PASTA!

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  • kyleekay10
    kyleekay10 Posts: 1,812 Member
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    Hey guys, don't suppose anyone could help me with this..

    I'm following slimming world, as well as doing calorie counting with my fitness pal.

    According to Slimming World you can eat as much pasta as you like, it's a free food...

    Same with potatoes! And rice!

    These are really stodgy, starchy foods.. And i'm feeling so bloated and heavy at the moment because of so much pasta as it's apparently a free food.

    Surely you shouldn't be able to eat as much pasta as you like? I know everything in moderation but can it actually be beneficial to weight loss to eat these foods as though they're free?

    Could someone give me some advice please :D

    Thanks guys x

    I haven't read all the replies so sorry if I'm repeating.

    Just because it's a "free" food in your program doesn't mean you have to gorge yourself on it. Listen to your body. You're feeling heavy and bloated and "blah" overall? Eat less of it. Problem solved.

    PS- No matter what, I still thinking focusing on Calories In vs. Calories Out is the most effective way to lose weight... no matter what you eat.
  • belfastbiker
    belfastbiker Posts: 44 Member
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    The fact that something like reasonable amounts of olive oil is demonised on SW and pasta and rice is encouraged is the reason why I joined for one meeting, and my brain would not allow me to continue. They were also trying to sell processed chocolate trail bars on the first night, trying to say how healthy it is. The ingredients were like a chemical quiz.

    Look at this: "Based around satiating LOW ENERGY DENSE ‘FREE FOODS’ like fruit and vegetables, PASTA, RICE, POTATOES, eggs, lean meat and fish, the plan guides users to choose healthy and filling foods that satisfy their appetite for fewer calories. At Slimming World Free Foods can be eaten in unlimited quantities" (emphasis mine)

    Any plan that refers to rice, pasta and potatoes as having low energy density is barmy. TdF cyclist who need 6000 kcals per day will shovel rice and pasta into them like it's nothing BECAUSE of their HIGH energy density. No-one who's overweight should think of starch foods as unlimited. It's ridiculous.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Slimming World and MFP are very different eating plans. Anything that allows or encourages you to eat more calories than you can burn in a day = useless fad. Any weight loss will be temporary and will not be a healthy weight loss.

    You might lose weight on it quickly, but only because you're starving your body of something it needs (low fat or low protein can be bad news long-term, as can low-carb unless it's done very deliberately as part of a specific eating plan). They're either selling some sort of carb blocker to go with it (probably a very unhealthy option), or they are hoping your body can't digest enough of the carbs to actually process them.

    MFP espouses a balanced diet rich in multiple calorie sources (fat, carb, protein) in a reasonable balance.

    Slimming World does not encourage you to eat more calories than your body can burn in a day. It encourages people to learn how to eat in moderation, and to eat a balanced diet, without being tied to food scales and calorie counting. You should probably learn more about the diet before you make too many judgements about it. It's not a faddy diet, quite the opposite, and they certainly don't sell carb blockers!

    This is true...but I think the moderation aspect is going over the OP's head. You shouldn't be eating all of the potatoes and all of the pastas and all of the rices just because they are "free"...you shouldn't be eating so much of this stuff as make yourself uncomfortable and bloated...I think the OP is missing that point of the plan.

    I would also question why slimming world would refer to pastas and rices and such as low energy dense foods that would be "free"...I could see potatoes maybe but pasta and rices and other grains are pretty calorie dense. Back in my heyday I could easily put down a plate of pasta and meatballs that would clock in well over 1300 calories.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,017 Member
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    Telling people they don't have to restrict their food choices generally makes their brain fall out.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,080 Member
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    Zombie thread.

    Slimming World.

    I missed my calling. Coulda made $15million a year. :grumble:
  • b2kelly
    b2kelly Posts: 62
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    Pasta is the reason I am here in the first place, that diet plan is horse****.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,568 Member
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    I am not in favour of any "Diet Program" that you have to pay for ... it's all just a money grab...if I can't manage to eat a healthy balanced diet on my own why would I pay someone to dictate it over me?

    As for OP's question - I would make sure your meals are balanced and eat a proper portion of your starchy carb - I stress the proper part as I am a carb lover and that would be one of the main reasons I am overweight now - a proper eating plan means you exercise control and don't over eat
  • belfastbiker
    belfastbiker Posts: 44 Member
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    "At Slimming World Free Foods can be eaten in unlimited quantities"

    I weighed 330 lbs at one stage BECAUSE I ate unlimited quantities of potatoes, rice, pasta. Especially pasta. Such a statement is misleading, ridiculous and dangerous. Sure, they MEAN without certain LIMITS, but that not what UNLIMITED means to someone who's got a terrible relationship with food. If I could LIMIT my portions of food well, why would I be 330 lbs and need SW in the first place?
  • rachellouisa2014
    rachellouisa2014 Posts: 8
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    Hey,

    I have lost weight on Slimming World before, about a stone.
    I think that when it comes to the 'free food' pasta, you still have to keep it to a sane amount. The usual pasta serving, rather than a massive extra serving just because it's a free food. I ate mainly green days if that helps.
  • smn76237
    smn76237 Posts: 318 Member
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    I could eat an entire box of pasta and then some in one sitting. That's just me. :)

