Thread: Is it possible to follow slimming world diet and not lose weight in the long term?

I was just pondering this. If we put aside people who are taking medication that interferes with how their body metabolises, and the small number of people who actually have a metabolic imbalance of some kind, is it possible to follow the plan and not lose weight?

By follow the plan, i mean stick to it properly. Full compliment of syns, healthy extras, super free and eating until satisfied.

Obviously to me, it has been a success, as it has to many others. But can the diet genuinely not work for people who follow it 100%?

If you are between 22 and 28 bmi, your body might have reached a point in which it doesnt want to lose weight, so losses would understandably be slow. But I have read and spoke to people who swear blind they are following the plan, people with a fair few stones to lose and it isnt shifting.

Are they lying to people, lying to themselves, or does the plan really not work for some people, even when followed as it should be?

To those who might read this who have been trying their hardest, following it 100%, and it isnt shifting, please dont take this as an insult, I am genuinely interested if it isnt working for you and why that might be.

I do think that this is possible. It was the thing I worried the most about when I started SW. In my case I know that if I were to give myself a completely free-rein on all the 'free' foods on SW I would not lose anything at all. Even if I am being pretty careful, I still have to watch my portion sizes like a hawk. If I eat potatoes, rice or pasta I have to weigh it. I have an enormous appetite and it would be very easy for me to put away a ton of carbohydrates without feeling over-full, so my appetite can never be used as the limiting factor, because I would just eat until there was no more!

I don't seem to be able to get away with eating potatoes more than once a day either. My weight loss on SW has been very slow, just about a pound a week really, but I am really struggling to get anything off now, especially if I have lots of fruit, which is allegedly 'superfree' on the plan! I'll never be 'Slimmer of the Week'! However, I am a pensioner and my basal metabolic rate will be quite low at my age, therefore my caloric requirement will be much lower than say my daughter, who is also doing SW and loses MUCH faster than me. She eats larger portions than I do and regularly eats pasta and potatoes, which I have to be much more careful about. I have very few syns, probably no more than 5 a day maximum, many days none at all, and as a vegetarian doing Green, I often don't have both my HExs A and quite often no B at all.

So I would say that people like me, who are female, older and less active than others could quite easily NOT lose weight on SW if they consumed the full amount of food allowed. However, as long as you recognise that and use the plan accordingly, it is still a very good way to eat healthily and keep your weight down. The only way I personally managed to lose a lot of weight was to go on a VLC diet, which is not the best way, or very sustainable either, but it worked for me in the short-term. Now I am still losing, albeit very slowly, and learning how to keep it that way. However I can see how people like me, with a really big appetite and a low basal metabolic rate, could end up not losing any weight on SW, despite staying on plan.

My poor dad has tried sw so many times, I know he doesn't cheat and I cook everything that passes his lips and he has never had success, last time got 4 weeks in without shifting a pound and decided to just do CC! I don't think it is right for everybody.

I don't post very often, but found this really interesting. I don't know what the answer is, as if I follow the plan to the letter then I always lose weight.

But what I found particularly interesting is that Gallifreya thinks it is possible, but then goes on to say she doesn't have her HEAs or Bs, and very rarely has 5 syns a day. Therefore she's not following the plan! My mum is in her 70s and lost by following the plan exactly, so if she can do it, I think anyone can.

Also, a pound a week is about what can be expected on SW, particularly if you haven't got a lot to lose.

Originally Posted by tracejovi

I don't post very often, but found this really interesting. I don't know what the answer is, as if I follow the plan to the letter then I always lose weight.

But what I found particularly interesting is that Gallifreya thinks it is possible, but then goes on to say she doesn't have her HEAs or Bs, and very rarely has 5 syns a day. Therefore she's not following the plan! My mum is in her 70s and lost by following the plan exactly, so if she can do it, I think anyone can.

Also, a pound a week is about what can be expected on SW, particularly if you haven't got a lot to lose.

My Consultant has told me that you don't HAVE to have all your HExs or syns to follow the plan! Although I said I thought it was POSSIBLE, I don't claim it is happening to me I am still losing.

My consultant said that for weight loss on SW you HAVE to have all of your HE's and also find the right amount of syns between 5-15. Some people need only 5 for a loss and some need 15 for a loss. She also advised to always listen to your own body, non of us are the same x x

My consultant said you lose weight quicker if you don't use your hexs and if you only have up to 10 syns a day.
I don't believe that as this is supposed to be abouy healthy eating not about who can lose weight the fastest.

Originally Posted by IWillBeAYummyMummy

My consultant said you lose weight quicker if you don't use your hexs and if you only have up to 10 syns a day.
I don't believe that as this is supposed to be abouy healthy eating not about who can lose weight the fastest.

I think its appalling that a consultant has said this!

Originally Posted by ScarlettStar86

I think its appalling that a consultant has said this!

Yes!

I think this is an interesting debate. I think between us we have come up with the answer. In normal circumstances SW followed correctly will allow most people to lose weight steadily if slowly. Free food is filling and most people who listen to their body will stop eating when full. Others don't and may not lose weight. As Gallifreya says though, not everyone feels full at the point they have consumed enough calories (there is a quite detailed scientific explanation for this involving fat composition and chemical signals to the brain). For these people a modified SW would be more appropriate with all but the least calorific food being measured carefully. I am unfortunately one of these people and have to base my food input on careful measurements rather than what my body tells me, and accept I am rarely satiated.

My mam who weighs half a stone more than me has quite slow losses. Some weeks she's stayed the same and I know for a fact she hasn't cheated. But then she is nearly at 1st lost so I guess she can't complain.

I do think not every diet works for everyone though so yes, in rare cases it probably is possible to follow plan and not lose.

I think we all need to remember sometimes that 1lb loss a week is MASSIVE. It is the healthy amount of weight to lose...this is why extra easy to the easiest long term plan to do, slow steady healthy weight loss. I also need to remind myself often that just because I lost 3 1/2lbs one week, doesn't mean that this is what my body can manage every single week.

Healthy A and B are there because they are 'healthy'! it's really important we try to fit these in everyday, otherwise we risk slowing our body down at the end of the day

As for whether it sometimes does'n twork for everyone, i don't know but I think maybe we all need reminding that our plates need to be filled with that good wedge of superfree to be successful!