Second Nature - any good?

[Rarewaxwing]

I've been looking at the free version and I've searched on MN for previous threads on this, but would welcome any feedback from anyone who's done this programme recently. I'm unfit and have about 10 pounds to lose, but I can't motivate myself to make changes. DH is worse than me, but won't discuss it. He just says, "I'll do it my way", which seems to involve constant snacking and very little exercise 🤔.

I've successfully lost weight from intermittent fasting before, but I find this harder to do now that I'm wfh. Second Nature looks as if it works on the psychology behind healthy eating, which is what I need. But £40 a month is a lot!

Is Second Nature worth doing?

Hi @Rarewaxwing - I did Second Nature a few years ago when it was Our Path and found it really useful. I particularly enjoyed the group chat on the app and the recipes, those kept me motivated - just found it hard to stick to over lockdowns!

That said I think it was around £30/ month back then, I couldn't tell you if it's worth the extra cost although they do seem to offer a two week trial now, which might be worth you trying? I actually couldn't find a phone number at all on their website and sent them a Facebook message a couple of weeks ago which they haven't responded to, which wasn't particularly encouraging...

@LibbySarjeant - thanks for replying. It's good to know you found it motivating. I'm going to try out some of their recipes and see how that goes before committing further, I think.

But how annoying that they're not responding to your FB message.

I really did like the recipes and app chat when I did it @Rarewaxwing - the articles were helpful too, but I think £40/ month is a lot!!

And yes, very annoying about the Facebook message I tried sending a message via the webchat too and never heard anything (but couldn't be sure it had gone through!) - I was able to phone them previously but they seem to have taken that function away completely, which is frustrating.

You may want to have a look at the (free!) NHS 12 week programme as well?

I did it as part of my health insurance through work. I thought it was a good idea and initially was quite into it, but my group stopped chatting pretty quickly and I lost interest I’m embarrassed to say. I don’t think it’s worth £40 a month by any stretch I’m afraid.

@LibbySarjeant - yes, £40 per month is too much. That NHS app is good, though - thank you for that.

@HDready - thank you for replying. I'm worried that I may do exactly the same as you. It's always easy to be enthusiastic at the beginning.

@Rarewaxwing - just to let you know, they did finally respond to my query - my email was a bit snippy (explaining that their webchat didn't work and no one replied to Facebook messages!) and they didn't offer an explanation for that, but did answer my question. Just a shame it was weeks after I first asked it!!

I would agree with @HDready that £40/ month seems far too much, I'm sure it was cheaper when I did it in 2019 because I simply couldn't/ can't afford that much. If you email them and explain the price is putting you off, they may offer you a discount?

@LibbySarjeant - glad you finally had a reply.

I managed to find a discount online and have signed up for £20 a month. I've been enjoying the recipes and my family have enjoyed them too, so I think we can all benefit. It feels good to be eating well. But it's time-consuming to prepare the meals and I'm not sure how I'll manage them when I'm working long hours (I'm off work this week).

@Rarewaxwing I'm glad you found a discount, £20 a month seems far more reasonable! Could you batch cook some of the meals and freeze them? I seem to remember a lot of the emphasis was on fresh cooking, which is all well and good if you have the time and capability for it, but not so good if you're working long hours!

@LibbySarjeant - yes, batch cooking is a good idea. It just takes more advance planning, which is difficult when life gets busy. But I will certainly try.

I've managed to stay off sugar for the last few days. Hope I can keep this up!

How are you finding Second Nature @Rarewaxwing ? For £20 per month I'd be tempted to try it again myself!!

(I'm quite surprised that I don't get emails from them with any offers BTW - maybe they rely more on NHS referrals these days?)

@LibbySarjeant - I'm enjoying it. I love the recipes - and have lost three pounds already.

That's really good to hear @Rarewaxwing! I'm on the NHS programme at the moment which also has some good recipes and meal plans on there, but the community side is really quiet, I miss that feature of the SN app. If you have a referral code feel free to send it over, I may well join at some point

Realistically I would find it really useful if SN could include a feature where you stayed in touch with your group for a reduced cost - they don't seem open to many suggestions though!

@LibbySarjeant - sorry, no referral code handed out, I'm afraid. I found a discount by searching 'second nature discount' online.

I know some local NHS areas are referring people for free if they are at risk of diabetes. I hope you're not - but, if you are, this could be worth looking into.

@LibbySarjeant - interesting what you say about liking the group. I didn't feel I needed that aspect of the programme, but I know it's meant to provide support and accountability. I can see how you could get attached to people after 12 weeks going through the programme together.

I'm so proud that I'm off sugar, booze and ultra-processed food at the moment. If this doesn't shift some of my middle-aged belly, I'll be very annoyed!

How odd @Rarewaxwing, they were really keen on the referrals when I did it - I guess more of their business comes from NHS referrals nowadays!

I liked the group aspect a lot, and the recipes - wasn't as keen on all the articles etc but I know some people found them very helpful. I'm struggling to find another weight loss system which has the same level of peer support - used to like the WW forums as well (many, many years ago!) but don't like Connect at all.

Well done on your weight loss so far and of course staying away from the sugar etc!! I'm still trying to get DP to see that him eating healthily 5 days a week then spending the weekend eating crap and drinking loads of booze isn't conducive to weight loss...!

