Slimming world

[NapQueenReturns]

The problem with SW is that it has been bastardised by social media.

6+ years ago, you’d bang your veg on the plate, follow the plan properly, have a nice loss, then listen to Fat Susan talk about her all inclusive cruise in class. The meals weren’t pretty, but they were honest and got you where you wanted to be. No fuss, no wannabes, no Beggy Mitchells.

These days, it’s all about tweaks and likes. Tower burgers that are about 7 layers high, porridge with ridiculous cake decorations on, and dickheads with a different comparison picture every day, tagging the shit out of SW in the vain hope that they’re not enough of a munter to appear in the magazine.

Give me Fat Susan any day...

 

[Snooper123]

Long time lurker, first time poster. To be honest, I’ve been waiting for a thread like this for a long time.
I had a fairly large SW account (dating way back to 2014/15, back when it was honest, no ads, no seeing how far you could stretch the plan) and back then it was a brilliant place to be. Everyone was so supportive, everyone ate proper food and offered help with recipes and inspo. I deleted my account because the SW IG place was just awful, full of people only thinking about themselves, being rude to people asking questions and pretending they eat all the stuff they post. I would consistently scroll through my feed like ‘I dislike 90% of these people’
I think it’s these ‘influencers’ (term used VERY loosely) being let loose on IG posting that have tainted people’s ideas & opinions on SW. The plan followed correctly, works. I know when I followed it properly and ate lots of fresh fruit and veg and single source foods I was losing weight and feeling better in myself. It’s only when I tried to follow the IG plan of SW () was when my relationship with SW, food and the scales got bad.

I am sorry for rambling, I’ve wanted to say things like that for a VERY long time

 

[hereforthedrama1]

I wasn't sure of the general attitude towards SW vs CC on this page so I've held off commenting.
Here goes; SW fucked me up. Big style. My mum joined SW, had previously been on WW but it wasn't working anymore. A colleague lost weight on SW so my mum decided she would too. My mum has always been on a diet. I have grown up around a woman who calls food 'good' and 'bad' and is absolutely obsessed with how much she weighs. My mum lost 3st initially which was great and I loved that it made her seem happy so I decided to join SW with her when I was 20/21 (I can't remember because, frankly, I don't want to)

I thought being 'skinny' would be the answer to all my problems. The consultant always went on about how 'happy' everyone will be once they are 'skinny' or their 'goal weight'. I lost 2.5st, eventually got down to 10st 8lb which should've made me happy. But I wasn't. I was terrified of putting ANY weight on. I was terrified to go out with friends, would turn down lovely, delicious food at my boyfriends house because I couldn't control how it was made or what the ingredients where. I specifically recall working all day Saturdays and not eating (I worked at Asda, very full on and exhausting) so that I could 'save myself' for going out and getting drunk that night. I was no longer in control, SW was. I weighed myself everyday, sometimes multiple times. Even the 'free' and 'speed' food made me feel this consuming guilt that I was eating 'too much'. There was an event in group in which people wrote 'inspirational' things (centred around losing weight) and stuck them to this big board. One woman wrote 'nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'. This quote is used widely in the pro-anorexia community and was famously said by Kate Moss during her battle with anorexia. That quote stayed on that board until I decided to leave SW over a year later. I went on holiday at this 'goal weight' and I expected to feel confident and gloriously happy, like my consultant promised I would.

However, I still hid away because I still felt 'too fat'. Anyway, life progressed and I started to see through the plan. Things that didn't make sense, for example the blended fruit not being free and the Muller Light saga where they magically gained syns over night. I still went to SW, paid money to stand on a scale because my mum did. How could I explain to my mum that SW was impacting my mental health in such a way? We aren't the sort of family that talk about serious things like that. I don't even think my mum or dad believe mental health issues are real. Lockdown came, the first one, and I STILL did the Zoom meetings, still transferred this woman who didn't really care about me £2.75 (reduced fee) to weigh on my own scale and sit on a video call with women I didn't like who, actually, really annoyed me. Then the opportunity came, the consultant was leaving. And I knew, that was my chance to leave too. So I did, I said to my mum (terrified, may I add) that I was leaving SW because it was affecting me negatively (she still doesn't know about the borderline ED part of it all) After leaving I spent time eating food as I wanted, when I wanted and actually enjoying myself for the first time in almost 3 years. I did put all the weight back on, but that's fine! I would rather weigh more and be happy because being 'skinny' made me miserable.

A few weeks ago I decided, mainly out of curiosity, to look at how many calories I ate a day. I never intended to start CC. I realised I wasn't eating nearly enough for my body. Most days I sat at around 1000 calories which, I'm sure I don't need to point out, is extremely unhealthy. Because I always thought that the less you ate, the more weight you would lose. I did this for a week and then the week after I decided to weigh myself and start CC but in a lighter way, I didn't want to fall back into the SW trap and the control that had over me. I don't track when I go out, don't track my drinks (I mainly drink diet anyway) and definitely don't count alcohol. I'm not as in to the losing weight side as I once was and eat what I want mostly, just in better moderation. in 2 weeks I have lost 2.5lbs. I think that's pretty sustainable. SW was not the dream I was sold it to me. One day I hope to convert my mum to CC. SW is not working for her anymore.

