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?

@BarbaraofSeville

Cross posted with *@SirChenjins*, but we're very much a minority lost in those who can't see past 'Muller Lights and Hifi bars'.

I agree. There seems to be a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding around SW for some reason. If the word syn upsets you then think about it in another way - extra calories, treats, something like that. No-one is forcing you to eat a Muller Light or a Hifi bar (although the choc orange bar is v nice imo) and no-one should be eating mountains of white pasta if they’ve bothered to read the pack info.

Same with My Fitness Pal (which is hands down the most tedious thing out there imo) or any other plan - if you lie about your calories and don’t follow it properly then lo and behold, you’ll not lose weight.

Don't they have lots of processed suff and snacks

They're allowed but not compulsory.

You're supposed to make your meals from veg, salad, lean meat, fish, eggs, fruit, pulses, rice, have small amounts of dairy and wholemeal bread and then a very limited amount of obvious junk like crisps, cakes, alcohol, white bread etc.

Lool up rebelfit on Facebook. Changed my perspective totally. Ive never kept weight off before. Now i exercise 6 days a week, try to walk on Sundays. Only time I've ever managed to stay at target weight

It's just a diet plan. It will work for some people and won't for others as its any diet plan. Personally I'd struggle on a low carb diet as is often evangelised by Mumsnet, but I don't doubt it works for others. I've never followed it but worked with people who have been on it and I thought that one of the rules was that 1/3 of your plate has to be fruit and vegetables. So, yes you can have extra pasta if you are still hungry but you also have to take more vegetables with it, so not just limited pasta.

From what I've seen from the people who follow it is that they mostly eat pretty normal food with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, which seems a health approach to me. Never seen anyone eating ten Muller Lights a day either. It's a diet plan which works without weighing or measuring (or depending on prepackaged food for accurate macros) which will suit some people. And personally the people who I have seen part the weight back on have reverted back to a diet of more processed/ calorically dense food, which is far from unique to SW.

The problems with Slimming world are the same problems with any other company in the diet industry. It's a list of rules they make up for you to stick to. They charge you for their list of rules. If you stick to the rules, you lose weight and if you don't, you put it on.

Where SW is slightly different is that their list of rules is somewhat ambiguous and open to interpretation. Unlimited pasta is the headline, but the small print is actually you're only supposed to eat until you're full. All of your meals are supposed to be a third of veg to pad out your plate and force you to eat a smaller portion of pasta. In thee olde days of SW they had red and green days which were more restricted. The red day was high protein/low carbs, similar to keto nowadays.

As someone who likes rules and lists and clear direction, I didn't get along with it. But I am currently doing a VLCD. I like that structure. And hate cooking everything from scratch.

I’ve never done SW but in fairness I think any diet is like this, where if you revert to your original eating habits the weight goes back on.

To the person that asked why syns are dangerous: The mindset that SW tries to get you into regarding these food types is not a healthy one in my opinion. For instance, why should avocado be classed as a syn? Yes, it's highly calorific but is also full of vitamins and nutrients and can be beneficial in many ways. However, SW puts it on the naughty list. It just doesn't make sense to me. The word "syn" is also poorly chosen, as it literally translates/sounds to me like: "it's a sin to eat X".

@Yummayumma

It’s designed to keep you addicted to sweet treats in the form of weird frankenfoods so you keep yo yo dieting. It’s essentially an MLM.

This. It's not sustainable and encourages hideous processed food and loads of sugar.

It works well if you have a lot of weight to lose, but as soon as you stop it'll all go back on.

It's really not a healthy way of eating.

I saw someone list a SW breakfast on here recently and it came to over 800 calories but apparently "free", wtf.

@BarbaraofSeville

Don't they have lots of processed suff and snacks

They're allowed but not compulsory.

You're supposed to make your meals from veg, salad, lean meat, fish, eggs, fruit, pulses, rice, have small amounts of dairy and wholemeal bread and then a very limited amount of obvious junk like crisps, cakes, alcohol, white bread etc.

And what happens when you stop doing Rebelfit and exercising every day of the week, and revert back to your old eating patterns?

That’s right - you put on weight.

It works for people who stick to it (like any diet, plan, lifestyle whatever you want to call it) people who lose 3 stone and then go back to what they were eating before WILL put it back on. I’d say that’s quite obvious. If you can’t adapt your life to that plan, it’s not sustainable (as you said) and so it’s not the plan for you!

