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MyFitnessPal Community

Slimming World - Yay or Nay?

Charlsberg123

With Slimming World being a hugely popular diet and many people swearing by it it's time to debate on this.

On the one hand, Slimming World undoubtedly helps many people achieve not only weight loss but it helps folk adopt much healthier dietary patterns, encouraging members to consume more fruit and vegetables, which I applaud.

On the other hand, the company intentionally deceives customers by claiming that one can consume as much food as they want provided its on their 'free food' list (which includes things like pasta which MyFitnessPal users will undoubtedly know its easy to consume more pasta than can be fit into daily calories when aiming for weight loss). Additionally, they attach a negative word to foods that they consider 'bad' (syns is said to be short for synergy but we all know its supposed to make you think of the word 'sin'). Furthermore, they track members progress at weekly weigh-ins even though weight (especially among females) can fluctuate massively through the day and if the scale reading at the particular time of the weigh-in Is not favourable then it can cause embarrassment and demotivate members who feel they've not been on track despite adhering to Slimming Worlds arbitrary guidelines.

As a registered Associate Nutritionist and MSc in Human Nutrition I am concerned that these clubs exert such a massive influence among dieters but they seem to keep folk locked in the dieting mentality as they don't educate members to the importance of energy intake, macronutrients, micronutrients and such plus they don't provide the personalisation many people need to succeed!

What are your thoughts on this?

Replies

KerrieA87

My thought process is if it really worked in the long term there wouldn’t be a need for them. Many members (not all) are “past members or ex members of weight watchers etc” and there seems to be as you’ve said no real education around nutrition and what our body needs, the members who it does work for have probably taken the time, after a period of weight loss, to educate themselves on what their body needs

jesspen91

My mum had success with Slimming World just in that it encouraged her to make easy switches that helped her cut calories (semi-skimmed milk for skimmed, cauliflower rice for standard rice, etc). The problem is that she is now stalling and doesn't know what type of further changes she could make to her diet.

She won't listen to me when I advise MFP because she thinks weighing food and counting calories is obsessive. She can't see that looking up how many 'syns' something has is exactly the same, just with less accuracy. That is fine when you have lots to lose but as a petite woman (and I know this as I take after her in that regard) it's just not enough.

Elfy_66

Do posts not appear straight away?

mph323

Elfy_66 wrote: »

Do posts not appear straight away?

MFP has periodic glitches where it looks like your comment didn't post, so you repost, and suddenly you have a duplicate. When things are working correctly your post should appear as soon as you hit "Post Reply".

eta: Sometimes what happens to me is I accidently forget to hit the "Post Reply" button and return directly to the forum, and lose my comment

oneillm45

I've joined Slimming World in the past and had some success when following the plan - twice I lost about a stone on it.

But... the system could be hard to work with. Like, there were days I wanted an extra slice of bread but had used up my 'Healthy Extras' for that day. Had I just been calorie counting, I could have had less (or no) pasta and substituted with the bread. But with Slimming World, I had to count it as a 'syn' which felt unfair because the non-Slimming World part of me knew it made sense to just have less pasta instead. Basically, I couldn't reconcile what they were telling me with what I already knew.

It also made the process of losing weight a bit of a guessing game. I know from counting calories what my deficit is roughly every day now, and what that means in terms of weight-loss. I know what to expect when standing on the scales. There were weeks I didn't lose weight on Slimming World and because I didn't have the tools to analyse my diet, every week was a lesson in anxiety because I didn't know what to expect. There were days when I'd sit outside the room, not wanting to go in weigh myself because I couldn't be sure I'd had a loss. I genuinely didn't know whether what I had eaten that week was enough to lose weight.

It also taught me bad habits like focussing on the number on the scales to the point where I wouldn't drink water for a few hours before a weigh-in.

