SW or CC

[HeyDiddleDumplings]

Hi all,

I’ve put in quite a lot of weight over the past few years - having children, change of lifestyle and covid. I have about 4-5 stone to loose.

I have previously lost 4 stone on SW and kept it off for years until I had children and become a SAHM. I low level but persistent depression and the weight just tumbled on with quite a sedentary lifestyle.

I’ve done loads to work on my MH so am in a better place but really need to loose the weight.

I'm really stuck between choosing SW or CC to do this. I find SW a money trap and loath the meetings, but also find it does work for me with control and I am still able to cook family meals and not have to track absolutely everything.

But I know a lot of people swear by CC. It gives flexibility and can be done without paying a huge company. But when I’ve tired it before it becomes such a chore tracking every single ingredient that I give up and go off piste. I tend to cook family style meals and we all eat the same healthy dinners. But they are usually different everyday and so tracking feels tricky.

What are other peoples experiences? Which one have people find work?

I’ve ruled out other diets - fasting, intermittent or low carb as I can’t stick to these, they are too limiting and not sustainable for me.

Any advice?

What is sw and cc and maybe I can help

SW - slimming world

CC - calorie counting

Personally I think slimming world doesnt help with portion control, all that 'free food' is a bit of a myth

But it works for some people because its more simple. If you are going to calorie count you have to be strict with it because otherwise you slip into the odd little thing that you dont count or weigh properly. Its hard work sometimes to work out what the calorie count is, dont use 'serviing size' or 'cup' measurements, always weigh it and work it out per 100g

But ultimately you need to work out what makes you feel the most full up, you say low carb doesnt work for you which would indicate that you could cope perhaps with a low fat diet. Personally I need higher fat and protein, low fat doesnt work for me, I dont cope well with high carbs so cut out bread, pasta, rice and potatoes and anything made of those (like cakes biscuits, cereal etc) and this satisifies me

Im going back on my 'diet' on 3rd Jan

Slimming world is essentially calorie counting (as are all diets…) but in a more simple way. Although some of the rules are a bit baffling and they do nothing to actually educate their users so they fall off the wagon again. I lost initial baby weight on it but could never stick to it longer term and lose that last 0.5 stone.

You could try a simple form of calorie counting, work out your deficit calories (approx. 300 less than your maintenance but look at online calculators). Then pick a few simple breakfast, lunches and snacks (built around protein and fruit/veg) that you can rotate that will leave you 500-600 calories for dinner. Track your dinners for a few weeks and by then you should have a good grasp of how many calories are in things. Carrying on weighing your fat and pasta/rice etc. portions. I tend to have the same things for breakfast and lunches but alternate dinners daily. This has worked really well for me.

And never eat back your exercise calories.

Have a look at an app called nutracheck. It’s a really user friendly calorie counter. You can add your own meals in there easily too. Think it’s got a free 7 day trial and then something like £29 for a year.

You don't have to strictly count every ingredient for cc. You can create a deficit by ensuring you start with a protein on your plate, then some fruit or veg then a small quantity of carby food. Limit snacks and keep them to protein or fruit. Make sure your meals are big enough to properly satiate.

You do have to count accurately. This is the sort of approach that gets people posting 'Im calorie counting but not losing any weight'

Its becuase they're not calorie counting and their deficit is being wiped out by the odd 100 here and there over the day and they're still eating enough to maintain their weight

I'd go for calorie counting.

Slimming world is bonkers. Making a curry sauce from mushy peas when actual curry sauce is less calories. Absolutely mental.

I started off with slimming world and that got me to think about what I was eating and thinking about eating more filling foods. I started thinking about calorie counting though while doing it and I worked out I was eating on average between 12-1300 hundred calories quite regularly... so then I would start having some off plan days where I would eat what I wanted but within that 1200-1300 calorie range. This seems to me to be teaching better long term habits tbh (I'm never going to be naturally good at weight control!). It doesn't help you if money is an issue on slimming world though... I always stayed for the class and thought I got good value out of it and once you get to goal then you don't have to pay?

Thanks all for your thoughtful responses.

@Cosycover i agree - some of the SW recipes just don’t make sense. But I think maybe the principal is useful to me.

Or at least maybe it’s a good kick start - I could loose some initial weight on that plan then switch over to calorie counting further down the journey.

This past year I’ve dabbled with fasting and low carb and to be honest I just end up soo hungry I then binge. I think I'm
much better with consistent meals that are low fat. I’m a good cook so happy to cook meals from scratch.