Slimming World

Nicolahp
Nicolahp Posts: 6 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey Guys,

So, i was thinking of joining slimming world after years of telling myself that i can just 'do it on my own' but now i feel like i need that little bit of extra help. I posted on an app asking if anyone thought slimming world was good, and i was told not to doit because its unhealthy and once you slip up you start piling on the lbs and apparently its already happened to some women.

Have any of you joined SW and had any good or bad experiences with it because now i'm not sure what to do

Thanks :)

Replies

  • leahcollett1
    leahcollett1 Posts: 807 Member
    i lost 4 stone on it, i have been doing some comparison - i currently do both slimming world and my fitness pal to count calories, i wanted to know why it was so successful, turns out even though there are "free" food, my intake is never over 1400 a day - hence the weight loss.
    so i would def give it a go.
  • catvlmack
    catvlmack Posts: 415 Member
    I did it in the run up to my wedding five years ago. I lost 2 and a half stone, then over the next four years I gained 3 and a half. I will never do it again. It's too much effort and I struggled to fit it into my life as if I went out for a meal it would throw my syns off so much that I would give up until the next week and my syns were replenished.
    It felt like magic, I didn't understand the principles or the importance of portion control, so when I stopped I'd learnt nothing. Plus I found it easy to cheat on, unlimited rice, pasta, low fat yoghurt and veg?! That's when I stopped losing two stone above my target, and just resigned myself to the fate that I was "meant to be" larger.
    This time I'm doing basic cico I find it easier, I understand why it works, I'm in control, it's free and I can eat what I like. Please don't repeat my mistakes.
    Good luck :)
  • rsergeant79
    rsergeant79 Posts: 45 Member
    I have been a slimming world member for 4 years now and have maintained my goal weight for 2 (apart from my last pregnancy!) I dip in and out of plan now I am maintaining but that's just to switch things up! I lost 8 stone in 17 months with a combination of SW and pretty intense exercise (cardio and strength)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    A friend of mine has been successful doing slimming world, but as others have said, why not do MFP - it's free!
  • katiedoo82
    katiedoo82 Posts: 277 Member
    I'm currently doing slimming world, on it just over a year and have lost 4 and a half stone, just under another stone to lose to be at target. I find the group great where I go to, and it keeps me on track. Log in here then for extra support. Best of luck with it should you decide to go with sw xx
  • samthepanda
    samthepanda Posts: 569 Member
    i did Slimming world 6 years ago, I lost 5 stone over a year, and in the main I have kept it off. I continued to go regularly for about a year after most of my loss, I helped with the social team which gave me motivation to go and I weighed in each week. When I started losing I started exercising, at first I did a Wii Fit programme at home (behind closed curtains!), then as I got a bit more confident I got a 2 week trial membership of a gym and decided that I actually quite liked exercise after all. The plan worked for me, but I found things in that I really liked to eat (Jacket potato and beans is my ultimate comfort meal!) and I could cut back on other things, without feeling I was depriving myself most of the time, so it didn't feel like a 'diet'. At Christmas this year I realised I had gain 1 of the 5 stone back, i'm still half a stone up on my target, but that's ok (not great, but ok).
  • mandy220750
    mandy220750 Posts: 65 Member
    Hi, I joined slimming world 2 weeks ago, third weigh in tomorrow. Lost 6 and half pounds first week in. I joined because I could not get motivated. I had lost 3 stone 6 on MFP but from November piled on 10 lbs. The principles are mainly simple, eat healthy and you will lose weight. However the downsides for me are a) no advice on portion control b) restricted by syns ( I want to change for life and have a choice of all foods). C) I am not sleeping because I get so anxious about not achieving a loss. Been up since 3 am worrying about tomorrows weigh in. It's early days for me and slimming world is great for some people but not for all. Everyone has different ways to lose weight. Give it a try. You will soon find out if it's for you. I don't think it is my way. Will go tomorrow but may come back to MFP. Just need to sort my head out. Good luck
  • sophie7591
    sophie7591 Posts: 78 Member
    Never heard of this before. But I'm already doing all those things for free and it's working. I'm down 30 lbs in two months. One month on my own and one month here on mfp.
    PS. With minimal exercise
    Good luck!
  • diamondawg76
    diamondawg76 Posts: 15 Member
    I done ww a few years ago and lost about a stone, but I was obsessed with food!! I was always hungry and literally waiting on my next meal. I stopped going and piled all the weight back on then some! lol.
    Its great to get support from other folks but at the end of the day its your journey alone. I spent a lot of time waiting on other people to come with me, to exercise with me, and when they didn't want to do it, I didn't do it either. I'm now on my final weight loss journey, and I'm flying solo all the way. I go swimming everyday, not because I'm motivated to go, motivation comes and goes, its so fickle, but habits are what get you going. it only takes a moth for a habit to stick, its what gets me going to the swimming pool everyday, and I don't feel right if I have not been. I'm also doing intermittent fasting, something I would never have done before, I love it and it fits my lifestyle, the weight is slowly coming off :)
  • katelouisenewaccount
    katelouisenewaccount Posts: 20 Member
    I'm on week 7 of slimming world and 15 pounds down.i find it works for me knowing that I have to be weighed stops me going off track x
  • angiew321
    angiew321 Posts: 17 Member
    SlimmingWorld for me has been a lifestyle change. And anyone who says it doesn't work or that you gain weight back after is lying or not doing it properly, because IT IS NOT A DIET Considering I'm terrible at committing to something as big as a 'diet' (and have struggled with food in the past), it's going really well for me. I use MFP like a food diary to keep myself in check and to keep track of things (keeping fatty foods low and making sure I get enough protein, which I find hard cause I don't eat eggs) but because of how SW works, my day usually comes in around the 1200 cal mark.