SW does work for some people, but I don't believe that it is sustainable for long time use. I believe it is like a drug you need to wean off of, it's a safety blanked to go under when you lose trust in yourself. The woman with the Kate Moss quote quit SW and now does CC. I fully expect backlash for this comment but I needed to share my experience somewhere

 

[bacon_is_good_for_me]

Just catching up...

boothy_sw_insta: those huge portions are actually grotesque. She has a mountain of chips with every meal with the obligatory longstem broccoli on the side. Bellend.

ClaireandAmanda: they seemed to disappear around about the time that teamRH on Facebook shared a photo of one of their massive fakeaways in a pizza box which went viral. They actually kept old takeaway packaging to do stuff like this which I found really odd. Again, their portion sizes were hideous so they put their weight back on then deactivated their Instagram.

sophiejude: constant ads, loves herself, shares the same old pic of herself in the khaki green playsuit which gets on my actual tits tbh

List of things which piss me off about about SW Instagram...

1) JD seasonings: absolute ripoff.
2) Harry pickard and his bullshit 8 stone loss
3) Everyone serving their meals on a fucking chopping board
4) people taking pics of their food in their garden
5) when it’s Easter and all the big accounts post pics of Easter eggs full of sugary shite. Not. Healthy.
6) How everyone just conveniently forgot about Jack Towers raising 40k for skin removal surgery, having the cheapest surgery possible (had a tummy tuck and nothing else), claiming he was suffering with his mental health then fucking off with the money and deleting his instagram
7) Overly edited photos
8) easy on easy off...draw a line...start again monday
9) big accounts never losing weight or never posting weigh ins
10) The fake belief that it is still possible to lose weight with mountains of beige.

 

[swipe_up]

I want to know what they're putting in their pancakes

Lies, they put lies in these pancakes

 

[Loving the gossip]

The good, the bad, the synful.
Harry prickard - Fraud
Beingbrittany - Racist and piled on all the weight.
Towers - Stole all the money and never came back.
Sw-kirk - Don't get me started.
Mrsbavington - I honest would rather starve than touch her food.
Swfeebs - Gave it up as why would people take advice from someone who is overweight again.

Ok loads more guys just wanted to start a thread for us.

 

[SpiceWeasel]

Buzzing this morning, despite what I said yesterday I’m actually 3lb down from last week and got my Club 10! I’m thanking this thread and our mini revolution against the beige

Now to celebrate with a bowl of 10 melted chocolate bunnies topped with a jar of Biscoff for breakfast, a large Big Mac meal and 20 chicken nuggets for lunch and a £40 Domino’s order for tea followed by an Easter egg filled with random shite jokes!

 

[Disneylover]

For every fraud account there are many genuine accounts out there. You only have to see the commments on their FB posts from people who are just like you, I, you’re Aunt etc to see that many have successfully lost weight and kept it off over a prolonged period. They’re not after the instafame.

Most of these big accounts are now gorging on processed, sugar ladden shit now as that’s the new bandwagon They’ll be back - just look at Emily Walters, she’s the biggest flip flop ever.

If you follow it properly it’s a great plan. I ate healthy, home cooked food, we all did as a family. I tried CC/Macro it was honestly so stressful and I found myself eating separately to my family. It wasn’t for me.

Not everyone wants to sit and count calories, they appreciate the syn system and how you can still enjoy a wide variety of food. Yes, that includes the controversial Avocado It’s really not depicted as the devil like some Fitness influencers make out If followed correctly then you are put in a deficit without the hassle of CC (I find it such a faff!) Some people enjoy the social interaction of classes, most consultants are fantastic.

I agree, the amount of people slagging sw off now is laughable. Sw defo works if you do it properly, its the same as any plan really if you fall off the wagon you stop losing weight! Bloody tik tok is full of videos of people slagging it off, saying how toxic it is etc, lots of them lost loads of weight on it . I lost 4 stone on it and I’ve kept it off because I’ve stuck to plan, yes it can be restrictive but if I eat a load of shite I’ll gain it’s as simple as that, I prefer it to calorie counting as it encourages me to eat more fruit and veg, on cc an apple is nearly the same amount of cals as a biscuit, obviously the apple is healthier but I was going for the biscuits on cc. I agree, they’ll all be back to sw

Oh god I remember when SW Instagram was at its peak, ASA wasn’t so hot then so they were all pushing their spice codes and wanging on about crucial sauce, a certain chocolate brand and water bottles.

some were rather preachy, piled it all on and then disappeared.
Slamdunkthechunk
Itsyourgirlems
Oh and who could forget taste the rainbow JSG

i know a lot of people hate SW now but it worked for me, had a little to lose in 2016, kept it off and would never take a hard boiled egg to a hen night

I miss JSG talking about eating the frigging rainbow

 

[RedHotMoon]

I'll always remember seeing some SW Instagram user saying she fancied something sweet, so she boiled some pasta and mixed it with a Muller light as a "syn free treat" (this was obviously before the Muller light controversy). How anyone can think that sort of eating habit is healthy is beyond me

 

[bacon_is_good_for_me]

Tattle is probably the wrong place to be if you’re easily offended.

