SW (Spilling the beans!)
 

I ignored SW for ages, believing it to sound too stupid for words. Well, I'm now eating my words, as I love it. As a vegetarian it suits me down to the ground. You are given a list of food which is unlimited, and which you can eat freely. This includes all pasta, rice, potatoes, couscous etc, all vegetables, all fruit, eggs, Quark, low fat cottage cheese and yoghurt. Oh, and pulses too (kidney beans, chickpeas etc). You then have to choose 3 healthy extras - items such as milk, cheese, dried fruit, nuts, wholemeal bread, cereal and so on. This you weigh. You then move on to Sins (I know, I know, but get over it. I have!) which is the not so healthy extras. You can use them any way you want - wine, chocolate, white bread, stuffed pasta, cakes etc etc. Items high in sugar and fat are quite high in sins. You aim for about 10 - 15 sins a day. If there's a day when you're going out and the sins go overboard, you are advised to mentally allocate yourself so many 'flexible' sins. By doing so you kind of acknowledge that you're going overboard, but for today only; it doesn't give you carte blanche to pig out for the rest of the week.
The thing I love most about SW is their attitude. Of course it depends on your consultant, and ours is really funny and dynamic. And human. She freely acknowledges that she can be a pig like the rest of us, and the week after Christmas she had us all weeping with laughter about her own downfalls. Also, class takes a little longer than the others I've tried, because everyone has a turn. Liz goes round the class and says how much each of us has lost, or whether we've had a gain, and it means you can get help and support from everyone else. There have been some huge weight losses in the class which is so inspiring.
Every week each member takes a piece of fruit or a vegetable, or some amazing product we've discovered, and pops them in a basket which is 'won' by the slimmer of the week. We also have a raffle - another huge basket of fruit and vegetables. All great fun really.
I'm quite enthusiastic - as you can probably tell!
Anna

I still want to know if I can save heavily for a weekend with SW?

SW
 

Hi Jano and BPB,

As Anna said in the earlier post, SW doesn't recommend that you 'save' sins, for a weekend blow-out anymore. They advise you to acknowledge that you have gone over-board and just get straight back on it the next day.

As for the question about a magazine, yes there is one, it is called..weight for it (Sorry).....'Slimming World' Magazine. You would be able to order it from your newsagents if they don't already have it for sale.

As for maintaining, that is a very good question. When I did SW previously and lost 3.5 stone on it, I maintained for ages by doing SW 4 days a week, and not worrying too much about the other 3 days. The trouble was those 3 days then turned into 4, then 5 then 6, then I had lost the plot totally....

I have done SW for 8 years on and off. I must admit I have got very bored with it now. Not the diet, I think it might be our consultant. I don't find her very motivating. I find myself saying really stupid things, like, when she asks what you would have on a jacket potato on a green day, I say 'Oh, loads for butter and ship loads of cheese'. She looks horrified at me.

I don't know what to do about it, she has only just taken over our class and she runs all the other ones in my local area.

I am tempted to try WW when my pre-paid classes end. I am interested to find out more about WW first though. Their moto is 'nothings a sin'. I would like to know things like: how many points a day do you get? Who decides on your points? How many points in a slice of white bread? Does everything have points or is there free food?

Anyway I will close here as I have had a very long day. My 3 year old son broke his arm at the childminder this morning I spent most of the day in A&E, then came home on had chinese coz it was too late to cook......I did only eat half of it though, and only dished myself up a small portion anyway...Bye for now, Debz

Hi all

Debz - I too live in Leicestershire. I'm also 5'6" and weigh 17.9 - I'm determined that this is the year that I lose it BIG :) I'd be interested in knowing where you go to Aquafit.

I didn't get on too well with SW - Dave (hubby) loved it and won the basket of fruit each week (why do men lose weight so easily?)I had a problem with green days as I don't like pasta and the red days just seemed to be meat for me - I thought it was wierd when I was told I could eat a whole tin of corned beef, when it's full of fat - I just couldn't get my head around it :dizzy: I guess you just have to find what works for you and then change if you get stuck in a rut.

