Can someone give me an idiots guide to SW?

[BitchyInnerMonologue]

Work colleague has lost 2.5 stones since January, and I'm seriously tempted as she claims never to be hungry. However, the website isn't terribly explicit (as I wouldn't expect it to be!) about what I can and can't eat. I know I can't make the local meetings to go and ask, so it would have to be online.

I have a few food issues (digestion rather than anything else!) which mean I have to be careful about what I eat, along with a few dislikes so I'm loathe to pay for something that I'll end up not using.

Can someone give me an idiots guide as to how it works? No carb? Low fat? Restrictions?

Thanks!

It's been a while since i last did it but it's essentially a low fat diet. You are also supposed to fill 1/3 of your plate at every meal with veg or fruit.

There are loads of slimming world recipes online if you Google.

Low fat. Low sugar.

Eat as much 'speed' fruit and veg as you want. Eat lean protein.

5-15 syns per day.

Also bullshit like mullerlights are 'free', as are mugshots. SW is a bit slow to the party when it comes to recognising that you'd get more nutrition from consuming the packaging of those type of foods.

I've lost 24lbs in two months. Another 1.5st to target.

Fruit, vegetables, potatoes, rice, pasta, lean meat, fish, eggs are all free and you can have as much as you like.
Try to have 1/3 of every meal as fruit/ veg
Dairy and cereals eg milk/ bread are measured and you get one portion of each a day.
Fats/ oils/ sugar e.g. Chocolate, butter, alcohol are syns

Always joining offers for group , would only cost price of class and you have it all explained to you and get the books / pack if you decide not to carry on with membership that is all it has cost you ? The books can be bought on eBay too but free joining voucher makes it cheaper ! It is quite straightforward , l have lost similar amount to your friend since January too ! X

I've lost the same amount as your friend.

Many fruits and most veggies are your speed foods, free foods are carbs and protein type foods. Syns are your treats like alcohol, wine, crisps, sweet stuff.

Healthy Extras are your calcium and fibre.

I find it quite simple. And it's stoped me buying them eating junk which I was bad for with being poorly.

There are free foods which you can eat as much as you need with no weighing or measuring - low fat foods. Lean meats, potatoes, pasta, rice, there's loads. Every time you eat, 1/3 of your food has to be fruit or veg (from a list, most fruit or veg is included except some like bananas, grapes, parsnips etc)

You eat your free foods and then have 5-15 syns for anything not included on the free list.

It's easy to follow and works the first time. In my experience, it isn't easy to maintain and everyone I know (including myself) who lost weight with SW put it all back on. And most people say it doesn't work as well 2nd/3rd/4th time... I've been a member of several groups and met a lot of SW people locally, none of them kept the weight off...

I've lost about 2 stones (from 12.5ish to 10.5ish) in 10 months on SW. I have never been to a group but signed up online (with a voucher code I found online with a quick Google) and have renewed a couple of times since.

Pps have outlined the rules already. Just to be absolutely clear, the 5-15 syns per day rule doesn't mean 5-15 bars of chocolate. Unfortunately. Everything has a syn value (if you sign up you can access syn details online).

Everybody is obviously different and (to coin a phrase) "individual results may vary" but for me it's definitely working and I'm delighted. If I've been good then I'll generally see a reduction of 100-500g per week. If I've been less good then I won't.

It's taken longer than I'd initially hoped to lose my 2 stone, but most things I read reassure me that a steady (slow) loss should generally be easier to sustain.

Best of luck if you do join!

That is really amazing have you been incredibly strict with it to loose that amound? I'm trying really hard to get it right but am not the best cook by any means do you have any pointers at all please?

So how many syns would a chocolate bar be then? 10? 15?

A thin dairy milk is about 6.5 syns I think.

Exercise!

Don't forget your body magic! Can't eat unlimited food groups without balancing it out

Slimming world are pretty rubbish at focusing on how much crap you can squeeze in ( in the form of weetabix cakes/fake Haribo etc)

Toffee - for stuff like chocolate a syn is about 20 calories, so a 200 calorie bar would be 10 Syns.

A 45g Dairy Milk is 12 syns.

I wouldn't say I've been particularly strict. If I have, I haven't felt hard done by along the way. I've had a fair few days (and a couple of whole holidays) "off plan" for various reasons (usually days out, weddings etc where I'd find it too faffy to stick to plan).

I know it's a cliché but I really do agree with those who say this is a lifestyle change. It's not a quick fix. My eating habits have changed forever, I think.

The thing I love most is that I'm never hungry (another cliché!). I can basically fill my face the whole time - but I now choose to snack on carrots, apples, peppers, kiwis, melon, bananas, mango etc rather than chocolate and biscuits.

There are of course a few things I miss being able to eat / drink freely. Booze is an obvious one (albeit I have at least one 'drink what I want' night every week, without fail). Cheese and bread are the others - but I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I stopped craving them.

I thoroughly recommend SW. I'm just about to go shopping for some size 10 holiday clothes after being in size 14s for years - and that feeling is amazing!

Best of luck to anyone who goes for it!

@rebeccaw26 Don't let the cooking side of things put you off. Grab yourself a copy of Slimming World magazine (£2.75), have a flick through, and see how easy most of the recipes are.

I keep breakfast and lunch super simple (something like porridge for breakfast, and a salad for lunch). I only cook for my evening meal - and usually either choose a SW recipe (an easy one!) or have something like salmon + potatoes + green veg. I'm not a massive snacker but I stick to fruit and veg as much as I can. Loads of water / sugar free squash.

Go for it! You won't look back.

(I should be on commission! I promise I'm not)