I like the accountability of virtual group but if you think you can do it alone then why not try it for a month.

Broad overview:

Speed foods: fruit and veg with a few exceptions like potato and banana. You can eat these freely and they should make up a third of your meal and be the first thing you reach for in between meals.
Free foods: lean meat, fish, eggs, pasta, rice, grains, potatoes, certain dairy products mostly fat free, beans & pulses . No need to weigh these and should make up the other 2/3 of your meal. Can be eaten freely and still lose but for better weight loss stick with the speed food or use your syns for snacks.

Every day you get healthy extras that should be eaten as they cover the fibre and calcium but need to be weighed:
2 Healthy 'a' a day for calcium include measured portions of milk and or cheese
1 healthy 'b' a day for fibre include measured portions of cereal, bread, nuts and seeds and canned fruit.

Then you have syns each day - usually 10-15 which are pretty much everything else. So your treats, extra portions of cheese, cereal and bread for example.

If you just start off with good wholesome meals made with lean meat or fish, beans and pulses etc with plenty of fresh veg and snack on the same you'll be off to a great start. Once you get the hang of it you can start experimenting with things like making a lasagne and using your syns for the flour and butter or having the odd glass of wine etc.

Hope that helps

I’ve signed up to the online group. I wish the app was a bit better but I don’t want to go to a group and the app does at least hold you to account. It’s quite straightforward once you have the hang of it and I don’t know if I will pay for the app after the first 3 months as it’s a fiver a week which I think is a bit spendy.

Slimming World online works by you registering with a package and then continuing after three months with a monthly direct debit.

You can set your fitness goals, track weight loss and keep an online food diary. Slimming World becomes free when you become a target member. A slimming world target member is someone that has reached their target weight.
Slimming World online works the same was as a slimming world group does although it is without the help of a consultant and group so it can feel quite lonely.
All of the options give you access to everything you need. I personally signed up with the Slimming World online gold package as that provided me with extra literature which has been very useful and the Slimming World magazine subscription. If you can’t subscribe to the magazine I recommend getting a copy. It always has loads of food ideas, meal plans and snacks to ensure you eat well.
Create a weigh day and weigh in at the same time each week. Get yourself a decent set of scales and perhaps a tape measure if you want to keep track of any particular areas. Take photos each time you weigh in and add them to a side by side collage to help you start seeing a difference. It might take a while but it will be worth it and it will keep you motivated.

If you are determined it’s very easy. But I will say you need to put the effort in to cook from scratch and find new recipes. Yes Slimming World do have some microwave meals but I always find you get bored very quickly of those.
As long as you stick to your Syn allowance and fill up on Syn free foods you can succeed.

My best piece of advice would be to religiously meal plan. Yes sometimes you might need to deviate because that's life but if you plan out your meals and make sure you've accounted for the hexAs and hexB then it should make it easier.

I found instagram a great source of seeing other people's meals. I'm not great at understanding Instagram but I follow a few people on there for meal inspiration and I also post my daily meals. I don't think we are allowed to post our Instagram tags are we on here?

I do it online because I find that I don't need to sit in a group and listen to Brenda down the road who has discovered a great dupe for a doughnut. I know that might seem harsh but I think if you have the common sense to cook from scratch or to spend a bit of time planning, online is fine. The app isn't the most high tech but it's alright and fit for purpose.