    My main question is; if Slimming World's main principle for losing weight is all about eating whole foods until you're satisfied and practicing portion control, etc, why does one need to pay any organization any amount of money for that per month? Those are both things that come down to an individual's choice with each meal. After SW tells you that big secret...why not just do it yourself without paying them anything?
  • mamma_nee
    mamma_nee Posts: 809 Member
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    Yup , you will lose weight if followed correctly --- remember having the pasta = NO FATS if you mix the 2 it will pack on the pounds instead.
  • belfastbiker
    belfastbiker Posts: 44 Member
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    I think that when it comes to the 'free food' pasta, you still have to keep it to a sane amount. The usual pasta serving, rather than a massive extra serving just because it's a free food.

    You're most likely right. Thing is, if I ate sane amounts of food in the past, I'd not even be in a position to need anything like Slimming World....

    They can't tell a person with a poor relationship to food that they can eat LITERALLY (it's in black and white) as much pasta and rice as they want. That's just downright dumb.
  • belfastbiker
    belfastbiker Posts: 44 Member
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    if Slimming World's main principle for losing weight is all about eating whole foods until you're satisfied and practicing portion control, etc, why does one need to pay any organization any amount of money for that per month? After SW tells you that big secret...why not just do it yourself without paying them anything?


    EXACTLY.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
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    I suppose the concept behind Slimming World is all right, but it's not going to work for everyone. If it works for you, that's super cool. I personally don't see why people spend money on things like this, but hey, whatever works for you.
  • fishnyne
    fishnyne Posts: 1 Member
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    I think the idea is because its a fillung foid after a while yiu naturally retrain your bidy to need as much but you are in control instead of soneone saying you can only havev5 strands ha ha. The more yoy do slumming world the less pasta you'll want toveat
  • Leeanne1974
    Leeanne1974 Posts: 207 Member
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    Ha! "horsesh!t" eh?
    It is just about the most successful slimming club in the UK.
    It is a MEASLY £4.95 a week. You get an hours long meeting with it which is incredibly helpful, dealing with issues such as body image, assisting with your food diaries to see if there is a reason why you aren't losing or if you are losing too much, online groups (Free once you have registered) that has amazing knowledge and information for the plan, a full and concise guide to the foods you can eat, exercise recommendations, the teaching you that NO food is banned if it is in moderation and how to still enjoy things like potatoes and pasta as long as you eat plenty of veg and fruit too. It tells you that ONE THIRD of your plate should be filled with Super Free foods (such as vegetables), another third should be filled with Free Foods - such as lean meat, meat substitutes, potatoes. If you have a NORMAL sized plate then those are great ratios to follow sensibly anyway.
    Your "Syns" are capped at around 15. Any sauces you use (unless made from the free ingredients such as tomatoes) are counted, as is even low fat margarine, things like baked crisps, chocolate etc ALL have syn values.
    This diet is based on a low fat, high protein, low sugar idea. It most certainly is NOT a fad, it has been going over 40 years and has helped thousands - well more like hundreds of thousands - of people to lose weight.
    Many people need the encouragement that a group provides, the support that is ongoing from the group AND the host of the group.
    It is a LOW FAT, LOW SUGAR healthy eating plan for life.

    Hilarious that a plan that has been going for over 40 years in the UK is sneered at by Americans that have never heard of it and are calling it a fad and a scam.

    I can't do this alone, I need the support and guidance of someone who has been there and done it (our leader lost over 5 stones and has kept it off for 12 years) and can give me honest advice. Less than 5 English Pounds a week is a tiny price to pay for that!
  • IzzyRoseDixon
    IzzyRoseDixon Posts: 17 Member
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    I tried slimming world and it worked well - I lost a stone in just over a month but calorie counting is more for me.

    For those who don't see how it could possibly work can I just point you in the direction of this blog: www.weightloss*****.com. This lady has lost over 20 stone using slimming world and she is a true inspiration.

    EDIT: it's censored the site name but please PM me if you want the url
  • annesoucy57
    annesoucy57 Posts: 24
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    I am new here so forgive me if I get this wrong. I do not follow these type of plans not because I think they are terrible just because they do not fit my lifestyle.

    I guess anyone starting any type of diet is conscious that they were eating too much and to reverse the trend of gaining weight must do some changes.

    I started at 183 and now after 2 years I am at 146, I got to this weight by reducing portions of what I was eating, then I realized that I needed to eliminate certain food that were not worthed such as cookies, chips. Again after a few months I re evaluated what needed to be done in order to feel healtier because weight loss is one thing but it cannot be complete without better nutrient, that is my objective and does not have to be the goal of everyone.

    Now having accomplished a certain weight loss I need to be even more careful in order to continue loosing weight, calorie counting became for me a tool that helps me decide between one food or another, seeing what it brings me as far as nutrition compared to calories. This is a tool to help me make choices that suit my goal.

    So loosing weight is a long process and we all need to start somewhere, for some it will be sw, ww or mfp then each adapts depending in their results but one thing remain, one cannot continue eating what they were eating in the same quantity and expect a miracle.

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