Am I doing something wrong on slimming world? Not doing very well!

[Dollypopsicle]

What am I doing wrong?!!!
So I've been on virtually every diet you can think of and the only one I ever had success on is the good old stress diet following a break up years ago, combined with the Atkins diet and replacing evening meals with a bottle of wine! Not healthy!

Anyway as you can imagine the weight piled back on, I've also had a baby since then and am currently 2 and a half to 3 stone over weight. I've tried a number of diets over the last 3 years since DD was born. Have gone through all of them, WW, 5:2, atkins, and currently back to slimming world.

I started back on slimming world (on my own as I already have the books and can't afford classes/haven't got time for classes at the mo) exactly 3 weeks ago. Did great the first week and lost 3lbs but rewarded myself with 'goodies' that weekend. Epic fail! Following saturday weigh in I had gained 2lbs back.
Was good again the next week...lost 2lbs. Had a few Valentine's Day treats the evening after weigh in. Nothing major though. Been extra good all week this week....Weighed in today expecting to see maybe 0.5 loss. No.....

I GAINED 1lb!!!!

So very annoyed!!!

I haven't been exercising as I was in a bad car crash at the start of the diet and am injured so can't fully exercise at the mo. I might attempt a run today however...we'll see.

I have been predominantly following the original plan with the odd extra easy day here and there.

A typical day would be (original plan)

Breakfast
Overnight porridge oats...35g (HeXa)
70g dried apricots (HeXb)
Topped with Asda frozen summer fruits and frozen blueberries (both thawed overnight)
Vanilla mullerlight

Mid morning - banana

Lunch
Syn free veg soup (homemade - literally chicken stock, veg, seasoning)
Few slices of Ham
Apple
Satsumas

Dinner
Salmon, broccoli, carrots, butternut squash, small jacket potato (HeXb)
Mullerlight yoghurt

Evening snack curly wurly, alpen light, options hot choc.

Throughout the day I generally drink tea...quite a lot. Not a massive amount of water but a few glasses.

I feel like I've missed something off but I don't think I have! I haven't really felt hungry and so I have been sticking to it.

And yes all meat is lean etc and trimmed if necessary

IIWM I'd look at Paul Mckenna . I'd also substitute water and or green tea or mint tea for your 'normal' teas. I'd also not eat after 7.30 at night (that works almost instantly for me .

The thing with P.M. is that it's about WHY, WHEN, HOW, we eat, not WHAT.
So he reducates our attitude to food; so no calorie counting or 'diet' foods or weighing of food and it works!!!! I lost 3 stone on it am down to a baggy vanity size 10 which suits me and I'm maintaining.

Oooh PM sounds interesting...I'll have a look into that!

Well...better get dinner on...thanks for all your replies, really helpful ??

Any tips? Yes, go back to low carbing

Slimming world works if you do it properly !

What were you doing your overnight oats in? If just water then that should be ok, if milk then you need to measure out the milk and make sure you aren't going over with the cups of tea as well.

You've also got a lot of sugar in there - fruit and chocolate - and not enough superfree vegetables. I'd want more protein than that too - I've found that protein keeps me going a lot longer than carbs - an egg will last longer than porridge for me...

I'd swap one of the mullerlights for some plain natural yogurt or quark and a blob of chocshot and have it with some fruit, and drop the other chocolates/sweets.

Did I read curly wurly! That is just loads of sugar and eating that in the evening will add on weight. You have all sugars in the yoghurts and the dried fruit. It look like you are eating too much sugar. I would try and cut out all the sugar you are eating and the weigh willl drop off. Ive lost a stone and a half since January. The only sugar I have is in banannas and apples. I dont eat yoghurts or sweets - no refined sugar. Make sure you are drinking a litre of water a day also!

Is that really a healthy eating plan? Honestly? Chocolate and unlimited muller lights? Jeez, slimming world sounds horrible

Using this the red/green diet with unlimited pasta on green days?? Unlimited pasta and muller lights!

You're eating a massive amount of carbohydrate:

Breakfast
Overnight porridge oats...35g (HeXa) carbs
70g dried apricots (HeXb) (carbs*
Topped with Asda frozen summer fruits and frozen blueberries (both thawed overnight) carbs
Vanilla mullerlight high in carbs

Mid morning - banana carbs

Lunch
Syn free veg soup (homemade - literally chicken stock, veg, seasoning)
Few slices of Ham
Apple carbs
Satsumas carbs

Dinner
Salmon, broccoli, carrots high in carbs, butternut squash high in carbs, small jacket potato (HeXb) high in carbs
Mullerlight yoghurt high in carbs

Evening snack curly wurly, alpen light, options hot choc. massive amount of carbs

I'm surprised you've only gained a pound. This is a huge amount of carbohydrate, with very little protein or fat. This is a total recipe for disaster, and weight gain.

