Newbie - I've made a decision but have a question!

wannabslim

Gold Member
Hi everyone,

I'm new to this part of the forum (hope I'm posting this in the right place) and am looking for your thoughts/advice/accounts of how Slimming World works for you - compared with other plans, is it working better? And why?

I've heard SW is really easy but reading through here it sounds quite complicated and I'm a bit scared that I wouldn't be able to get my head around it, so I suppose I'm looking for encouragement too.

I'm looking for a way to lose weight without going hungry and feeling deprived, and without becoming obsessive. I tried SW when I was 15 (8 years ago) and it didn't work for me - I ate all in sight because "I could" as long as it fell within the guidelines... but now I'm not in that place, I have control and stop eating when full, so wonder if now may be the time to try again. I imagine a lot has changed between then and now, and it is scary thinking about starting something new, as the only diet I've ever really "understood" was Cambridge. But I feel I now need to start a new chapter and leave the old behind...

Sorry this has turned into a long post, but I would really value your thoughts - positive or negative, your advice, etc.

Thanks in advance,

Nxx
 
give it a go

i have never really tried any other weight loss plans (except an ill advised 7 day stint on lighter strife which damn near killed me!) so i can't compare it to others.

It really is quite easy to follow once you get your head round the healthy extras and such.

I follow the green and original plans and have lost over three stone since November (two of those since january this year).

For me, the easiest way to stick to it properly is to just think of green days as days when i don't eat meat and red days as days when i avoid potatoes, peas, beans, rice, pasta etc.

Everyone finds their own way to make the plan work for them.

You will find these forums a great help in so many ways.
The people here are friendly and supportive. There are great ideas for recipes and how to use the free foods and syns to the best effect.


I started off on the plan eating huge portions of food and still had a steady weight loss. As time has gone on, my attitude towards food has changed, as i'm sure many others here have found. I now realise that just because i can eat it, doesn't mean that i have too. I eat when i'm hungry and stop when i'm full.


it's a good plan. Give it a try and lean this way anytime that you need to.

Good Luck!
 
Hi Wannabslim :D

I have tried other diets and have them soooo rigid and constantly been starving :mad:

Since startign SW in mid Jan I have found it to be the best plan I have came across. It confused the hell out of me at first but I don't know why as it is sooo simple.

You have red days and green days. (You also have extra easy option, but I don't really know about that)

Red days is what I tend to do most of the time....basically it's high protein and low carb. You have many free foods which are subbstantial and filling. You get two healthy extra A's which are foods such as milk, cheese, etc. Two healthy extra B's which are foods such as bread, rice, etc.

Green days are high carb and low protein. Pasta's etc and you get healthy extras again, instead the B's are meat, fish, etc.

The healthy extras are to a limited amount.

Once you get into the swing of it you can't go wrong. Everyone on here has amazing results and you never hear of anyone going hungry.

If you feel you need to change I highly recommend SW! It has changed my life for the bettter. Have you got a local class you could go to?

Hope this helps and not boggled your mind :D:D

K xx
 
Thanks to both of you for your replies - they are more helpful than you can know! There is a class that is just down the road from me on Mondays, but as it's Easter I'm not sure if it will be on tomorrow? I like the idea of keeping carbs and protein sort of separate but still being able to flit between them on a day-to-day basis, so if I want lots of carbs one day I could do a green day, but if I fancy more protein the next, I could choose to do red... sounds like heaven!

How does it work in terms of going out for meals? Is that where Syns come in? (sorry I don't really understand how it works)... Say my friends were going out for an Indian/Chinese/Pizza, would I be able to join in?

Sorry, so many questions... I'm thinking maybe this is something I need to try!

xxx
 
I have to say that this is the easiest diet that I have ever tried.

I know that no diet is ever going to be without some sort of sacrifice but you really don't feel like you are going without on SW.

I would definately give it a try....
 
