Not eating enough to lose weight?? Really?

[bandito]

So I have just started SW and in my first week lost 1 pound. To be honest, I was a bit narked because everyone telling me "oh, the first week will be the most you lose etc etc". I have been very strict, filled in food diary, have had between 0-5 syns except yesterday when I had 9. My dear mother is SW evangelist and told me that she would be very cross if I told her that that I had only eaten that few syns. That I should be getting up to 15 every day. So I said, "Are you telling me that eating 2 packets of crisps extra every day this week would have meant a bigger weight loss?" and she said "Yes". I asked how and she said no idea but it does work. I only have 1.5 stones to lose and I honestly think that if I ate all the free food plus 15 syns, I woudn't have lost anything at all. What do you think, SW people?

Log it on my fitness pal as well so you can see what you are consuming calorie wise. There is something to be said for not eating enough, but also not everyone has a huge loss on week one. Lots do, but more often then not is people who have lots to lose

Either do SW or don't but don't pay and do your own thing and then moan that it doesn't work. SW says 5 to 15 syns a day not 0 to 5. Your dm is right you need to have the syns.

Codswallop! To lose weight you need to expend more calories than you take on, simple.

I have always found Slimming World to work but usually only if your overweight- so actually outside the healthy BMI.

Also be careful with the "free" foods- things like muller lights and mug shots are considered free but you shouldn't be having too many. The same with pasta and rice- not many people can eat unlimited carbs and lose weight!

Hope you have a better loss next week!

No consensus there then! Just wondered really because it seems very counter-intuitive. This is the first time I have done SW and it just seems bizarre. Mum's gone from a 22 to a 12 on it in a year, so something about it must work.

It makes no sense to me at all, but the slimming world way makes no sense to me yet it works, I did slimming world and lost two stone really easily by sticking to the plan. The difficulty is in keeping it off but that's not the point of this thread.

I don't understand why eating more could possibly make you lose more weight but it's a weird plan and I guess you have to stick to it to the letter or it doesn't work...

I can't believe how much pasta I used to eat and still lose weight each week! I do weight watchers now and my portion sizes are about a third of what I used to eat...

If you have too few calories your body thinks there's a famine and will hold onto its fat.

So, yes. You lose more weight when you don't eat too little.

"Putting your body into starvation mode" is a bollocks theory".

If that were true, people living in the midst of a famine wouldn't lost weight.

If you're used to having 40 syns a day (which I suspect you are if you're 22 stone), then yes of course having 15 a day will work.

But if you normally eat reasonably well then it won't.

Weight loss = calories in minus calories out. Nothing more complicated than that. Ever.

Its definitely true. 1 syn is 20 calories so they reccomend you have 5-15 so you supplement your diet withan additional 1-3 hundred calories a day.
Veg and salad etc has a very low calorie index, so if you have half a plate of veg and chicken for dinner, say a salad for lunch and had weetabix for breakfast, ypu could be at under 1000 calories a day which would then lead your body to retain fat for energy. Have the full sybs allowance reccomdeded for your weight, it honestly helps and doesn't hinder. I have 10-15 every day and lose 2.5/3lb every week.

Jeez, sorry for the typos!

SW doesn't work for me personally, but if you use your syns for healthy fats, rather than crisps that can only be a good thing for your body and weight loss. Avocado springs to mind, so much healthy fat but a lot of syns but if you have controlled portions you get the best of both worlds.

Starvation mode is bullshit. It makes me cringe hearing people talk about it.

Its just nonsense.

I know several people who 'I'm not eating enough so I'm not losing weight'

However they never seem to lose any weight.

I know, when I am dieting, the times I eat the least amount of calories, the more weight I lose.

Are you telling me that eating 2 packets of crisps extra every day this week would have meant a bigger weight loss?" and she said "Yes".

Well no. Eating 2 bags of crisps a day wouldn't have given you a bigger weight loss .

If you're going to eat more remember to do it for the right reasons. Eat the right stuff and always remember food is fuel.

I personally think SW only works if you are either very overweight to start or you are overweight because of large portion sizes. I lost some on it but it stopped working and I was forever being told to eat more! There's nothing worse than eating for the sake of eating even if you're full and I think the eating too little thing is bollocks! I counted up the calories I was eating while following SW to the letter and it was clearly too many - maybe try following the SW principles but checking the calories alongside.

Have you been drinking lots this week OP? Try aiming to drink plenty of water this week when you feel peckish and see if it makes a difference.

yes if we effectively starve ourselves we get slimmer and slimmer but that's hard and joyless. Also, however much some may dispute it I remained a curvy size 10 for about five years of being on a diet until I shook things up a bit. It may be bollix but my body seems to get used to 1500 calories a day and I just could not get under 57 kilos no matter how hard I tried (i'm only about 157cm) but switch to zig zag and the body doesn't get used to anything. About 800 cals one day and 1500 the next day. Stick to that as best as you can. I find it so much more effective.

ps, i have no experience of SW, I just count the calories of (mostly) healthy food myself.

There are lots of 'rules' to sw and you have to adhere to them for it to work.

you need your healthy extras a + b, and you need 1/3 or your plate to be 'speed' food every meal.

and then you are allowed upto 15 syns a day

You also have to drink lots of water

It;s very sensitive - and alot of people find it doesn't quite work if all the rules aren't used.

Did you fill in a food diary to give to your consultant, she will check it and make sure that you are on the right lines.

I lost 2 stone in 5 months so am quite a fan

All diets work by calorie controlling. Grosella at 157cm your daily maintenance requirement is probably 1500 cals so not surprising you don't lose weight eating this much and you do by having some days when you eat less.

Seriously folks it ain't rocket science. Eat less than you use. Even the high protein variations work the same way.

Thanks, I've only done a week, so I'm not giving up that easily. I will try to drink more and eat more on the speed list and see what happens next week.

Off topic - when I went to my first meeting last week, knew nothing about SW, I sat down and as they started, the consultant said to the top weightloss person - "what's been your secret weapon this week?" and she announced "loads of speed!". I nearly fell off my chair and was very disappointed when I found out that that was mostly green leafy vegetables.

I find my best losses come when I use my sons for 'healthy' things like avocado in my salad, olive pile, extra cheese etc, rather than junk.

I had a surprise gain a few weeks back. Changed my healthy extras around and upped my syns. It was a bit like depriving myself from crisps etc seemed to slow things down. I lost 3.5lb the following week. So I deduced that you do need to use your syns. Wether that is crisps, oils, avocado. Then so be it. I now aim for 10 syns a day x