SW and exercise

[holdmyfrylight]

I've just rejoined SW for the millionth time. I've done it on and off since 2014 (if I just stuck to it the first time round I wouldn't be here now 🤦🏻‍♀️). It seems that every group I've been too, although they have body magic awards, exercise isn't actively encouraged. Every time some mentions they have started some form of exercise the consultants say to expect gain and that this won't speed up weight loss. I've been to several groups up and down the country and it's always the same.

What's the deal with this? Don't people say eat less calories and move more to lose weight so why is this different for SW.

Has anyone gone to SW then started exercising and if so, how did that change your weekly losses?

I'm tempted to start c25k but I don't wanna start gaining weight. I could measure myself to see if I lose inches but to be honest it's hard enough facing up to the scales without getting a tape measure involved.

[PanicOnTheStreets85]

Urgh. This is why I am glad I've stopped going to groups and am just doing SW online!

I would recommend giving C25K a go. I am just under 11.5 stone now and doing regular 5k runs now 2-3 times a week and each burns around 450 calories according to my Fitbit. It definitely helps a bit although it's mainly the diet that's making me lose weight. The running only contributes less than half a pound a week.

But I'm really pleased to be running as it's improving my cardiovascular fitness and general health. I can't say I actually enjoy running but I feel good when it's over and my Fitbit score for cardiovascular fitness has gone from "below average" to "average". It's nice to watch my times for the 5k runs improve - I'm hoping to eventually be able to do 5k in 30 minutes (I'm at about 34/35 mins at the moment, down from 42 minutes when I started) and it's nice to have a non-weight goal if you know what I mean.

I don't want to sound mean but a lot of the people at the groups I went to (including the leader) didn't seem like particularly healthy role models, so it helps me just to be doing this at home where I can just focus on my behaviours if that makes sense. I wouldn't let them put me off if I were you.

[P0lka]

The cynic in me might suggest it's because SW has money to make from slowing down your weight loss...

[IndiaMay]

The reason you have joined SW 'for the millionth time' is because it is a business designed to keep you coming back. I dont know anyone who doesnt go back time and time again. Eat well, exercise. Dont pay to have someone (normally someone heavily overweight) weigh you every week, tell you what you're doing wrong and keep you coming back year after year

[PanicOnTheStreets85]

I'd disagree with IndiaMay as I like the SW plan in general as it helps me find a balance between wholefoods with a just the right amount of treats - a balance that I always utterly failed to find at home when I just tried to eat a bit healthier.

But I do think discouraging exercise is really stupid. If you weigh yourself just after exercising it might be higher, but in the long run it will make you lose weight. I think this gets me on the stupidity of weighing in the evening which most SW groups do - the time of the day when your weight is most likely to fluctuate. I weigh myself every morning and look at my weekly average in particular as it's the most reliable measure. My SW group leader told me off for doing this. I haven't been back to a group since.

[holdmyfrylight]

I agree with a lot of points on here. It's stupid that exercise with SW isn't actively encouraged (besides the body magic certs/stickers). I'm sure when I did WW a few years back you got extra points for any exercise.

I go back to SW because I need someone to be accountable to - it may cost £5 a week but I'm happy to pay that if it keeps me focused. I did keto for a bit and still went to SW to get myself weighed. I've tried doing it on my own but because I'm not getting weighed each week I find myself eating crap then telling myself "oh I'll start again next week". Plus, the child in me likes getting the certificates and shiny stickers. This is a post about how exercise speeds up weight loss (or not) rather than the SW business itself.

I'm going to give c25k a go in a couple of weeks when I feel confident enough, I just wanted to prepare myself for the disappointment of the inevitable gains which SW have warned me of 

@PanicOnTheStreets85 the group I go to is run by a lovely woman. She regularly posts her food on Facebook which is full of veg and salad, but in the couple of years I've known her she hasn't lost much (she hasn't gained either though) so it makes me wonder if after a while weight loss plateaus or maybe she has more syns because she seems to be at target weight.

[tabulahrasa]

“the consultants say to expect gain and that this won't speed up weight loss.”

Hmm... it should be more along the lines of, if you start new exercise you might get a bit of fluid retention the first week, but don’t be put off by it and that while exercise is great for your health it won’t make as much difference to your losses as food, so make sure you’re still focussing on that.

Because yeah exercise helps, but it’s more eat right and if you add in exercise you’ll get an extra pound or two over a month than the have a cheat day where you eat about 7000 calories and but do a couple of 20 minute exercise sessions and you’ll still lose 3lb that people seem to think it is.

But it seems to vary how well consultants get that across.

“maybe she has more syns because she seems to be at target weight.”

It’s a different amount of healthy extras and syns if you’re supposed to be maintaining.

[DeltaAlphaDelta]

My group actively encourages exercise and it has helped me lose weight along with the SW plan. I dont particularly subscribe to body magic, as i tend to exercise for longer amounts only 1-2 times a week, and im 4st down so far. I tend to follow the healthy eating, low fat part of SW and dont bother with the make your own haribo/muller light type of mentality. Low fat, healthy food with an occasional treat is how i treat, and its something i can follow permanently.

[holdmyfrylight]

Thanks @tabulahrasa that's helpful.

[holdmyfrylight]

@DeltaAlphaDelta that's amazing, well done! Do you notice you get bigger weight loss in the weeks you do more exercise?

