Few Questions (sorry!)

Hi guys and dolls, I’ve already posted briefly in the intro’s section but thought I’d ask a few questions here, as I’m giving some serious thought to starting Slimming World.

I’ve been following Weight Watchers on and off for about 18 months now, and have never managed to stick with it for longer than maybe 4 weeks. I get SO hungry on my 18 points a day, no matter what I eat, how much veg I pad my meals out with I’m always hungry. And the meals are usually ready meals because I can barely boil an egg without putting someone in hospital.

The main reason I chose WW was because it seemed to fit with my lifestyle/social life. I’m one of the lads, my Saturdays are filled with
footie, beer and the inevitable pub grub. Being on WW fit in perfectly with that, I could have beer and a pub lunch as long as I kept within my points or used my activity points.

The things that frighten me the most about Slimming World are:
1. Losing all sense of portion control, overeating and ultimately gaining weight.
2. The expense of buying non convenience products, which leads to…
3. I fear I won’t be able to follow the plan properly as I can’t cook.
4. I don’t like fruit and veg.
5. I fear that I’ll have to give up my Saturdays with my mates, and generally give up what little social life that I have.


So I was wondering, how well does Slimming World fit into a normal life? And just what sacrifices have to be made for the sake of slimdom? (Apart from the obvious/usual)

Hi Hurricane Drunk! Love your username btw
Okay to answer your questions regarding your fears;

1. Losing all sense of portion control, overeating and ultimately gaining weight.

It'll be hard to overdo it with the food because you'll be eating lots of vegetables and filling foods. When I first started SW I was eating a lot more food, with more snacks and over time my portions got smaller and smaller (naturally, not by any conscious effort) so yeah you may go a bit mad at first with the free food but it'll stabilise. There's only so much chicken, rice, potatoes, fish a person can eat!

2. The expense of buying non convenience products, which leads to…

Fresh foods are actually cheaper than convenience! Think of all the packaging and print work on ready meals, you're paying for all that. Whereas you can go to your neighbourhood green grocer and get loads of lovely free food for so much cheaper.

3. I fear I won’t be able to follow the plan properly as I can’t cook.

If you can fry an egg, pop a potato in the microwave, boil pasta, then you'll be okay! I suggest you invest in some SW cook books or get some recipes off the SW website or even here, in the recipe section! Stick to your 5 basic favourite foods, get those right and then you can get a bit more adventurous with them.

4. I don’t like fruit and veg.

You probably like *some* fruit and veg. Or maybe the way the veg is cooked is the problem. Eating a plate of boiled veg isn't exactly the same as a spicy, flavourful plate of stirfried veggies with garlic, ginger, chillies, chicken etc. You could experiment with a few fruits and check out some vegetarian recipes for interesting ways to cook veg.

5. I fear that I’ll have to give up my Saturdays with my mates, and generally give up what little social life that I have.

You don't have to give up your time with friends. You can still enjoy a drink (accounted for with your syns) and a lot of pub foods are SW friendly, like jacket potatoes & beans, steaks etc. Just stay away from creamy curries and chips!

Good luck!! It always seems a bit daunting at first but that's where this board is so supportive. If you have any questions or problems, we're here for you!

Just out of interest, are you a guy or girl? Cuz if you're a guy on 18 WW points a day it's no wonder you were starving to death!

Honeyoc said:

Hi Hurricane Drunk! Love your username btw
Okay to answer your questions regarding your fears;

1. Losing all sense of portion control, overeating and ultimately gaining weight.

It'll be hard to overdo it with the food because you'll be eating lots of vegetables and filling foods. When I first started SW I was eating a lot more food, with more snacks and over time my portions got smaller and smaller (naturally, not by any conscious effort) so yeah you may go a bit mad at first with the free food but it'll stabilise. There's only so much chicken, rice, potatoes, fish a person can have!

2. The expense of buying non convenience products, which leads to…

Non convenience foods are actually cheaper than fresh! Think of all the packaging and print work on ready meals, you're paying for all that. Whereas you can go to your neighbourhood green grocer and get loads of lovely free food for so much cheaper.

3. I fear I won’t be able to follow the plan properly as I can’t cook.

If you can fry an egg, pop a potato in the microwave, boil pasta, then you'll be okay! I suggest you invest in some SW cook books or get some recipes off the SW website or even here, in the recipe section! Stick to your 5 basic favourite foods, get those right and then you can get a bit more adventurous with them.

4. I don’t like fruit and veg.

You probably like *some* fruit and veg. Or maybe the way the veg is cooked is the problem. Eating a plate of boiled veg isn't exactly the same as a spicy, flavourful plate of stirfried veggies with garlic, ginger, chillies, chicken etc. You could experiment with a few fruits and check out some vegetarian recipes for interesting ways to cook veg.

5. I fear that I’ll have to give up my Saturdays with my mates, and generally give up what little social life that I have.