Thanks hun - it's so good to hear how many people are finding it easy... I hope maybe I can be among you before too long. Reckon I have about 20lbs to go to reach the weight I'd ideally like to be - what's the average loss on SW?

xxx
 
You can buy a food directory for about £5 which lists the syns in many restaurant type meals....it's so handy. It even has well known restauurants such a pizza hut, etc.

Also, you have up to 15 syns a day, although I aim for 10 max. You can save these up throughout the week if you know your going out for a meal or a night on the town and can useyour syns then. It is really flexible.

Reallly hope you take the plunge and change. I don't really know much about CD but you might find the change will do you the world of good to get those 20lbs off :)
 
Thanks hun - that's great advice! With syns, is it recommended that you do eat all of them/most of them - and by saving them up can that affect weightloss?

How much do you tend to lose on average per week?

I really think I am going to try this!

xxx
 
My consultant told me to try not to use all 15 everyday and stick to about 10....when I plateau I intend to reduce them to boost the loss.

I don't think there is an average loss. It depends on what suits you best. I am a carb addict and so decided to do red days six days a week to resist the major carb addiction I have lol. But I'm goign to start introducing green days soon so that I can get used to carbs again.

On red I have averagely lost 3 lb a week, but that isn't a usual weight loss if your doing green as well. Perhaps 1.5 - 2 a week. It really does vary from person to person.

Sorry I can't be much help with that one, it's just so broad to give an average.

I've saved up and it's not affected my loss. Although I have found that if I go for a chinese on a Saturday the weight doesn't come off for a couple of days and my weigh in is on a Monday :eek: BUT come Tuesday or Wednesday the weight is off :D
 
Hi..not sure how much help I will be as I am only on day 5 of SW!! However, I have found it really easy to get to grips with and am actually enjoying following the SW advice. I have made a meal plan for the week so I know where I am and can get the shopping in and that has helped a lot. I really feel as though I am in control. I refer to the red/green booklet a lot, but out of curiosity at the moment not in an obsessive way!

As for eating things because I can, no I wouldn't say I have done that. It just seems to be the right foods in moderation for me, so far. There have been days where I have maxed out my syns but other days where I have only had 2-3 and I've not felt restricted at all.

HTH.

H.
 
Thanks Kerry, that's all really helpful - I would have thought you'd lose more doing red days as it's almost like doing low carb which I always lose much quicker on than on carby diets. Is it better to do a full week on red/green and then switch, or is it ok to switch every day if you want to?

Hi D2B - your meal planning sounds like a great idea, I think I'd need to do that too otherwise I'd end up not buying the right things in and eating the wrong stuff as a result! Good to hear you are getting on well with it - can't wait to hear about your first week's loss. I'm not worried about eating because I can anymore - as I do think it's a state of mind. I guess it's a binge mentality I used to have (and did when I first came off CD) that I should eat as much as I could in case it suddenly was taken away from me... whereas if you deep down know and accept that food is never going to "go" anywhere - there's no need to have that mentality is there? Wonder why it's taken me so long to realise this!

Thanks guys for all your help - you're stars and I can't wait to start now.

xxx
 
I have a red day then a green day but you don't have to do it like that. I think it depends on how you feel, what you prefer etc. Have you heard of the mix to max as well? In any one day you could have a red meal, green meal, red meal etc...I haven't done it and have only read it from the booklet but that may be something to look at some days, e.g. when you go out for a meal!

H.
 
You can definitely switch around days as much as you want. That's the great thing about it, if you know your goign out for an Italian have a green day :)

Glad to hear your going to give it a go. It's well worth it. I'm sure we'll be seeing you posting here soon, so speak to you anotjer time and good luck :)
 
If you want to know about Extra Easy give me a shout, I think if I tried to explain it whilst your absorbing red, green and mix to max plans you'll get confused.
It's best to understand red and green days I think before you try Extra Easy....but it is called easy for a reason and it's mainly what I stick to. It's especially easier for when you have a social life.
 
If you go on the SW website there is a free 7 day plan to give you an idea of the kind of meals you eat etc and just how much free food is available. I only follow green as I am a veggie and am more than happy with my losses. I don't think you should get hung up on how much you can lose each week, it should be about following a plan you can stick to for life - because for most of us that is what we are going to have to do to maintain our weight.
Good luck with whatever you decide to follow
 
Thanks all - it's good to know you can switch between plans etc. and it's so flexible!

