SW consultant is obese

[Lovejoywasodd]

I was just wondering if any of you had come across this and if there were any SW rules about size?
My consultant is clinically obese (I found out her weight by accident). She reached target a few years ago (from a lot heavier) but has now put a bit back on. She doesn’t weigh in at group and tells us how well SW works for her. I am finding it all a bit odd.

[OneForTheRoadThen]

Mine is too but I've always quite liked that about her. It makes her very human and she shares her struggles with us.

I think if she has lost a lot of weight with SW that still counts as success.

[BiscuitsAndGravy]

Absolutely bizarre. That would be like having a swim teacher that couldn't swim. How can you possibly be motivated to lose weight by an obese person's advice?

[Riversleep]

The thing is, if she c reached target, decided to become a consultant but then put weight back on, she had bought a franchise, which isn't cheap, and has invested time into it. Should she be sacked and lose all her money? Even if she's working on losing the weight again? If she is ignoring her weight gain and being a crap consultant, go elsewhere. She doesn't deserve the business. If she's still supportive and sharing her experience of where it all went wrong, then it's fine.

[greendale17]

How can you take diet advice from someone who is obese?

[steppemum]

well, I guess if she has gone from say 22 stone to 18, that is a heck of a lot of hard work.

I would have thought she would still be using SW though, and still progressing, otherwise it is a very odd advert!

[holycityzoo]

A lot of consultants are also still members. They don't have to be at target andmight not be where they want to yet.
My consultant is around a size 18 but has lost 5 stone and is still losing.

[dizzydaisies]

My consultant is also very overweight and I agree, it undermines it for me, however much I try and ignore it.

[Fred999]

When I was a member of various sw groups in the past I had three different obese consultants. And most of the members of the groups were obese women who would gain and lose the same couple of pounds over and over. And I started to think about all the women in my family who were long term slimming club members and these were all the people who were most overweight and constantly yo-yo dieting, never actually enjoying food and always feeling guilty about what they ate, leading to binging.

And that's when I realised that SW is not a long term weight loss solution. It's a business model that relies on members losing weight but then re-gaining and re-joining and being stuck in the cycle of weight loss and inevitable gain.

Probably not what you wanted to hear but it's sadly the truth.

[Groovee]

My first consultant was still on her weight loss journey. And she was honest about her struggles when a family member died. But she could be rude to people doing well.

My current consultant is target. And quite inspiring. He had gained a bit of weight when he took on the extra classes but has lost it again.

[buscaution]

I used to go to SW and the consultant didn't weigh at group, she used another local group for her personal weight loss. She was at target and when she cane in and out (a few pounds) she always told us about it at group. One week she was off she had someone cover her and she was give. Size 26 at least huge. I was so shocked, not a good brand advertisement. Had I gone to her group initially probably would not have stayed.

[Bombardier25966]

I know a SW Consultant who is overweight, and not just marginally. She's a fantastic lady and her groups (multiple, she does it full time) love her because of the person she is, not what she looks like.

How can you take diet advice from someone who is obese?

Plenty of healthcare professionals are overweight. Their knowledge is no less valid because of their size.

[Fatted]

Fred999 that is exactly their business model!

I turned my back on slimming world once and for all recently after I rejoined and a lady I'd seen there last time was still going 18 months later and had actually lost no weight. And when they also suddenly changed the rules about what foods were allowed.

[DeloresJaneUmbridge]

And there you have SW in a nutshell. Longterm it is not sustainable and 90% regain any weight lost and then some. And they blame themselves instead of looking at SW selling an utterly unsustainable long term way of eating.

[MrsCar]

Reminds me of that Little Britain sketch

[TomHardysNextWife]

It can work the other way too, I went once with my sister. The consultant had lost about 4 lbs with SW and was evangelical about the diet. She had no empathy or patience with bigger members (me!!) and her advice was to stop drinking tea and coffee and just drink hot water. Apparently it's surprisingly refreshing . And of course morbidly obese people are that way from the milk in their tea and coffee

[Betsy86]

The best consultant i had at slimming world was obese.
She was a absolute star totally honest about her own personal struggle but inspired us so deeply that everyone in the class lost weight.
I got to around 4 stone off others more.
Sadly she unexpectedly passed away and everyone in the class was beyond devastated as she had become a friend rather than just a consultant.
This was about a decade ago and I have tried other groups since but its just never been the same.
I made a decision last year never to go back to any group if i wanted to do it and i was in the frame of mind to be pro active about my weight I wouldn’t need to pay someone £5 to weigh me then spend a hour listening to the same old chat over and over again.
So i dont think it really matters on the size of the consultant everyone has there own personal battles and reasons to be there if youbare inspired whilst there thats the main thing. If its putting you off its not the right place for you to achieve your goalxx

[Nephrite]

IMO the best ones are people who've previously had a weight problem and used the plan to lose weight. They get what it's like and that it's not easy. The worst one i had had always been very slim, had put on a couple of pounds after having a baby and joined and was a consultant within 6 months. She'd always been slim with no trouble and it really showed that she had no understanding of what's involved in conquering a weight problem. She was crap

[DonDrapersOldFashioned]

Bombardier please do not equate SW sales people to healthcare professionals who have professional qualifications, professional experience and evidence based practice. SW consultants are sales people trained to deliver a marketing programme to a certain company’s ethos. It is NOT the same as the public health advice given by healthcare professionals.

[buscaution]

Plenty of healthcare professionals are overweight. Their knowledge is no less valid because of their size.

Agree. However SW consultants are not healthcare professionals, they are sales people.

[buscaution]

Posted too soon.

They are there to sell the product, I think that means they should be a shining example of its success.

[Jenala]

Yeah. Probably because sw doesn't work.

[Carlyrichards]

If it is who I am thinking of, I'd be inclined to email the head office and ask what their take on it is.

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

It's the reason I won't go to my local group. The consultant, lovely as she is, is bigger now than when I first met her 3 years ago.

And so am I. I'd given up on slimming world a while back becasue of the pushing of Muller lights, mug shots, smash to thicken gravy and all the other crap they were peddling. I gather this has changed now though.

[DonDrapersOldFashioned]

I just posted but for some reason it isn’t showing, so apologies if this is a duplicate...

FWIW, I couldn’t give a shiny hooha whether HCP or slimming club leaders are fat. I just wanted to make the point that their knowledge is not equally ‘valid’.

[sunshineNdaisies]

that's one of the reasons I don't go to group. The local consultant (now retired) was one of the longest serving, highest achieving consultants but she was fat. She did lose a lot of weight but put it all back on. I felt she always championed those who lost the weight quickly and lost a lot, rather than us bigger members who were losing more slowly and struggling. Considering she was pretty big, she should really have supported me more but I felt ignored. Plus I hated the clappy clap clap shite.