A bit of a debate for a Friday!

jaylou

Gold Member
Thought I'd put this in off topic, even though it is SW related it's not quite about the plan. So here goes....

There's been a lot of talk around snacking and certain free foods recently, eg mugshots, pasta in sauce, supernoodles, pasta quiche etc and it got me thinking. There's been a few changes to SW over the last year, the biggest one being EE and the introduction of the third superfree. Anyway, my point is this - what future changes do you think SW will make, if any.

My thoughts - things like pasta in sauce, savoury rice, mugshots etc will no longer be classed as free food and will be synned.

The third superfree will be advised not only for EE, but for red and green days too.

Free food snacking will be discouraged on ALL plans and superfree snacks only.

I know SW is about ALL we can eat and not what we can't but from what I've seen at group and the conversations we have had on here I do think that something has to change slightly.

So, I've said my bit - what do you all think? (remember, this is just my speculation!!!) :p
 
I think if the plan become too restrictive then a lot of people will change to other companies like ww. I know what you mean about it needing to change - on sw you can eat all you can eat of free foods but eventually the weightloss will slow or stop, it has to!!
 
Love a good debate!

I'd be inclined to agree with everything you've said hun, especially the synning of things like Mugshots etc. I personally don't have them but I know a lot of peeps do eat them 'freely' as they are 'free'. I've changed my habits so much in the 9 months I've been following plan I naturally reach for the fruit now for snacking etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect though! Still like my wine and choccie!!

I'm a red girl mostly, and most of meals are made up of superfree anyway - fruit for brekkie, salad for lunch, veggies for dinner, so if SW did change red/green to specifically include this I think I'm nearly there anyway!

xx
 
Jaylou, I think you could be right. The free foods such as mugshots, pasta n sauce, rices etc leave too much room to cheat without realising, especially on E/E. A typical day could go something like this:

breakfast: 28g cereal from HEB allowance, with milk from HEA allowance
lunch: pasta n sauce with water + no butter.. most people could probably only manage one piece of fruit on top of that, maybe not even that
dinner: savoury rice packet and some chicken fillets with a side of veg
snacks: you've got 15 syns left to use!

I think E/E is amazing, I don't lose much on it though and it's because the menu above is the kind of day I could have especially when it's near the end of the month and pasta n sauce etc are all on offer in Asda. SW is changing and already has changed a lot so I wouldn't be surprised if the things you've said come true Jaylou! I know not everyone would follow the example menu I gave I'm just saying it could be easy to eat it and think it's ok cos it's free on SW, when really these things are high in calories and fill you up so you don't have room for the 1/3 superfree veg or any veg at all.
 
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Ooo interesting. I think your ideas make sense from a health view. More superfree is always better than more processed food though I'm not sure SW will ever get rid of pasta n sauce etc. They are one of the few 'ready' meals the plan offers and though they may not be great for you a lot of people find the plan do-able because of them. Some don't feel they have time to cook, some what that feeling of stodgy fullness (best way I can describe it!) and might be put off without it. The amount of cooking from scratch seems to be a common complaint so this allows a way around it.

EE is a big change and I wonder if they'd change the other plans too much in the near future. It seems to be taking a long time to switch people over from red/green, even new members at my group rarely stick with EE and prefer to go on to red and green having never done the diet before. We had a show of hands last week and not one person did EE except the C...

I think the 3rd superfree is a very good guide for all plans and could well be introduced but I don't know if it would then confuse it for people. All the members who have great losses on red and green without the 1/3 might not make the change and then it sort of loses it's importance on EE. If new members are faced with people saying they don't follow the 1/3 superfree on red/green would they think it's ok not following it on EE? I don't know but it's the sort of thing they would have to think about before introducing a new rule.

Personally I'd find it difficult if only superfree snacking was introduced, I actually tend to do it anyway but there are times I just can't face more fruit and veg and I don't think I'm alone. SW's reputation is about unlimited food and I think that would seem too limiting.

I think looking at it as a business that wants to make money they have to make changes very slowly, perhaps by drumming the superfree snacking/smaller plate ideas into C's to pass on in discussion rather than making rules which people often feel the need to bend.

I imagine they'd love to say tin/cooked fruit is free just to save on the hassle they must get daily from people not happy about it but they've stuck to it because there is a reason.

I can't really think of changes they may introduce. Why change things that work? There will always be little tweaks and changes but I don't think they'll be any big changes for quite a while. EE has kind of turned the plan upside down in older members minds so any changes will be left a while longer in my opinion.
 
I think why change a 'diet' that works?

Yes people are snacking on supernodles, pasta, mughots but there still losing weight.
Changes have Been made from the past to include a new plan thats suitable for those finding green/red hard.

To be honest even if slimming world changes I think i'll stick to plan I know now as they do work, just like the people been on the plan before EE will stick to green and red!

Only thing I can see changing is a limit on the free food for those who hav no control, example muller lite will remain free but only allowed maximum 2 a day.
 
Not all Mug Shots, Pasta and Sauce, Savoury Rice etc are free, but I think the individual needs to know how much is too much, if that makes sense? Surely it should be the same with all free and superfree foods? The natural sugar in fruit, for example. I'm still trying to get my head away from counting fruit, like you do on WW.

My C is alwaes saying to make sure you eat enough of the free and superfree food, and points out that just because you have a syn allowance, you don't have to eat them all every day, just because they are there.

To be fair, I've followed EE since I started, with the odd green day here and there when I want bread, so I couldn't comment on losing more weight by not following it.
 