They've done away with red/green days!

Slimming World works for me because its realistic, I can have a bar of chocolate if I want and there's nothing off limits, its up to the person to gauge their own appetite.

Meals are supposed to be balanced, 2/3 of your plate should be free foods I.e lean meats, potatoes, rice, pasta and 1/3 super free I.e brocolli, carrots, salad.

You get an A choice for measured dairy products and a B choice for measured fibre products.

Snacks are advised to be super free I.e fruit and veg but there are NP restrictions on this.

You are also allowed between 5 and 15 syns to use in meals or as snacks but current advise is to use 10 per day and up to 15 as a occasional treat rather than every day.

A curly Wurly for example is 6 syns.

No restrictions Current advice

You are eating what I would typically eat on a red day on SW.

I have always eaten muller lights daily and used all 15syns.

You can have 2 A and B HeX on red or green days.

I cant see where you are going wrong for the SW plan tbh. Is your meat lean and is butternut squash free on a red day?? Some veg like peas, parsnips etc is only free on Green.

I am an old timer SW person and have only recently started doing EE. I resent using my carbs with my meat and not having and extra HE B for an evening snack - which is my danger point when I want to nibble on something.

I am confident SW is a good plan if followed correctly so I think maybe I need to tweak and be more strict with my 'treats'. I have clearly buggered up my Hex's and syns so need to replan this weeks menu. my plate has been 1/3 full (if not more) with veg so I think I have that bit right, and all meat is lean and trimmed. It's literally my hex's and syns I need to sort out. I do prefer red/original days as I think I would prefer to sacrifice carbs from pasta/rice etc. not fussed about carbs in veg as they are allowed on SW but the carbs from pasta etc and of course my favourite...sugar/chocolate! needs to be cut right down. Thank you for ALL of your observations, you've all well and truly got me back on the diet bandwagon...I WILL SUCCEED!

I think it is about being honest with yourself about how many 'extra' treats you're having and not synning. If you eat close to your 15 syns a day then you haven got
Much leeway for exta things. Can you keep a food diary? Or do you anyway?

I don't eat Mullerlights any more, but when I did I would have two most days and still lose each week. My average days food diary looks like:

Breakfast: 3 rashers bacon, 2 sausages, fried potatoes, beans, mushrooms tomatoes.

Snack: banana

Lunch: butternut squash soup with two small slices wholemeal bread

Snack: banana

Dinner: stir fry with meat/noodles/veg or rice or potato wedges with meat or fish and huge salad.

Snack: veg sticks and smoked salmon dip (syn free home made) or bowl of fresh fruit.

I have to have carbs at each meal due to a health condition. I use my syns if I want them, but usually on things like sauces with dinner or sushi for lunch/a snack. I lose every week unless I've seriously cheated more than once.

What are 'free' foods?

I have no idea about SW, so can't advise you about how to follow it better. But any plan that would recommend that amount of carbs is not one that is going to result in weight loss.

Your day is basically all carbs, with very little protein and even less fat. Carbs make you fat. Fat doesn't.

You need to eat much more protein, a whole lot more fat and a fuck of a lot less carbs.

well carbs are sugar aren't they?

With respect BIWI, you are a low carb enthusiast, and I know it's worked for you and many others on here. I tried the same however and although I lost weight short term and quickly, I found it stalled very quickly. I follow SW now and have lost a lot of weight, steadily, and my diet is carby and low fat. I think it's horses for courses; everyone's body is different and its up to individuals to find out what works for them.

Some free foods are lean meats, eggs, fat free natural yogurt, some muller light yogurts, pasta, rice, potatoes, fish, peas, chicken. There are more bit I can't think of them off the top of my head right now.

Yes but how are they free?

I dunnoe, its in the book and it seems to work for me so I'm happy to go along with it :o

Free food is the term that SW use for food that is unlimited in quantity. This is mainly veg, fruit, meat, fish and meat replacement protein and rice, pasta, quinoa and cous cous.

Biwi, if I ate less carbs I would literally drop down dead. Not an exaggeration. Slimming world is the ONLY weight loss plan my hospital consultants are happy for me to follow. As I said above, I have to eat carbs with all meals and carby snacks in between. I certainly lose weight eating that. So do plenty of others who follow slimming world.