You don't have to give up your time with friends. You can still enjoy a drink (accounted for with your syns) and a lot of pub foods are SW friendly, like jacket potatoes & beans, steaks etc. Just stay away from creamy curries and chips!

Good luck!! It always seems a bit daunting at first but that's where this board is so supportive. If you have any questions or problems, we're here for you!

Just out of interest, are you a guy or girl? Cuz if you're a guy on 18 WW points a day it's no wonder you were starving to death!

Click to expand...

Brilliant advice, thanks for the reply Honeyoc.
In answer to your question, I'm a girl (can I still refer to myself as a 'girl' at 27?!) though my friends, most of whom are guys, don't refer to me as a girl at all!

Honeyoc said:

Hi Hurricane Drunk! Love your username btw
Okay to answer your questions regarding your fears;

1. Losing all sense of portion control, overeating and ultimately gaining weight.

It'll be hard to overdo it with the food because you'll be eating lots of vegetables and filling foods. When I first started SW I was eating a lot more food, with more snacks and over time my portions got smaller and smaller (naturally, not by any conscious effort) so yeah you may go a bit mad at first with the free food but it'll stabilise. There's only so much chicken, rice, potatoes, fish a person can have!

2. The expense of buying non convenience products, which leads to…

Non convenience foods are actually cheaper than fresh! Think of all the packaging and print work on ready meals, you're paying for all that. Whereas you can go to your neighbourhood green grocer and get loads of lovely free food for so much cheaper.

3. I fear I won’t be able to follow the plan properly as I can’t cook.

If you can fry an egg, pop a potato in the microwave, boil pasta, then you'll be okay! I suggest you invest in some SW cook books or get some recipes off the SW website or even here, in the recipe section! Stick to your 5 basic favourite foods, get those right and then you can get a bit more adventurous with them.

4. I don’t like fruit and veg.

You probably like *some* fruit and veg. Or maybe the way the veg is cooked is the problem. Eating a plate of boiled veg isn't exactly the same as a spicy, flavourful plate of stirfried veggies with garlic, ginger, chillies, chicken etc. You could experiment with a few fruits and check out some vegetarian recipes for interesting ways to cook veg.

5. I fear that I’ll have to give up my Saturdays with my mates, and generally give up what little social life that I have.

You don't have to give up your time with friends. You can still enjoy a drink (accounted for with your syns) and a lot of pub foods are SW friendly, like jacket potatoes & beans, steaks etc. Just stay away from creamy curries and chips!

Good luck!! It always seems a bit daunting at first but that's where this board is so supportive. If you have any questions or problems, we're here for you!

Just out of interest, are you a guy or girl? Cuz if you're a guy on 18 WW points a day it's no wonder you were starving to death!

Click to expand...

Great post Honeyoc

You could give SW a go at least Hurricane and then review it if it's not fitting in with your lifestyle eh?

Isis x

Hurricane Drunk said:

The things that frighten me the most about Slimming World are:
1. Losing all sense of portion control, overeating and ultimately gaining weight.
2. The expense of buying non convenience products, which leads to…
3. I fear I won’t be able to follow the plan properly as I can’t cook.
4. I don’t like fruit and veg.
5. I fear that I’ll have to give up my Saturdays with my mates, and generally give up what little social life that I have.

So I was wondering, how well does Slimming World fit into a normal life? And just what sacrifices have to be made for the sake of slimdom? (Apart from the obvious/usual)

Click to expand...

1) Portion Control - Really - there isn't any - except what you decide to put in place as you are ready to do so. There is a HUGE list of free foods that you can have if you are hungry (and that's the key lesson to learn - which takes time - to eat to stop being hungry as opposed to eating for eatings sake).

2) Conveniance food - used to live on it, and take aways and snack foods, etc. I gave it all up and cook from scratch pratically every night now - and saved enough money to make the monthly payments on a car. Of course that depends on what type of conveniance food you are used to. plus - it tastes soooo much better to cook.

3) Depending on the type of things you like to eat - i'd invest in a cheap steamer. that way you can put new potatoes/carrots in and then 10 or so minutes later put the other veggies in (depending on what you like that is) whilst cooking whatever meat it is you're having that night. a few days experimenting and you'll be getting it spot on each time and to be honest - very little effort apart from preparing the veg and turning the meat (assuming you are a meat eater) and as the confidence grows - try something different. (bolognese can be very simple to do).

4) Never known anyone who's said that that means all fruit and veg (including myself) - even if it's just spuds and carrots that ou eat. i'd also say that as things progress - you'll want to try new stuff - i would never have eaten broccoli 6 months ago for instance.

5) Saturday nights - no reason why you can't still have them - just have to be in more control then you maybe were - fewer drinks, or change the drink, and know when to call "time" and swap to syn free drinks.

Hope that's given you some ideas....


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