SW deserter

[fabstitcher]

have been doing SW on and off for more years than I can remember but have found that I am getting fed up with the so called "unwritten rules" or "tweaks" as they are termed, the plan is supposed to be flexible but I find that it isn't and the fact I regularly suffer with constipation (something that has this weekend been very painful), the fact that the consultants don't all give same information and the worse thing of all in my opinion is that SW don't appear to care whether their consultants are at or near target before letting them set up their groups and train them - how can a person who is struggling with their own weight loss encourage those who we also struggling.

I have had a big think and have decided that for me the way forward is with WW as it is more flexible and (despite what the SW diehards say) I have never been hungry on WW.

Plus being a working parent carer with a disabled child, who has an active social life (him not his parents) I need a plan that is easy to adapt around this and be flexible enough when we have our camping adventures, our bird watching trips etc - without having to haul half the fridge with me (felt like it on SW because I couldn't just have a couple of sandwiches n a packet or crisps)

I also like having my Herbalife shakes for breakfast and lunch (on days when I am working) as it is more convenient for me on the days I work and I will be able to continue to do so following the WW plan. The Herbalife shakes and supplements are important to me as I find that when I am having them, I am more focused, more active and feel in control as I only have to think about one meal.

Regrettably, I cannot get to a WW meeting as the local ones are at times that are inconvenient for me so I will be following the plan on-line at home. I have just treated myself to a new pair of all singing all dancing scales which should arrive by end of week.

Sorry for rambling on a bit but I felt I need to clear my head and putting it down in writing which has made me realise I need to do this.


Michelle
A.k,a Fabstitcher


Sent from my iPad using MiniMins.com

 

[fatlassnomore]

Welcome! I just started WW on Tuesday. I have done SW in the past and I agree with all you have said. It's a pity you can't make a meeting as they are so interesting and so different from SW (let's clap for everyone, even if you've gained a stone!) You'll love the simple start plan too as it's no counting and a little similar to SW but much healthier in my opinion. Plus when you need to be more flexible there's the pro point plan which will be great for when you are camping etc.

It was the introduction of flexible syns which got me. Very strange that it was ok to have a blow out then get back on it. Subsequently I always had the blow out but could never get back on it!

Anyway, good luck on your journey!

 

[SlimmerGem]

Welcome! I've recently made the switch from SW to WW.. And I hear you with the constipation! It got so bad for me, after 12 weeks of SW, that I am now reliant upon laxatives :'( It's ridiculous, they don't warn you about that when you start & the consultants have no idea! Just keep telling you to keep eating your superfree. Unfortunately, that was the problem for me & I need more fat in my diet. Thankfully, WW lets me have that! F&H is similar to SW, but I even find that easier as you're supposed to have 2 tsp of healthy oil a day & a lot of bread products are free! Amazing, no more snacking on fruit & mullerlights! Lol. Also, being rewarded for exercise is great for me as I have a very active job. It's nice to know that if I need some extra food because I've been out walking for 3hrs, that I can!

I really hope you enjoy WW. I have to go to group as it keeps me accountable. I find it really difficult to do it online, even with my OH's help. My group leader is fantastic though & so much more approachable than my old SW consultant, I just found her incredibly frustrating and condescending. Especially when it came to my IBS. It's supposed to be a non-judgmental group, but some other members would slag me off for having a pizza one night (which, incidentally, I only ate because I knew it would make me poop!). This last Saturday I had a .5lb gain and was feeling rather upset.. I've just come off the pill & my hormones were making me eat everything in sight! My WW leader was so lovely about it & reassured me that the weight would come off & I just need to let my hormones settle. If that were my SW consultant, she'd have told me to go back to basics, eat my free & superfree foods..

OH & I are much happier on WW.. And the biggest thing for my OH is the meals! If we get in late or we've been really busy, it's so easy to grab a ready meal, or make sandwiches! He hates cooking & I soon get fed up of it, especially with my job. One week, we were home for 2 hrs a day, we'd have to then cook lunch, then cook tea! It was ridiculous. Thankfully, that was the week we switched over & it was so much easier!

