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D

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Any one want to join me and share their experiences and how they’ve recovered?

I have done slimming world and got to my goal weight 3 times. I admit I even once had a swinstagram account and thought it was the holy grail of diets. My sister did too. When I first started the weight literally fell off. I always had my 3rd speed and went for the more healthy approach,eating meals made from scratch - I wasn’t a pasta and sauce or mugshot kind of person. It was so time consuming and bloody expensive.

Eventually,your motivation wanes and I think I became really disordered in my thinking about food and eating and I feel affected by it now.

For example,I still look at fruits and veg as being speed so I feel guilty if I want a banana or pineapple - like they’re bad for me.

I feel weird about eating cereal in the morning then bread for lunch as if it’s not allowed. This is because I still have it engrained in my head as a healthy extra b choice...same with cheese. If I’ve had it at lunch I feel guilty if I have it at dinner (you only got 1 a choice when I did it).

I feel my relationship with food is even worse now than it was when I started it with all these weird rules swirling about in my head.

I would love to just eat a healthy,balanced diet where no food is good,bad or off limits but I cannot get my shit together 😭
 
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NapQueen

Well-known member
I left SW a while back because the contradictions were grating on me. James Smith and calorie counting have made me see how flawed and damaging SW can be. Absolute garbage.
 
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KizziJay

Member
The most I've lost on slimming world was 1stone but now I'm heavier than before.
The whole banana things pisses me off because you can eat a banana fine but if you mash it it then has a syn value, but you Mash it in your mouth to eat it so literally no difference 😆
My husband always thought the plan was weird anyway, it seems to much more about flogging their meals and convenience foods now too. And why are the majority of consultants still overweight??
 
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diygirl40

VIP Member
I have done diet clubs such as slimming world and weight watchers for roughly ten years now and I am the heaviest I have ever been because it has caused me to have disordered eating and as a result develop an unhealthy relationship with food and develop into binge eating disorder.

I am now tracking calories and at the moment as long as I stay within my allowance that is all I am focusing on. For now, until I mentally recover.

xx
 
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Aabbcc

Active member
Is it just me that disagrees with the whole mentality of SW/WW. Surely their entire business model is based on all these rules that make it appear easy to diet, but are doomed for failure in the long term?
If you were able to pay once and change your mentality for life they’d get no repeat income... #cynic
 
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wotdidijustwatch

VIP Member
SW made me feel bad about foods. A coffee morning in Costa with my mum would be a small skinny latte which I classed as my healthy extra A. We would also share a packet of mini muffins, 3 each, if you know Costa then you will know the ones I mean they are tiny. But....I would then spend the days leading up to group worrying about the 3 mini muffins and if they were going to cause a gain.
Not a healthy way to live. I no longer go to SW, I am just mindful of what I eat and have learnt to be happy with myself and no longer fret over mini muffins 😂😂

Also the misinformation that SW consultants feed members! "no it doesn't matter if you dont drink water during the day, that wont affect your weight loss" "Oh you went to the gym this week and gained oh you must be gaining muscle cause muscle weighs more than fat!" (Last I check a kilo of feathers was the same as a kilo of sugar!) "You've had a good week this week, it'll show next week"
This! The excuse of gaining weight because you exercised....this put me off exercise as I was obsessed with the numbers on the scale and so desperately needed my next sticker and certificate for instagram 😂

Slimmer of the week.....oh lovely, we get to take home a basket of over ripe fruit and tins of chickpeas 😂
 
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Chronically_knackered

Well-known member
I did slimming world for a year and lost almost 3 stone. To start with I thought it was great, but then I would start to gain for no reason. I was following the plan and still would end up 2-3lb up the following week. Mentally it destroyed me and my relationship with food.
Then they changed some of the rules. Certain ‘free’ foods were no longer free, things I hadnt needed to measure were suddenly restricted. Eventually I gave up after I put back on one of the stone I had lost despite religiously following the plan, weighing every week, staying for the talky bit.
I then binge ate everything I hadn’t been allowed before, put the whole lot back on and felt even worse.
Now (2.5 years later) I am finally starting to get a better relationship with food again. I have done a lot of research about how dangerous some of the things slimming world teaches (the link between carbs and type 2 diabetes for example) and now I eat a balanced diet, enjoying all things in moderation, exercising more and generally loving life.
I wish I hadn’t wasted my time and money with that year of slimming world!!
 