 

[letsmeltthatlard]

I can honestly say, I've lost almost 10 stone following SW, I've not begged once, used not one fucking discount code of any description.

My fave memory so far? was it buying 2xl tops instead of 7xl tops? no...

was it buying 42 inch jeans instead of 60 inch? no...

it was asking beggy ben if he has parkinsons after he followed and unfollowed me about 15 times in 10 minutes

 

[eSsExBiRd]

For every fraud account there are many genuine accounts out there. You only have to see the commments on their FB posts from people who are just like you, I, your Aunt etc to see that many have successfully lost weight and kept it off over a prolonged period. They’re not after the instafame.

Most of these big accounts are now gorging on processed, sugar ladden shit now as that’s the new bandwagon They’ll be back - just look at Emily Walters, she’s the biggest flip flop ever.

If you follow it properly it’s a great plan. I ate healthy, home cooked food, we all did as a family. I tried CC/Macro it was honestly so stressful and I found myself eating separately to my family. It wasn’t for me.

Not everyone wants to sit and count calories, they appreciate the syn system and how you can still enjoy a wide variety of food. Yes, that includes the controversial Avocado It’s really not depicted as the devil like some Fitness influencers make out If followed correctly then you are put in a deficit without the hassle of CC (I find it such a faff!) Some people enjoy the social interaction of classes, most consultants are fantastic.

 

[letsmeltthatlard]

Said it before and I'll keep on saying it...

SW isn't the problem, the dickheads that follow it and twist the plan to within an inch of it being nothing to do with SW are the problem.

Why would anyone who wants to lose weight think "oooh, It's time for a treat" and then proceed to fill a fucking easter egg full of more chocolate than willy wonkas got coming out of his arsehole.

 

[Glittery1]

God they’re all awful and most are now on the calorie decifit wagon, but still posting syn values so they don’t lose followers:

When SW was at its peak I followed thousands of these morons. I put furlough to good use and unfollowed them all! I really don’t miss looking at plates of absolutely disgusting slop for food! Packet of savoury rice with baked beans and chopped eggs anyone? No, me either!!!! Lol

 

[Shielder2021]

I remember a mr and mrs mummy wright they vanished
This time ive done it needs to change there name as they are doing it AGAIN

 

[TeaNToast]

I found the “essentially.diabetes” comment hilarious. Sorry not sorry

 

[swipe_up]

Oh god I remember when SW Instagram was at its peak, ASA wasn’t so hot then so they were all pushing their spice codes and wanging on about crucial sauce, a certain chocolate brand and water bottles.

some were rather preachy, piled it all on and then disappeared.
Slamdunkthechunk
Itsyourgirlems
Oh and who could forget taste the rainbow JSG

i know a lot of people hate SW now but it worked for me, had a little to lose in 2016, kept it off and would never take a hard boiled egg to a hen night

 

[MamaD]

I think SW is great for people who are new to weight loss and have a lot of weight to lose. The concept is simple and whilst the terminology is absolute dog shit, it makes sense to have 1/3 of the place as salad/low density veg that bulks the meal out. Lean proteins and complex carbs make it a good balanced meal. The problem is that the sw insta huns start pushing their beige foods/treat plates and mad food concoctions. The wording in the handouts needs to change. It’s all ‘pile your plate high’ and ‘eat as much of this as you want’. Many people with food issues overeat and portion control needs to be there. With any slimming club it all depends on the ‘leader’, if they have a poor relationship with food and no nutritional knowledge then they will pass this on to their members. As someone who is a qualified nutritionist , the concept of weight loss is simple (eat less, move more) but in reality, education, mental health issues and socioeconomic factors means that it isn’t so simple for a lot of obese people.

 

[Ng!917658150]

There are some good points to slimming world and I lost a lot of weight on it however it does rely on people applying common sense. The free food thing is ridiculous. If you get told you can eat as much pasta, potato etc as you like then some people will take that to the extreme.
I saw a post on intsa yesterday where someone had ham, egg and chips. Not one egg but six eggs, a load of chips and loads of ham with salad in a bowl on the side. You're not going to lose weight by eating like that.
I do feel that Instagram doesn't help. These bigger accounts continue to bastardise the plan and people fall for it. All these people want is followers. Pure attention seekers, nothing else.

 

[Tabby23]

Slimming world instagrammers be like: 1 teaspoon of Nutella