 

[seadie]

Welcome Michelle

I too have done SW and find that eating all the "free" food is no good for me and as you the tweaks seem to have grown immensely. Did weight watchers 20+ years ago and got to goal but sadly have put a lot on since then so am also doing ww online as I dont like one of the helpers - she goes on to people but she doesnt even do ww, she does Zoe Harcombe so in my opinion shouldnt even be a helper! Just starting my onine ww journey so hopefully will do okay. Just have to be honest with myself and the tracker.

Sue

 

[SlimmingKitchen]

Another SW deserter here and feel so much better for moving to WW
There's no looking back for me.
Stacey xxx

 

[lydia150970]

Welcome from another SW deserter. My reasons are slightly different, I found out I am dairy, yeast, egg and grape intolerant. I ask for help and support from my consultant and from head office who initially pointed me in the direction of the gluten free aisle - not very hepful when I am NOT gluten intolerant. So I put together a very detailed email to my consultant explaining my intolerances and giving some detailed questions I needed answering. She, to be fair to her, forwarded them to Head Office for help and support, head office got back questionning the validity of my test results and wanting to know where I had them done. Really wasn't helpful when I felt very lost with what I could and couldn't eat especially in terms of my healthy extras.

So I went over to WW where basically I can eat what I want as long as its pointed.

Now its not going to well for me right now LOL but its nothing to do with WW its me - still finding my way around my tolerances, bit of lack of motivation right now, way too active social life and a new found obession with raw chocolate which is rather calorific - have this week banned myself from buying any for a month LOL!

I know the plan will work, I just need to knuckle down, but I agree with what a lot of you have said - far more flexibility to fit in with any lifestyle!!

Good luck everyone!

 

[Featherhat]

I went to 3 SW meetings before switching to WW. I'm sure it works amazingly for some people, I originally started there because of the testimonials from a couple of acquaintances, but I just couldn't get my head around it. I disliked the emphasis on what seemed to me "all you can eat" rather than portion control, which was something I really, really needed to learn and which is much more emphasised on WW. If I knew when I felt full I wouldn't have had half the problem.

It didn't help that the woman at my office who does SW doesn't seem to be loosing much and seems to put a lot of emphasis on stuff like Mugshots, which don't seem particularly healthy.

I have to admit I do use some of the recipes SW people post online, but PPing some of the recipes makes you realise the difference in the approaches (although F&H seems somewhat SWlite in some ways but still more restricted.)

 

[seadie]

Hi Featherhat - I know what you mean about mugshots. How can they be "free" when they are nearly 300 calories? I just cant get my head round that. I need to do portion control so ww suits me better.

I adapt some of the recipes but some of them are very quite high in points. I did one of their recipes which was a ragu for 4 people and it was almost a whole pack of pasta! I didnt put that much in cos it would have been far too much for us but just couldnt get my head round the amount of pasta in that recipe at all.

Good luck with ww, you'll be fine.

 

[Clairebear1000]

I've recently made a switch too! I found with SW that the temptation of being able to eat ALL OF THE CARBS was way too much. I had huge (really huge) bowls of pasta and sausage and mash, and snacked on really pretty bad stuff that was suppose to be free. But then when I wanted to go out for dinner, I couldn't eat anything without making a huge dent in my syns allowance. This was particularly bad for me as a veggie, because so often eating out involves cheese or pastry- which you can definitely eat on WW. I found that SW was really odd in that sense- yes you can eat lots of really filling food, which is fab. But as soon as you need to make a slight diversion from the plan, you can't. I got fed up of hearing other people say "I can still eat out- I just have a steak every time!" I'd get advised to have a jacket potato and baked beans, haha. No point unless you can have the cheese

Anyway, best of luck to you- so far WW is much better for me!

x

 

[Featherhat]

Hi Featherhat - I know what you mean about mugshots. How can they be "free" when they are nearly 300 calories? I just cant get my head round that. I need to do portion control so ww suits me better.

Yeah I was really surprised when I joined WW and pointed mugshots and similar instant pasta that they were 6-7 points. Portion control seems to be my key, carbs in moderation, otherwise I'd probably eat the whole bowl of pasta.

I liked the idea of not counting calories but trying work out the choices and lists didn't seem like less of a faff and I discovered I really work with the control of counting.