Elfy_66

I'm back again too. I've been at Slimming World for the past 18 months, and lost 2 stone 4 pounds in the first 6 months. Then for the last year I've been stuck. Loose a pound, gain two, loose two pounds, gain one. Feels like I'm in a nightmare where whatever I do, the scales read the same!
So I quit SW, and I'm back here to try again.
Trying not to eat back any exercise calories, although I'm only exercising once a week at the moment (which I think is a hangover from SW). Also trying (and succeeding) to rid myself of an awful "weigh day" binge habit that developed while I was doing it.
Honestly, you could write a book...

tulips_and_tea

Charlsberg123 wrote: »

With Slimming World being a hugely popular diet and many people swearing by it it's time to debate on this.

On the one hand, Slimming World undoubtedly helps many people achieve not only weight loss but it helps folk adopt much healthier dietary patterns, encouraging members to consume more fruit and vegetables, which I applaud.

On the other hand, the company intentionally deceives customers by claiming that one can consume as much food as they want provided its on their 'free food' list (which includes things like pasta which MyFitnessPal users will undoubtedly know its easy to consume more pasta than can be fit into daily calories when aiming for weight loss). Additionally, they attach a negative word to foods that they consider 'bad' (syns is said to be short for synergy but we all know its supposed to make you think of the word 'sin'). Furthermore, they track members progress at weekly weigh-ins even though weight (especially among females) can fluctuate massively through the day and if the scale reading at the particular time of the weigh-in Is not favourable then it can cause embarrassment and demotivate members who feel they've not been on track despite adhering to Slimming Worlds arbitrary guidelines.

As a registered Associate Nutritionist and MSc in Human Nutrition I am concerned that these clubs exert such a massive influence among dieters but they seem to keep folk locked in the dieting mentality as they don't educate members to the importance of energy intake, macronutrients, micronutrients and such plus they don't provide the personalisation many people need to succeed!

What are your thoughts on this?

I agree with your concern because this bothers me too, however, these programs are for-profit. They are a money making business so they rely on repeat customers and don't honestly have the health and well-being of their clients in mind at all.

StephSuter2508

I did slimming world and lost a stone, but what annoyed me was I was training for a marathon but that wasnt taken into account and my diet "rules" were the same as everyone else, so "Babs" who sat at home all day and didnt even walk to the local shop was on the same food plan as me running 30-40 miles over the week along side other training,

Things like avocado had to be synned, but I could eat as much pasta and fat free yoghurt as I wanted?

On MFP, I eat anything I want as long as it is weighed and measured, and I eat back some of my exercise calories, this has taught me better habits than slimming world ever did

I applaud those that it works for, but I wish they would teach about portion control and about the importance of an active lifestyle

roachrypt

I believe that any popular "weight loss" subscription be it weight watchers, slimming world, optavia, Akins, whatever - are very dangerous and ineffective when it comes to losing weight. It teachers it's members a very ignorant, and often disordered way of eating. While it does encourage them often times to eat healthy it more often teaches members by shaming them, and restricting them. I don't believe that restriction and shame are effective tools when teaching people how to have a healthy relationship with their bodies, food, and activity level. It's much more effective and healthy to teach people why they gain/lose weight - the biology behind that - and how to improve their sedentary lifestyles/encourage physical activity. Instead of just using their ignorance to shame/restrict them by magical guidelines provided by some program.

Elfy_66

StephSuter2508 wrote: »

I did slimming world and lost a stone, but what annoyed me was I was training for a marathon but that wasnt taken into account and my diet "rules" were the same as everyone else, so "Babs" who sat at home all day and didnt even walk to the local shop was on the same food plan as me running 30-40 miles over the week along side other training,

Things like avocado had to be synned, but I could eat as much pasta and fat free yoghurt as I wanted?

On MFP, I eat anything I want as long as it is weighed and measured, and I eat back some of my exercise calories, this has taught me better habits than slimming world ever did

I applaud those that it works for, but I wish they would teach about portion control and about the importance of an active lifestyle

I really agree with this. I was never training for a marathon, but was told just eat more free food when you've exercised. I could have say in the couch all day and eaten more free food! It just didn't make any sense, but I was trapped into it because I had lost over 2 stone.

