Has anyone on here followed SW and realised what a fucking cult it is?

[TimeToRevolutionize]

By all means I am not completely shaming Slimming World. I have previously enjoyed the plan and even lost 4st from following it, so it did work!

However, I have noticed in myself that I still don't feel as healthy and energetic as lifestyle changes should make you feel, and I think that is purely down to the fact that we are scared to use oil because of the syns, so we end up using Frylight which is full of chemical and other crap! And it doesn't cook spices properly either Everything is aspartame filled, tastes of tomatoes because their recipe always asks for 400g tin of tomatoes or a whole tub of passata!

Going food is very expensive.... topping up during the week because you need more low syn items or free foods, and because I felt like I had to buy low syn items to keep my day "low syn" as possible, which end up costing a fortune (£2.50 for a small bottle of sweet freedom when I can just buy normal chocolate syrup for about £1 in Aldi!) also you can only eat certain bread and cheeses... and eating unlimited amounts of free food is terrible advice! Calories is calories. Eat more than you burn off, you'll gain weight. Simple logic really!

I just felt like I was obsessing with syns too much. Going out for lunch was crap! I wanted something different on the menu but got stuck with jacket potato and beans because it is syn free. Now they've changed the plan again and I've now decided you know what? Fuck the bloody plan! I am not living like this anymore.

Enough is enough now. I lost 4st, I am still a stone our of target but you know what? I'm happy. I have learned to be happy in myself and I have decided to do exercise as well so instead of spending £5 a week getting weighed, I am spending £39 every 3 months on Beach Body on Demand. Money well spending, if I say so myself! I am still cooking nutritious meals every day at home using little bit of olive oil, I still eat plenty of fruit and vegetables BUT I also allow myself one treat a day, so it could be a packet of crisps, an ice lolly, or maybe a chocolate bar, etc.

They would've been a fuck load of syns but I am not going to count syns anymore. This is my new journey and I am going into January, following my own journey and feeling happy and content with myself!

[SheHasNotions]

They lost me at 'syns'. So stupid!

[AromaticSpices]

Agree with BifsWif. But good luck Mossyhill - hope you're one of the 5%. The only upside I found from it was the habit of making my plate 1/3 (at least) veg. But you have to make sure you don't have a bloody massive plate to start with as it's so easy to overconsume.

[BifsWif]

I don’t buy the NHS diet advice either. It wasn’t that long ago they were advocating low fat foods.

I truly hope it works for you, but factually less than 5% if members keep the weight off. How many times have you heard people say they’re going ‘back’ to slimming world?

It teaches nothing about portion control, the ‘free foods’ are chemical shit storms and natural, fresh foods are ‘syns’.

I wish you the best of luck with it, genuinely, but I still think it’s a con.

[Mossyhill]

Well I bloody love sw!
It’s giving me some confidence back since having my baby in the spring.
If it’s as bad as you all say it is, why do the nhs offer 12 week plans for free to obese patients?

[MagicKeysToAsda]

I have done it online only, because groups were not appealing to me. Support via the website was good and v quick helpful answers from their live chat thingy.

At first I was spending a lot on fresh groceries, but once I started planning ahead it was actually pretty economical and less than my weekly grocery spend had been before.

What I took from it:

• at least a third of my meal needs to be healthy fruit or veg (by default this limits the carb portion),
• excess fat needs to be trimmed from meat,
• fish is fab,
• cooking from scratch is better for me and needn't take long,
• if I want a snack I should really only have one per day and I won't die if I don't snack

And most importantly - this has to be a permanent change. That doesn't mean I have to pay for membership forever, but the eating habits can't be temporary otherwise the weight loss will be temporary too! That's why I chose this as my long-term plan, because I don't have to measure absolutely everything. A life where I always have to weight a portion of pasta is not a life I want

5 stones lost, good BMI now, and the weight loss gave me the energy and confidence to exercise so I'm regularly running 3x a week and weights 2x a week.

