Why isnt it working for me?

Hi slimmingworlders!

So I spent last year yo-yo dieting between meal replacement diets, slimmingworld, counting cals and pigging out inbetween, needless to say I ended the year a stone heavier than I started!
Knowing SW is healthy eating I decided I would stick to that all this year, no messing about just being healthy!, any binges not being compensated with by starving, just back on the healthy eating wagon...slowly, slowly catchy monkey and all that!
So 1st of Jan started SW at home, I always measure my HE's, and count all my syns...I always use all my syns, try and cut down to 10 but feel deprived when I do and then have a night of 3 choc bars which uses the saved syns up anyway!!
So wk 1 I lost 2lb, was a bit disappointed but wasnt a full wk so thought wk 2 would be better, done everything right and have lost nothing! on wk2? when I have 5 stone to lose? what the hell?! 2lb loss over 13 days.... and you lose most weight in first month, looks like this is more of a maintain the weight diet for me, tell me its going to improve?!

Going for a curry tonight, first time out in Jan, thought I would have a great loss and earn a little treat, now thinking if best i can do is lose 2lb in a fortnight then a curry might will end up making me gain weight! so annoyed.... Have read loads of peoples posts where they lost 10lb in wk 1/losing 3lb weekly etc, anyone have experience similar to mine? or anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance!

I'm not doing SW but I am experiencing something similar.

I lost 13lbs in the first week, and despite sticking to a very healthy diet, my weight has fluctuated back up by 2-6lbs and it just isn't shifting.

It's incredibly disheartening and I'm hopping on the scales every morning hoping to see them go down, but I'm trying to look at things logically. It could be water retention, it could be hormones, it could be my body being like, WTF is going on?! Especially since I'm eating a much different diet than before.

What I'm going to do - and what I'd suggest you do too - is weigh myself tomorrow, and then put the scales away for two weeks. Then I'm going to work out healthy balanced meals, track/log everything that goes in my mouth, and then at the end of the two weeks I'll weigh myself again and if there's still no improvement, I will tweak what I'm doing and then try again for another couple of weeks.

It's frustrating when you know you're doing everything right but it doesn't show on the scales. But if we're doing everything right, it will work eventually. We're not medical anomalies! (I hope!)

It's probably plain old over eating

SW is a great plan but they do talk in terms of free food. No food is 'free' and although they Say unlimited carbs are fine the reality is that they're.not and.they'll.hinder weightloss

I'd advise that you try and eat just three decent meals a day, keep an eye on your carbs and don't snack or graze if possible. I'm sure you'll see a good loss next week

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Hello there. Sorry to hear you're struggling. I also lost 2lb in week 1 and was a little bit disappointed, but I did lose 1lb in week 2, then have carried on fairly steadily like that and it does add up pretty quickly!

If you're doing SW from home, just to check for the really obvious stuff first, are you weighing on the same scales, same place, same clothes, same time of day? Assuming all that, it is of course disappointing not to lose in week 2 but there are so many possible reasons. Hormones have already been mentioned, as well as the body being a bit shocked - especially if you have done a lot of yoyo dieting as that does unfortunately confuse the metabolism rather :sigh:

Have you got all the books and details of the plan? I'd say the best option is to put up your food diary for several days (either in this thread or in the food diaries section) and you will find lots of people are happy to note anything where you're accidentally slipping up. Even people who know the plan well can forget/misunderstand things at times. And stick with it, it seems very unlikely that it won't work at all long-term.

Thanks for replies, I really don't know why it doesn't seem to be working but tend to agree that my body might have gone into some sort of shock at healthy foods being eaten! all over xmas I was eating out/takeouts, constant grazing on chocolates, bit too much wine etc! and now its generally Weetabix and banana, jacket & beans, spag bol, yogurt, fruit and small chocolate bar...that sort of thing. I used to weigh a couple of times a day, this time I didn't weigh all week, wish I had now as might have made different choices...ie, I ate a whole pack of savoury rice for a lunch, didn't need to eat that much and brain said it was too much carbs esp after porridge breakfast and knowing I was having pasta for tea, but decided it was ok as 'free'!
Think I have over eaten on 'free' food a couple of times but on the other hand I've gotten quite hungry a couple of times too, will start to post my food diary and maybe others can spot where I am going wrong, thanks for suggestions!