Oops - quoted the wrong post!

SW only works if you’re fat with lots of weight to lose and have terrible eating habits.

They instil bad habits though, like the cooked fruit is sinful but endless pasta is fine!

And it isn't just 'unlimited pasta' or wall to wall Muller Lights

The name "Free Food" contradicts this, then. Perhaps they should name it something else?

This. It's not sustainable and encourages hideous processed food and loads of sugar.

No, it really doesn’t - not if you follow it properly.

It works well if you have a lot of weight to lose, but as soon as you stop it'll all go back on.

Wrong again. I had 1.5 stones to lose. All lost, and stayed off. You’re right on the latter though - just like every single other plan you’ll put weight on when you stop it.

It's really not a healthy way of eating.

Yes it is - if you follow it properly.

It's a very effective way of losing weight. Keeping it off is up to you I'm afraid.

www.instagram.com/reel/CYW_BM2JHNr/?utm_medium=copy_link

This pretty much sums up my thought process on the whole "scales" side of SW

My friend has been doing it on and off for years, and she posts photos on Instagram of her meals, that often consist of a big pile of pasta, with low fat cheese and low fat sausages.

She loses 3 stone and then puts it all back on within 6 months.

I don't get what people expect from a diet plan then.
You do the diet, you lose the weight = the diet works.
Great.
You then aren't trying to lose weight anymore, so you change your eating habits to....xyz
You put on weight again
And...blame the diet?

I’ve never understood how anyone looses weight on SW! I don’t have that portion control to be able to eat unlimited amounts of foods. I lost 4 stone on Weight watchers and whilst it was a faff having to weigh everything, and I’ll admit I’ve put some of the weight back on, I still keep the habit of weighing portions of carbs.

I’ve found slimming world is what it is.

Bollocks to it being a lifestyle - it’s a diet and a faddy one at that.

If you need to lose weight quickly it will work but it is not a long term sustainable options. I read an article online where over 75% of the members they spoke to put the weight back on within 2 years I’ll try and find it.

My mum lost 7st on slimming world, I lost 3.5. Both of us regained some of that weight but it was due to us eating crap again.

I use slimming world principles now (lots of fruit and veg etc.) But use my fitness pal. It means I can have a life, I can go out to eat and not just have a jacket potato and beans because its 'safe'. I hate keto etc. As it is much more restrictive and I wasn't eating veg when I was on them due to the carbs!! Who gets fat eating broccoli 🤣

I think it works and you can eat very well and healthily on it, but if you stop doing it the weight goes back on as with any eating plan.

@tricksyt

My friend has been doing it on and off for years, and she posts photos on Instagram of her meals, that often consist of a big pile of pasta, with low fat cheese and low fat sausages.

She loses 3 stone and then puts it all back on within 6 months.

Funnily enough, I have friends who do other non-SW plans, lose weight, stop doing the plans, and put the weight back on again.

It’s like someone out there has promised that weight will stay off even if you revert back to your old eating habits - but only if you don’t do SW.

Slimming world is a plan that works if you follow it.
But...
Its a bunch of convoluted rules that keeps you from the principle that you need a calorie deficit to loose weight.
If you educate yourself about good nutritious food and don't demonise treats you can get a healthy balance.
The fitness chef on Instagram has some good stuff that helps drive this home.

They do absolutely nothing to address WHY you are overweight in the first place. Their “consultants” only know about the SW plan, and if you ask a question that’s slightly off piste they have no idea.

I say this as a former SW branch “woman of the year” who put back on all 5 plus stone I’d lost amd 4 years later has had a sleeve gastrectomy due to my food addiction.
If you have food issues, all you hear is “as much as you want” and that’s what you do.

Absolutely nothing healthy about it.

I had a very good gym habit at the time I did SW, good mix of cardio and resistance training, and one week when I didn’t have a great loss -note, not NO loss, and the class leader told me to lay off the gym for a week.
Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous in your life?

If you need to lose up to say 2 stones then yes maybe it’s for you, but if you have more than that to lose, you need to have a hard look at WHY you’re so overweight, and SW or WW aren’t going to help you with that.

Gastric sleeve is by no means an easy way out or a cheat, but it’s what I needed