Impossible to Lose Weight

[CrispsnDips]

A friend has been a member of Slimming World on and off for about 20 years and now, aged late 50’s, she believes that it’s not possible to lose weight ..she is a size 18. She tells me that, because of her age, she probably won’t be able to budge from her current weight. She does everything that SW advise but no changes. Do you think she is having sneaky bars of chocolate that she’s not telling me about or that it can genuinely be a problem at her age? Perhaps thyroids?

She is quite upset about it.

Maybe, maybe not. But clearly it’s not working for her, and 20 years is a heck of a long time. Why don’t you just suggest she tries a different approach. Weight loss is clearly not impossible, she just hasn’t found the right diet yet.

If she’s been a member that long and hasn’t lost weight... she probably isn’t doing everything they advise tbh.

That doesn’t mean sneaky chocolate bars necessarily, but IME there are lots of members sort of almost doing slimming world and then it doesn’t work.

Which may mean it just isn’t something that’s sustainable for her and she’d be better trying something else.

Why on earth is she spending money to SW for 20 years if it's not working...

Yeah she needs to change her method.
She also needs to exercise. It may just be that her body has adjusted to the diet. I bet if she did an hour walk every day the weight would start to shift.

She needs to look at portions too. There are lots of 'free' foods on SW but if you eat too many you're not going to lose weight. Maybe she'd be better counting calories or trying another method like WW where you account for everything you eat. It's not impossible to lose weight, even if you have medical issues that make it harder.

If it had never worked then something isn't right there, has she ever sought medical advice, got bloods checked etc?

If she can't lose now in her 50s well yes, it's hard due to menopausal issues!

She needs to stop going to Slimming World as it's clearly not working for her. She's losing the wrong type of pounds!

Weight loss groups often have members that have been going for years and losing and gaining the same half stone or so. It's more of a social thing for them. When you actually question them they are not really following the prescribed diet at all. Just picking the parts of it that are convenient for them! They guess portions, they don't weigh ingredients, they forget to track what they've eaten, they'll eat "just one" or "just a sliver" because they don't count do they. They don't think about what they're drinking and if they do any exercise then they reward themselves with a treat because "they've earned it"!

Why does your friend want to lose weight. What's her motivation for doing so? Does she have some sort of goal in mind, not necessarily weight or dress size related? What things will she be able to do once she's lost weight that she can't do now? How does she feel about herself now? How does she want to feel? Does she need to be accountable to someone for her weight? These are all questions that might help your friend to focus on her weight loss and find a plan/programme that will work for her.

Personally the simplest thing I've found that works well with my day is time restricted eating. Evenings were the worst time of day for overeating but now I don't allow myself to eat past 7:30am or eat before 11:30am. I've reduced my calorie intake with very little effort and at no cost.

7:30pm*

Thanks for all replies ..it’s really interesting.

She mentioned today that SW let you eat as much as you feel comfortable with, when it comes to things like baked beans. That doesn’t make sense because I think some people are tempted to pile a whole tin on their plate coz they think it’s not a problem 😃 I questioned this with my friend and suggested that all the “ok” foods still need to be measured out. Baked beans have lots of calories!

She’s fairly active. I know she said she has a stone to lose before a special occasion in April.

If she's eating less etc and nothing is happening has she been checked for insulin resistance? I finally got checked 6 months ago. Despite exercising regularly (cardio and weights) and eating pretty healthy nothing was coming off. Found out I was IR 6 months into taking metformin and the weight has dropped off me.

She mentioned today that SW let you eat as much as you feel comfortable with, when it comes to things like baked beans.

And people pay money for this advice

“She mentioned today that SW let you eat as much as you feel comfortable with, when it comes to things like baked beans.”

Yes... except, at least 1/3 of your portion of whatever you’re having is supposed to be low cal vegetables (tomatoes, salad, etc.) and you’re supposed to be eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re comfortably full.

They’re the bits people often ignore.

Slimming world as a "diet" is pretty poor, because it doesn't teach you about calories and portion control. She may well be following the plan to the letter, only have 15 syns a day, having a 3rd of her plate being speed food (veg, fruit etc) but when you're eating pasta by the bucket loads because it's a free food, you're never going to lose weight.
I did slimming world for a period two years ago, and someone in the same group legit ate a pack a ham a day (400g pack) because it was free and the consultant recommended filling up on free food ... that one pack would be around an extra 540 calories a day. On top of 3 meals, snacks and the addition "syns"

I really don't trust slimming world. I could easily overeat on all the foods they deem "free". She's probably not going into a calorie deficit even if she is sticking to the rules.

well first of all she needs to change her mindset, if she believes it can't happen it won't (probably a reflection of her effort).
next insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result so 20 years of SW isn't working she should look at something different.
metabolism changes with age and menopause and based on activity muscle decline.
IF she wants to slim up/firm up she could but it will take more effort than peeling up a carrot or heating up some soup.
i absolutely loath defeatist depressive attitudes about weight loss, honestly if you want to do it you can.

You can have free food but you also need a third of speed food. You can't just have a massive plate of carbs. So eating nothing but baked beans won't work.

@CrispsnDips

A friend has been a member of Slimming World on and off for about 20 years and now, aged late 50’s, she believes that it’s not possible to lose weight ..she is a size 18. She tells me that, because of her age, she probably won’t be able to budge from her current weight. She does everything that SW advise but no changes. Do you think she is having sneaky bars of chocolate that she’s not telling me about or that it can genuinely be a problem at her age? Perhaps thyroids?

She is quite upset about it.

Maybe, but as we age our metabolism slowing down. And being constantly on a diet sometimes make it even worse. Plus your friend might not know she can be insulin resistant, leptin resistant or have thyroid problems and with those conditions it's extremely hard to loose weight.