Dear Fatty, I've had a look at that 7 day plan - thanks for directing me to it! Unfortunately almost every meal has a key ingredient that I don't like! But it does seem fab!

I care about how much I can lose approx. per week only because I'm getting married in 5 months and need to have my last 20lbs off by then - I have a deadline!! But I guess, as 5 months is about 20 weeks, a 1lb a week average has got to be achievable.. any extra would be a bonus.

The thing is, I'm not looking for a diet for life - I'm looking for something that will enable me to lose the last bit of weight, so that I can maintain it - I don't have a problem with maintaining, it's losing I struggle with. I go to the gym 4x a week at least for a couple of hours a time, and am able to maintain my weight through a balanced diet most of the time... right now the problem is that I just need to lose the last bit after coming off CD without doing the plans (so I had a 7lb gain) and then going on hol saw me gain a bit of weight too. I've lost nearly 50lbs so far if you don't include what I now need to re-lose, so this is just the last little bit of my journey to get to goal (had a lot to lose as I kinda went off the rails at uni but when I finished I realised what I'd done to myself and set about undoing the damage!).

Righty, off to the gym now. Thanks everyone for your help and I'll start SW as soon as I can get to a meeting!

xxx
 
Hi guys!

Instead of starting a new thread, thought I'd just carry on with this one - hope that's ok?

I decided to call the leader of the Monday group near my house and to my surprise she said that the group is on tonight, so I'm going to go along! So excited and a bit scared... had a massive Dominos for lunch and am worried about getting weighed!

Anyway, I'll start a diary in the right bit of the forum - just wanted to say thanks for your help and encouragement, I have you to thank for helping me to get to this stage! Can't wait to get shifting those lbs!

Can anyone tell me if there's any resources/things you have to pay for that are particularly useful, so that I can be prepared for the expense at class and make sure I have the money on me? Thanks in advance

xxxx
 
You have the joining fee but I'm not sure how much that is any more. But there are probably books, the red and green recipe books as well as others. There is probably the magazine too which is cheaper if you buy it in class. You don't have to buy these but they are there if you need help with recipes and ideas. Personally I think one of the best books is the One pot wonder. Some great recipes in there.
So it's up to you, you could take some extra cash just in case you fancy a book or magazine.
There's also probably HiFi bars and scan bran. I've not tried scan bran yet. The HiFi are nice, like a cereal bar and you can have them as a HeB if you like, but they're 6 syns if you don't so quite high if all your after is a sugar fix.
Our class also runs a raffle each week, only 50p a strip of tickets and the prize is normally either £5 worth of veg or other healthy groceries or a recipe and all it's ingredients.

Enjoy your first group session and I find what works for me is staying to the image therapy each week. You'll learn lot's of new products and ideas from other members and also you'll be pleased when you hear it isn't just you who has fallen off the wagon during a bad week. It reassures you to get back up on that wagon and carry on. the support is terrific from other members and goes a long way to ensuring your success.
 
Hi there hun, good to "see" you again, you'd probably remember me from the WW forum. Ive recently switched to SW and I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying it, it seems to have been the right decision for ME, every diet is right for someone out there, it s just a case of finding the right plan for you.

I think you will get on fine with SW, a couple of colleagues at work do SW and they seem to have higher losses with red days and extra easy days. I'm a vegetarian so always stick to green days.

Like most diets the key seems to be variety.

Anyway I am sure you will get loads of info from your consultant tonight, good luck.

I'm pretty confident you will get the remaining 20lbs for your big day x
 
Thanks Ninja - will look out for the cookbook you recommended!

Heeey Lydia, good to 'see' you too! How funny that we've both ended up here. Think I'll probably try and balance the red and green and maybe do them in chunks, so a few days on red, then a few on green, as I like a bit of variety. So excited about going to class!

xxx
 
Back
Top