13ecca4

I'm not a fan of SW.
I did it on and off for a few years. Lost up to 3 stone a few times and always put it back on.

Most SW members are allowed 15 syns a day. Some even more.
This means that on SW, you could eat 4 of these huge plates a day and be under your syn allowance.
But that’s 4800 calories....
For someone like me who is a binge eater it wouldn’t have been unreasonable for me to eat that much, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. And because I would have been under my allowance I would have thought it was okay.

I'm not saying it doesn't work. I know many people who have lost the weight and kept it off for years. I think it's only suitable for a certain type of person, certainly not binge eaters.

13ecca4

StephSuter2508 wrote: »

I applaud those that it works for, but I wish they would teach about portion control and about the importance of an active lifestyle

They can't make any money by promoting an active liftyle. Only by changing the syn values of foods and chainging the plan....

von66mfp

To be honest its messed with my head big style. Have been with slimming world for last 12 years never made it to target once the most I lost was 1.5st but put it all back currently I'm nearly 2 stone heavier than when I started. I stayed to group and for last 3 years was on social team. Its built up so many negative issues with food for me and also crushed my confidence in believing I can lose weight. All the time I was there we would celebrate with the big losers and new target members but I can count on one hand out of the hundreds ive seen who are still at target. For me its just not flexible enough and when I cant be flexible I'm not on plan full stop.

I wish I never started really because its been so hard to convince myself that I'm not a failure. Prior to been talked into slimming many years ago if I gained weight I cut down until it came off now I play mind games with myself and end up bingeing. I suppose everyone is different.

Avidkeo

13ecca4 wrote: »

I'm not a fan of SW.
I did it on and off for a few years. Lost up to 3 stone a few times and always put it back on.

Most SW members are allowed 15 syns a day. Some even more.
This means that on SW, you could eat 4 of these huge plates a day and be under your syn allowance.
But that’s 4800 calories....
For someone like me who is a binge eater it wouldn’t have been unreasonable for me to eat that much, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. And because I would have been under my allowance I would have thought it was okay.

I'm not saying it doesn't work. I know many people who have lost the weight and kept it off for years. I think it's only suitable for a certain type of person, certainly not binge eaters.

OMG that plate made me feel physically ill. And no way is that only 1200 calories. I quickly calculated on granted a guess and got to 1800, and I'm probably under because I didn't count the baked beans, mushrooms or any extras like oils or butters.

Also that is not good portion control.

So my take from WW (never did slimming world. HATED how they called food a syn. It sends the complete wrong message about food!) was I learned somewhat better portion control, but I did it right back when they transitioned from points to Pro-points. Lost in the old points system but pro points didn't agree with me.

Vailara

It's basically a low fat meal. Which was one of the reasons Slimming World didn't suit me. I would rather have smaller portions with higher fat. The only higher fat food there is the egg, which looks overcooked. However, calorie-wise, it could be OK for somebody who, for instance, isn't eating outside of meals and can lose at 1800 calories a day.

I have friends for whom Slimming World has worked well, so I'm not going to knock it completely. It just didn't suit me. Apart from the low fat, one of the issues with it (and with Weight Watchers, and even with calorie counting) is I felt that it encouraged more processed pre-prepared foods, as they were easy to count. (As an example some packets of pasta in a dried sauce were free, whereas if I made my own sauce for pasta I'd have to count it/Syn it). I could eat as much as I wanted of brand of low-fat yoghurt, but using home-made yoghurt was much more complicated.

I also found that if people didn't lose they were put on a low calorie diet for a while, but the SW diet itself was never blamed. (To be fair, this is the case with most of these diets - it can feel a bit fanatical, and you're not meant to criticise it whatever it is!).

There also used to be a website (I think there are facebook groups and so on) with lots of workarounds to make low-Syn versions of foods. Obviously still with calories. Yes, to my shame, I have made a lemon couscous cake (as couscous was free at the time, and flour wasn't).

