Ex Slimming World Disordered Eating Recovery #2 Underestimating Our Desire To Eat Pasta

[Pontyslapper]

When I last did SW a good 5+ years ago - the straw that broke the camels back was the fakeaway fish and chips - the chips were fair enough. The batter on the fish however - was egg white based and made it taste like a tit fish omelette .

I mentioned this in group and fair go to the consultant - she said some of the recipes were a bit tit and it was trial and error to everyone's taste. It was that plus living on Ben and Jerry's Phish Food for the week due to feeling mank and losing 2 weeks on the trot showed that it was bollocks

As a bloke, its easy to see the dynamic in SW groups - most are ladies of a certain age or demographic - SW night is their 'night off' from home. Usually hubby/kids etc fend for themselves and she gets fish and chips/chinky/indian on the way home for herself. Clicky groups often form inside the bigger SW groups with side night outs/events happening over and above the core SW stuff.

I suppose a couple of quid a week for the club is cheap if it means a few hours out the house.

Fast forward to now with my medical conditions, pills and potions I had a sit down with my old consultant and said can you check if SW would be suitable for me - I had no intention of going back as I'm under a cracking dietitician and medical team. She made notes and came back to me a few days later with the official 'line' - Of course it'll be fine. The unofficial 'line' was 'be bloody careful, we don't know if SW would cause any detrimental issues'.

So there it is - all about the money fundamentally.

I was opted to become a consultant and had a few chats with the regional co-ordinator - who funnily enough has now jacked SW and is out on his own peddling a similar scheme to SW under his own name. He fed me all the bullshit etc - I just said, how much is it gonna cost me upfront and on-going - about £2k upfront and on-going varied as you had to use SW approved printers etc.

It an elaborate ponzi scheme at best. I know a few girls who've been sucked down the consultant route and lost several k each - they now hate SW and sing their hatred from the rooftops - funnily enough they can't even look/talk to the consultants who egged them into becoming consultants and probably got a cut of the initial outlay.

 

[anniemouse]

When I last did SW a good 5+ years ago - the straw that broke the camels back was the fakeaway fish and chips - the chips were fair enough. The batter on the fish however - was egg white based and made it taste like a tit fish omelette .

I mentioned this in group and fair go to the consultant - she said some of the recipes were a bit tit and it was trial and error to everyone's taste. It was that plus living on Ben and Jerry's Phish Food for the week due to feeling mank and losing 2 weeks on the trot showed that it was bollocks

As a bloke, its easy to see the dynamic in SW groups - most are ladies of a certain age or demographic - SW night is their 'night off' from home. Usually hubby/kids etc fend for themselves and she gets fish and chips/chinky/indian on the way home for herself. Clicky groups often form inside the bigger SW groups with side night outs/events happening over and above the core SW stuff.

I suppose a couple of quid a week for the club is cheap if it means a few hours out the house.

Fast forward to now with my medical conditions, pills and potions I had a sit down with my old consultant and said can you check if SW would be suitable for me - I had no intention of going back as I'm under a cracking dietitician and medical team. She made notes and came back to me a few days later with the official 'line' - Of course it'll be fine. The unofficial 'line' was 'be bloody careful, we don't know if SW would cause any detrimental issues'.

So there it is - all about the money fundamentally.

I was opted to become a consultant and had a few chats with the regional co-ordinator - who funnily enough has now jacked SW and is out on his own peddling a similar scheme to SW under his own name. He fed me all the bullshit etc - I just said, how much is it gonna cost me upfront and on-going - about £2k upfront and on-going varied as you had to use SW approved printers etc.

It an elaborate ponzi scheme at best. I know a few girls who've been sucked down the consultant route and lost several k each - they now hate SW and sing their hatred from the rooftops - funnily enough they can't even look/talk to the consultants who egged them into becoming consultants and probably got a cut of the initial outlay.