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BananaRama

Chatty Member
“Body Image” now when I very first went and heard about it, the “you must stay for body image” I genuinely thought it would be talking about things, about how we feel/how we’ve got on. Sharing tips and recipes.
Not having someone point to you and be all “Banana- you lost/gained this week *uncomfortable pause/possibly a clap if you’ve lost* how do you feel?” You then ramble on quickly and she moves on. It made me uncomfortable. Especially if I gained and Slender-Susan lost a whopping 5lbs.
Then you get the old clicks. The long timers that all sit together. And then the over weight consultants. Mine just put weight on over and over, wouldn’t weigh in.
And (sorry I’m on one 😂) if I miss one why do I need to pay?!
 
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Rose91

Chatty Member
I first joined slimming world when I was 10, yes I was a little chunky but not huge! I remember a dinner lady at primary school giving me tips about loosing weight and to eat fruit with my cereal.

Did SW on/off throughout my teens but would just give up because eating and drinking with my friends was more fun. Did shakes then got gallstones because I had lost a large amount of weight so quickly, had my gallbladder removed and now have chronic IBS.

Last time I joined SW 3 years ago and had a gain the consultant said ‘well what have you done over the weekend to cause this?’ When I said I had stayed in all weekend and hadn’t eaten any off plan that entire week I knew I had to stop. It would cause me so much stress and guilt if I ate something ‘bad’ or I would have to schedule socialising at the beginning of the week so I could make up for it the rest of the week before being weighed.

The only good thing is that it made me get my hormones checked and turns out I have PCOS.
 
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D

Deleted member

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It hasn’t distorted my portions because I was already a diet veteran by the time I started and I wasn’t gullible enough to fall for being allowed to eat unlimited quantities of foods- I had a good idea of what works for me.

It just gave me more stupid food rules to add to the myriad of other disordered food behaviours I already had 😩

I loathe slimming clubs. I first joined one at 16 and I was still in the healthy weight category for my height
:oops: 24 years of binge/restrict yo-yo dieting has followed
 
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Ellsbells123

VIP Member
It does though, releases the sugar.
It releases no more sugar than if you were to chew it or mash it with a fork, you can’t increase nutrients of a piece of fruit by blending it. My old SW consultant used to be adamant that it did, and it’s one of the reasons I stopped going.
It’s all about filling power, you could sit and eat 1 banana and feel content, but by blending it you have to add extra fruits etc to make it into a viable drink that would satisfy your hunger, hence more calories. That’s the one thing SW will never disclose as they don’t discuss calories, but at the end of the day you will only ever lose weight and keep it off in the long term, if you are in a calorie deficit.
 
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grumpy-nosy-cow

VIP Member
i lost 2stone a few years back on SW..it was the one diet i hadnt tried ! kept it off for a bit but ended up putting nearly all of it back on after having an accident and enjoyinglife a bit too much!.
im back doing it at the minute but its not doing it for me only lost a few lbs.
i have a few bug bug bear with it
1 they dont seem to activly encourage exercise in conjunction with the plan ...heard consultants tell people they had a gain because theyve done lots of exercise 🤦‍♀️
2 the muller £ucking light obssesion they are rank full of chemicals and sugar
3 alcohol syns..
4 the going round the room hearing Mary drone on endlessly about how shes had a gain again this week and doesnt know why cos she's hardly eaten anything ....and the endless clapping like a seal for everyone.
 
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havinalol

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Also the misinformation that SW consultants feed members! "no it doesn't matter if you dont drink water during the day, that wont affect your weight loss" "Oh you went to the gym this week and gained oh you must be gaining muscle cause muscle weighs more than fat!" (Last I check a kilo of feathers was the same as a kilo of sugar!) "You've had a good week this week, it'll show next week"
 
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eSsExBiRd

VIP Member
It’s filling power. You’re more likely to over consume when mashed/smoothied as it’s a quick hit whereas chewing a banana for instant takes time. SW do say when discussing this that ultimately it’s down to the individual how they syn it and if they find their losses stalling to look at this area.