[AromaticSpices]

The SW way of eating is a complicated, dressed up way of creating a calorie deficit. The idea that 1/3 if your plate is veg then that naturally reduces calories from carbs which tend to be higher calorie values. I find the whole thing rather cynical. It's complex so you have to stick with it for life, one day 'off plan' and you put weight on as that takes you way over your calories for the day/week. Exercise isn't exactly encouraged (I mean they do have 'body magic' but I heard no reference to it other than the introduction talk. I filled in all the exercise I did but never even got mentioned by anyone despite the fact I should at least have got the 'bronze' award for it).

It definitely works but only because it limits calories (and the bigger you are the greater your TDEE is generally) - when you get closer to target it's very hard to lose unless you do EESP...

Not a fan!!

[OhioOhioOhio]

Yes it totally messed up my head.

[BifsWif]

Its a money making business, it doesn’t give a shit if you lose weight or not and it profits from members coming back to it time and time again. I don’t know anybody who kept the weight off long term.

An avocado is full of “syns” but here, eat one of our own brand processed bars that are a chemical shit storm instead? No thanks.

[RedDeadRoach]

If you're planning to eat chocolate, crisps and ice cream every day you're probably not going to do as well as you think you are, especially if you regard them as "treats". Why is feeding your body sugary crap a treat? And why do you need junk food as a treat? Is it comfort eating? Are you dealing with the reasons why you comfort eat?

Slimming world isn't great but you bemoan syns, at least that makes you aware of what you're eating. If you continue to eat crap every day then you're not going to see the results you think you're going to see.

[FaithInfinity]

One thing that SW did help me with is including fruit and veg with my meals. I ate very carb heavy meals, often in isolation, I’d often only have 1-2 portions of fruit and veg a day. Now I’m in the habit of having fruit and veg and usually have 4-5 portions a day.

I just could never get my head round the idea that it was fine to eat as much synthetic chemicals as sweetener but not sugar, basically it’s about tricking your body?! That can’t be healthy.

[rockingthelook]

Done both SW and WW, both quite similar eating plans now, but in WW you don't have to sit in a circle and say what you've lost or gained every week while everyone sits around clapping like demented seals, mortifying. I am at a 'normal' healthy weight now because both these groups made me realise just how heavy I was and start to take personal responsibility for what I was shovelling into my mouth that was making me fat, unhappy and unhealthy. I eat pretty much anything I want now, but in smaller portions and cook in a healthier way, reducing fat and sugar, weigh myself regularly to monitor and have found that it is so much easier to be more physically active as the weight comes off, I don't do sports as such, but do walk a lot. I do occasionally over eat, but don't beat myself or self loathe anymore, just reduce what I'm eating for the next few days until I stabilise again.One thing I have noticed with groups though is that if you are very heavy and lose weight well, the leaders love it, show you off etc, but once you are at goal/target and no longer paying, lose interest quickly, it works for some, but not for others, I can see why the op says it is like a cult though

[BirdyKRos]

I tried slimming world but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. Since August I have been doing Herbalife and I have managed to lose all of my baby weight plus an extra 9lbs so far. I was pretty sceptical before I started, but it deffinately works for me. We just need to remember that different diets / eating plans for for different people.

[Nicknamesalltaken]

So it worked for you, you’re not ‘completely shaming it’ but you think it’s a ‘fucking cult’.

Just step away from it then. You don’t need it anymore. Lots of people find it helpful. Just as you did.

[greendale17]

I know 3 people who did slimming world and became absolutely obsessed with food. Not healthy to me at all

[PaulHollywoodsSexGut]

Oh my god
Fucking Muller Yoghurts

[Flowersonthewall]

It's a business that doesn't want you to succeed! If you did get to your goal weight on so then you wouldn't continue to go so they work on the premise that you won't lose the weight so keep going back!!
I went one meeting with a friend and the fact that the leader was rather overweight spoke volumes to me! If you want to promise a weight loss programme at least have people at a healthy weight leading it!