As for the importance of energy intake and macronutrients, I do believe there was some effort to do that. I know when I was going they were promoting a particular version which seemed to be more about portioning on your plate, so IIRC instead of a particular type of food being free, you were encouraged to have mostly veg, with a split of proteiny food and carby foods. So it was encouraging some balance and some portion control.

I do agree that it isn't personalised, and that's an issue. My other issue is that I don't feel the SW leaders are necessarily experts in nutrition and weight loss. They are just promoting that one particular diet. And I also agree that it's big business.

missbutterfly92

I’ve followed Slimming World for about 18 months and I lost 4 stone during that time.

I really enjoyed following the plan. However, my weight loss grind to a halt and I was not losing anymore, despite cutting down carbohydrates.

I began to study about nutrition and to be honest, I can see why Slimming World is not a long term solution. I lost faith and I ended up putting weight back on (1st, so I’m doing MFP to lose it). This is just my opinions

Pros
- you do not need to weigh or measure every single thing
- you can eat as much free food as you want
- It encourages you to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables
- You are encouraged to cook from scratch
- It’s a very popular diet so you’ll always find support from those who follow it also, whether it is at a group or online / social media

Cons
- you can overeat free foods and end up potentially putting on weight
- Your “syns” are limited so if you fancied a packet of crisps for 7 syns, you’ve got 8 syns left for the day / to use up
- they promote aspartame / sweetener laden crap. If you look at their recipes, most of them are full of sugar
- They make out oil is bad for you, so use frylight which tastes and smells like *kitten* and burns your food and ruins your pans
- VERY EXPENSIVE. My shopping used to be around £80 a week for a family of 3. I now spend a little less than £40 a week (monthly, around £120 and it lasts me the whole month)
- You feel very deprived and end up binging

Elfy_66

von66mfp wrote: »

To be honest its messed with my head big style. Have been with slimming world for last 12 years never made it to target once the most I lost was 1.5st but put it all back currently I'm nearly 2 stone heavier than when I started. I stayed to group and for last 3 years was on social team. Its built up so many negative issues with food for me and also crushed my confidence in believing I can lose weight. All the time I was there we would celebrate with the big losers and new target members but I can count on one hand out of the hundreds ive seen who are still at target. For me its just not flexible enough and when I cant be flexible I'm not on plan full stop.

I wish I never started really because its been so hard to convince myself that I'm not a failure. Prior to been talked into slimming many years ago if I gained weight I cut down until it came off now I play mind games with myself and end up bingeing. I suppose everyone is different.

You're not a failure, SW failed you.

tess453

@von66mfp ahhh this is such a relief to read! I'm currently trapped in SW, stuck in the same failure spiral thinking it's me!!

A couple of years ago I lost a stone on MFP whilst training for a mini triathlon. I hit a plateau and a friend convinced me to join SW and I lost another stone. But it took me twice as long to lose and I convinced myself it was due to all the usual SW excuses- it's harder to lose when you're closer to target weight, doing exercise stores water, maybe you've set your target too low blah blah blah.

Anyway I reached target last year but only stayed there for about 2 months then slowly 1 stone has crept back on. I think I felt liberated that I wasn't on a bloody diet any more. Rejoined in jan and I'm not sure I can take the same old nonsense in group coupled with painfully slow weight loss. Makes you want to not bother at all then cue guilt and self sabotage.

For those that left and came to MFP, did you see your weight loss speed up? I'm getting impatient and really need to get back to where I was for my own sanity and self belief

anne_4889

I‘ve been on and off WW more times than I’d like to count. I also tried Slimming World. Now with MFP I‘m actually losing. Just in 4 weeks I see the error of my ways... back then, if I was kinda hungry I ate three apples bc they were free. But they still had calories. Now if I’m hungry I look at MFP - what did I eat last meal, was it enough, was it enough protein? Am I really just thirsty? And, then I don’t eat bc I have very little calories a day (I‘m mega short and almost as wide as I am short 😂😅). Calorie counting all the way.

