I have a lot to lose…

[slimmingworldnewbie]

Currently 17 and a half stone. So I am looking to lose about 6-7 stone 😭 anyone else been in this position and been successful? How long did it take?

I think my problem is that I am expecting the weight to come off immediately. I am going to the gym and I am so unfit yet I am expecting to be super fit after going a few times!

Baby steps right?

In my experience it’s the people with lots to lose that do the best at SW, with big losses. Just follow the plan, it does actually work. Cook from scratch and eat lots of veg, fruit and salad. Enjoy your syns. There are people at my group who have lost 5/6/7 stones in a year.

Yes. Sister took 2 years to lose 10 stone. Calorie counting and walking every day. She's kept it up and kept it off. She looks great and is much fitter.

@BarrelOfOtters calorie counting? So not SW?

I lost 3 and a half stone at Slimming World in 6 months and have kept it off for a year now.

Loved Slimming World, made some good friends at the group and still go to weigh in every week.

I joined Slimming World because I felt so unfit and none of my clothes fitted me. My joints ached and everything was hard work.

The class is upstairs and I remember puffing and sweating up those stairs in to my first meeting thinking 'bloody hell, this is going to be months of torture before I feel even slightly better'.

The amazing thing was that I felt better every week from week one. Each week I'd lose a pound or two, the stairs got easier, my clothes got looser - then I had to buy new, smaller clothes. My skin got better, people started noticing and my confidence got out of the gutter. I didn't have to wait 6 months to feel better - it started immediately and kept me motivated.

Slimming World really worked for me and I hope it does for you. Stick with it!

No, but same sort of principles of being consistent, eating well and keeping on going. It's more it is possible. Whatever way you choose to do it good luck. And just keep going with it.

I lost four stone over six months with SW and follow the principles now, to a degree. One thing I found helpful was noting my weight go down month by month, rather than worry too much about the weekly stats.

So, if I only lost half a pound one week, or stayed the same, I didn’t get disheartened. Because I could see that my weight was going down over the course of a month. (You might not be like me, but in the past, a ‘bad week’ could see me give up completely!)

Baby steps is totally right. A great attitude. Good luck!

Ive lost 5 stone in a little over a year. Have about 2 to go. The plan is working well for me.

My starting weight was 15st 2lbs on 8th Jan. Target weight 10st 2lbs (which is half a stone below my max 'healthy weight'.

Joined SW, got down to 14st 5lbs by mid March so an 11lb loss. I found it very easy and low stress.

Then I fell off the wagon badly a couple of weeks before Easter, ate ALL the chocolate and cake and didn't restart. Put 6lbs back on in about 5 weeks...but just to be clear, this wasn't weight returning after starting eating 'normally' - it was me massively overeating, nearly every day, fully back to the bad habits that got me to 15st in the first place.

I've restarted SW, done two full weeks properly on plan and have lost that 6lbs - and I'm now back to 14st 5lbs and an 11lb loss so far.

IMO it's a great way to lose weight. When on plan and consciously eating on plan I eat healthy, natural foods with some treats but measured. I think maybe it would be more of a struggle to lose weight when you're close to target but I'm a long way off that still! Like a pp said, the more you have to lose, the better SW works in the first few months.

How do you cope with eating out etc? I find a lot of places are really high on syns even though calorie wise not that bad?

If I'm eating out I look at the menu of where I'm going on line first and choose the best option. I then save up my sins and A&B choices through the day so I can use them for the meal out. I ask for sauces on the side so I can just have a little bit.

I guess we all have the same SW books. In the syns section of mine there is a list of chain restaurants and the syn values of the meals there...don't know the sort of place you eat out, but if I go to Nandos I can have a really good meal for about 5 syns (chicken, rice and corn on the cob).

Same as pp.

However, if I'm faced with an unexpected pub grub type meal, then my go to for safety is either steak or gammon with pineapple. Cut any fat off and swap the chips for salad.

I started SW about 5 weeks ago, not because I feel I want to dedicate myself to the SW plan, but because I want the accountability of paying to stand in front of someone and getting on the scales on a weekly basis.

I'm mostly following the SW system but calorie counting alongside. I eat full fat, I use proper oil when cooking, and that essentially uses up my "Syns".

By calorie counting alongside I ensure I'm genuinely in a calorie deficit. I fully understand what the SW messaging is meant to be, but I fear a lot of people only hear the bits they want (eat as much pasta and rice as you'd like, it's a free food) and this is perfectly effective to those with a lot to lose (I had 3.5st to lose in my first weigh in, so I'm counting myself as a lot to lose too). However for those without much to lose, or those closer to their targets it's really about nailing that calorie deficit alongside the focus on fresh veg, lean proteins and proper cooking.

The other thing I would say is to be honest with yourself about how long the weight took to go on, it didn't go on in a day, it won't come off in a day either! Keep going, you can do it!

@44PumpLane thank you. I completely agree with you regarding the “free foods”. I have a lot to lose right now, so I am following the SW plan. However when I get closer to goal I will look more closely to ensure I am getting my calorie deficit.

I have lost 8 pounds in 2.5 weeks so I am chuffed!

@slimmingworldnewbie that's excellent! Well done- a really great beginning!!!

@slimmingworldnewbie Wow, that's some going. You must be feeling great and really proud of yourself. Stick with it!!