Slimming world or Weight Watchers?

Rosemary Conley offer diet and exercise classes.

I have joined every weight loss clinic and every fad diet known....

I have joined gyms and taken weight loss pills which never seemed to work

After 10 years of being very overweight....I found MFP and Runkeeper

By tracking calories and running i have managed to loose more weight than I have at these clinics and havent spent a single penny in doing so.

Like someone said...change your lifestyle, this can be done without giving money to weight loss programs, they can offer u nothing u cannot do yourself.

If u need a network to support you...come on here, i was venting about over indulging in chinese yesterday. The support is here....just use it

Unless I have missed something monumental regarding Rosemary Conley, doesn't she work at a ridiculous low deficit? I seem to recall it's something like 1200-1500 no matter what. Also, you have to pay for it.

Personally, I'd never go back to a diet programme that requires me to pay to be weighed. I know some people like the discipline and some people like the social side of it, but it just seems a bit - I don't know. I did WW for five months and the only reason I screwed up was entirely my own doing. I just resented paying £20 in the end, not to mention all the other add on's that come as part of the system - you end up becoming a bit of a slave to it, or at least I did.

That said, I think diet clubs CAN be a very good starting point for someone who hasn't dieted before or is a bit hesitant. Some of the advice is very good, and some of it is geared unsurprisingly for more money to the company. The social side can be good, and there is a sense of community if you get a good group.

Maybe wait until there is a promotion, go along and see how you get on. I'd never diss WW because it was helpful for me and so many other people, but I much prefer my own control.

Also - there are decent, calibrated scales in most pharmacies - we have them in Boots (UK) and they measure weight and body fat. I normally check in with them once a week just to make sure my home scales are on the dot.

I loved Weight Watchers. I lost 76 pounds over about 6-7 months. I lost every week, usually close to 2 pounds...sometimes more, sometimes less. I am amazed at how many people are bashing it - it's not that expensive.

I do agree you pretty much do the same thing here, but I think it is the group effect that really helps! I enjoyed the meetings and the celebrations. Your weight was never announced, but you could share your loss or some other type of victory. As nice as MFP is, it's still not face to face, and there is a lot of research behind the psychological effects of face to face interaction.

Saying it made you learn to starve is confusing, too. It taught me to eat MUCH healthier! You know how many points you have, so you budget them. You can eat more food if you choose low point value foods, which are usually the healthier foods - fruits, veggies, and high fiber foods. I ate healthier on WW that I do on here - especially high fiber foods.

They were wonderfully supportive....sure, they were making money, but as I said, it was not that much, and to me, it was worth every penny. Plus, it is free when you get to maintenance. I got a little cocky at the end of my journey and stopped going...which meant I stopped logging...which meant I started gaining....just like people do if they stop logging here.

I don't know anything about the other program you mentioned, so I can't comment on it. It seems most people that have commented negatively have not tried either...so take that advice lightly.

All in all, I think WW works well, is very affordable, has a sense of community, and helped me make much healthier choices in food. Oh...and the best part for me was you could "save up" some of your points for a special meal. So, if I was going to go to eat Mexican on the weekend, I could save up some extra points to "spend" on that meal. It didn't mean I could just pig out, but I could enjoy a meal I would not normally eat. It was more realistic for the way I live my life. Nothing crazy....eat what you want, but if you eat more unhealthy food, you are going to have a lot less to eat.

Oh...and they usually have "specials", so you could try it for a few months to see if you like it.

Hope that is helpful!

id always say exercise is the best way to lose weight, but i cant atm sooo piled it on, but my sisters where at weight watchers for a long time and never got the results they did at slimming world. it never worked for me because i couldnt exercise ... i started diet chef and they recommended myfitnesspal , its working for me now! 9lb in the first week

Hopefully. Definitely try that first, because neither of those programs is worth paying for IMO. I've never done either, but here's what I understand about them:

WW is similar to MFP, only you deal with a points budget instead of a calorie budget. The problem with points is that things like fruit are point-free, but a banana or mango is 100+ calories. A lot of converts to MFP say they struggled on WW and didn't lose (or gained).

