Why Slimming World...?

My friend has just started Weightwatchers - we were going through her book the other day and comparing our diets. I must say I got a bit jealous when I saw how much easier it is to grab and go with Weightwatchers. You go to a supermarket and theres loads of Weightwatchers foods with the "points" value on the packet - so much easier especially for snacking. I was considering converting to Weightwatchers.

That got me thinking...why Slimming World?

Well for one it isn't purely for weight loss - its a healthy eating plan. Weightwatchers is more about calorie counting - you can live on Wotsits if you really want as long as you don't exceed your daily points allowance (I know somebody who ate nothing but crumpets on Weightwatchers - yes she lost weight but would you really want to live on crumpets????). I feel that in a sense (people will hate me for this) Weightwatchers is the lazy option. You can eat nothing but microwave ready meals, weightwatchers cupcakes and crisps if you really want to. You can have treats like that on slimming world but you are also required to experiment with recipes and spend time preparing meals. For people who can't cook, I would recommend Weightwatchers - but for people who enjoy their food (and don't mind preparing spending a little time preparing it) - CHOOSE SLIMMING WORLD!! I've lost 2 stone 4 pounds and I feel that the diet is so easy now that I could continue with it forever. Who's with me??

This forum also makes it tons easier because I keep finding new ideas to try out :)
 
Well, I don't know if WW is a lazy option per se. I would say when I was a WW'er I cooked as much as I do on SW. If anything I would say its slightly more work as you have to weigh all your portions etc.

I went with SW because I wanted a change. I needed something that was "easy" and I could have went to WW but I wanted something that I wasn't familiar with, to make me try a bit harder I suppose.

I've seen SW members who eat nothing but Mugshots and Mullers too, so both plans are as boring or as repetitive as you make them.

For some people the "requirement to experiment with recipes and spend time preparing meals" is off putting. Some people cannot, and will not cook, so it places huge limitations on their perceived ability to undertake a life changing new way of eating.

I think that people will try different things until they find something that "fits".
 
There are always pluses and minuses in everything in life just as there are with WW and SW.

Sometimes I feel quite envious too of the WW products but still love my SW way of life and would not give it up just for some precooked food.

When I did WW my consultant was always quite concerned about the members of the group who stuck mainly to packaged foods and recommended that they cook more.

It will always remain a matter of personal choice. What is that old saying " one mans meat is another mans gravy "
 
Weightwatchers is the lazy option. You can eat nothing but microwave ready meals, weightwatchers cupcakes and crisps if you really want to. You can have treats like that on slimming world but you are also required to experiment with recipes and spend time preparing meals.

This gets my blood absolutely boiling!!! WW is NOT a lazy option! Yes sure you can live on ready meals, cupcakes and crisps, but on SW you could live on Super Noodles, mug shots and pasta n sauce and crisps and cupcakes. Doing it this way on either plan is NOT what its about.


You can have treats like that on slimming world but you are also required to experiment with recipes and spend time preparing meals. For people who can't cook, I would recommend Weightwatchers - but for people who enjoy their food (and don't mind preparing spending a little time preparing it) - CHOOSE SLIMMING WORLD!!

Clearly you have NO idea of the WW programme :mad: WW does NOT encourage people to live on ready meals, actually the total opposite is true. WW programme, like SW is all about cooking from scratch and making healthy filling meals. WW have just as big a range of cookery books as SW and the programmes are the same in their attitude to healthy eating.

When I went to classes my class leader either brought in something shed cooked or cooked in class and it was always something very healthy and surprisingly low in points

WW is not a lazy junk food diet. Its all about cooking healthy meals, making sensible choices, choosing filling foods and losing weight healthily
 
"One mans meat is another mans poison", I think, but I understood what you meant.

I think its very easy once you start one plan to find so many flaws in the other one, I am sure those on WW or VCLD would have plenty to say about how SW doesnt encourage portion control. (I would argue with them but Im too busy being happy with whats happening with me to pick fights).

As long as what you are doing works for you, and most importantly its not adversely affecting your short term or long term health, then live and let live. Personally I choose SW and dont see that ever changing, simply because it allows me to eat sensibly and normally without having to overly control things. But some people need that control and so I wouldnt think they were wrong for choosing an alternative, just different.
 
I choose SW mainly because I have a big appetite and I know on SW I don't have to weight meat, pasta, potatoes etc, so for me, I'm more likely to stick with it.
I have done WW a few times, I would say I like WW just as much but fo different reasons. For me, I don't use my points wisely, and end up using too many on snacks when WW advise to use as many as possible on filling foods, so if I used my points correctly I probobly would have enough food for my appetite, but I'm not disciplined enough to use my points the right way.
Both are fab diets and its just a case of choosing what fits you best!
 
I agree 100% with Starlight and MLM and the point I was trying to make when I said my consultant was always concerned about the members of the group who stuck mainly with prepackaged foods was that WW also encourage home cooked healthy meals.

It is a case of what suits you best. SW suits me down to the ground. My closest friend loves WW and would not change for anything.

The bottom line is that we are both losing weight and both happy with what we are each doing.

It is great when we go out for lunch together. Mostly we end up eating the same foods.

I think if anyone criticised SW I would be quite cross especially if they hadn't tried it themselves.
 
I think SW is the lazy option!! No weighing, no measuring, tons of free foods that I can eat without having to count points... lovely lovely - that's why I chose it, even after swearing I would never join a slimming club in my life!

I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of WW. My mum does it (on and off) and I tried to get my head round it once, just out of interest, and it didn't seem as bad as I first thought. If I recall correctly, WW have (or did have) a plan which was very similar to Extra Easy, which minimised the need to count points.

