Hello, I'm new...kind of...I'm thinking of doing slimming world :)

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romapurplerodlover
romapurplerodlover Posts: 10
edited February 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
My name is Roma,

I have been on my journey since May last year after completing the Great Manchester 10K. I noticed that whilst training my body changed and that I was enjoying exercise. I started doing circuit training, HIIT, bike riding and running.

I've managed to reduce my weight from 13.9 stone to 11.7. I have around 2 stone left to lose and I'm going to be a bridesmaid in August (Time goal). So, this year I will be running the Race for life 5K in June and then in September I will be riding a 90 mile bike ride from Oxford to Cambridge for the British Heart Foundation, which I'll be training for obviously, along with attending the gym 4 days a week to do 7 classes. Needless to say I get plenty of exercise and I genuinely put in 100% every class.

So here's the clincher. I've tried quite a few diets. Cut out carbs, cut out dairy, have one bad day a week, reduced my intake to 1000 (which wasn't awful but I know is unhealthy to maintain for too long) and used Whey Protein meal replacement shakes.

I've heard a lot of good stories about Slimming World, the only thing is, a lot of those stories are from people who are substantially heavier than my current weight, (one of my friends was 25 stone when he started it and got Slimming World Man of the year by losing 10 stone in that time) and most of the stories seem geared to heavier set people. I can't deny that it has worked for them, my fear is that I will commit to Slimming world and will gain weight due to the attitude "eat what you want when you want" I have a habit of over eating, I can physically eat until I feel sick being painfully honest.

What I'd like to know is, if anyone here who is a similar weight to myself has done Slimming World or is currently doing Slimming World. What is it like. Do you feel that you over eat or is it a case of not over eating because you don't have to worry about over stepping your calories? Also, does every meal have to consist of 1 from each food group? Any food from red or green + Healthy A + Healthy B or do you have 1 Healthy A and 1 Healthy B per day.

Sorry for the ramble. I just need some help. :'(

Roma
xx

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I did slimming world years back and lost weight ...when I stopped it all went back on plus some because I hadn't learned about portion nor increased my activity levels. It's just a programme to package up calories tbh

    Have you tried throwing out everything you think you know about dieting and just using MFP to calorie count to an appropriate calorie defecit

    And moving more / lifting heavy

    Only thing that has worked for me and has longevity
  • romapurplerodlover
    romapurplerodlover Posts: 10
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    Thanks for your reply rabbitjb. When I first started out on my journey and until I went on holiday I used MFP religiously. When I came back off holiday, it all went out of the window. I'm starting to get back into it now. I think my main issue is not knowing how many calories I should be in-taking based on the amount of exercise I do. I move a lot as it is and use my own body as a weight to lift.
  • cafwinjacks
    cafwinjacks Posts: 16 Member
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    I did slimming world. When I did it I had only 1 and 1/2 stone to lose. I did kind of get my head around the plan but found that it's portion control that my main problem is. I too have a tendency to overeat. I did like that I did not have to be too worried about tracking so long as I stuck to the lists.
    I too am getting back in to MFP and struggle with calories vs excercise amount.

    Ps I still have 1st7 to reach my goal
  • romapurplerodlover
    romapurplerodlover Posts: 10
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    I have just planned my food for tomorrow and added one of my classes (yet to add my run) and I'll be in a defecit straight away. It's so difficult. I've made sure that everything I eat stays in green and doesn't take me over and I over calorise so as to discourage myself from eating to much but I'm struggling to get up to 1000 calories, let alone my goal of 1200 based just on food. :( not sure what more I can do/eat! Haha :dizzy_face: xx
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Are you weighing your food?
  • healthysmart
    healthysmart Posts: 15 Member
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    romapurplerodlover wrote: »
    I have just planned my food for tomorrow and added one of my classes (yet to add my run) and I'll be in a defecit straight away. It's so difficult. I've made sure that everything I eat stays in green and doesn't take me over and I over calorise so as to discourage myself from eating to much but I'm struggling to get up to 1000 calories, let alone my goal of 1200 based just on food. :( not sure what more I can do/eat! Haha :dizzy_face: xx

    Definitely make sure you are weighing all of your food! It is very easy to miscalculate the calories that are in things like cheese or salad dressing. Also, add in some more calorically dense foods to your diet. Let's be honest--you didn't become overweight by eating too few calories, so we all know it's not impossible! Add things like avocados, peanut butter, nuts, etc. If you have some calories left over, maybe treat yourself to an ice cream bar for dessert!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    edited February 2015
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    romapurplerodlover wrote: »
    Thanks for your reply rabbitjb. When I first started out on my journey and until I went on holiday I used MFP religiously. When I came back off holiday, it all went out of the window. I'm starting to get back into it now. I think my main issue is not knowing how many calories I should be in-taking based on the amount of exercise I do. I move a lot as it is and use my own body as a weight to lift.

