Slimming World - Opinions please!

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rjordison
rjordison Posts: 10
in Food and Nutrition
I'd like opinions on Slimming World.
I can't seem to get past the whole 'unlimited / free foods' they talk about. All fresh meat (with fat removed), fruit, all veg, pasta/rice. You get to pick two healthy extras each day (one from (a) list and one from (b) list. (a) list is milk/cheese and (b) list is whole grains/bread etc. Plus you get syns (5-15 per day) for treats or processed food.
Can I have some advice on this, surely promoting unlimited eating (albeit on good foods) isnt something that can help with weight loss? If i just ate potatoes all day (as they are free!?) they are saying i will shed the pounds......
Has anyone tried it and did it work?

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    People do lose weight on SW and similar programs. By "free" I think they mean to eat those things to satisfaction without measuring - not "all you can eat" but "enough without stressing"
  • HJ1976
    HJ1976 Posts: 2 Member
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    I go to SW, our group seems to have good losses for those who follow plan and stay to group. It is a good place to get new food ideas. I lost 3st on plan and kept it off, but sadly due to family illness my eating went to pot and I put some back on. I hope to be back at target this spring.
  • Fuchsiagenii
    Fuchsiagenii Posts: 40
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    As I recall when I used to go to Slimming World was that they have Green days and Red days.

    Green days are the ones that you eat vegetables.
    Red days are when you eat meat and "free" vegetables. Some vegetables did have points.

    There are choices of free foods that you can eat as much as you like until you were satisfied, but not stuffed. I don't think potatoes where one of them. Potatoes are starch.

    Depending on your age, weight and height, you are given a set amount of "sins" or "points" that you can eat each day if you choose. These can be cakes, biscuits, chocolates, some vegetables. Each particular item has a specific point and you do need to count the points and not exceed your points allowance to still be able to lose weight healthily.

    The plan works as long as you follow the advice and stick to it.

    Adding in some type of exercise will also help to use up calories that will help to reduce the excess weight.

    Losing 1-2lbs of weight in a week is the healthy way to go.

    Hope this helps
  • ChefKatana
    ChefKatana Posts: 13 Member
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    I went to slimming world about 2 years ago, and while it didn't help me with my portion sizes (I struggle now) I did lose over 8 stone (112lbs)

    With the free foods, they are basically your "Meat and potatoes" so to speak, 2/3 of your plate is supposed to be filled with them (although I stuck to 1/2) the other 1/3 is supposed to be all your veggies or "Super free food" (Again I used 1/2)

    As someone before me already mentioned, as long as you stick to the plan and follow the advice given to you in classes, the plan will work.
  • rjordison
    rjordison Posts: 10
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    Thank you every one for your comments. I have my first weigh in on Thursday. Im struggling not to calorie count but have managed to stick to it. Fingers crossed.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
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    It's not a magic bullet, and adheres to the same principle that any 'weight loss' regime does. It'll work, because it'll put you in a calorie deficit.

    You can do that without the marketing buzzwords, complication and cost. However many people, like my wife, seem to enjoy the meetings and group aspect of it, some of the recipes she cooks from slimming world are really nice.
  • lolly715
    lolly715 Posts: 106
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    I tried it and did lose a few pounds, but the free food concept didn't work to retrain my bad habits. Was whipping up some rather bizarre concoctions to make a large dessert "free" instead of moderating it properly. I do much better on a hard line like calories.

    If you find you're struggling with "unlimited" potatoes and pasta, the old red days plan as mentioned above might be better for you than the new plan they push everyone on. It still has unlimited (lean) meat, but restricts starchy carbs and you get 3-4 healthy extras instead of 2. Just ask your consultant for details if there's not enough provided in the welcome package now.

    I do enjoy the recipes though, so still get the mag but no longer follow the plan.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    I have tried it in the past, and although the diet didn't suit me, I did lose weight, and I have friends who swear by it.

    It works by limiting what you eat ... one thing I noticed about it is that there isn't much of an option for "quick" food that you might grab throughout the day, as apart from fruit and salad and the inevitable Muller Lights, most of the free food has to be cooked. You won't be able to grab a piece of toast or cereal (because it's limited) every time you fancy, or have things like biscuits at work. So if you were a snacker, I think it can definitely cut down what you eat just for that reason. Not many people will go and cook up a plate of rice or lean meat - you'd probably just have your Muller Light or a piece of fruit and wait till your next meal.

    It's also a moderately low fat diet, I think. Fatty foods are limited, and a lot of the free foods are high-volume, low-fat foods.

    I didn't take to it for various reasons. One of the reasons was that it was so much easier to count syns if you bought ready-made food rather than making it yourself, so I felt it leaned towards promoting processed food. (For instance, I stopped making my own yoghurt and changed over to the Muller Lights). I also didn't really like the low-fat aspect. But I think that unless you tend to overeat on the free foods, it will work. If you can get hold of the books, you could try it before joining.


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