    The core ideaology of SW is that it's about changing how you look at food and cooking etc, e.g. Using low calorie cookie spray instead of oil, or switching to low fat versions of yoghurt etc. It's all about balance and adding colourful food to your plate :smile:

    I see someone above mentioning green and red days? That's definitely part of the old way of doing it - now you have Extra Easy (measured dairy/calcium, measured fibre, unlimited protein and fruit and veg, not to mention unlimited carbs :smiley: ) and SP days. SP is Speed/Protein, which basically means you fill your day with half protein (to fill you up) and half 'speed' food (low calorie, high density fruit and veg like carrots, broccoli, strawberries, melon...). The whole point is to kickstart your metabolism and get you eating the right balance of the right foods. And as for Syns - you get 15 per day, which for me the other day included two packets of Smarties (8), a packet of crisps (4) and a handful of cheese (3) on toast. That's hardly restrictive now, is it!?

    And what's even better? You literally eat yourself skinny, which means if you don't want to exercise, you don't have to. Because exercise (or Body Magic - waaaayyy less daunting!!!) affects your shape, not your weight.

    I mean, I could go on and on, but the only way you'll know yourself is to try it! My only advice is to drink loads of water, favour speed food over free food (they'll explain the details when you join :wink: ) and stick to group. For the sake of one hour and £5/€9 out of every week (and I know that money would be spent on chocolate getting me fat otherwise!!) what have you got to lose?!

    Best of luck to you :smile: x

    Ps. The group I go to has over 120 target members, and most of them lost 3 stone +!

    I'd love to know how it works. I have a friend who is interested in giving it a go, and the attraction for her is that you can eat as much pasta as you like + lots of "syns", which as you say, includes chocolate and crisps. She has heard that she can stuff herself with pasta and still lose weight. There must be a catch somewhere, as pasta is high in calories, even with a simple tomato sauce on it (or is the catch you eat it plain, so it doesn't taste very nice?!)

    I'd love to hear how you're doing on it now: your post was from 11 months ago, so I'd love an update on what you think and how well it's worked.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    SlimmingWorld for me has been a lifestyle change. And anyone who says it doesn't work or that you gain weight back after is lying or not doing it properly, because IT IS NOT A DIET Considering I'm terrible at committing to something as big as a 'diet' (and have struggled with food in the past), it's going really well for me. I use MFP like a food diary to keep myself in check and to keep track of things (keeping fatty foods low and making sure I get enough protein, which I find hard cause I don't eat eggs) but because of how SW works, my day usually comes in around the 1200 cal mark.