    Just go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and enter your info with 6-7 hours of exercise a week and eat what it tells you for a 20% or 15% deficit. Then you can adjust after a month if you're not losing fast enough (or losing too much). 7 classes a week is a lot, so you need to fuel yourself properly.

    That being said, with 28 pounds left to lose, you can't expect to lose them by August, at least not in a very healthy way. I'd aim for 20.
  • romapurplerodlover
    romapurplerodlover Posts: 10
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    Hello,

    Yes I do weight my food as it helps me with portion control. I don't expect to lose 28lbs by August but I want to lose at least half of that by then. It's just a time goal to keep me motivated :) xx
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    romapurplerodlover wrote: »
    I have just planned my food for tomorrow and added one of my classes (yet to add my run) and I'll be in a defecit straight away. It's so difficult. I've made sure that everything I eat stays in green and doesn't take me over and I over calorise so as to discourage myself from eating to much but I'm struggling to get up to 1000 calories, let alone my goal of 1200 based just on food. :( not sure what more I can do/eat! Haha :dizzy_face: xx

    Your exercise - halve the MFP database calorie allowance

    The can't get to 1000 calories...sorry, I don't buy that and deep down neither do you.
  • dawniemate
    dawniemate Posts: 395 Member
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    First. .congratulations on the Manchester run! I did it its sooo long lol..I think if you can train and run like you already do , I think two stone will be an easy challenge! You need yo find what suits you, I do the 5.2 diet, now I'm used to it I find it really suits my lifestyle ....and it works! ! Good luck :)
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
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    My wife does slimming world. She likes the group aspect and the way it's shrouded in marketing hype.

    I prefer simple calories in vs calories out. I eat a calorie deficit. I set myself calorie and macronutrient targets, I eat what I want when I want, and use MFP to track intake. I'm in control.

    Both have worked.

    Slimming world does however do some nice recipes, and when I've tracked them they are really macro friendly for large volumes of food. A year ago I'd have burnt a pan of water, now I can rustle up a slimming world chicken fried rice in no time.
  • LovingLife_Erin
    LovingLife_Erin Posts: 328 Member
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    I have done sw for the last several months and really enjoyed it. I've lost 53 lbs on it and by making meals both my husband and I enjoy. I found it useful to have a semi structured plan to follow to help me kick off my weight loss. I do like that they are big on eating a balanced diet and treats in moderation. I am moving away from it now to just calorie counting as it's free, and and allows me to eat easier to sustain my workouts. If you want a programme to follow, then sw is a good one.
  • Ooci
    Ooci Posts: 247 Member
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    OP - I agree with your concern that SW is targeted to the higher BMIs. I have attended SW and stayed to group for 14 months now, and during that time have built up an extensive picture of the typical patterns. Larger people lose well, as did I initially as it clearly was a big calorie cut for me. But after I'd lost a stone and a half it just stopped working. I observed this over and over in people of around my weight at that time - 11 stone. Nevertheless I have continued to go to support my friend who went with me, and because I like the public celebration of weight lost, as well as everyone's stories. It's fun.
    But I have calorie counted my SW days and it's incredibly easy for me to eat 1700 cals and stay on plan - and that's around 200-300 too many for me at 5.0
    I followed Extra Easy, you need a healthy A - the calcium choice - a healthy B - the fibre choice. And then all your Free Food and the 15 Syns.
    It's a tasty diet but it necessitates a lot of preparation and cooking.
    I now have around 25 Syns a day, do less cooking, and am losing weight. Calorie counting is the only sensible thing in my opinion. I've seen too many slightly overweight people fail with the SW plan to believe it works.
  • romapurplerodlover
    romapurplerodlover Posts: 10
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    [/quote] Your exercise - halve the MFP database calorie allowance

    The can't get to 1000 calories...sorry, I don't buy that and deep down neither do you. [/quote]

    I'm not exactly sure what you mean here. I don't eat crisps, chocolate, I try to stay away from Dairy and carbs. If you don't believe that I struggle to eat that many calories then fair enough. I didn't come here with a question to be judged. I asked for an opinion on slimming world and gave information so as to avoid people asking questions due to not enough information. Thanks.
  • Ooci
    Ooci Posts: 247 Member
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    The green days are like fast days! OK if you want to do that - not really very different to the 5.2 diet. I couldn't do it!
  • romapurplerodlover
    romapurplerodlover Posts: 10
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    That wasn't aimed at you Ooci. :) thank you for your info xx
  • Cazzy34
    Cazzy34 Posts: 159 Member
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    I really enjoyed slimming world. I think the support at group really helps, plus the recipes are good too. I'm not currently attending class at the moment due to work and issues with babysitters, however I do still follow the plan to a degree while counting my calories on here. I always consistently lost .5lb per week at slimming world, even at my lowest weight. I'm looking forward to getting back to class as it certainly does keep you motivated :)

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