Are you making sure 1/3rd of your plate is superfree? I find the weeks where I haven't lost are the weeks I've cut back on the superfree. Are you choosing superfree above free food to snack on?
Are you measuring your a&b choices?
Could you post a days food and people could help you?
Are you drinking enough water?
Week 2 of any diet is notorious for giving low losses as your body is in shock. Keep at it and I'm sure you will keep
Losing.

ticktock said:

Thanks for replies, I really don't know why it doesn't seem to be working but tend to agree that my body might have gone into some sort of shock at healthy foods being eaten! all over xmas I was eating out/takeouts, constant grazing on chocolates, bit too much wine etc! and now its generally Weetabix and banana, jacket & beans, spag bol, yogurt, fruit and small chocolate bar...that sort of thing. I used to weigh a couple of times a day, this time I didn't weigh all week, wish I had now as might have made different choices...ie, I ate a whole pack of savoury rice for a lunch, didn't need to eat that much and brain said it was too much carbs esp after porridge breakfast and knowing I was having pasta for tea, but decided it was ok as 'free'!
Think I have over eaten on 'free' food a couple of times but on the other hand I've gotten quite hungry a couple of times too, will start to post my food diary and maybe others can spot where I am going wrong, thanks for suggestions!

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You don't mention any superfree vegetables. The savoury rice for lunch should have been accompanied by 1/3 vegetables and/or salad. This might be the problem.

ticktock said:

Thanks for replies, I really don't know why it doesn't seem to be working but tend to agree that my body might have gone into some sort of shock at healthy foods being eaten! all over xmas I was eating out/takeouts, constant grazing on chocolates, bit too much wine etc! and now its generally Weetabix and banana, jacket & beans, spag bol, yogurt, fruit and small chocolate bar...that sort of thing. I used to weigh a couple of times a day, this time I didn't weigh all week, wish I had now as might have made different choices...ie, I ate a whole pack of savoury rice for a lunch, didn't need to eat that much and brain said it was too much carbs esp after porridge breakfast and knowing I was having pasta for tea, but decided it was ok as 'free'!
Think I have over eaten on 'free' food a couple of times but on the other hand I've gotten quite hungry a couple of times too, will start to post my food diary and maybe others can spot where I am going wrong, thanks for suggestions!

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AnnaFaraday said:

You don't mention any superfree vegetables. The savoury rice for lunch should have been accompanied by 1/3 vegetables and/or salad. This might be the problem.

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I'd second the superfree, it really fills you up and therefore reduces the amount of carbs you're eating. Also, where you say

"I ate a whole pack of savoury rice for a lunch, didn't need to eat that much and brain said it was too much carbs esp after porridge breakfast and knowing I was having pasta for tea, but decided it was ok as 'free'!"

Do you mean you ate the whole pack because you were still hungry, or just for the sake of it? If you're still hungry that's fine (although adding Superfree would solve that somewhat) but if you're eating free foods beyond the point of being full up, you should try to stop when you're satisfied. With SW you're meant to recognise when you're full, and stop eating.