The consultant recruitment always reminded me of MLM business models. So scammy

 

[WhatABore]

As a bloke, its easy to see the dynamic in SW groups - most are ladies of a certain age or demographic - SW night is their 'night off' from home. Usually hubby/kids etc fend for themselves and she gets fish and chips/chinky/indian on the way home for herself. Clicky groups often form inside the bigger SW groups with side night outs/events happening over and above the core SW stuff.

I suppose a couple of quid a week for the club is cheap if it means a few hours out the house.

This! Is exactly why my Mum still goes after 10 years at the same group. And being 5 stone heavier than when she started 10 years ago.
She classes it as her night off as she cares for my Step Dad and then gets herself a takeaway afterwards.

 

[Fledgling Psycho]

I remember a girl who was having trouble paying her mortgage. Day in day out, she ate fried eggs, beans/spaghetti & instant mash (free in those days).

 

[Mr Krabs]

I remember a girl who was having trouble paying her mortgage. Day in day out, she ate fried eggs, beans/spaghetti & instant mash (free in those days).

I remember when spaghetti hoops were free. People would just eat a whole tin as a bedtime snack.

The consultant thing is a total scam. They give you a leaflet for becoming a consultant in your welcome pack. And anyone can become one as long as they’re close to target and have been a member at some point. So you could lose a bunch of weight on keto or Ozempic, but as long as you were at SW in the past you can start a group. One of the only consultants I had that was skinny used to basically eat zero carbs yet she was allowed to start a group.

 

[MagpieTree]

The consultant thing is a total scam. They give you a leaflet for becoming a consultant in your welcome pack. And anyone can become one as long as they’re close to target and have been a member at some point. So you could lose a bunch of weight on keto or Ozempic, but as long as you were at SW in the past you can start a group. One of the only consultants I had that was skinny used to basically eat zero carbs yet she was allowed to start a group.

I remember going to a different group once when I was on holiday in Blackpool and the consultant was clearly nowhere near her target. It was one of the things that made me realise how much it was a business rather than helping people, if even a consultant who talks about the plan daily can't follow it.

 

[Squishedpotato]

You've only got to look at the saga of Porky lites to see that. Sw were livid that people were buying them in droves, instead of their disgusting grey tasteless shite

I remember this!!!! The consultants on insta were all in a tizzy about this and weren't the porky lights lab tested like 5 times and then suddenly got slapped with a ton of syns because it threatened SW business practice?

I too am an ex-sw member for my sins. I have gotten over my aversion to oil now (so many pans ruined by frylight) and also look forward to avocados. But it did really warp my way of viewing food for a long time. Nasty business, my old consultant lost 8 stone and then put it all back on, we had to bring food for the raffle, I won it once and it was 5 tins of pilchards IN OIL. I also found that it was quite price prohibitive too in terms of a lot of the b choices i wanted were expensive compared to the cheaper supermarket own brand. Plus it didn't teach me saity, it only taught me how to overeat.

 

[Mr Krabs]

I remember going to a different group once when I was on holiday in Blackpool and the consultant was clearly nowhere near her target. It was one of the things that made me realise how much it was a business rather than helping people, if even a consultant who talks about the plan daily can't follow it.

I’ve had consultants who were on the large side too. Most of them had huge loses like 8-10st which led to them becoming consultants. But then the weight creeps back on. There doesn’t seem to be any oversight though. I suppose it’s a bit of a minefield because I can imagine you’d be up for all sorts of discrimination claims. Also since they’re self employed you can’t fire them as such.

 

[anniemouse]

It’s the lack of consistency between the consultants too. I got to target twice and was told different maintenance methods by both

 

[Pontyslapper]

Through the middle of last year I did a fitness/nutrition thing with Cardiff City FC called Fit Bluebirds - a lot of Championship clubs do it for targetted groups. It was 12 weeks, all free. Run by some of the club nutritionists and fitness coaches. It set me up lovely for our summer holiday trip where we did a lot of hiking - I was able to manage our hikes without too much pain or after effects.

It made us as a group rethink food choices - nothing was "banned", it was down to you to make right choices after being given proven medical/nutritional advice on how to effectively lose weight. There's a formula for it based on your current weight, target weight, BMI and other stuff. I don't have my book with me at the minute, but it was a different formula for blokes/women.