DanOutdoors

I think one of the biggest issues with any diet plan is there's an end date where some people tend to fall back in to the same routines as before the plan.

This can be for many reasons but mostly because as has been said there has been no education, after being in the diet and starving themselves of certain food groups when a person starts eating them again the body is likely to store them. This gets worse the more a person goes on and off a diet and why some people end up putting the weight back on and more

modeaneskinner

I did slimming world for a year and lost 2stone but from the start I didn't agree with everything they told me and had a lot more knowledge than the consultant.

That being said I still got into the really bad habit of not eating anything and not drinking after 12pm on the day I was weighing and then after eating absolutely everything, to the point where I felt sick! I knew that this wasn't ok but that's what you would do just to get a loss on the scales and that's what so many slimming worlders do.

When I started exercising regularly (would go to weigh in in my gym clothes and get funny looks) I was told that exercising and especially weight training could stall my weight loss and was almost made to feel like shouldn't be weight training!

That's when I realised I had to leave! I have finally convinced my mum to sack it off aswell (she's being doing slimming world on and off for as long as I can remember).
We both now use MFP and have a much better relationship with food.

redandwhiterobsafc

I tend to follow whatever diet my wife is doing as we eat most meals together. Find weight watchers better for losing weight. She was previously on slimming world and stalled somewhat. We've both been doing weight watchers for past 5 weeks or. She tends to be stricter than me diet wise but I do more exercise so it evens out. We've both lost 3/4 of a stone over the 5 week period and that's with a cheeky takeaway once a week thrown in to

wenvinha

I lost 28 pounds in the 3 months I was on SW so I can't knock it for getting me going but then I stalled. My daughter uses MFP with huge success and is now maintaining. She encouraged me to use and I haven't looked back. As soon as I started using MFP I was losing again and enjoying a much more varied diet learning all about macros as I went along. I've now lost a further 19lbs with MFP. I learn on a daily basis thanks to the forum, blog etc. I now hit the gym 5 times a week for cardio & weights all thanks to MFP and you guys

So for me MFP is the way to go

NadNight

I’m not trying to lose weight but I know quite a few people who have lost weight using slimming world and their recipes. Ultimately I think it comes down to overall energy in vs energy out and if Slimming world helps people reduce their overall calorie intake in a sustainable way then fantastic.

Im not familiar with the programme or what the strategy is but they do have some delicious recipes (Chinese curry, salt and pepper chicken) that we cook a lot in our house. They key is portion size- the meal alone won’t cause weight loss so those of us that aren’t looking to lose weight have larger portions. They recipes are also big on cooking from scratch and lots of fresh veggies which is something we should all eat

samhennings

No particular view on Slimming world as a program, but I have to say their microwave meals are the best out there in my opinion.

And not just in the weight loss/healthy eating category.

They are consistently the tastiest and most filling out of any microwave meals Ive had.

Not that I have them often, I try to cook every day. Though we keep a few 'dings' in the freezer for those odd occasions when you just dont have the time or will to cook yourself.

My mum is following the program, with great success so far. I cant say I agree with all of its principles but from what I have seen from her it has had a positive effect on what and how much she eats.

Vailara

I haven't tried the ready meals. Interesting to hear that they are so good! I don't eat ready meals, although I did have Lean Cuisine many years ago. I'm so used to cooking from scratch, I kind of forgot they existed! I'm not disapproving - they're probably good as an occasional quick, portion-controlled, washing up free alternative, and it's good to have a recommendation!

I have friends who say that SW taught them "healthy eating" and encouraged more vegetables. As somebody who already home cooked and ate a lot of vegetables, I didn't find the same thing. I found if a processed food was free, and the home-cooked equivalent was counted, then it's natural to go for the processed version, even if just for the convenience of not having to count it!

