years he's been doing it, we don't own an airfryer - don't know how far back some people are going with their idea (again, individual interpretation) of the SW eating plan but it must be a very long time indeed!

@tabulahrasa you've never opened a bar of chocolate or had a meal where you know you're full but you just eat another bite, because it's there, and it's nice and then you feel a bit sick?

That's not me having an eating disorder, it's me having no self control. And possibly being brought up to clear my plate.

But SW groups would replace that one more bite of cake with "here, have a full chicken instead". It perpetuates over eating. Whatever the literature states, the group leaders do what they need to do to keep you in group!

If you don't have that "just one more bite. Wish I hadnt" gene then you probably haven't needed to lose weight!

@Morgan12

But it's calorie controlled. And that's the point of the diet.

Beef - 150 cals
Rice - 198 cals
Chips made with potato in airfryer - 150
Sauce - 100
598 calories for a very satisfying dinner.
Also add onions and mushrooms to sauce.

I totally get what you're saying about calorie reduction but come on – you can't really be advocating this as a healthy dish?!

What about individual responsibility? Because for me, that would explain how people who get the same information at the same time in the same meeting interpret things differently!

But they don't feel able to take individual responsibility for their weight loss, that's why they're putting it in the hands of Slimming World for a fiver a week! I haven't done SW but I have done WW a couple of times and that also operates on the principle of relying on people to fail so they come back as repeat customers. Well done to your DH, but he's definitely in the minority of those who keep the weight off long-term.

[quote MeredithGreyishblue]@tabulahrasa you've never opened a bar of chocolate or had a meal where you know you're full but you just eat another bite, because it's there, and it's nice and then you feel a bit sick?

That's not me having an eating disorder, it's me having no self control. And possibly being brought up to clear my plate.

But SW groups would replace that one more bite of cake with "here, have a full chicken instead". It perpetuates over eating. Whatever the literature states, the group leaders do what they need to do to keep you in group!

If you don't have that "just one more bite. Wish I hadnt" gene then you probably haven't needed to lose weight![/quote]
But you can't really sit down and eat 4 chickens in a row, you can easily scoff back 5 chocolate bars. Generally the foods stated as eat freely are not really ones that people binge on, sure you can eat too much pasta but you'd be too bloated to then knock back a family size dairy milk so eating it freely has kind of done its job. It's all about filling on foods that actually keep you full. It's, common sense really.

@MeredithGreyishblue

The "plan" does work but it's not healthy. And how the business is run is not healthy. If the people "consulting" don't understand and are motivated by keeping people in group to recoup their costs, then it's potentially really unhealthy.

I've no doubt there are really good well informed consultants out there who get nutrition and aren't thick as mince but unfortunately a large proportion seem to be. If they addressed that. But they won't. They want desperate women who want an income to buy a franchise. At any cost.

What gets done & said in group is nothing like what the official documents say. And I can take accountability but quite a few people out there will believe what they're told. In group.

I think you've hit the nail on the head here – SW's marketing literature for the plan is really impressive and it's easy to see why people are persuaded to join up, but are they receiving that promised experience in group? Do group leaders undergo any kind of training? Really it should be like the Holland & Barrett scheme where all retail staff have to undergo training so they can properly advise on products. This is people's health we're talking about!

[quote MeredithGreyishblue]@tabulahrasa you've never opened a bar of chocolate or had a meal where you know you're full but you just eat another bite, because it's there, and it's nice and then you feel a bit sick?

That's not me having an eating disorder, it's me having no self control. And possibly being brought up to clear my plate.

But SW groups would replace that one more bite of cake with "here, have a full chicken instead". It perpetuates over eating. Whatever the literature states, the group leaders do what they need to do to keep you in group!

If you don't have that "just one more bite. Wish I hadnt" gene then you probably haven't needed to lose weight![/quote]
I’ve been overweight or obese pretty much most of my adult life, which is I’ve tried many ways of losing weight and am a slimming world member and no, I don’t eat until I feel sick.

I’ve been uncomfortably full occasionally yes, but not until I feel sick and it’s definitely not a regular thing and why I have a weight issue.

I have a different kind of disordered eating, lol, which I’ve already described upthread tbh.

Also, I’ve honestly never heard eat a chicken or anything if someone says they eat so much they’re too full, I’ve heard advice about serving smaller portion sizes or doing things like buying smaller plates and lots of stuff about actually paying attention to when you’re hungry and when you’re comfortably full.

But the only person I know who would eat to that extent was advised to see a doctor instead.

I'm not advocating the diet industry because I do think it's awful but I have done Slimming World in the past, as I desperately needed to gain some control back in my eating. I can honestly say it has taught me to think about what I'm eating, it has definitely taught me to cook. The basic message I've got from it is to eat as much natural food as possible, and to fill up on fruit and veg. I've never done a green or red day and I've not eaten a Muller light in about 20 years. I've never made a 'fake away' what's the point? Have a takeaway but only one night a week, not every night. Realistically we all know what to eat and what to cut back on.

Just to put another slant on it

If it wasn't for my SW group - I'd not have spoken to a single person face to face this year

WFH and a bit of depression - which didn't help the scales

I'm glad of the company , never ate a miller light or made a takeaway either
Don't gorge on pasta rice or potato because I'm not stupid

@MeredithGreyishblue

The "plan" does work but it's not healthy. And how the business is run is not healthy. If the people "consulting" don't understand and are motivated by keeping people in group to recoup their costs, then it's potentially really unhealthy.

I've no doubt there are really good well informed consultants out there who get nutrition and aren't thick as mince but unfortunately a large proportion seem to be. If they addressed that. But they won't. They want desperate women who want an income to buy a franchise. At any cost.

What gets done & said in group is nothing like what the official documents say. And I can take accountability but quite a few people out there will believe what they're told. In group.

What's unhealthy about eating lean meats, fruit, veg, fish, some carbohydrates, cheese, yogurt and limiting high calorie snacks?

@BusterGonad

I'm not advocating the diet industry because I do think it's awful but I have done Slimming World in the past, as I desperately needed to gain some control back in my eating. I can honestly say it has taught me to think about what I'm eating, it has definitely taught me to cook. The basic message I've got from it is to eat as much natural food as possible, and to fill up on fruit and veg. I've never done a green or red day and I've not eaten a Muller light in about 20 years. I've never made a 'fake away' what's the point? Have a takeaway but only one night a week, not every night. Realistically we all know what to eat and what to cut back on.

We might. But honestly, lots of people don't. I've seen the shite some of these people are congratulated on for shovelling down their necks in huge amounts. The message from the literature isn't the message that gets out in groups. I tried several to see if I was just missing the my tribe! Honestly, all some people hear is you can eat as much as you want. Interpreting a message differently- instead that. I debrief interviews for a living. You'd be amazed at how differently people interpret things. But when it's actual health, I believe SW are negligent

I took accountability when I saw what I was doing to myself but all SW is taking is cash.

So many people have no education about food or nutrition. Sadly that includes the consultants.

I feel quite strongly about it. As you can probably tell. I'll make this my last post because I'm getting more dull by the minute!

I think it preys on people who aren't perhaps as capable of critical thinking as the ones who use it for a few months to get back on track and then move on easily. The groups need regulating but they won't because it's supposedly a safe space.