I’ve tried everything under the sun, WW/SW/CC/Macros/Shakes and the only thing that worked was SW. Followed properly (not the way you see the big influencers do like Prickard) 1/3 speed on the plate, snacking on Speed, actually reading the book and not others bad habits and it worked very well at fixing my eating habits at the time. I wasn’t binging as the syns gave me the balance I needed whilst ensuring I could still have a takeaway or social life. I didn’t do “treat nights” or syn (binge) plates, if I wanted something I had it and rarely was anything processed. I could eat as a family, they enjoyed the meals I was preparing from scratch and the healthier choices I was buying. Oh, and my consultant has remained slim, runs marathons etc... (yes I know not all are but just some balance as I’ve seen several posts eluding to the fact that all SW consultants are overweight)

When I did Macro’s it was a nightmare. We rarely ate as a family and ensuring I meet the targets was stressful. Hated it.

I have deep rooted problems that will cost a lot for a psych to sort to get my food issues sorted (No buying that shit HDE miracle book here 🤣) but for me SW made sense and that has been the best plan FOR ME. That’s the thing, weight loss whist it is ultimately about calories deficient isn’t a one plan fits all and it’s finding what works for you 😉
 
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havinalol

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Another who did SW, was a few pounds from target (lost a lot!) and now have gained it all back and more. Looking back on SW I restricted myself so much. Bringing food out with me when meeting family or friends for coffee. Cinema and snacking on fruit or homemade jellies, a dinner out with husband was always nandos - butterfly chicken, corn and salad - rice if i was feeling adventurous. The plan teaches you nothing about portion control - yeah have a plate of pasta but make sure you balance it with speed, that's not portion control, the importance of fats in your diet (good fats!) and there's almost a guilt put on you by the consultant if you had a gain. When I was on SW cause I ate no little to no fat when I did have something high in fat my body couldn't take it.
I personally wouldn't recommend the plan to anyone. To me it's not a sustainable way of life. The company itself their mindset isn't right either. Low fat sausages oh no they're not syn free or they're x syn value. But hey have ours that have more calories and are syn free. They also encourage processed food
 
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Justjonie

VIP Member
@Ork I have heard of so many people doing well on Slimming World and then putting it all back on and more. I was debating whether to join myself but have been following a guy on FB called Team RH Fitness. Nothing is off limits as far as his plan is concerned so long as you remain within your calorie allowance, he even says feel free to have 20% of your daily calories on rubbish food if you want so long as the other 80% is nutrient-dense. They set you targets for fibre, fat and carbs each day. And they take into account if you work out or what level of steps you do per day. The guy who runs it does videos on FB and he has a real no-nonsense approach. I watched his vids for about 6 months before joining and its really cheap compared to weight watchers or slimming world. It's not a quick weight loss plan, but the aim is to lose a pound or so a week so it's very manageable. Have a look at some of his videos on FB and see what you think.
 
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Catwinky

Chatty Member
The problems with sw to me is it distorts your portion control. Because as some food is syn free you eat more of it because you can and to fill you up as it is low fat and less satiating and when you stop you end up eating bigger portions of calorie dense foods, as thats what your used to, so you gain it all back and more besides.
 
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liarliarliar

Well-known member
Another ex slimming worlder. Been a member on and off since I was about 16 (I was a skinny little thing back then so god knows what I was thinking). Got stuck in a rut of carbs for every meal because felt like I couldn’t have other things. I couldn’t have a ready made salad because the dressing was full of syns so instead would make a big plate of pasta probably triple the calories.

I too have many bad habits with food because of it. Feeling bad for snacking on a rice cake but SW say I can snack on a whole packet of processed red meat instead because it’s free.

I just watch my calories now and make healthier choices and feel so much better for it.
 
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conrea37

VIP Member
I used to have a big binge eating issue (not diagnosed nor that extreme) and SW emphasised that. I wouldn’t stop when I was full. I got down to just under 4st lost and mental health took over, from then I never really recovered and every time I tried again I lasted no more than a few weeks.

I do a completely different eating plan now and I’m much happier.
 
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