Now... if I could just practice what I preach

what plan are you following? also have you got the up to date books? I was a member 2 years ago and gave up, when I rejoined late 2013 I was eating things I thought were free but really the values had been updated and I was going over my syn allowance without realising

Thanks everyone, I joined briefly last year so have the up to date books, I'd say no two days are the same, some days I have 4-5 pieces of fruit as snacks, more than 1/3rd veg, other days I don't have very much of either, always lots more than normal tho and always forst choice for a snack. I dont want to force myself to eat 1/3 religiously because I will end up quitting, it does say that its optional and I know it will effect weight loss, but being the first wk and having so much to lose I didn't think I'd need to tweek things this soon! In spag bol just as example, I use extra lean mince, small pack, 2 onions, carrot, mushrooms and 2 cartons passata, then eat a qtr roughly, plenty of veg in there. The savoury rice was just so yummy I couldn't stop eating it! I was still a bit peckish shortly after though and had an apple so wouldn't say I stuffed myself...? just hard to see where I am going wrong, demoralising when you hop on the scales knowing its going to be a good loss and find you've lost nothing!

Thanks for helping though, I wont quit! I will post my food diaries soon, maybe I'm doing something obvious wrong and a sw veteran can show me where!
Now after all your advice you wont want to hear that I am off to drown my sorrows in curry so pretend you didn't hear me say that!!! ;-)

From your description I'd say you're too heavy on carbs and not.enough veg. Weetabix for breakfast, jacket potato for lunch, pasta for dinner. If you add in chocolate and things like processed carby stuff in a day you're eating more than you need.

Consider more protein and veg

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GretaGrip said:

From your description I'd say you're too heavy on carbs and not.enough veg. Weetabix for breakfast, jacket potato for lunch, pasta for dinner. If you add in chocolate and things like processed carby stuff in a day you're eating more than you need.

Consider more protein and veg

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Hm it really depends on portion size. I often have my HexB at breakfast and then carbs with both my other meals (as usually I have leftovers for lunch). I find I lose slower on Green days when I have mostly carbs and veg maybe with some pulses, and faster on EE days when I have carbs, veg and fish - so I imagine it is about portions.

Hi, to be brutally honest I think you are being too hard on yourself and expecting too much out of the plan. You've only been doing this for a couple of weeks and so it is far too early to say it isn't working for you. Everyone is different and we all lose at different rates. It takes a good few weeks to get into a routine and 2lbs seems fine to me, it is a loss and any loss is to be congratulated as it means something is clearly working.

You've received some very good advice from the others and I would recommend getting everything written down and plan your meals in advance to prevent snacking. Some people find that saving syns and having more on another day just doesn't work (the 3 chocolate bars you ate) while for others it works perfectly fine. It really is trial and error at this stage working out what seems to work for you. You could try a week of 15 syns, lots of water and superfree, a week of 10 syns, a green or red week. Mix it up a bit and see how things work out. I wish you the best of luck on your SW journey.

A food diary would help. Are you counting syns properly? Remembering stuff like ketchup etc? Eating out at all? What size chocolate bars? A small kids bar is about 6-8 syns but a proper grown up bar can be over 15 each.

SW is, in my opinion, a bit too kind in the latest books. When I got books when EE first started, it emphasised stopping eating when full and third super free. I don't think you have to be religious, but stick to it as much as possible since that's how we relearn better eating habits for life and keep calories low. Lately SW seem to be saying " eat as much as you want! Super free isn't forced!" Well of course you can't force an adult. Duh! And eating as much as you want works fine for people who stop when they're full naturally. But what about those of us who don't? I think they've softened how they word things to avoid putting people off, but I really do think it can sabotage some peoples efforts.

Don't worry too much about carbs. SW works on good old fashioned calorie restriction and food that keeps you full enough to prevent eating too many calories. Most of us find it easy to overheat carbs and fat rather than protein, hence why people notice a difference with carbs sometimes. But calories are calories. I use MyFitnessPal as my food diary, and while I ignore it, it tots up my daily calories. I'm generally between 1100-1400 a day, occasionally 1500 if I've gone out. All this would cause weight loss.

I'd advise don't give up! Weight loss varies person to person. Can take weeks to catch up. I've lost 6lbs in one week following 2 sts before. Keep a scrupulous food diary for 2 weeks (use phone if that helps), record everything and share. Might spot some problem areas. And maybe use MyFitnessPal app for those weeks to see how much you're actually getting through. SW doesn't need calorie counting, but an occasional check can help you spot problem snacks, like for me too many mugshots.