Yes, it was calorie counting, but you had the formula to work it out. Protein was a huge factor - something like 1g of protein per Kg of weight via meat/eggs/protein shakes etc. I found it did work and kept me satiated throughout the day - even now, I 'drop' back into it and find it easier to shed a bit of weight or keep fairly stable - we as a family haven't ballooned up over Christmas like normal.

Just bought another 5kg of protein shake mix the other day as we're going to have a few weeks of trimmage in order to get into good habits for the year.

There was also an exercise element to the sessions - very manageable - as our group was all blokes 40-60 odd with various medical issues - diabetes/heart stuff/blood pressure/sporting injuries - jogging, paced walking, wall stretches, chair stretches, lunges, allsorts - but with an emphasis on go at your pace, if you fancy pushing yourself, do it, but be mindful of not overdoing it.

I'm doing an interview thing with the EFL on Monday to report back how I found it etc. If you have a local footie club, ask, its well worth a go if you can. It might be called something else locally, but its the EFL fit fans scheme, they should know what you're on about.

 

[Helmac79]

Through the middle of last year I did a fitness/nutrition thing with Cardiff City FC called Fit Bluebirds - a lot of Championship clubs do it for targetted groups. It was 12 weeks, all free. Run by some of the club nutritionists and fitness coaches. It set me up lovely for our summer holiday trip where we did a lot of hiking - I was able to manage our hikes without too much pain or after effects.

It made us as a group rethink food choices - nothing was "banned", it was down to you to make right choices after being given proven medical/nutritional advice on how to effectively lose weight. There's a formula for it based on your current weight, target weight, BMI and other stuff. I don't have my book with me at the minute, but it was a different formula for blokes/women.

Yes, it was calorie counting, but you had the formula to work it out. Protein was a huge factor - something like 1g of protein per Kg of weight via meat/eggs/protein shakes etc. I found it did work and kept me satiated throughout the day - even now, I 'drop' back into it and find it easier to shed a bit of weight or keep fairly stable - we as a family haven't ballooned up over Christmas like normal.

Just bought another 5kg of protein shake mix the other day as we're going to have a few weeks of trimmage in order to get into good habits for the year.

There was also an exercise element to the sessions - very manageable - as our group was all blokes 40-60 odd with various medical issues - diabetes/heart stuff/blood pressure/sporting injuries - jogging, paced walking, wall stretches, chair stretches, lunges, allsorts - but with an emphasis on go at your pace, if you fancy pushing yourself, do it, but be mindful of not overdoing it.

I'm doing an interview thing with the EFL on Monday to report back how I found it etc. If you have a local footie club, ask, its well worth a go if you can. It might be called something else locally, but its the EFL fit fans scheme, they should know what you're on about.

I literally went to the first session of this in my area last night, i cannot wait to get going with it!

 

[Lurkerlurker2019]

How accurate is this?

 

[Katie1985]

Oh god I could go on about sw! The “consultant” use that word extremely loosely , lost the best part of ten stone about 5 years ago , but I’d say she’s put back on probably 8 of that and isn’t far off her orginal start weight , however on the posters she still puts photos of her when she lost all the weight , so if u walked into one of her groups you definitely wouldn’t be expecting to see what you see ! her “before” photo was taken when she was heavily pregnant (and fat ) - talk about misleading !
She constantly connects everything to slimming world and puts #slimmingworld into everything , honestly she could quite literally tag her dogs funeral in it ! She has massive banners in her car and takes photos everywhere she goes and puts posters up in all the shops - what annoys me the most is she bangs on about small businesses supporting small businesses, and even though she’s in charge of her group i still wouldn’t call it a small business! The way I see it is if sw was that good you wouldn’t need to advertise like you do !!!
Well I stupidly went back (I made sure I had a voucher ) so didn’t pay a joining fee , I did really well the first week I lost over half a stone - the second week I was working and so couldn’t go , I told her this and she said if I wanted to go back it would cost £11.90 to do so ! I told her I can’t justify that ! - I wouldn’t stay to group as I find it boring and so I’d be paying £12 to stand on some scales ! (I didn’t say that bit at the end ) so it looks like I’m doing it from home from now on !