    The core ideaology of SW is that it's about changing how you look at food and cooking etc, e.g. Using low calorie cookie spray instead of oil, or switching to low fat versions of yoghurt etc. It's all about balance and adding colourful food to your plate :smile:

    I see someone above mentioning green and red days? That's definitely part of the old way of doing it - now you have Extra Easy (measured dairy/calcium, measured fibre, unlimited protein and fruit and veg, not to mention unlimited carbs :smiley: ) and SP days. SP is Speed/Protein, which basically means you fill your day with half protein (to fill you up) and half 'speed' food (low calorie, high density fruit and veg like carrots, broccoli, strawberries, melon...). The whole point is to kickstart your metabolism and get you eating the right balance of the right foods. And as for Syns - you get 15 per day, which for me the other day included two packets of Smarties (8), a packet of crisps (4) and a handful of cheese (3) on toast. That's hardly restrictive now, is it!?

    And what's even better? You literally eat yourself skinny, which means if you don't want to exercise, you don't have to. Because exercise (or Body Magic - waaaayyy less daunting!!!) affects your shape, not your weight.

    I mean, I could go on and on, but the only way you'll know yourself is to try it! My only advice is to drink loads of water, favour speed food over free food (they'll explain the details when you join :wink: ) and stick to group. For the sake of one hour and £5/€9 out of every week (and I know that money would be spent on chocolate getting me fat otherwise!!) what have you got to lose?!

    Best of luck to you :smile: x

    Ps. The group I go to has over 120 target members, and most of them lost 3 stone +!

    I'd love to know how it works. I have a friend who is interested in giving it a go, and the attraction for her is that you can eat as much pasta as you like + lots of "syns", which as you say, includes chocolate and crisps. She has heard that she can stuff herself with pasta and still lose weight. There must be a catch somewhere, as pasta is high in calories, even with a simple tomato sauce on it (or is the catch you eat it plain, so it doesn't taste very nice?!)

    I'd love to hear how you're doing on it now: your post was from 11 months ago, so I'd love an update on what you think and how well it's worked.

    slimming world is generally low fat, which is why people usually lose weight on it.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    SlimmingWorld for me has been a lifestyle change. And anyone who says it doesn't work or that you gain weight back after is lying or not doing it properly, because IT IS NOT A DIET Considering I'm terrible at committing to something as big as a 'diet' (and have struggled with food in the past), it's going really well for me. I use MFP like a food diary to keep myself in check and to keep track of things (keeping fatty foods low and making sure I get enough protein, which I find hard cause I don't eat eggs) but because of how SW works, my day usually comes in around the 1200 cal mark.

    The core ideaology of SW is that it's about changing how you look at food and cooking etc, e.g. Using low calorie cookie spray instead of oil, or switching to low fat versions of yoghurt etc. It's all about balance and adding colourful food to your plate :smile:

    I see someone above mentioning green and red days? That's definitely part of the old way of doing it - now you have Extra Easy (measured dairy/calcium, measured fibre, unlimited protein and fruit and veg, not to mention unlimited carbs :smiley: ) and SP days. SP is Speed/Protein, which basically means you fill your day with half protein (to fill you up) and half 'speed' food (low calorie, high density fruit and veg like carrots, broccoli, strawberries, melon...). The whole point is to kickstart your metabolism and get you eating the right balance of the right foods. And as for Syns - you get 15 per day, which for me the other day included two packets of Smarties (8), a packet of crisps (4) and a handful of cheese (3) on toast. That's hardly restrictive now, is it!?

    And what's even better? You literally eat yourself skinny, which means if you don't want to exercise, you don't have to. Because exercise (or Body Magic - waaaayyy less daunting!!!) affects your shape, not your weight.

    I mean, I could go on and on, but the only way you'll know yourself is to try it! My only advice is to drink loads of water, favour speed food over free food (they'll explain the details when you join :wink: ) and stick to group. For the sake of one hour and £5/€9 out of every week (and I know that money would be spent on chocolate getting me fat otherwise!!) what have you got to lose?!

    Best of luck to you :smile: x

    Ps. The group I go to has over 120 target members, and most of them lost 3 stone +!