Anyway it's late - see you tomorrow

SW v WW
 

Hi Debz

I need a diet where I can save for a weekend to allow myself to eat out. Nothing seems to be working at he moment but I am not taking any exercise. I need to get into the habit of doing that.

WW. Just like BPB said really. I have gone to WW on and off since they first started the points system and I have never found a good leader or come away from a meeting inspired. Maybe it was them, may be it was me, the fact that I had heard it all so many times before. The best I ever had was the first one, she retired. She cooked every meeting. I got that I didn't even stay after the weigh in.

I'm not sure what to do about swapping now - there is not much wrong with what I eat day to day its the weekends that mess me up, and yes I accept that the weekend happens once a week (if you know what I mean and I have to cope with it) If I can show a weigh loss every week I can do this alone, the thought of going back to a club leaves me cold. I suppose there is only one thing for it and that is to eat even less day to day, up my exercise and see what that brings - there's no points in lettuce!!

BPB the little girl has come back

Debz - I hope your little boy is OK - I think I would have dived in to a Chinese as well given the situation! Fresh start today.....??

Jano - why don't you count calories. You could allocate yourself say, 1,500 a day (10,500 a week) and then its up to you how and when you 'spend' them. You don't have to follow any particular special diet - I think I said before it is easier to stick to a diet you enjoy and the best way to find one you enjoy is to devise it yourself around the foods that you enjoy.

There isn't any big mystery with the Rosemary Conley, WW or SW diets - they are all basically just encouraging us to eat a low fat/high fibre diet and you can do that on your own if you don't find classes motivational any more.

Slimming classes don't only help you to lose the weight, but they should also give you the information you need to help you maintain that loss when you get to goal. Most overweight women know what foods high in calories and which are sensible choices so I am sure that if you have been to classes and have read nutritional literature then you probably already have all the information you need - all it takes from then on is sheer will power and you need this whether you are attending a class or are going it alone.

WW verus SW.

From what I've read I'm just going to stick to WW. Think I need to do what works for me and yes it does work when I stick at it - just not very good at that bit.

Jano - I don't go to a class either and this year I don't even have the support of my best friend. She lost over 3 stone last year, but this year has other crisises going on in her life. And although she has maintained her weight at 12 stone Xlbs for nearly a year and would like to lose most she is starting to gain very slowly. Exercise has never been her strong point. We were out a couple of nights ago and she commented that her jeans were getting tight - if you're reading this you know who you are.

So I'm doing this with my on-line support only. Think you need to find what works for you and work with it. I save points for the weekend - not very successfully this week but I do try.

Carol

WW v SW
 

Hi Sarah and all

I couldn't lose weight ( I don't think) on 1500 cals per day. I hate counting calories the last thing I want to be dojng is thumbing through a book and adding up every last calorie. I did put up with it for a while and stuck to around 1000 1200 but didn't lose anything spectacular - I was told I also have to watch fats, so now am looking up fat values as well. Too much like hard work. That's why I like WW but I don't lose too well on it. The most I have lost is 10lbs and sooooooo slowly that I lost interst before I lost the weight.

Tonight, I had a chat with the Leader of the local SW. I told her that I have to save for the weekend to enable me to go out or whatever. Like I said to her, some people would say to me that if I want to lose weight hard enough I would change my life style. That is a fair comment and one I can accept but this affects my husband and friends also. They could comment( and don't misunderstand me cuz they are sympathetic) well we are not on a diet........ ( hubby says that if I want to lose 2 stone that's fine by him, but he thinks I am ok as I am), so you se it is my social life that is at stake here.

Anyway , enough blabbering. I explained all and more to her, she said she thinks we could work around it if I'm really good in the week, and that the only thing to do is give it a try. So on Wendesday I'm signing up to see what its all about - the change will do me good.

Keep ya posted.

Hmmph my WW Buddy came today, bu I'm sure I'll find it useful

By the way.. I meant to mention that its a Wednesday weigh i ..... yes

Yahoo!!

Good for you Jano, You've made the decision and taken the first step towards losing that 2 stone.

Carol

Went swimming again last night! Oh I felt so much better for it. A real struggle to go but oh it is good for the head!!
I am trying to work myself up to 3 times a week, heres hoping I make it twice this week>>