Slimming world or Calorie counting

[Sel14]

I have a lot of weight to lose (5 stone)

I have in the past followed Slimming World and had good results.
I’ve never tried calorie counting but I’m considering it.

Whilst I like the “free” element of slimming world, I don’t like that there isn’t really much emphasis on portion control.
I also feel like I eat the same food when following the SW plan and I end up going off plan if I haven’t prepped a meal or if I’m short of time and haven’t got anything quick to whip up.

So... SW / calorie counting? Why? Have you had success?

I'd calorie count over sw any day. I think sw promotes really bad habits and encourages people to consume loads of shite and processed foods, as well as sugar.

@3Britnee

What do you mean it encourages you to eat shite?
That’s not my experience of Slimming World.

Im a first time dieter. I’ve lost a stone calorie counting. Tried sw recipes and just wasn’t keen. So now I use my fitness pal app. It gives you a good awareness of what the best foods are. You add your exercise too and you clearly see how good or bad you were that day. You can also add measurements and photos.
The best thing I did was stop all the snacks. All of them. I just have weetabix , beans on toast / soup and a normal evening meal using fresh veg and fat fat alternatives

I think as losing weight all depends on a calorie deficit, the best way to lose weight is making sure you know how many calories are in the food you're eating. Team RH on Facebook can be quite insightful

Muller lights.
15 syns worth of junk. Some people might use syns for cooking etc but many don't, they try to cram in as much junk as possible for their 15 syns.
Unlimited potatoes, pasta and rice.
Boiling pork in diet drinks.
Avocados are bad.
Etc etc etc

@TheBugHouse

Im a first time dieter. I’ve lost a stone calorie counting. Tried sw recipes and just wasn’t keen. So now I use my fitness pal app. It gives you a good awareness of what the best foods are. You add your exercise too and you clearly see how good or bad you were that day. You can also add measurements and photos. The best thing I did was stop all the snacks. All of them. I just have weetabix , beans on toast / soup and a normal evening meal using fresh veg and fat fat alternatives

@TheBugHouse

Amazing, well done!

So where do I start... how do I know how many calories I’m supposed to eat daily / per meal?

I was a novice, clueless. Have a look at the app . The free version, don’t pay. I think it auto gave me 1500 calories a day and if you add exercise such as a walk you get more allowed calories . You put in your height and weight and it gives you an allowance based on that. As you add food snd you can also scan a bar code, such as a porridge box it tells you how many calories so it is a good educator. You always need to have a surplus to lose weight.

Search bmr calculator and tdee calculator online.

Bmr is your basic metabolic rate which is the minimum number of calories your body uses just being alive. Tdee is your total daily energy expenditure which is your bmr calories plus activity.

You can then decide how many calories to cut off those depending on what they are and how much activity you do.

Calorie counting and tracking your macros any day over Slimming World.

Quite a few people I know have done Slimming World and have put all the weight they lost back on.

Slimming World encourages you to eat sugar and processed foods due to you only governing how many 'syns' you eat, nutrition is much more complex than that. You could eat a chocolate bar high in sugar whuch fits in with Slimming World but it encourages sugar addiction.

Also, this nonsense on syn free foods such as pasta makes no sense. Excess carbs will definitely hinder your progress.