Overweight Slimming World Leaders

[ImperialBlether]

I've gone to SW a few times over the years and they have all had something in common: their leaders are more overweight than I am.

The one I know best, I've known for about fifteen years. Her children were at school with mine. She's always been the same weight, needing to lose (at a guess) six or seven stone.

I remember going to WW a long time ago and the leader there told me they had to be at target weight (or near enough) before they could train as a leader. If they put on a lot of weight, their job was gone.

I think that's fair enough, really. They are the ambassador for the diet. Yes, we can all have a troublesome time occasionally where we put on weight, but what kind of leader is it who stays several stone overweight for decades?

I went to SW tonight. A different leader was there, standing in. She was the biggest person in the room.

Surely this is a bit ridiculous?

Oh and the WW leader told me she was weighed each week by her own leader. She would tell us her weight and how much she'd lost/gained or whatever that week and what had worked for her. She said they all had their story of how they lost a lot of weight.

I've never heard a SW leader mention her own weight or weightloss.

Are they all the same?

Depends on your point of view, some people may think an overweight leader will be more "understanding" as they're all in the same boat.

I don't think it makes much difference to me, I am going back to SW soon and the leader at our local group is overweight but steadily shrinking. One of our local groups has a leader who is big but has a personality to match and her classes are very popular and successful.

Years ago I went to WW and the leader of that one group was horrendously thin, not just slender, but really emaciated to the point that she once told us her family were worried for her health because of her thinness and I found that more disconcerting.

Guess the point I was making, which I forgot to mention(!) is that they are just selling a standard formula anyway. WW is the same whether taught to you by a fat leader or a thin one and the same for SW, they're just delivering a corporate message; their diet does not change no matter who passes it on.

Our SW group leader gets weighed in one of her groups and also tells both groups how she's done. She is still on the weightloss journey and she is a lot more supportive than the WW leader at the class I went to.

But if someone is selling you a diet and telling you how to go about it, surely it's important that to some extent it's worked for them? I would be motivated by someone who'd lost several stone and who still wanted to lose some more and was steadily losing it, but if someone needs to lose several stone and doesn't lose an ounce whilst telling huge bunches of women (in particular) what they should be eating (and clearly isn't following her own advice) then it's a bit hypocritical, isn't it?

I completely get your point.

I have never been to either but if the leader was say 4 stone overweight but had already lost 6 stone and was on their journey I'd say it was positive and ok that they were overweight.

On the other hand if they were 4 stone overweight and not loosing then I agree not a good ambassador for diet. Totally hypocritical.

I agree with what you're saying
I go to a SW group but our leader has lost her weight and has her photos up around the room

I agree that if they are in the process of losing weight too then that is fine. If they have no intention of doing it or are finding it impossible to stick to the diet they are promoting and supposed to be helping you with, then they are in the wrong job.

Slightly off subject but . . .

One of our local groups has a leader who is big but has a personality to match

. . . I always find it strange when people say that. Thin people often have big personalities too.

Did you know, Us Slimmming World Consultants are not there to be judged or critiitcized, just like our members, we are there to help you. Its not about us, its about you. Thats why Slimming World Value us as Your Consultants, we help you lose weight. WW sack theirs, if they gain weight, because they dont care about their leaders, they only care about what they look like. Stop nxt time before you judge anybody, you dont know what that person has had to go thru in life in general.

not neccessarily in the wrong job, just abit off track! we are not to be judged! i help 180 people a week gain confidence, seft esteem, make better choices, and save lives! dont tell mne im in the wrong bloddy job! i love my job with a passion. Come to one of my groups and i will show you how passioonate i am about helping people lose weight! then judge me! x

I don't think anyone is judging overweight slimming world leaders, we're just puzzled as to how people can be an ambassador for a diet that doesn't work for them (either because it just doesn't work or because they can't stick to it long term).

I agree, I am not judging, more puzzled about:

a) someone who knew the ins and outs of slimming world and cared about it with a passion could be overweight still

and

b) it doesn't look good to those really trying to loose weight, ie its not a good example. I couldn't take advice on how to give up smoking from a smoker, or advice on fashion from someone who dressed badly etc.

If a heart consultant sat and told me I had to do XY and Z to become healthy - but was drinking coke, smoking and eating a cream cake - would I listen to him?

I agree with foreverondiet

Zoe1972 It's not about judging, it's about looking at the person who is representing a diet/lifestyle who clearly can not stick to it themselves. What does that say about the quality and affectiveness of the diet?!

My consultant has lost about 5 stone so far and could do with losing about 4 more stone, however has been trying to do it for about 15 years. That said, I still believe in the product as have experienced the results first hand myself & appreciate the advice & support of my consultant.

I also believe you need to have achieved your Club 10 before you can be a leader, not simply decide you want to be one without ever having tried the plan.

I do understand why you question it though!

Zoe, I'm not being judgemental.

I've been to SW every Christmas for years - it's a tradition! The same woman has run it. She must be about 6 or 7 stone overweight. She isn't a weight she would be happy with.

She's lovely, really lovely and yes, she's motivating. But the fact is that she's the biggest woman in the room. She's saying, "Why not do X" and the obvious response is, "Well, do you do it?"

It IS like a smoker telling you how to stop smoking. Not telling you to stop but obviously he/she could want to stop and struggle too. But if someone on 4 x what you are smoking tells you HOW to stop, surely your eyebrows would raise a little?

I think the ethos behind having a weekly club to motivate women to share and lose weight togehter is great; also that it's vital to have inspirational leaders to motivate and guide.

However, i completely agree with Imperial that considently v overweight leaders are going to be sending the message "do as i say, not as I do"
proving, I'm afraid that such diets DON'T work. in the long-term. There's going to be no trust or confidence there, however nice/inspiring/charismatic/kind the leader is!

