What do you think makes a SW consultant good?

[TipsyandT0m]

I have been on SW for 8 weeks and I am thinking of trying another group. The consultant who runs my group is a nice enough woman, but I feel like I am just paying £5 a week to get weighed.
We applaud and celebrate those who lose big, but there is no advice, support or motivation for those who gain or stay the same.
I joined a group as I don't think I can do it on my own, but I am not getting motivated and starting to put weight on.
I am interested to hear other peoples opinions, as I don't know if I am expecting too much, or if my consultant is just not that good.

If a member is not losing or is staying the same she should be asking them to complete a food diary - or asking in group what they've had. This opens discussions about hidden syns, alternatives & recipes.

She should also be asking where they think they've gone astray or what they are struggling with.

And definitely keep up the encouragement. A bit of 'when I was dieting' doesn't go amiss either.

For now - set mini goals. Don't look at 'the big picture' yet and your overall target.

Say, for example, when I get my half stone award I will buy a new top / get my hair done / some other small non-food treat. Something you'll really look forward to.

Small 'bites' out of your target look & feel easier to achieve and keeps you motivated.

I lost 5.5 stone. 1/2 has gone back on thanks to meds I'm on but I'm keeping stable. DH has lost 8 stone.

I only joined 3 weeks ago but the consultant is nothing like that. She opens up discussions about recipes and ideas, encourages people to share anything they have have found useful in the previous week and any tips they have. Basically she facilitates the discussion to get people sharing success and talking about struggles.

Oh yes - a recipe sharing discussion is great. And a 'has anyone got any hints or hacks'.

Iklboo I have decided to start anew and go to a different group. I have been trying to focus on half a stone at a time as 3.5 seems so far away.
The meeting is really rushed and she will just ask who has lost 5lb, 4lb etc to determine who is slimmer of the week.
Also I left an important message on her answerphone which she didn't respond to. I left a further message to check she got the first and again no response.
I do like her but think that maybe she just goes through the motions.

Sirzy, that sounds more like it. My group seems to only address success.
I also don't think that it helps that by the time everybody has been weighed, there is only about 15/20 mins left for the meeting, so it is quite rushed.

That doesn't sound good. Her device thingy should tell her who is slimmer of the week. Her sessions don't really sound long enough or well planned either. Does she have one person registering / taking the money and one doing the weigh in?

She sits with newcomers while current members are weighed. Two people are on desk that registers and takes money, but they only do one person at a time. Likewise, two sit at the weighing table which has one set of scales.
What is her device thingy? If it is a tablet or something like that, I have never seen her witb one.

She should have a PDF??? type thing she puts your card in when you get weighed. It records everyone's weight, loss, slimmer of week & month, birthdays etc. Looks like a chip & pin reader.

You can really only weigh one person at a time as they only get one pair of approved scales, but she should get through them all in about 20 mins unless there's 100s of you. She needs to clamp down on taking ages to get ready for weighing, chatting to cash & weigh person etc. Or have a longer session, earlier start for newbies.

Mine does the same with newbies and others manning the desks.

She is fab actually at group and very funny and motivational. But inbetween groups she ignores all messages. Which quite sucks as she says she is there for us all week long and she isn't. One brill bit of advice was that the meds I take (which are known for weight gain) don't actually contain calories - it;s the food I put in my mouth that contains the calories.

If I were you OP I'd go to a different group if you have one in area. You don't have to explain as we are able to go to any group over the whole country. Have you signed in online as there are loads of resources and inspiration there as well.

Slimmer of the Week isn't just the person who lost the most that week - it excludes those who had a gain the week before, and those on their first week for example.

There is a pdf thing but she doesn't use it herself in the meeting.
Her helpers don't stay either.
Usually about eight to twelve people stay for the meeting but of those, only three are ever the same.
I will check out some of the other groups and see if they are better for me.

Katharine I do use the online stuff but less over the last couple of weeks as my motivation is lagging.
I contacted her as I was very ill and unable to make the group and I knew I wouldn't be well enough to attend another that week. The rules state you have to notify your consultant if ill. I think that in these circumstances she should have acknowledged my call.

In our group, there is half an hour allocated for everyone to pay and weigh, while the consultant talks to any newbies. Then the main part of the session starts and is usually about an hour. Anyone who didn't get to weigh in before the main part of the meeting can do it at the end.
Our consultant is good - when someone's had a gain she asks why, if person doesn't know she tries to tease it out of them then suggests things to try or asks rest of group for suggestions. She's also available during the week - she's got a Facebook group so she can respond to queries (and other members can also help). She has a tablet which tells her everyone's weight for that week and works out who is slimmer of the week/month.

Chessie that sounds more like what I want from a group.
Also only around 8 to 12 people stay for the meeting, and of these only 3 stay regularly

I used to go to an awful group when the consultant stood at the front whilst chewing gum and proclaiming she didn't know how to cook so couldn't really give any advice. It was shit and very unhelpful. In the whole time that I have done SW, I think I have tried 10 different groups in my area in order to find the one that suits me and my personality. Group members are equally as important/ inspirational as consultant knowledge and enthusiasm.

Go forth and find another group!

that's exactly why I left my sw group all we did is go round the group and after a few it was pretty boring I love the sw 'diet' but the sessions are not educational I added groups on fb and buy the magazine that helped me with tips and every week I put £5 in a jar weigh my self and when I'm at my goal I'm going to go shopping