Last thing, do you have anything like PCOS or under active thyroid? All these can slow weight loss

good luck

GretaGrip said:

It's probably plain old over eating

SW is a great plan but they do talk in terms of free food. No food is 'free' and although they Say unlimited carbs are fine the reality is that they're.not and.they'll.hinder weightloss

I'd advise that you try and eat just three decent meals a day, keep an eye on your carbs and don't snack or graze if possible. I'm sure you'll see a good loss next week


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I totally agree with this. I only allow myself 50 grams of rice or pasta per serving, which I find is ample with lots of veg and some protein. Recipes in the magazine call for 300g for 4 servings (75g per serving). These meals give us 6 servings. Eating unlimited rice and pasta definitely slowed down my losses.

Thanks everyone, am going to stick with it and hope it improves, will give it at least a month, maybe my body is not used to healthy eating, too used to starve then binge! I do have PCOS so that doesnt really help but still would expect bit bigger losses this early on, below is food diary for last wk where I lost nothing! Maybe too many syns, maybe not quite enough superfree but honestly cant see anything glaringly wrong, if I only had a little to lose I would understand no loss but 5st to lose and just started diet! To add insult to injury weighed this morning after having low syn curry and passing on dessert and have regained the 2lb from wk 1 arrghh!! wont weigh again till Monday!

Monday:
Weetabix, banana, 350ml skim milk
soup:chicken, potato, peas, carrot, leek, swede
apple
Spag bol: mince, onion, mushrooms, garlic, carrot, passata, spaghetti.
Sweetcorn
yogurt
wine (2)
pretzels(5)
time out(4.5) 11.5 syns

Tuesday
350ml skim milk
banana and yogurt
omelette: 4 eggs, mushrooms, cheese (5) 1TBSP olive oil (HE)
tuna, pasta, sweetcorn, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, ELF mayo (2)
bubble & squeak jacketsotato, cabbage, onion. Grilled chicken, baked beans
Low fat supernoodles
Freddo (5) milk (2) 14 syns

Wednesday:
2 shredded wheat (HE+2syns)
350ml skim milk
stew: chicken, potato, pasta, leek, carrot, sweded, cabbage
yogurt
grapes
blueberries
orange
chilli: EX lean mince, kidney beans, mushrooms, peppers, onions, chilli, passata. Rice
chips (4) choc mousse (5.5) syns 9.5

Thurs:
skim milk
2 wholemeal toast (HE+4syns)
bacon medallions, fried eggs (1)
chicken topped with leftover chilli and cheese (4) potato wedges, lettuce, cucumber, onion, tomatoes. syns 9

Friday:
milk
wholemeal bread, bacon, egg.
pasta, leftover bolognese & cheese (3)
yogurt (1/2)
cod in parsley sauce (4), instant mash, sweetcorn
chocolate mousse (5.5) blueberries
fudge 6 syns 19

Saturday:

Milk
weetabix & sugar (2)
banana
savoury rice & tinned sardines
yogurt (1/2) satsuma
stewed beef (1), mash, peas
orange
crisps (4) nuts (4.5) 3 bars of chocolate- flake, 2finger kitkat, maltesers, bit of milky way! (24) syns 36

Sunday:

milk. 35g oats, 25g raisens (3.5)
banana
yogurt
soup: pasta, potato, swede, carrot, onion, leek, cabbage
beef in oxo, mash potato & swede, green beans
time out (4.5) syns 8.

I know bit too many syns...oops! but compared to my December diet of buckets full of chocolate I thought i was doing really well! Will try harder to up the superfree and cut back on syns if I can....

Hi, I think you need to recheck some of the syn values. I've never had a glass of wine that was just 2 syns. In all honesty, you are having way too many syns and not enough super speed foods, it's that simple.