I wouldn't study French with a teacher who wasn't fluent, learn to drive with an instructor who couldn't etc and as Imperial says, it really IS like a smoker telling you to stop smoking. why would i listen to someone who can't stop themselves? Well, I wouldn't regardless of the reasons!

Honest answer? I'd only listen to some who'd battled and succeeded not battled and failed. I also must say I hate how commerical WW is, as well as the irony of paying what £20 every month to lose weight?!. Most diets fail in the long-term, as WW know, it's how they keep making money year after year. That is probably why some WW leaders are so overweight, they're simply representative of what can happen after a while on WW.

I agree - it's a terrible advertisement for the brand. If someone is leading a class and has been long term overweight surely this says either:
This diet doesn't work
I'm not motivated enough to do this diet
This diet is too hard
Staying on this diet long term does not produce the desired results.

Would you go to see a fat, unfit personal trainer?

Hmm...I did WW years ago, leader was slim, at target weight but a right cow clearly struggling to maintain her weight and had all the sympathy of a sociopathic pirahna. She left and was replaced by a lady who was not as slim, but still in the range allowed by WW, and she was SO much more helpful (and also stamped out the thin bashing that went on in that class), talking about how it's not always easy to stay at target and making healthy food choices with your points, which the other one NEVER did, she talked about surviving off coffee and fags and starving yourself all day so you could have a plate of chips...

I joined SW after I had my DD and liked the diet plan, such as it is, and I liked the emphasis on increasing activity. the consultant at my local group is about a size 16 I would guess, but she used to be MUCH bigger and has her before and after photos around the room. She's a very attractive confident lady who dresses beautifully and she frequently addressed her own weight in sessions.

What she said was, her original target weight had been 2st less than she is now, however she struggled to maintain that and ended up putting all her loss back on, BP shooting back up, aching joints etc. When she returned to SW and ended up becoming a consultant, she decided to maintain at a higher weight, she is happy with her looks and is healthy and active in the "overweight" category.

I think that's a good approach to be honest, I live in a poor area and the majority of the people in the group were obese and had a LOT of weight to lose. Lots had lived on convenience food all their lives and never exercised, so had lots to learn about healthy eating and activity.

Some weeks someone would admit to feeling despondent about the mountain they had to climb, and she would remind the class we were there to improve our health and have a long happy life. She'd say stop thinking you have to fit into a size 10 skirt, instead think how much easier it will be to move around when you've lost a couple of stone, how much happier you'd be if you could bend down to pick up your grandchildren, etc., and that a nice side effect of that will be that you can buy a nice dress in a size 18 for your son's wedding or whatever.

I'm a HCP and think that's a good way to help people change their health behaviours, I used to leave feeling motivated and we talked a lot about food, recipes, how to deal with feeling blue and wanting to eat. I had a stone to go then went back to work and couldn't make the groups anymore but once I've had this baby I'll rejoin that group to get my pg weight off and hopefully a bit more besides.

Sorry for rambling on so long, I guess I'm trying to say that some weight loss consultants may not be slim, but they have still succeeded in losing a large amount of weight and keeping it off, so have a lot of wisdom to share and can be really supportive to help others make permanent changes.

I do understand though if you are going along to lose a couple of stone to fit back in your bikini you may be a bit nonplussed to be thinner than the person in charge :) just keep an open mind, there will be crap fat leaders and crap slim leaders, as well as brilliant ones of all sizes. It is the same diet whoever delivers the sessions but my WW experience showed me the group leader's attitude does make a difference.

ImperialBlether, is she Marjorie Dawes ?

But rooksby, she's been this weight for the last twenty years! I've known her since my child started school! She hasn't lost any weight at all.

And I agree that the desire to be a size 10 can stop many diets in their tracks, with people giving up at the thought of such a challenge. A goal of a healthy weight is great.

Oh Finallygotaroundtoit, I have to admit the thought has crossed my mind!

I have been to four different SW groups in the past. Two had slim leaders, two had/have (current one) larger leaders and by larger, I mean one was one of the largest women I have ever seen and one is probably a dress size 22 ish.

The two slim ones did share their weightloss 'story' with the group, the larger ladies didn't, although to be fair I have only been to one of thsoe groups once so far. My initial impression of the current leader is that she is Marjorie Daws and she was quite rude to several members. My friend and I joked that we'll see her in the supermarket with a basket full of cake... but aside. I found tyhe slimmer leaders most supportive, although I appreciate a sample of four isn't many. I do try not to judge them by their weight though, as for all I know they could have already lost 5 or 10 stone.

I do agree that the leaders should really be a walking advert for the diet plans, but also that how they are able to support members as they lose their weight. I think the latter is most important.

ooh I think you should ask her about it if she doesn't appear to have lost anything ever! Surely if you are obviously not at any sort of target you should be volunteering info why? Once the SW lady was away and another one filled in, she was a very, very large lady but she told us that she had lost several stone a few years before and maintained but had piled it back on after having more babies and some bereavements, and was in the process of losing it again, which I thought was fair enough. I have seen her around the local area and she has lost a good few stone since then.

If I was in charge of a slimming group I would expect to be asked about my own weight - the nice WW leader got asked by a horrible enormous woman why she should take advice from a "skinny cow" (the leader was about a size 12, she wasn't super slim and even if she was there was a massive cardboard cut out of her about 6 stone heavier in the corner!).
As for rude/Marjorie Daws types, vote with your feet! Or complain to head office - I think that's what happened to the nasty WW woman I encountered. She took her chiffon neckerchiefs and her 'issues' and b*ggered off into the sunset :)