[halfwitpicker]

Just the fact that they call it 'syn' indicates that its a diet for stupid people. Sorry.

[mypoosmellsofroses]

I went years ago and it was crap. Had a week where I had a bad throat infection, could hardly eat anything and the leader just kept banging on at me about how many syns were in Lemsip. Never went back.

[TimeToRevolutionize]

Thank you to everyone for your replies! Instagram is the worse for it. Constantly promoting advertisements for a load of shit to make money out of it. I really like carbytobarbie on Insta! She's a breath of fresh air and says what we are all thinking! And she says it how it is.

[UserMe18]

I tried it this year and the consultant was a bloody dictator. According to her the plan is only successful if you go to group every week mindlessly clapping and sympathising with the trivial gains and losses of that week, exercise doesn't make you lose weight apparently (it only tones you 🙄) I bought a 12 week course and found that I always put on weight on my period (was obviously just water retention, would have a big loss the following week) and she would relish in telling me it was because I didn't go to group. It was pretty toxic tbh because I was only a size 12 at the top end of a healthy BMI, I was only looking to change my lifestyle and get healthier. Anyways I gave up within 1 month and switched to calorie counting but carried on getting weighed, I relished in reaching my goal by the end of the 12 weeks and saying it wasn't because of SW :)

Hated the diet, it's not sustainable for me and I don't think it's very healthy promoting diet sodas etc. 2 months later and I'm still at my target weight.

[Petalflowers]

I think for some people, it does get you out of the cycle of eating unhealthily, and people obviously do loose weight.

However, I didn’t get much from the meetings either. By the time we had weighed in, and gone round everyone finding out how much people had lost, then the meeting time was almost up. There was little or no discussion on healthy eating, exercise etc. I admit, like the poster above, I did stop using jars of pasta sauce due to their sugar content, but not much more.

Also resented having to pay £5 for missed weeks, which I also think is beetle spent on buying fresh fruit, better quality meat etc.

[FaithInfinity]

I went for 18 months. Lost 3st in 9 months and got to target. I looked the best I had done in years. Unfortunately I got ill, couldn’t exercise much (limited to walking and gentle yoga), took drugs which increased my appetite (I ate all the biscuits) and I put 2 stone back on.

I stopped going a few months ago. I just couldn’t get back into ‘diet’ mode, because you know, despite how much they tell you it isn’t, it is in fact a diet. Also it never really addressed my biggest issue which is binge eating.

So I’ve turned things around. I’m better now fortunately. I’ve stopped dieting. I’m eating proper portions of real food. How nice is normal yoghurt?! I’m avoiding sweeteners. I’m sure further research will say they’re terrible for your health. I’ve read Brain over binge by Kathryn Hansen and I’m listening to the podcast as I run. I’m optimistic that over time I can normalise my eating habits for the first time since my teens and that gradually I will lose weight and tone up in the long term.

I think it spoke volumes that when I text my consultant to say I was leaving SW she didn’t even reply. Ultimately it is all about money and if you maintain at target they don’t make any money!

[Waitingonasmiley42]

I totally agree there are many flaws to the plan. However it totally changed how I cooked and made me step away from using jars. I honestly hadn't considered how many calories oil or a jar of curry sauce had until I saw how many "syns" they were on SW.

[FrightsaidRed]

I have to admit everyone I’ve known who has lost a lot on it has then put it all back on again and returned to SW...and so the cycle continues with yo-yo dieters. Whereas the people I know who have made overall lifestyle changes and taken up exercise are still at their ideal weight years on. I guess that speaks volumes.

I liked how ‘easy’ it seemed but equally parts of it made no sense to me as although allowed they seemed unhealthy. If it’s fat free but loaded with sugar, that’s not great!

[BookwormMe]

SW and WW and all those other paid-for programmes need people to FAIL at long-term weight loss for their businesses to survive and profit, so the plans are cleverly designed to stop short of helping people achieve it. The plans do just enough to help lose people lose weight in the short term, but these companies need people to keep going back! It's not rocket science when you think about it.