Having had a quick look I'd day you're also counting free foods such as peas., sweetcorn and swede as a superfree. Remember not all veg are superfree and that can make a real difference.

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I don't think it looks bad for a first week - I wouldn't panic too soon. Curries are notoriously salty so it seems likely to me you will have retained water, really don't worry about that and I recommend sticking to your weigh-in time only!

I disagree that you're having way too many syns - I rarely have a week with as few syns as that and while I don't lose fast it is fairly consistent (I also have PCOS). It may be that you have to cut down a bit but you're not masses over on balance. However 2 syns for wine does look very low unless it's some weird variety so do make sure you are getting all those syn values correct. And if you aren't, make sure you are carefully weighing your Hexes and syns (eg a tbsp. of oil isn't as much as I thought..., and only wholegrain bread slices from a small loaf count).

I'm assuming you are cooking with Frylight usually as you mention oil on one occasion, so that should be fine. Is your bacon/mince etc extra lean? And are your yogurts all fat free (not low-fat)?

However I do agree that you should be having more superfree - you seem to have slipped particularly later in the week. So Thursday you needed superfree with your toast/bacon/eggs; Friday with your cod/mash/corn and your bacon/bread/egg and Saturday with your rice/sardines and beef/mash/peas. Likewise on Monday and Tuesday most of your snacks (yogurt, sweetcorn, supernoodles) were free, not superfree. It's correct that peas, potatoes and corn don't count as superfree as they are starchy veg (I thought swede did but I may be wrong; don't have my book on me to check). This isn't an absolute rule but you do need to follow it as much as possible to see good losses, I think especially for those of us with PCOS as the carbs don't help with that.

Hi, I had 107 syns throughout the week, allowance is 105... so I only went 2 over really! I do meticulously weigh and measure anything that it HE or SYNS, usually use frylight, only used measured tbsp of oil as needed to use a HE, mince is extra lean morrisons mince, no fat on chicken or anything, only had wholemeal bread a cpl of times, weighed both times, not gone mad on mugshots and supernoodle snacks like I did on my last attempt at SW lol, wine wasnt a glass of wine it was a mini bottle of red used in cooking for spag bol and syn was 2 for the wine in portion I ate. Ive listed to say what was in meals but not proportions, for example the stew and soups, chicken, potato, pasta, was less than half the volume, majority was a ready chopped pack of leeks, another of swede and carrot, so superfree was more than enough. I know peas/corn arent superfree and dont count them as superfree, i knew when i had fish, mash and corn that there was no superfree, but out of 21 meals I only had i think 3-4 without any of the 'optional' superfree and had meals where more than half superfree so should balance out really! I know a couple of days I shouldnt have had so many syns but not exactly gone OTT having a mere 2 extra! some days definately not enough superfree but I know other days have had more than 1/3rd... thought the might be something I'm doing wrong but doesnt seem like it is, I do understand advice of cut down on carbs/syns, up superfree but this early on with so much to lose and having a bad diet normally I would have thought I would lose a fair bit before needing to fine tune things! Oh well, I will try again this week and next and see how I get on, still maintain that I dont feel I am doing anything wrong!, I could force down an apple with my bacon n egg sarnie or have some sald with supernoodles to get my 1/3 superfree lol, but it feels like forcing myself to do something I dont want to then which is when its tempting to quit! Appreciate superfree might look lowish on paper but am sure I wasnt far off 1/3 overall ;-) had a day or 2 of eating too much and day or 2 of not eating a lot, fluctuates with how busy/tired I am, what mood I am in, wanted this to be a lifestyle change and something I could stick to permenantly but 2lb loss in 2wks makes me long for milkshake diet 1lb a day losses!!

Thanks for advice, I will try and keep up with writing food diaries on here and hopefully get a nudge if I am going wrong but it helps to know that I'm not the only one who thinks i did pretty much ok! Trying not to feel demotivated! syns for curry last night came to 19, usually syns worked out at 60..I'm trying lol!!