    I'd love to know how it works. I have a friend who is interested in giving it a go, and the attraction for her is that you can eat as much pasta as you like + lots of "syns", which as you say, includes chocolate and crisps. She has heard that she can stuff herself with pasta and still lose weight. There must be a catch somewhere, as pasta is high in calories, even with a simple tomato sauce on it (or is the catch you eat it plain, so it doesn't taste very nice?!)

    I'd love to hear how you're doing on it now: your post was from 11 months ago, so I'd love an update on what you think and how well it's worked.

    zazziepants hasn't been on line since June 2017 so i don't think you'll get a response.
  • rsergeant79
    rsergeant79 Posts: 45 Member
    I lost 8.5 stone doing SW - I have been at target for 4 years - :)
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member

    I'd love to know how it works. I have a friend who is interested in giving it a go, and the attraction for her is that you can eat as much pasta as you like + lots of "syns", which as you say, includes chocolate and crisps. She has heard that she can stuff herself with pasta and still lose weight. There must be a catch somewhere, as pasta is high in calories, even with a simple tomato sauce on it (or is the catch you eat it plain, so it doesn't taste very nice?!)

    I'd love to hear how you're doing on it now: your post was from 11 months ago, so I'd love an update on what you think and how well it's worked.

    Your friend isn't going to be successful if she thinks she is going to eat as much as she wants on the Slimming World plan, just because it's a "free food" doesn't make it calorie free, you still have to exercise some sort of portion control, Slimming World isn't a magical place where calories don't exist. CICO still applies. I am fairly sure you don't get a lot of Syns either, it's something like 15 per day (syn is roughly 20 calories) and that's for anything outside the "free food" list.


  • angiew321
    angiew321 Posts: 17 Member

    I'd love to know how it works. I have a friend who is interested in giving it a go, and the attraction for her is that you can eat as much pasta as you like + lots of "syns", which as you say, includes chocolate and crisps. She has heard that she can stuff herself with pasta and still lose weight. There must be a catch somewhere, as pasta is high in calories, even with a simple tomato sauce on it (or is the catch you eat it plain, so it doesn't taste very nice?!)

    I'd love to hear how you're doing on it now: your post was from 11 months ago, so I'd love an update on what you think and how well it's worked.

    Your friend isn't going to be successful if she thinks she is going to eat as much as she wants on the Slimming World plan, just because it's a "free food" doesn't make it calorie free, you still have to exercise some sort of portion control, Slimming World isn't a magical place where calories don't exist. CICO still applies. I am fairly sure you don't get a lot of Syns either, it's something like 15 per day (syn is roughly 20 calories) and that's for anything outside the "free food" list.


    Thanks, that's exactly what I thought! She seems to think that you can eat as much "free" food as you want - or why else would it be called "free"? I think that's the confusion.

    I know people who have been on it and lost loads of weight, so now I know you still have to control your portion size it makes sense.


  • angiew321
    angiew321 Posts: 17 Member
    I lost 8.5 stone doing SW - I have been at target for 4 years - :)

    So glad it worked for you. :) My take on dieting is that the best diet is the one that works for you. My best diet is to eat exactly what I want, just smaller portions. It works for me!
  • angiew321
    angiew321 Posts: 17 Member
    SlimmingWorld for me has been a lifestyle change. And anyone who says it doesn't work or that you gain weight back after is lying or not doing it properly, because IT IS NOT A DIET Considering I'm terrible at committing to something as big as a 'diet' (and have struggled with food in the past), it's going really well for me. I use MFP like a food diary to keep myself in check and to keep track of things (keeping fatty foods low and making sure I get enough protein, which I find hard cause I don't eat eggs) but because of how SW works, my day usually comes in around the 1200 cal mark.

    The core ideaology of SW is that it's about changing how you look at food and cooking etc, e.g. Using low calorie cookie spray instead of oil, or switching to low fat versions of yoghurt etc. It's all about balance and adding colourful food to your plate :smile:

    I see someone above mentioning green and red days? That's definitely part of the old way of doing it - now you have Extra Easy (measured dairy/calcium, measured fibre, unlimited protein and fruit and veg, not to mention unlimited carbs :smiley: ) and SP days. SP is Speed/Protein, which basically means you fill your day with half protein (to fill you up) and half 'speed' food (low calorie, high density fruit and veg like carrots, broccoli, strawberries, melon...). The whole point is to kickstart your metabolism and get you eating the right balance of the right foods. And as for Syns - you get 15 per day, which for me the other day included two packets of Smarties (8), a packet of crisps (4) and a handful of cheese (3) on toast. That's hardly restrictive now, is it!?

