Slimming World, yeay or nay?

I tried SW in January when friend in the UK told me about it. It was ok at first, but I didn't really lose any weight on it. All of the free foods made me uncomfortable...they're ok with potatoes and pastas and all kinds of things that I normally wouldn't eat much of when I'm trying to lose. If you do decide to do it, make sure you also keep track of your calories and portion control...that's the most important thing. I don't know if you're in the US or the UK or somewhere else, but I hear that the plan is better in the UK. It's fairly new on this side of the pond, and I think they are still trying to work out the kinks, because I think we measure calories differently or something.

I just mean that you still have to make sure you have a calorie deficit each day in order to lose weight, regardless of the program.

sw. did it. got fatter. gave up. mfp. did it. lost weight. still doing it.

Haven't done it, but any plan that gives you permission to eat as much pasta and rice as you want without regulating calories or portion sizes seems like a bad bet. I don't see how tracking calories in a situation where you're trying to lose weight is counterproductive...

What issues are you having with following MFP's structure?

I've lost my focus, I felt really motivated until about April. I was ill for about 10 days at the beginning of April so didn't exercise and ate what I could stomach then I went on holiday, when I came home I had quite a few pieces of bad news regarding my family and I've only started feeling more "normal" this week. I need a kick start to get me back on track... I love MFP and have never been able to stick to a weight club before but I don't really know what else to do!

I totally get that feeling of being in a rut and not being motivated. I just joined MFP the other day, because I've been working out (insanity workouts) and eating healthy for over a month, with absolutely no results. While I don't suggest Slimming World, I think there are plenty of healthy diet formulas out there that might be able to help give you a jump start back into things.

I've done it more than once and it was successful in that I lost some weight, but I really didn't like it. I don't think I could stick with it long-term.

I tried Slimming World a couple of years ago and lost a couple of stone, but as soon I as moved away from the UK for a year and stopped the plan, I put it all back on.

I came to the conclusion that:

Pros:
-Encourages cooking meals from scratch - they have some really nice recipes which make everyday favourites like curries, burgers etc. lighter. I haven't touched jarred sauces since and use packets / freshly bought ones sparingly.

-Encourages you to 'eat what you want' within reason

-Nearly all fruits and veggies are 'Super Free /Free' and this encourages members to eat tons of salads, veggies and fruits

-The two groups I went to were full of lovely people

Cons:
- Some members - not all - try to substitute just about anything: Many use fry light and sweeteners (Free foods) instead of synning oils and sugars, but I've heard of some elaborate recipes, simply in order to eat something 'Free'.

(For example: on Green and EE days, potatoes are free. So some people like to make scones out of Smash instant potatoes...and you can eat as many as you like - technically! Whereas calorie counting means you can log a nice proper homemade or bought scone within your calorie limit and not faff about making something out of nothing!)

I must also stress that some members follow SW successfully, whilst eating cleaningly and not everyone enjoys substitutions like this!

-Healthy fats get forgotten - SW is a very low fat plan...meat is free on Red and EE days as long as it's lean. Fair enough. However your nuts and avacados and olive oil are 'synned', sometimes quite highly and you have 10-15 syns a day usually. Whilst this helps you control the portion, I think this can demonise good fats and many would rather save their syns for chocolate than a handful of nuts anyway (I know I used to!)

- Doesn't let you 'eat back' exercise cals - the plan works without exercise and they do encourage and reward exercise but there are no extra syns allowed.

- Doesn't exactly teach portion control: on Red days, it's as much lean meat as you like, restricting carbs, Green - as much potato, pasta or rice as you like, restricting proteins, and on EE days you can have as much of both as you like but have one less A (portioned milk, cheese etc). choice and one less B choice (portioned fibre like bread or cereal). I must also stress that SW says you MUST have at least a third superfree with each meal (loads of fruit and veg basically) on EE days where you can eat as much protein and carbs as you like and encourages the same for Red and Green days. LOTS of members slip up on this. It's not enough just to have platefuls of chicken and pasta; there must be a third of veggies or salad on the plate too.

Plus certain foods like eggs and some yoghurts (Mullerlights) are Free. This doesn't meant the plan will work if you eat 5 of each a day! Another pitfall!

-Can also be difficult to eat out or have a take away treat: rather than assessing the nutritional info and making a calorie based decision, you try to assess the syns in a dish, having no idea if the chef has used lots of oils and other 'hidden syns'. Most restaurant or take away meals will skyrocket passed '15' syns. And SW does encourage 'flexible' days if you have an occasion or go on holiday, but it can be a slippery slope.


All that being said,those 'cons' can be avoided and my mother loves it! She has lost around 7 stone on the plan. It suits her really well as she enjoys masses of salads and meat and doesn't really have a sweet tooth. She uses syns for salad cream and pastry mainly! But when she goes off plan, it also starts to creep on. It is a lifestyle change but I personally find it too restrictive and unsustainable.

Calorie counting alongside SW doesn't really work well. Logging masses of 'Free' food, might panic you, even if you're following SW correctly. Choose one or the other!

I did Slimming World years ago and put on weight with the 'free' food, and didn't really eat that much! It just didn't work for me!

Why don't you eat at only 100 or 200 calories under maintenance to ease yourself back in? This will give you some time to formulate a plan. Find some interesting new recipes you like the sound of. Think about a new class or type of exercise you fancy trying?

I understand trying to find the motivation if you are going through bad times. I am having a serious health problem being investigated currently and it can distract you from the plan. All I keep reminding myself is 'nothing is going to be better if you put any weight back on' and do the best I can.

Hope you find some inspiration too! :flowerforyou:

I have lost 3st 4.5lbs on SW since 19 December 2012. 25 lbs ago I found MFP. Now I combine the two and have a steady weight loss of 1.5 per week since 19 December. Wonderful. If I do go over my allowance of calories it is on Superfree or Free food. Combining the two works for me x