Ive been doing sw on and off since 1988. So I .ve seen loads of changes.Fruit used to sinned(used to be sins not syns),mullerlights were 5 syns each. They have always recommended the 1/3 superfree but its only been really pushed since ee.I loved the one at the turn of the century(waves walking stick) when asda chilled curries etc were free. It seems to go through cycle of being really strict then easing up and back again. EE seems to be more of a compromise but I agree it does need tweaking.Having said it I think its more likely to teach you healthy but normal eating habits rather than blasting on just carbs or protein.I think mugshote will nprobably go just like supernoodles (not fat free ones) did a few years ago. Trouble is if its too strict it is no longer a away of life its a adiet and I agree people will go to WW and their equivalent of Sw(not just Discovery at WW).
 
Some good points. I'm not sure people would go to WW/RC or any other though, things (in my world) would still be free and unmeasured - eg red/green, there'd just be more control around superfree and snacking.

It would still be for life, just like WW can be, as you would get more - eg B choices etc.

Good debate. Keep it coming!
 
I think the way the plan is now it works. But im sure they will make some of the changes you have said as after all they are a business as well as a revolution so will always be trying to find new ways of doing things and ways of making weight loss easier.

I think a few years down the line shops will have to start selling more healthy versions of their foods as we are becoming such health food fanatics and then more will become free food for us.

I should imagine that as 'unlimited' food is one of the main features of the plan that they wont change this but i do agree that their may be a main meals only rule xx

xx
 
I'm inclined to agree about the mugshots. They are quite high in calories and full of additives.
However I think the real problem is that cooking was practically abandoned at schools and alot of people have no idea about how to go about it. Look at Lorraine Kelly on GMTV she has no idea how to handle a knife, Sophie Dahl couldn't grate cheese! It's just too easy to bang something in the oven or boil a kettle, and doing something from scratch only takes as long as it does to wait for the timer to go. But of course it takes effort! OK I'll get off my soapbox now!
 
WW do a aplan which isn't advertised very well which is similar to Sw but they only allow meals and the few snacks allowed have to be veg/fruit.This sounds similar to what some people think will happen at Sw. They also push portion control unlike Sw. Thing is not that many people know about it and I wonder if it is because its so strict.
 
I'm inclined to agree about the mugshots. They are quite high in calories and full of additives.
However I think the real problem is that cooking was practically abandoned at schools and alot of people have no idea about how to go about it. Look at Lorraine Kelly on GMTV she has no idea how to handle a knife, Sophie Dahl couldn't grate cheese! It's just too easy to bang something in the oven or boil a kettle, and doing something from scratch only takes as long as it does to wait for the timer to go. But of course it takes effort! OK I'll get off my soapbox now!


Haha! Well said! Sophie Dahl annoys me but not cos she can't cook .. she's just annoying. Completely agree tho - I had no idea how to cook until I met my bf, he was brought up around food and hunting and fishing etc.. I mean, I thought you cooked pasta in cold water and brought it to the boil, no one taught me any different til my bf noticed me doing it! People rely on ready meals and microwaves, which is a shame really!
 
WW do a aplan which isn't advertised very well which is similar to Sw but they only allow meals and the few snacks allowed have to be veg/fruit.This sounds similar to what some people think will happen at Sw. They also push portion control unlike Sw. Thing is not that many people know about it and I wonder if it is because its so strict.

This sounds very much like Rosemary Conley which is the most strict diet I have ever attempted and constantly felt hungry on!
 
I've been thinking about it again and I wonder how many people actually do take free food to the extreme. I think the majority are careful and over all the SW members in the world there won't be that many who snack on pasta n sauces twice a day or eat 10 mullers every day. When I write my food diary out I often look back and wonder why it doesn't seem like a lot of food. I think perhaps we sometimes believe we eat too much when in reality we don't. Of course there are exceptions but not sure whether rules have to be changed because of the minority.

When we think about other diets it seems very restictive but actually what I eat most days could, with a little tweaking, work on a lot of different plans. The beauty is that we think we're lucky because we can eat without feeling guilty when in actual fact if you compare to other diets we may well be eating pretty much the same things and self restricting which is acceptable to ourselves but not if someone else tells us to. If that makes sense.:eek:
 
Laura, it makes a lot of sense. Slimming World doesn't say "NO, you cannot have this" it says "well, you can, but do you have enough syns?" well it does to me anyway. So you don't immediately say "Sod that, I'm having it", you actually think about it and re-teach yourself about food and healthy eating. It lets us restrict ourselves! There are loads of choices too, how many HEB's can you choose from? But you get these other diet plans that say "pick from these 3 options" ie Slimfast, which you would get bored of after about 3 days! Slimming World is for life!
 
Brilliant thread !!!
My only comment is that I love SW just the way it is and than common sense must point anyone on the right direction when it comes to free food.

I have no idea what superfree is ???
 
Superfree is all fruit (fresh and frozen) and all veg except peas, sweetcorn, broad beans, parsnips and potatoes.
 
Ta muchly amiga lol.

That sounds like most of my diet.

xxxxxxx
 
My thoughts - things like pasta in sauce, savoury rice, mugshots etc will no longer be classed as free food and will be synned.

Quite right too, as far as I'm concerned. I love SW, but I've always found it hugely ironic and a bit ludicrous that processed junk like this is 'free', but put a banana and a couple of strawberries through a blender and it has to be 'syns'! Way to encourage people to snack healthily, SW. :D

I'd much rather snack on fruit even if I have to turn it into a smoothie, it's surely far healthier to do that than to fill yourself with processed, additive-ridden non-food that's putting three times as many calories into your system to boot.
 
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