I think that if you did want a 'grab and go' diet, you could do that with WW far more than SW because they do offer such a huge range of ready meals, crisps, cakes and so on that would make it easier - but I highly doubt that would be sustainable for anyone long term, surely?!
 
I think that if you did want a 'grab and go' diet, you could do that with WW far more than SW because they do offer such a huge range of ready meals, crisps, cakes and so on that would make it easier - but I highly doubt that would be sustainable for anyone long term, surely?!

I like the 'grab and go' idea lol Theres no question that its very handy if youre caught short one day, forget your meal for lunch at work or something that you can grab a sandwich but honestly, on the WW forum NOONE eats like that regularly. Its convenience food just as its meant to be - conventient but not a way anyone eats on a day to day basis.
 
I like the 'grab and go' idea lol Theres no question that its very handy if youre caught short one day, forget your meal for lunch at work or something that you can grab a sandwich but honestly, on the WW forum NOONE eats like that regularly. Its convenience food just as its meant to be - conventient but not a way anyone eats on a day to day basis.

I agree, this was one of the reasons I found WW so easy, as I'm often not very organised. I have been following SW again lately but have been off work for 3 and a half weeks, once I go back to work next monday, I'm not sure SW will be ideal but time will tell, I can always switch again.
 
I have done both 'diets' and have lost weight on both.

When i used to do WW, i liked it because i was a single girl, and ready meals were what was convienant at the time for me. I also still loved my French Fries and my low point treats and the fact i could have my drinks etc.

But now i am doing SW, i love doing cooking at home - and as i am cooking for 2, SW seems more suitable - although sometimes i still have WW ready meals!!

I like SW as i dont feel i can 'run out' of foods - which i did feel on WW i would.....perhaps the plans have changed since then! xxx
 
To be honest - I agree with you all. Sorry if I have offended anyone, it's prob cos everybody I know who is on Weightwatchers can't cook and eats crap all day. They just aren't good advertisements for the diet I suppose. I shouldn't have been so nasty and made assumptions, all I was really trying to do was "big" slimming world up because I think its great lol. Now how do I delete a post lol... :S
 
Clearly you have NO idea of the WW programme :mad: WW does NOT encourage people to live on ready meals, actually the total opposite is true. WW programme, like SW is all about cooking from scratch and making healthy filling meals. WW have just as big a range of cookery books as SW and the programmes are the same in their attitude to healthy eating.

Sorry I didn't make this clear - I know both diets encourage fresh healthy eating, but I meant it's so much easier on Weightwatchers to get a bit lazy as they have their own Supermarket brand - you can just grab and go. I used to wish Slimming World was like that but I've now got used to it I think.

I feel awful soooorrryyyy
 
But you can grab and go on SW too. To the extent its "lazy" to a degree too.

B: Muller, fruit.
L: Sandwich from chiller cabinet (syns minus 6 for HEB), or a mugshot, maybe a bit of fruit
D: Batchelors pasta and sauce, or a fry up everynight.
Syns: If you've not used them in your sandwich, what about some vodka and diet coke? Maybe a tine of beer or 2?

Its easy to eat on either plan using convenience foods. Above isn't a particular unhealthy day, but I wouldn't say its choc full of nutrition either. I've seen plans on here where not everyone eats their fruit and veg on Extra Easy, and I've seen people on both plans, saving up points/syns for booze at the weekend.

Mullers, although they are quick and easy, are remarkably high in sugar for a "healthy snack" or "free food"

So I think that as stated previously, neither plan is perfect, its the people that create the menu's not the plans themselves.

I could probably get through a week on SW under syns using tinned sauces and jars, but I dont want to, so I dont. But then I was the same on WW, its just reinforcing the idea that its the person not the plan.
 
I have to say that I chose SW above WW for two main reasons, the first being that I have a pretty large appetite and I wouldn't be able to cope with running out of food to eat. The second being that I know I wouldn't be bothered with all the weighing so I guess I am both greedy AND lazy!

Nothing I didn't know already :p
 
The comment that WW is a lazy option for people who cant cook is like someone on WW saying SW is for greedy people - totally inaccurate and shows a lack of understanding of the diet


I agree with you..... no criticism from me. I am with you all the way.
 
I agree Lexiedog - but with slimming world you have to have your healthy extras - you couldn't get away with living on muller lights and mug shots x
 
I agree Lexiedog - but with slimming world you have to have your healthy extras - you couldn't get away with living on muller lights and mug shots x

A bit of bread/cereal bar and milk/cheese on top of mullerlights and mugshots would not a healthy diet make.

Plus WW suggest you spend some of your points on calcium sources etc anyway, so if you followed WW properly then you'd have to have your calcium/fibre too.
 
Sorry I didn't make this clear - I know both diets encourage fresh healthy eating, but I meant it's so much easier on Weightwatchers to get a bit lazy as they have their own Supermarket brand - you can just grab and go. I used to wish Slimming World was like that but I've now got used to it I think.

I feel awful soooorrryyyy

Dont feel awful, the written word on forums doesn't always come across how we think it will.

I love SW too. I stayed away from it before as I just thought the red and green stuff was something I could not maintain for life, it just seemed really impractical to me. Extra Easy is a stroke of simple genius. With the 1/3 of superfree and the healthy extra requirements, followers have to get some good fresh nutrients which I think is a really good thing which encourages healthy eating for life.

I know what you mean re the supermarket thing. Yes WW do have so much that is labelled and pointed - all good marketing and profit generation for the WW brand of course. I guess it has to be that way as more effort has to go into counting points. Counting my syns and weighing my HEX is about much counting as I would want to do as otherwise I'd get obsessed with the food and I think for me, that is counter productive.

Horses for courses and all but I'm with you, 'dieting' doesn't get much beter than SW EE. :)
 
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