Confused again

[mechmanuk]

Ok ive been off slimming world for a while now just counting my calories. The reason for this was i wasnt really gettin any loss on slimming world, but i think the reason was because i along with many others thing i can eat as much as i want on the diet and lose weight but realistically one has to also watch there calorific intake which kinda goes against the grain.
Or am i just totally of the rails? please someone explain.

 

[Morgawr]

Not sure how it works but I think that if you eat mainly free food (with your syns and HEX's of course) you are naturally reducing your calorie intake. If you notice things like chocolate, biscuits etc., are quite high in syns.

I would say though that you need to forget about calorie counting. If you stick to plan 100% it will work.

Liz

 

[Aaleigha]

Part of the reason that slimming world works so well is the lack of processed foods that are eaten - unless they are very low calorie dense foods

with calorie counting you can eat what you want up to your limit so it seems like slimming world wont work as you can over eat
in reality most people dont over eat on slimming world - an important aspect is eat until satisfied not stuffed

lack of processing means that with most foods the body has to work harder to digest them (some parts the fibre or cellulose that makes up the cell walls of plants cant be broken down). Processed foods on the other hand are easier to digest (as a rule- there are of course exceptions) so for the same number of calories you would eat far more of some things

think smoothies here how many calories in an average smoothie - no think of the fruit used it is much more filling to eat the fruit in its natural state than as a smoothie - meaning to feel satisfied you are going to ingest far fewer calories
so if you eat to the slimming world plan it does naturally limit the ingested calories

 

[Circes]

The reality is that to lose weight you have to take in fewer calories than you expend.

There are a number of ways of tracking this and counting calories is one. The SW and WW plans are just ways of organising and controlling your food intake so that you take in fewer calories but without having to count every calorie you put in your mouth.

Several people have sat down and worked out the calorie values for a SW day and found that it comes out at 1200-1500 calories. This is a perfectly acceptable calorie intake for weight loss.

Previous posters are right - if you make free and non-processed foods the bulk of what you eat then your calorie intake will not be excessive and you will lose weight.

 

[Brightonrosie]

there was a lady at our group who put on weight 4 weeks in a row despite following SW 100%. She did a food diary and it turned out she was eating up to 10 mullerlight yogurts a day as well as other "free food". They in themselves totalled 800 calories without her meals. free food is there to satisfy but not to over fill. it is about recognising your own body's signals that tell you it is full. many of us who have been on diets for years loose that ability. How many of us finish what we have served up even though we felt full a quarter of a plate earlier. in order to loose weight I DO have to use smallish plates or I know I have the potential to overeat.

 

[Littleslimmingbee]

i think the reason was because i along with many others thing i can eat as much as i want on the diet and lose weight but realistically one has to also watch there calorific intake which kinda goes against the grain.

Your problem here hun is that your in effect, doing two different diets. Counting calories and counting syns are completly different, syns are not based on the calorie content. You need to separte the two, follow Sw for one week, completly calorie counting free and see. Let yourself enjoy those free foods. Then see what works for you best, results and mentally.





They in themselves totalled 800 calories without her meals. free food is there to satisfy but not to over fill.


This however, is what i call against the grain. I spose this bring us back to the whole 'food abuse' debate. As far as i'm concerned if your doing sw 100% there is no such thing as calorie counting or restrictions of free food. i for one, can hand on heart say (as odd as this may seem) i have to eat untill im stuffed. I need that ache in my belly to tell me im full. And if that means filling my plate up with every free food under the sun, and using the biggest plate then so be it. Thats what sw advertise. When i signed up i joined because free foods were free foods, unlimited. Surly if we all had to use smaller plates, and watch how many free foods we eat etc, wouldnt that just make sw the same to every other restrictive diet, and there for, sw would not be what it claims to be.

i don't eat half as much as i did in my first 6 months/ year of sw, BUT i ate a hell of a lot.. and i got results. Iv never restricted free food, or watched my calorie intake.
heres a days eating of mine for you.

3 eggs, 2 sausages, 4 bacon, half a can of beans, mushrooms and toms. followed by 2 alpen lights HEB, and a muller



lunch could be a steak stirfry with noodles & with loads of veg, soy sauce and seasonings .. followed by a masisve bowl of forest fruits and another muller...

and tea would be a massive bowl of pasta, with tinned toms, bacon and herbs topped with cheese HEA, with loads of potatoe wedges and homemade chicken strips. and another muller..



- so All of that was free. and i ate alot.

Would you say i over ate, abused the foods .. and should have calorie counted?


i don't wanna start rambeling, but as far as im concerned, sw advertise 100% unlimited free foods. If you find small print else where advising not to over eat then fine, but iv never seen it.. so if your purposly restricting or calorie counting.. your not 100% sw. Your doing a whole different 'eating plan' in my opinion.



x

 

[cheekychinchilla]

That was a really good, honest post FernXx
I have no advice really as I have only just started SW, but so far I have found the plan very easy to follow and I can honestly say that I've never been so full doing a 'diet' and eating healthily, lol

 

[squiddie]

Excellent advice from everyone - as always!

There is a reason Slimming World is the biggest slimming club in the UK!
Slimming World have 40 years worth of amazing success helping thousands of people to lose weight, with a very clever, thoroughly thought out plan.

The ONLY way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you are taking in (having a calorific deficit). Weight Watchers, Slimming World, TFR diets and so on all do this, but in different ways.

Slimming World has done an excellent job of creating a plan where you never feel hungry or deprived, yet helping you recieve a calorific deficit and lose weight - sometime without even realising.

Variety and moderation are the two golden rules of SW.

Free foods (as apposed to syn-free foods) are designed to fill you up for less and keep you full.

SW free foods are worked out by calorie density, (i.e. how many calories for the volume) and how they fill you up. For example say a choccy bar is 300 calories, yet it won’t fill you up, you want to eat more (probably junk).

Whereas you could have a large jacket potato and some baked beans for the same calories and it would fill you up and heck of a lot more than that choccy bar.

I could go on and on, but I've been doing this plan for nearly 5 months now (this time round) and have lost every week, by following the plan and trusting it.

 

[mechmanuk]

interesting reading, thanks for all the advise im gonna get back to basics and start again red or green. I did try switching to the EE but it wasnt really working out.

 

[mumtheshopper]

You are all so persuasive, but I put on a lb this week, only my third week, I followed plan 100%. I don't even think I particularly overate, but just thinking we are all different, and maybe my body just cajn't handle 'free' food, and I need to restrice amount in some way!!

Lynda

 

[squiddie]

There can be 1001 reasons why you didn't lose this week, as long as you are following the plan; filling up on free foods, having all your HEx's and all your syns then hopefully you will see a loss next week

 

[cara08]

thanks for all the good advice here i am going back to basics this week and see how it goes x

 

[Mrs V]

Good luck Cara.

There is some fantastic advice given here and I can only add that you should stop thinking of the calories in the meal etc and just go by the syn values.
Calories are for diets. SW is a Healthy eating plan and not a diet.
Just vary your meals, especially your HE choises and eat a variety of fruit and veg in moderation.

Good luck!
Going back to basics and logging everything religiously works!

x