the atcual diet seems to work for me , but I’m not into tweeking any food nor will I stay for group as it’s boring haha! Nor Will I miss any major social avents because of it ! There was a lady who told us at group (my first (and last!) one that we had to stay at !) that it was her grandsons 16th birthday and she didn’t go to the family meal because it was so close to weigh in and she wasn’t “allowed” to eat anything there - it was some burger place , and I found that really sad ! Yes stick to plan 90% of the time but it’s your grandsons birthday for god sake - just go !!

 

[-Dave-]

I remember going to a different group once when I was on holiday in Blackpool and the consultant was clearly nowhere near her target. It was one of the things that made me realise how much it was a business rather than helping people, if even a consultant who talks about the plan daily can't follow it.

I do want to point one thing out on this....

Whilst this may be the case, this isn't mutually exclusive to slimming world consultants and is something that happens across all professions. An obvious example of this for me is that I know of a coupe of PTs who are really not the shape you would expect a PT to be in.

I guess similar to the SW consultant who isn't practicing as they preach, this will likely result in a loss of customers as many people like to see those who are leading something able to achieve the same success doing the same thing. These PTs will struggle to get clients just as the groups will struggle and whilst that's not always the case it is quite likely hurting their potential number of customers/clients.

I'll admit though, I am one of those who would likely avoid this group and I have avoided a local PT who has offered their service for this reason.

 

[Cjh78]

Just when you think you’ve seen it all!!!…. Somehow on my social media feed a SW group has come up with a member posting a recipe….instant hot chocolate granules mixed with fat free yoghurt and put into the freezer into ice cube trays - this is a chocolate substitute!!
After all that effort, wouldn’t you just “spend” your syns on a bar of chocolate!

 

[MrsMop82]

Feel like I’ve hit rock bottom recently. Since the start of the year I’ve had so many injuries and illnesses and I know my weight is probably contributing. I have a physio appointment during next week, the referral was made by the hospital when I attended urgent care due to horrific back pain. I know my weight will be mentioned. I have a lot to lose (over 10 stone), but I’m in a lot of pain which is making exercise difficult and can’t see any other option but to rejoin slimming world. I lost five stone and gained even more disordered eating (and the weight went back on) but that loss is all I can think about right now. I know it’s a con though. I just keep crying.

 

[rivermonster]

Feel like I’ve hit rock bottom recently. Since the start of the year I’ve had so many injuries and illnesses and I know my weight is probably contributing. I have a physio appointment during next week, the referral was made by the hospital when I attended urgent care due to horrific back pain. I know my weight will be mentioned. I have a lot to lose (over 10 stone), but I’m in a lot of pain which is making exercise difficult and can’t see any other option but to rejoin slimming world. I lost five stone and gained even more disordered eating (and the weight went back on) but that loss is all I can think about right now. I know it’s a con though. I just keep crying.

I listened Dr Chris van Tulleken talking about excercise - (if this will help you)

Dr Chris van Tulleken: Exercise DOESN'T help you lose weight
Season 1, Ep. 124
•
Saturday, August 12, 2023
Are we all getting fatter due to sedentary lifestyles? Or is exercising for weight loss pointless? This week, Dr Chris van Tulleken, BBC presenter and author of the best seller Ultra Processed People, explains how science has shown we'd burn the same number of calories working in a desk job as we would if we were hunter-gatherers in Tanzania. And Cambridge University obesity expert Professor Giles Yeo explain why he didn't lose a single pound on a 1,000km bike ride across the UK.

 

[-Dave-]

Feel like I’ve hit rock bottom recently. Since the start of the year I’ve had so many injuries and illnesses and I know my weight is probably contributing. I have a physio appointment during next week, the referral was made by the hospital when I attended urgent care due to horrific back pain. I know my weight will be mentioned. I have a lot to lose (over 10 stone), but I’m in a lot of pain which is making exercise difficult and can’t see any other option but to rejoin slimming world. I lost five stone and gained even more disordered eating (and the weight went back on) but that loss is all I can think about right now. I know it’s a con though. I just keep crying.

