What's the key to success on SW?

[footballmum]

I've tried SW in the past and really not got on well with it but I'm inspired by several friends and colleagues who've done really well on it so I know it works! I've got at least 2 stone (more like 3) to lose and I'm seriously considering joining in the new year.

My last two attempts with it were online so this time I'm going to join a class so I've at least got somewhere to go for guidance. I think where I went wrong was not eating enough speed food - does this really help? Plus I'm quite greedy so if I'm told I can eat something "unlimited" I will! I've been calorie counting and whilst the weight isn't coming off as I'd like it had taught me a lot about portion control, mindless eating and hidden calories, so I think I'm better prepared for it this time.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I think it is being honest and following the rules. Make sure you count ALL syns and write them down. Remember at least 1/3 of every meal MUST be speed food. Staying to group. Drinking enough water. Only eat when you are hungry. my consultant says if you are looking for a snack and but you are not hungry enough to eat an apple you are not hungry.

Like all diets it works if you follow the rules. Now I just need to make sure I always follow my own advice.

Ha ha! Yes sticking to diets is always the challenge!! As I say calorie counting has definitely made me more disciplined so I'm hoping that'll stand me in good stead when I start SW.

But surely the point of SW is that you don't have to count calories

I'd go against the grain and argue success is not staying to group (you'll hear too many untruths and bad advice, even from the so-called experts), and not weighing yourself weekly but gauging how your clothes feel and weighing monthly-this is the most accurate and you won't be demoralised with a perceived small loss after being 'good all week'; you'll get a truer picture.

I say this as a veteran of both WW and SW, and someone who was trained by WW in how weight loss works. Myths such as eating too little won't mean you don't lose weight, so don't listen when people tell you that you must have your syns. They are only useful if they enable you to add in something relatively 'healthy' or satisfying like a small bit of cheese, or if using some syns for what you fancy stops you craving the wrong thing and eventually bingeing. If you can get into the habit of managing without them, do.

Otherwise, my best advice and what's helped me the most is cooking from scratch. Don't waste syns on jars of sauce, and if you make something like a curry/chilli yourself you can really load up the veg. If I make chicken curry, it will have a very small amount of chicken, more for flavouring really, then be full of mushrooms/peppers/spinach/squash/chick peas etc. you can then enjoy a nice plate of food without feeling you're missing out or on a diet.

I think it works best if you follow the rules. Focus on eating speed food and protein (& your healthy extras), portion control on other 'free' foods. Drink plenty of fluids, I was a bit sceptical about this, but the weeks I've lost more is when I have really focussed on drinking enough.

I've seen photos, from people supposedly following the plan, of meals where they have served up large portions of both rice and potatoes on the same plate or boasting about eating 4 or 5 yoghurts a day. Even though I have a lot of weight to lose, I wouldn't certainly not loss weight eating all of that.
Don't believe the people who say you must eat all of your Syns, it is UP to 15, I try to keep to below 10 unless it's a difficult day. Use your Syns to keep the plan working for you. I need 4 or 5 for light dressings, flora and so on, for me hearing people saving them up to blow out at the weekend or snacks in the evening indicates that they aren't really making long term changes to their attitude to food.

Don't believe those people who say you are not eating enough to lose weight. If this was true people would not die of malnutrition during a famine.

My consultant says to people that they haven't lost weight because they haven't eaten enough! I'm . I only joined 4 weeks ago but do struggle with this attitude. Although slimming world doesn't count calories, at the end of the day it's a question of maths. If you eat more calories than you burn off you put on weight and vice versa. There is no magic formula with slimming world that changes this. She also tells members who are on medication that medication doesn't make you put on weight. She doesn't know what medication but puts it all in one category. I do like the diet though and the group but find it a bit cultish and the consultant a bit mid-informed.

I'm 13 weeks in and have lost nearly a stone and a half. For me it's really focussing on filling up on speed foods, at least half my plate at meal times is speed with portion controlled free foods (a portion should be no more than you can hold in one hand). I have syns but rarely go above 5, 10 at the weekend if I fancy a treat.

It does work but only if you are sensible, filling up on Hifi bars and Muller lights is not the way to go!

Speed foods. Eat them as much as possible as part of your normal diet.

I've slowly tweaked recipes to cram as much speed in as possible.

So curries are now largely veg, (with lentils or split peas as I prefer them to meat in curries). Bolognaise is made with buckets of veg blended with tomatoes or passata then added to the meat. And where I can't do things like that easily then I add loads to my plate. When I work out how much veg for a meal I basically add an extra person's portion for myself.

In doing all this I think it often acts as a sort of natura calorie control because you are filling up on lower calorie foods rather than higher ones.