    And what's even better? You literally eat yourself skinny, which means if you don't want to exercise, you don't have to. Because exercise (or Body Magic - waaaayyy less daunting!!!) affects your shape, not your weight.

    I mean, I could go on and on, but the only way you'll know yourself is to try it! My only advice is to drink loads of water, favour speed food over free food (they'll explain the details when you join :wink: ) and stick to group. For the sake of one hour and £5/€9 out of every week (and I know that money would be spent on chocolate getting me fat otherwise!!) what have you got to lose?!

    Best of luck to you :smile: x

    Ps. The group I go to has over 120 target members, and most of them lost 3 stone +!

    I'd love to know how it works. I have a friend who is interested in giving it a go, and the attraction for her is that you can eat as much pasta as you like + lots of "syns", which as you say, includes chocolate and crisps. She has heard that she can stuff herself with pasta and still lose weight. There must be a catch somewhere, as pasta is high in calories, even with a simple tomato sauce on it (or is the catch you eat it plain, so it doesn't taste very nice?!)

    I'd love to hear how you're doing on it now: your post was from 11 months ago, so I'd love an update on what you think and how well it's worked.

    zazziepants hasn't been on line since June 2017 so i don't think you'll get a response.

    Thanks, I didn't notice that!
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    angiew321 wrote: »

    I'd love to know how it works. I have a friend who is interested in giving it a go, and the attraction for her is that you can eat as much pasta as you like + lots of "syns", which as you say, includes chocolate and crisps. She has heard that she can stuff herself with pasta and still lose weight. There must be a catch somewhere, as pasta is high in calories, even with a simple tomato sauce on it (or is the catch you eat it plain, so it doesn't taste very nice?!)

    I'd love to hear how you're doing on it now: your post was from 11 months ago, so I'd love an update on what you think and how well it's worked.

    Your friend isn't going to be successful if she thinks she is going to eat as much as she wants on the Slimming World plan, just because it's a "free food" doesn't make it calorie free, you still have to exercise some sort of portion control, Slimming World isn't a magical place where calories don't exist. CICO still applies. I am fairly sure you don't get a lot of Syns either, it's something like 15 per day (syn is roughly 20 calories) and that's for anything outside the "free food" list.


    Thanks, that's exactly what I thought! She seems to think that you can eat as much "free" food as you want - or why else would it be called "free"? I think that's the confusion.

    I know people who have been on it and lost loads of weight, so now I know you still have to control your portion size it makes sense.


    Yeah herein the lies the problem with calling them free foods, you are meant to eat as much so as to feel comfortably full not as much as you want until you're stuffed.

    For example a recommended serving per the packet for pasta would be 75g of the dry pasta which is around 270 calories. It's easy to underestimate those portions though if you're not weighing them, I was easily eating double that before I started checking portion sizes with a scale, which would have me at 540 calories before taking into account any other ingredients. So if I then add a large chicken breast, some veg and light mayo I could be looking at around 800 calories for what is a mostly a "free meal".

    Your friend really needs to understand that to lose weight regardless of the plan she uses, she still needs to eat less calories than she is burning.
  • flosoup24
    flosoup24 Posts: 44 Member
    I find it restrictive when it comes to healthy foods like nuts and avocados. And it promotes low fat yogurts packed with chemicals and believes Greek yogurt isn t high in protein??? It didn't work for me or I didn't work for it. I also feel it made my binges significantly worse.
  • JaxxieKat
    JaxxieKat Posts: 427 Member
    If SW is anything like WW, you have to watch out for the pitfalls. I'm not a fan of the "free food" mindset. While no one gets obese on a diet of berries and spinach, if you use all of your points on non-free food you may only be eating the number of calories you'd eat when implementing a slight deficit. You pile on rice, beans, pasta, chicken, low-fat dairy, eggs, etc, regardless of how "clean" the foods are, they aren't zero-calorie. One could easily swing from deficit to maintenance (or beyond) by thinking that "free" means "free-for-all".
This discussion has been closed.