Slimming world plus counting calories

My advice would be to plan meals and stop skipping the foods you consider clean and healthy.

That is not your only option. You can eat the foods you eat, count calories, be in a deficit and you will lose weight. You don't slimming world for that.

I'm doing this, because I've got free SW membership for 12 weeks Feel free to add me!

SW is great for tips & recipes, plus the incentive of weekly weigh ins & extra support.

I'm at the end of my second week of it, & to be honest, I have felt a bit restricted by the "syns" at times, particularly when I want a little treat (That would fit into my calorie allowance on MFP), but I'm already near my 15 daily syns becuase of things that aren't classed as "healthy extras", like my 9syn wholemeal wraps

I can see the logic of slimming world's "fill up on free foods instead", but when I've already lost so much weight on MFP by reducing my portion sizes, I am worried about reverting to old habits...

It's a tricky one! But I'm sticking with it for the next 12 weeks, & I'm here if you want someone to talk to about the successes & challenges of doing SW & MFP at the same time

I use to double track on weight watchers. It drove me crazy. I never knew which I should stop at. The WW pts or the calories. Then I realized that on most days I would over eat on fruits. I'd fudge the numbers too. What I would recommend is learning how to eat in a healthy way by following slimming world then switching just to calorie counting. In other word, build the foundation and go from there. Most of my WW habits are still intact. I hate eating meals without veggies. The only thing I changed was my fear of fats.

Slimming world isn't going to be around forever, and I doubt you're planning to use it forever, so start eating in moderation now.

You need to stop telling yourself you only like crap. You don't only like crap. You just said you want to eat clean, so that's something you like.

You can eat clean and crap and count calories and be happy!

I've used SW in the past - with some limited success. I lost 15-20lb about 10 years ago - but this was before they introduced their new system (no more red and green days) - but I regained it after I stopped attending. IMO, SW doesn't teach long-term success outside of it's own system (understandable - it's a business that relies on repeat custom!). I have to say, if you can calorie count, and do so successfully for any length of time, why would you pay the price that SW ask for their members? £5 per week adds up, especially if you calculate it over 6 months or a year. It may well be worth it, if you need the accountability of a weekly weigh in, but I'm doing that here on MFP, as part of one of the groups. But everyone is different, and some need the physical existence of a local support group. I've discovered that I don't and, over the past 17 weeks, I've lost over 21lb, and am finding it relatively easy to maintain that routine week to week, and month by month.

It's good that you're not wedded to the whole 'syn' system - that should mean that you can translate your weight loss into weight maintenance, or switch to pure CICO, if SW isn't for you long term. BTW, I've discovered that SW, and its success for you, depends very much on whether you actually like the group, the leader and the other members. I've had groups where I enjoyed attending each week, and others where I couldn't stand the group leader, and very quickly found reasons why I couldn't attend! Think 'Little Britain' and the 'Fat Fighters' sketches!!! Good luck with balancing the syn system and calorie counting. It's quite a bit of extra effort to maintain both IMO, as SW often places rather different emphasis on 'good' foods compared to their actual calorie content. As with any weight loss program, it's always a case of trial and error to see exactly what fits best with your lifestyle, metabolism and hunger!

Orphia wrote: »

You can eat clean and crap and count calories and be happy!

This so very much! Stop thinking about 'clean' foods, and start looking for nutritionally dense foods that you actually like. As with so many things in life, denying yourself things you love, or forcing yourself to eat things that are 'healthy' but that you hate, isn't going to be a long term sustainable plan. I've reduced the amount of chocolate and treats, but I didn't give them up. I hate the taste of most fat-free yogurts, so I don't eat them, I enjoy the full-fat (so called 'less healthy') versions instead. I don't intend to eat food I don't like now or in the future. If I want a bag of liquorice allsorts or jelly beans, I'll factor them into my calorie count. I buy little bags, count out every single sweet, portion them up and enjoy them to the fullest. My one piece of advice would be to make sure you still enjoy your food, no matter how much you want to lose weight.

Hiya! I have been doing slimming world since may and have lost 1st 3lbs. I found it very slow and my losses were inconsistent! However, I'm glad it got me into good habits such as filling up on fruit and veg and cooking in a more creative and healthy way. I haven't gone to sw in the past 3 weeks so I have been using mfp and counting my calories. And I love it!! I have lost 6lbs and I feel more in control and more aware of my nutrition!
Sw is great for the support and teaching you good habits but I feel more in control with mfp! Just my personal experience!