I know they've changed some of the free foods over the years, but I remember one of the classic "free" foods of the past was tinned macaroni cheese! More recently, tinned spaghetti, dried pasta in sauce, Muller Lights, etc. I used to make my own yoghurt, but switched to the Muller Lights as they were free. Same with baking your own bread, or buying it from a baker - it's much easier to buy mass-produced branded bread because it's easier to count. So I found it tended to push me away from home cooking/baking/yoghurt-making, towards more processed, pre-packaged food.

I'm tempted to go back for the group support, which I think is the most valuable thing. I would love to set up a local weight loss support group, but I'm sure there are all sorts of rules and regulations!

jubo10

I am actually with Slimming World now and really enjoying it. I agree, you cannot actually eat as much 'Free Food' as you like; I cannot for sure and I also limit pasta, rice and potatoes. It has given me a sense of purpose, made me really think about what I eat and made me accountable, the group I attend is very supportive. Of course there are people there that think it is an excuse to binge but I am sure there are people using MFP who are also kidding themselves. If it didn't 'work' it wouldn't still be around. People just need to be sensible and monitor what they can and can't eat in order to have a loss. I like using MFP and have done so for years, I just hate the constant weighing and measuring, so I now use it alongside Slimming World to keep an eye on my calorie intake. I exercise regularly and am concentrating on "more cals out and less in". It is working for me and I am keeping an open mind. I think there is room for different methods of weight loss and it all comes down to common sense, which you need regardless of what 'Method' you use to try to lose weight.

ninerbuff

The TRUTH is ANY DIET plan if followed WORKS. Because they all work off the same method..............calorie deficit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Aalps

I've done pretty much every slimming club over and again to try and find the "perfect" answer, but they all have the same problem for me...

1. They restrict the type of food I can eat so I am not "choosing" not to eat it myself, I am being denied it by the diet. So I want it all the more.
2. I have to go to a class and sit and listen to a leader talk if I want to make the most of my weekly fee. This works for the enthusiastic 8 weeks/2 stone then I start to dread weigh in, and find myself looking at the leader wanting to argue back with everything they say because they are not talking about me, they're talking to the masses and I eventually grow to dislike them and be immensely irritated by them.
3. Nobody should have to have a discussion about "star" weeks or why the extra chocolate button or half teaspoon of milk in your coffee has made you put on half a lb. It's ridiculous.
4. If you fall off the wagon at SW you might as well throw in the towel, everything turns negative.
5. I am totally calm and in control of my weight loss here on MFP. If I want to overeat one week I do. I don't have to weigh myself, and I can easily put myself back on track when I'm ready. I have all the facts and figures I need to progress healthily in the way that suits me. I am finally in control of my own destiny and it makes me happy.

Vailara

I'm giving it a go at the moment, and kind of agree with your comments, @Aalps, except that like @jubo10, I don't like to weigh and measure and count calories all the time, so I dip in and out of it.

I don't really agree that any diet plan works if stuck to @ninerbuff. With some it's quite possible to create a calorie surplus while staying within the rules of the diet (old style Slimming World is particularly guilty of that I think, with the unlimited pasta, potatoes, bananas, tinned macaroni cheese, etc.). And I think it's also very important what an individual finds they can stick with. And there's also the fact that a diet is forever - maybe not exactly the same diet, but you need to "watch your weight" indefinitely to keep it off. And with Slimming World, that's very expensive! (I know it's free at goal, but there's quite a narrow window for goal, with penalties if you go above or below. You can't just have, for instance, a healthy BMI as a goal. Because obviously, being a business, they need paying customers).

I have a friend with similar stats, except I started off much bigger than her. I lost my weight a few years ago and have kept it off, doing my own thing (some calorie counting, some other methods). She has done Slimming World on and off over the years and spent a fortune, and her weight has gone up and down, including above her start weight and above my original bigger weight. I know two people doesn't prove anything, and I'm not suggesting it does, but just that she is their ideal customer - paying year after year.