I think you need to look at this from a different perspective.

Before I put this I will state, if you haven't seen my posts, I am pro-SW.

Now if you know SW works for you then quite possibly this would be a good route to go down.

If SW however caused you to have disordered eating maybe before starting this look at what it did previously and if it is possible look in to the reason for this. You don't need to share this, but if you want to maybe we can offer some guidance? Don't worry, I'm not going to feed you consultant fed lines to counteract what you say!

I can see how SW can do this to people though. I however imagine this isn't just SW in many cases and will often be the case of the mental effects of dieting causing us to make decisions we probably shouldn't but feel necessary.

Obviously there are many alternatives out there. It's all about finding what works for you and that might be a mixture of methods. I still class myself as being on SW but I do use a calorie counter to occasionally and eat far more brownies/donuts/cookies than would be allowed on the 15syns a day method It's important you do what is right for you.

Do you think you will be referred to join SW?

 

[didisaythatoutloudoops]

Feel like I’ve hit rock bottom recently. Since the start of the year I’ve had so many injuries and illnesses and I know my weight is probably contributing. I have a physio appointment during next week, the referral was made by the hospital when I attended urgent care due to horrific back pain. I know my weight will be mentioned. I have a lot to lose (over 10 stone), but I’m in a lot of pain which is making exercise difficult and can’t see any other option but to rejoin slimming world. I lost five stone and gained even more disordered eating (and the weight went back on) but that loss is all I can think about right now. I know it’s a con though. I just keep crying.

Firstly I am so sorry, I know exactly how you're feeling as I become disabled after an accident and found myself gaining weight too. So I know exactly where you are.

I'm now a lot slimmer, without Slimming World. I'm keeping it off because I've shed the diet mentality. The trick isn't to completely change your diet and life, that's the last thing you need right now when you're struggling with pain. It's about adapting what you are currently eating (and enjoying) in healthy ways. Think about what is your 'struggle' - do you have a sweet tooth, do you graze throughout the day, eat late at night, etc. The trick is to find ways to not remove that habit but make it healthier.

For example, I'm a snacker. I could easily have eaten 8+ bags of crisps a day given the choice. I still snack now, I like it - but instead of a cupboard full of crisps I have baby bels, beef jerky, crunchy veggies and hummus, and roasted chickpeas in. I like sugary tea - now I have sweetener. I like actimel yoghurt - I now get the 0% instead of the full fat. Sugar free coke/soda, if you're a regular drinker of them. And in most of my meals, I half the carbs and double the veggies - so if I make a stir fry it's 1/2 pack of noodles to a pack of veg now, or two spoons of veggies with dinner and one spoon of mash rather than two of both.

These little changes all add up but you barely notice them!

 

[samwilzrhcp]

I’m glad I stumbled across this thread. It’s made for interesting reading!
I signed up to SW with my partner at the turn of the year, I had piled the pounds on over a 2 year period of contentment, I had developed some bad habits eating wise. Mainly snacking at work & on an evening. During Christmas it got ridiculous & became habit grabbing all sorts of tit to snack on in the evenings when watching the telly. Also I’m guilty of polishing up left over food that my daughters don’t eat.

Anyway I’m over two months in & lost a stone, so it has worked in terms of giving me a kick up the backside & changing my habits. I no longer have the urge to eat tit at work, instead opting for fruit, & on an evening in living on Strawberries for snacks. The hi fi bars are nice but expensive the robbing bastards.

BUT……. I am sick to death of measuring everything & keeping score of syns ffs, & don’t get me started on the miserable old bastards who run & attend the meetings. One week I was doing a shift so couldn’t attend, & got told off for it! I’m choosing to be there ffs!
I’m still attending them to be weighed, just for accountability really, but now I have a rough idea of how to eat healthier I’m not being as strict on it, it’s all about behaviour & lifestyle change.