[Dowermouse]

I was told not to talk about what I did to gain my Body Magic certificates... they weren't even handed out, just slipped into my book.
It wasn't discouraged explicitly, weight gain at the beginning was explained.
I got shhh'd for saying the reason one woman had explosive squits after eating a whole box of their snack bars was the large amount of artificial sweeteners in them.
I lost the weight I wanted to but couldn't square the lack of emphasis on reducing the volume of food you put in your mouth, just the calories in it.
One woman couldn't loose weight because her fiancé wouldn't let her choose non-alcoholic drinks. Another's husband would kick off if she wouldn't eat the same as him.
It was good value just for the insight into other women's lives.

[DeltaAlphaDelta]

[quote holdmyfrylight]@DeltaAlphaDelta that's amazing, well done! Do you notice you get bigger weight loss in the weeks you do more exercise? [/quote]
Thank you. Its been a hard slog and i still have some to go, but ill get there.

It all depends how disciplined i am. If i exercise more and eat well, i will lose more weight than if i dont. I sometimes exercise more to compensate if i have been, or know i will be going off plan for say a holiday.

I dont particularly like artificial sweetener either, altho i am still a sucker for sugar free fizzy drinks.

[holdmyfrylight]

Yeah I can only tolerate artificial sweeteners in a small amount - perhaps 1 or 2 coffees a day and that's only because having a sweetener is better than not having one. I can't be bothered making the SW "sweets" either. I've seen someone making doughnuts from the HE but honestly, I'd rather use all my syns on an actual doughnut and cut down in other meals.

[holdmyfrylight]

I got shhh'd for saying the reason one woman had explosive squits after eating a whole box of their snack bars was the large amount of artificial sweeteners in them

That's one way to get a good loss I suppose

[DeltaAlphaDelta]

@holdmyfrylight

Yeah I can only tolerate artificial sweeteners in a small amount - perhaps 1 or 2 coffees a day and that's only because having a sweetener is better than not having one. I can't be bothered making the SW "sweets" either. I've seen someone making doughnuts from the HE but honestly, I'd rather use all my syns on an actual doughnut and cut down in other meals.

Yes exactly!

My exercise tends to be cardio too, cycling, boot camp type classes rather than heavy weight lifting.

[tabulahrasa]

“I got shhh'd for saying the reason one woman had explosive squits after eating a whole box of their snack bars was the large amount of artificial sweeteners in them”

Nah, it’s not the sweeteners, I can eat any amount of sweetener and I’m fine, it’s whatever is added to add fibre I reckon because more than 1 or 2 in a day does that to me too...

I don’t routinely eat that many, but sometimes it’s all that’s in because my teenage shaped locusts won’t touch them, lol

[MikeUniformMike]

Exercise is free and SW is a business.

Exercise might make you put on weight, but you'll be more compact.
Exercise with weights will help burn up calories, but you will put muscle on.

[stressedhousebuyer]

Possibly because if you build muscle with exercise it's heavier than fat and the scales won't reflect your effort.

I did SW and lose 3 stone and kept it off, you don't need to eat their cereal bars and meals if you don't want to. Also once you've reached your goal weight you can go every week for free

[DeltaAlphaDelta]

@stressedhousebuyer

Possibly because if you build muscle with exercise it's heavier than fat and the scales won't reflect your effort.

I did SW and lose 3 stone and kept it off, you don't need to eat their cereal bars and meals if you don't want to. Also once you've reached your goal weight you can go every week for free

Yes, a lot of people forget that about SW, the free membership when you are at target.

For me, its not been a diet, but a lifestyle change and the push i needed to eat a lot more healthily. I could easily see me following the basic structure of it for life.

[PanicOnTheStreets85]

So many people talk about exercise building muscle and making it look on the scales like you are gaining weight but I don't think it actually happens much.

My scales give me a rough estimate of my body fat and a generate a graph showing my lean vs total mass. This is my graph from the last year. When I first started losing weight I started a weight training program for about 6 weeks, then I switched to running instead. Neither made me gain any significant muscle mass, although might have prevented me from losing some muscle if you know what I mean.

I think the only weight gain I might have experienced is very short term fluid retention.

[Pliudev]

I just don't get the anti SW stuff. Surely the diet is just low fat/low sugar and that's got to be good for all of us. 2 years ago I combined it with swimming and lost quite a lot of weight, some of which has crept back on, so I've re-joined. I can't swim at the moment but my intention is to lose weight in time for the second spike of the virus in the autumn since I have type 2 diabetes and am in a vulnerable age group. I say anything that helps you to lose weight has to be a good thing and I'm willing to pay £5 a week for the encouragement.

[MikeUniformMike]

Low sugar is fine, but artificial sweetener isn't.
Some fat is good for you.

I have not been to SW, so really can't comment, but a close relative goes, and becomes a diet bore when she's doing it, then she reaches her goal and puts some weight on again, then goes back to SW.

[1neverending]

I lost weight on Sw and c25k

I found it great doing both the running and SW and I also tried the 30 day shred and found I didn't lose as much weight but my body shape changed for the better and I went down a dress size

[motherofawhirlwind]

My consultant is a runner and also walks her dogs miles every day. She's all for exercising and we celebrate body magic awards, she sends people medals when they do C25K etc.

Someone up thread said its eat less, move more. The eating comes first because that's going to have a bigger impact. It's very hard to exercise away a poor diet.