Back on SW but find the groups awful! Does it get better?

[fruityb]

I used to go to SW two years ago and that consultant didn't do image therapy. She would say how much was lost or gained collectively and pick out a couple of people who had good losses and ask them one thing they thought helped. It took five minutes. She'd hand out certificates and it was all quite laid back. She told the same stories about herself week in week out however and that got frustrating - I was so tired of hearing about how she used to sneak fish and chips every week! It wasn't for the benefit of new members as there weren't any really! I rejoined recently and hated the first group so much I don't ever want to go back. Two hours of listening to "babes" "gorgeous" "shiny stickers" and her speaking to every single person in the room about losses and gains. There were 40 people there!! I can't bear all the air kissing and the mwah mwah business and the "hi girls" banter. It's too pink and fluffy and covered in glitter. Now I just weigh and go.

Should I stick it out and get swept up in it or do I just bail every week? All the happy clapping and sisterhood bollocks gets on my nerves so much. If I didn't pay to weigh I wouldn't be as good on the diet so I don't mind that, but should I really try to stick this out or just run? I'm in my thirties, "shinies" don't really excite me that much lol

Think that the batchelors rice is now synned. I've been cooking from scratch and having some quick things. I find cooking hard as I have fibromyalgia. But my first week has gone great. Spinach is my new friend.

This is one of the reasons I stopped going. She used to go round every single person. It took forever. I don't want to be at fat club at gone 9pm on a Friday night. I just really got the feeling that the leader didn't like me. Think because I wasn't over the top 'Hi Hunz'.

Although, slimming world does work. I've started following it again after Xmas. Not joining a group for now.

I hardly have any processed food at all. The only thing I eat regularly processed is the Linda McCartney rosemary and red onion sauces. SW is amazing if you like cooking food from scratch. However, it's also good for people who can't cook - there a lots of people who cannot cook!

I was successful on SW without eating lots of processed food - the basic plan is actually very good and focuses on fresh foods and healthy ways of cooking. It's just a shame that the weekly meeting format turns people off

Slimming world taught me to cook!

I eat mainly unprocessed food but quite like an occasional (maybe once a fortnight) mugshot as a guilty pleasure snack!

As I said earlier, I think the pros outweigh the cons at group at the moment, I get quite a lot of useful information, tips, support and encouragement. But take some of it with a pinch of salt!

Went fo my first group last night but they didn't actually do the normal group but, just new members talk. It was also very busy - 48 people to weigh which took over an hour. Next week I think I'll go half an hour later.

Seemed like a relatively normal bunch of people to be fair and the consultant was nice and slim!

I have been a serial joiner in the past 11 years and the groups get worse and worse. So tedious and there is always a gobby popular one that will take over all discussions.

Doing it at home this time. Might start saving my £5s to save up for a fab new size 12 wardrobe

BasinHello you will find that the weigh in sessions will return to a reasonable waiting time once the fad wears off and people stop turning up.

I quite enjoyed my class. We did a refresher of the plan. Long term members gave advice of what they felt was missing on their first week.

I love slimming world and have been following the plan since June. In that time I've gone from a size 12 to an 8 and am maintaining easily. I rarely eat processed food and would never let a muller light or mugshot pass my lips. I think the true sense of the plan is to eat cleanly but leaders do seem to encourage taking a synthetic approach. I agree the group format is dire, at my group at least. I weigh and go every time and leave group to the 'lifers' who seem to be in a cycle of gaining and losing the same couple of lbs. I get tips and inspiration from following sw accounts on instagram instead and from friends who are following the plan. Don't be dissuaded to join from reading this thread though, group is terrible but slimming world works. I just wish I'd discovered it years ago.

I enjoyed my group last night. And our consultant encourages a lot of cooking from scratch but also advocates keeping things in mind (and in store!) for those times when otherwise you might go off-plan. So keep a couple of the meals in the freezer when you haven't planned or can't be arsed to cook. Better than being tempted by a takeaway. All of which I think is fair enough.

This is a really interesting thread. I lost a lot of weight on SW a few years back but did it online so didn't experience the meetings. I had DC3 7 months ago so decided to join to shift the baby weight but couldn't find a local class with a time that suited me so ended up switching to WW instead.

From a weight loss perspective, I've now lost over 2 stone on WW but had similar losses on SW after DC2 so I think either plan works if you stick to it. However, I can definitely say that my meeting is nothing like what people are describing here. Not sure whether that's down to WW or the individual leader but I always come out of the meeting feeling really positive. Whilst our leader normally has a topic for discussion, she is pretty much led by what the members want to discuss, even if that goes completely off topic. We do lots of tip sharing and most weeks someone will bring something they've cooked which is low in points for everyone to try. There is a little bit of sharing about losses and gains, but our leader asks at the scales whether we are happy to share or not, so no shaming.

I think it also helps that the meetings are only an hour and always finish on time. And I normally get there 15 min late so that once I've weighed I don't have long to wait for the actual meeting bit. It's 45 minutes out of my life on a Friday morning and it makes all the difference. I'm now the lightest I've been since I had my first child and actually think my pre-children weight is now achievable - I never thought I'd ever be able to get back to that again.

Agree WW are pretty brisk. Theres no going over time, no way! The actual talk bit is probably no more than half an hour.

My WW leader was awesome. She had lost 8 stone!

do you think its best to just mentally close down from all the stickers and the hons and grit your teeth and get on with it?

I'm joining tomorrow for the millionth time but the bloody groups put me in such a grump.
Some really thick people .

another thing that bugs me is this speed thing....like it has some magic properties.

I had the same thing. Then one week my leader was on holiday and another, really down to earth, straightforward lady covered for her.

I switched to that group and was much happier for it. I actually found the groups worthwhile after that and not frustrating.

Weight watchers meetings are significantly Better.
They call out any goals or milestones anyone's hit then there's 2 topics of relevant helpful group discussion and info from the leader. It lasts about half an hour but I found it infinitely better.
But I prefer the SW plan. So it's really frustrating. I don't know why they don't try to improve their meetings. It puts me off going thh it's so long, slow and useless.

I can so relate to this thread. I sucessfully lost nearly 4 stone about 8 years ago at a really great group. I stopped going as the meetings were at an inconvenient time and put a lot of the weight back on. Went back to a different leader who is thick at two short planks, calls everyone 'hun' which I hate and the meeting takes at least an hour and a half by the time Vera has gone though her entire week's meals trying to narrow down why she's put on 3lbs, it'll be the six pints of lager and the greasy kebab you had on Saturday night love. I miss the simple red and green plans too. The whole Extra Easy thing doesn't seem to work for me.

Ours texts 'inspirational' rubbish poems & quotes. Usually about 10:15pm on a fricking Friday night.

I would hate that!

I blocked her for a while but had to phone her to sort out a mess over booked holidays so unblocked. Looks like I'm going to have to edit some contacts settings......

Mine just sends a text to check I doing ok x

We need to all complain to SW head office on mass!

back from day one.......all the usual suspects. The one obsessed with bowel movements, the one with the pony tail and the multi coloured leggings who weighs seven stone,the one who tells us all about her meal out with her Grandson....
to be continued