I did it a couple of years ago. In my group of 16 at least 6 weren't real as far as I could tell, they never said anything, I think they just fill up a 'mission' every week maybe? The coach was good for the first couple of weeks but then became a little bit of a chat bot as I presume she was given a new group to coach as well. I did find the information useful but it didn't click with me

How interesting @Rainsdropskeepfalling - when I did it in 2019 we had 12 in the group and everyone participated - perhaps after that they did have to keep 'filling up' the groups? Maybe they've become a victim of their own success and have to look busy even if they're not?! Presumably they keep the groups full and the coaches very busy to keep costs down!

Yes! I thought the same. Pictures/blurb felt very false, and they didn’t comment in the group.

Glad to hear that it’s working for you OP. Keep up the good work!

I am on this. I was referred for a weightloss programme via the NHS (Digital Weight Management Programme Referral Hub) through my chemist, the choices were Slimming World, Xyla or Second Nature.

I have had to wait 2 weeks to start which was difficult, there is a chat room for our group but it is mainly bots (greyed out avatars with no descriptive profile offering inane comments "can't wait to start this") . There are some genuine people but many don't interract even when asked to.

Found week one hard, the app is a different layout to online, both are confusing to use at first. Initially, you have to do some rigid meal planning and to do a mega-shop then lots of prepping until you get used to it.

It is still early days for me but I like the fact that you have fresh, natural foods with a goal to cut out additives and that they follow the NHS healthy eating plate guide but don't beat yourself up if you have a blow-out day. Hopefully I will be able to carry that forward. I also like the daily/weekly challenges to keep you engaged.

How are you all getting on with it?

Just checking in @Rarewaxwing to see if you're still enjoying it? I've dug out my old recipe book and will try a few again!

@LibbySarjeant - I'm still really enjoying it! I'm on Week Four now.

Pros:

• the recipes are easy and very tasty
• I don't feel hungry between meals or have sugar cravings anymore
• it's all about small, incremental changes, so feels doable
• there's a health coach who posts in the group chat, but also responds to one to one (mine is very encouraging and informative)
• it doesn't just focus on losing weight - it has a much bigger picture (health benefits, psychological benefits)
• each week has a different focus (eg nutrition, positive mindset, exercise, sleep, stress)
• if you're doing it with your family (as I am), they benefit too
• you get a recipe book and scales (which sync with the app to record your weight)
• you get a daily post on a topic relevant to the weekly theme

Cons:

• very few people contribute to the group chat (agree with comment above re bots)
• I can't get the app to sync with Google Fit to record steps (there is a tech dept I could email. I just haven't bothered)
• you can add your daily steps manually, but not your sleep (has to sync with Google Fit)
• some of the daily posts could do with rewriting / editing (but that's my job, so I can't help seeing issues in writing)

I've lost three pounds since I started the programme and had lost three pounds in the previous weeks (when I was following it on my own). So that's six overall. I wasn't overweight, but I still wasn't happy with my weight. I have always been very slim and felt uncomfortable in my middle-aged, heavier shape. I'm beginning to feel more like my old self now. The health coach has told me it's normal to carry a bit of extra weight as you get older and the only way to lose a lot is through restrictive eating that isn't sustainable. She's encouraged me to focus on the other benefits from the programme. She also pointed out that this way of eating will bring me back to my natural, healthy weight and I'm probably at that point already.

But probably the best thing about following the programme is the impact on my husband. He is overweight - in fact, he was approaching the obese stage. I worried so much about the impact on his health, but if I brought up the topic he became defensive. By adopting the Second Nature way of eating, he's lost nine pounds in six weeks.

And my older son's spotty skin has cleared up dramatically. I'd been looking into all sorts of lotions for him and missed the blindingly obvious: his diet.

I'm on 'Week Four: Exercise' this week. I'm hopeless at exercising. I'm not a naturally sporty person at all. Thanks to painful joints, I do now go to a Pilates class once a week, but I'm erratic about any other exercise. This week, Second Nature suggested 'exercise snacking' and asked us to try four one-minute bursts of exercise a day. This I can do! So I've been doing a minute whilst I wait for my shower to heat up and things like that. Whereas I had adopted an all-or-nothing approach before.

To show you how committed I am to the programme, I'm away from home at the moment and have brought my own homemade toasted granola with me so I don't need to eat sugary cereal for breakfast!

Wow @Rarewaxwing, sounds like it's really working for you!!

I'm quite tempted to join once the DC have finally, finally gone back to school in a couple of weeks' time - I'm doing the Xyla course at the moment via the NHS which is quite useful, but nothing like as motivating as I found Second Nature wonder if there will be any discount codes around to help all the knackered parents who've spent another bloody fortune on school uniform?!

The group chat comment surprised me, mine was always busy (and I don't think with bots) - do you think maybe some other people have got free membership via the NHS and haven't bothered to actually use it? Or they've just added 'blank' people so it looks busier than it is?

About the sports, when I did it the focus was on finding some form of exercise that works for you, which I completely agree with... I was not sporty at all at school, loathed team sports. Realised later in life that I enjoy the gym and exercise classes - essentially where you have the company of others but aren't dependent on them or vice versa! Now my DC are older I'd love to get back to it, I only stopped because DP was so useless and unhelpful with childcare.

Well done on your progress so far, I hope it continues to go well for you!

@LibbySarjeant - I don't know why Second Nature think there have to be around 40 in a group and supplement the real people with bots. I'd be perfectly happy with a small group of 5 to 10.

I hope you can find the time to get back to exercise again. I appreciate what you're saying about finding the time with young children. My children are older now, which makes it so much easier.

Good luck with it if you do decide to rejoin.

I had to eat sugar again today - first time in a month or more. I'm visiting older relatives and they offered me biscuits. It would have been rude to refuse. But the biscuit tasted excessively sweet to me - not nice at all. Just shows how my taste buds have changed already.