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Weight loss chat

A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

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Original poster

Slimming world or weight watchers?

17 replies

kaymondo · 01/01/2015 14:29

I'm on a mission to get a stone and a half off and want to follow a plan to get me started. Can't decide whether to go for SW or WW and not really sure what the difference is now as, having looked at the WW website, it looks a lot more like SW than it was when I did it ten years ago! I lost over 2 stone on SW a couple of years ago after DS2 so know it works but a mum from school has just set up a new local WW group so could give that a try.

What do you think?

OP posts:

notonyourninny · 02/01/2015 15:00

Bumping for you as Im trying to decide too

Smoolett · 02/01/2015 16:50

I think it depends. I did WW as I felt I needed some portion control. I lost 77lbs most of which I gained back when pg. Back to WW i go good luck to you both

LongDistanceLove · 02/01/2015 16:54

I'm going to a ww meeting tomorrow, I'll let you know what it's like. I did ww years ago and I seem to remember it being quite good. It's changed since then though. Dreading getting on the scales though

peacefuloptimist · 02/01/2015 16:57

I prefer ww. Someone tried to explain sw to me recently and it sounded really confusing. Plus I like the structute of ww.

colleysmill · 02/01/2015 16:59

I go to ww - mainly because the meeting time was more convenient! Ww has a "filling and healthy option which you can eat without limits (ie no weighing or counting) within reason. You can still count as an option.

My dad does sw and was saying they have new plans out so I'm not sure how different that is from their old plans.

SacredHeart · 02/01/2015 17:04

I found WW was way to all-encompassing where as SW is really simple.

WW you have points for everything (good and bad) and everything seemed to have a portion size. Eating out felt complicated and confusing

SW - you can have as much Lean meat, pasta, potato, rice, beans (even baked beans) as you want as long as 1/3 of your meal is vegetables or fruit. One potion of bread or cereal a day, one portion of milk or cheese and a number of points for "treats". Eating out was much, much more simple.

I lost over five stone in nine months - 15 stone 5 to 10 stone and kept 4 off for over a year (I went a little too far).

notonyourninny · 02/01/2015 19:27

That sounds up my street sacred only thing is I'm worried i'll just keep eating on SW.

notonyourninny · 02/01/2015 19:31

Going to try the 7 day free sw plan next week

2kidsintow · 02/01/2015 19:33

My sister has time to cook from scratch a lot and enjoys the rules of slimming world.

My friend doesn't like to be hungry, so chooses slimming world.

I like to know where I've gone wrong if I've had a bad week, don't always have time to cook and like the control that counting my points brings. (You do learn the points of the regular foods you eat quite quickly).

AnnieLobeseder · 02/01/2015 19:36

noton, that's the joy of SW, you can just keep on eating as much as you like, as long as it's free food (which includes lean meat, pasta, grains, pulses, fruit, vegetables and fat-free dairy). So you really can just graze all day long and lose weight. I'm a grazer, so it really suits me as I can put as much food in my mouth as I like as often as I like.

SacredHeart · 02/01/2015 19:40

I agree - the thing everyone told me while on SW "how are you losing weight, you're always eating!"

the point is if you are hungry, eat- but eat right.

notonyourninny · 02/01/2015 20:02

Oooh that does sound for me. I do eat alt cook alot.

Princessdeb · 02/01/2015 20:20

Dear OP,
I have lost 3 stone in 4 months so far with SW (have quite a way to go yet) and have found it incredibly straightforward. I work full time but manage to cook from scratch most days and SW definitely encourages that because then you have much more choice and control over what you eat. There are however, hundreds of really easy recipes on the SW website available for members so if you are short on time there are easy, quick options on there. Also they will be producing a range of ready meals in the next couple of months so if you want a quick and easy option there will be one there. I eat out quite a lot and haven't had any difficulty with that. You mention in your OP that WW looks a lot more like SW now than it did a few years ago and there is a very simple reason for that, it works and is easy to follow and maintain.
You do need to think about what would work for you and your family and that also means practical things like timing and location of the meetings. At the end of the day although I am clearly a SW convert whatever works for you and helps you feel healthier is great. Good luck x

notonyourninny · 02/01/2015 20:23

Can anyone explain how/if booze works? hopeful

nbee84 · 02/01/2015 20:23

I think sw helps to re-educate your eating habits, so that when you've lost the weight you just keep eating the same with some extra bread and dairy portions and the odd extra treat and you should maintain.

I lost nearly 3 stone just over a year ago and have managed to maintain for most of that time. I tend to put on half a stone or so after holidays and Christmas and just go back to plan for a couple of weeks to get back in target range.

AnnieLobeseder · 02/01/2015 20:28

You get 5-15 points a day (bizarely and unhelpfully called Syns) that you can "spend" on anything you like. A glass of wine (175ml) is 6 syns, so if you don't use your syns on anything else (like biscuits or extra cheese) then you can have two glasses of wine a day.

notonyourninny · 02/01/2015 20:46

Well annie you've made my day

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