Slimming World is even worse. It discourages tracking calories, and it gives you "free" and "super free" foods that you're allowed to eat as much of as you want, and some of the free foods are things like rice and pasta. Not really sure how allowing people to gorge on calorie-loaded foods while actively discouraging them from knowing how much they're taking in will result in weight loss...


Obviously you're hungry. More calories should help with that, and hopefully it takes care of your issues. However, sometimes you need structure when you're just starting out. It might be a good idea to give yourself some until you develop healthy habits and feel comfortable branching out to a wider range of foods. How about picking a well-known diet plan and developing your meals around it? There's a lot of free resources and recipes regarding the Mediterranean diet, for example. You'll get a better feel for calorie content, portion sizes, and the types of food that fill you up. Once you've got that down, you can add other foods back in as you see fit. Just a suggestion if that's an area you're having a hard time with. Good luck :flowerforyou:

Bananas and mangos are not point free, only water based fruit and veg (cucumbers/watermelon etc) are.

I did slimming world for a few weeks and hated it, I just ate loads of pasta, it did nothing for me.

Weight watchers was actually very good, the meetings are motivational and while people on here will try to bring you down it is very effective when you're first starting out and you need serious structure.

I lost a couple of stone on it, but being 18 at the time I promptly gained it back, did it again as an adult and kept it off, it is NOT something I think people can do for the rest of their lives but it's a fast and calorie healthy way to get the weight off and it makes you re-evaluate your portion sizes.

Plus having a weekly weigh in does make you feel more determined, if you think the structure would help you then I advise WW.

Hopefully. Definitely try that first, because neither of those programs is worth paying for IMO. I've never done either, but here's what I understand about them:

WW is similar to MFP, only you deal with a points budget instead of a calorie budget. The problem with points is that things like fruit are point-free, but a banana or mango is 100+ calories. A lot of converts to MFP say they struggled on WW and didn't lose (or gained).

Slimming World is even worse. It discourages tracking calories, and it gives you "free" and "super free" foods that you're allowed to eat as much of as you want, and some of the free foods are things like rice and pasta. Not really sure how allowing people to gorge on calorie-loaded foods while actively discouraging them from knowing how much they're taking in will result in weight loss...


Obviously you're hungry. More calories should help with that, and hopefully it takes care of your issues. However, sometimes you need structure when you're just starting out. It might be a good idea to give yourself some until you develop healthy habits and feel comfortable branching out to a wider range of foods. How about picking a well-known diet plan and developing your meals around it? There's a lot of free resources and recipes regarding the Mediterranean diet, for example. You'll get a better feel for calorie content, portion sizes, and the types of food that fill you up. Once you've got that down, you can add other foods back in as you see fit. Just a suggestion if that's an area you're having a hard time with. Good luck :flowerforyou:

Bananas and mangos are not point free, only water based fruit and veg (cucumbers/watermelon etc) are.

I did slimming world for a few weeks and hated it, I just ate loads of pasta, it did nothing for me.

Weight watchers was actually very good, the meetings are motivational and while people on here will try to bring you down it is very effective when you're first starting out and you need serious structure.

I lost a couple of stone on it, but being 18 at the time I promptly gained it back, did it again as an adult and kept it off, it is NOT something I think people can do for the rest of their lives but it's a fast and calorie healthy way to get the weight off and it makes you re-evaluate your portion sizes.

Plus having a weekly weigh in does make you feel more determined, if you think the structure would help you then I advise WW.

I have had great results with WW, prior to having kids. I just rejoined. For me, I like the meetings and the weigh in. I actually don't follow their point program, I follow MFP. I use MFP for tracking my food and exercise. I go to WW, because it's encouraging to talk with other people and sharing ideas. It's hard to do it by yourself, online. I find that with WW, there are more people like me. Average people, who have tried losing weight before, and were unsuccessful. And, those same people tend to have food issues. I also like the accountability of weighing in each week infront of someone. I have to go in tomorrow and weigh! Keeps me focused.

Good luck to you!