Do I take her advice?

[Laney]

Hi everyone. Well this week I have stayed the same. In total 4lbs lost in 4 weeks, now I know you are all gonna say 'that's good, a 1lb a week' but I have 2 stone to shift and I thought it would come off quicker so........................

My friend is doing SW, she is logging her food into My Fitness Pal and using 1,200 cals a day and is also having 2 fasting days. I know this may sound like it's not really SW but her losses have been an average steady 2lb a week. I'm thinking of trying it, what do you all think? Getting desperate now! LOL.

 

[lickthelid]

I understood the whole point of SW to be that you didn't have to do what your friend is doing, ie the calorie counting because surely that's just that, calorie counting? The fasting thing is interesting and I have read things about people who fast every other day and that eventually your body adjusts and you don't want to binge on food days but surely it can't do your metabolism any good??

4lb in 4 weeks is considered within the healthy range and not everyone has a massive loss in the early days but those that do may experience a stall after a week or two (I did) and it therefore evens out. It's disappointing but we all have hurdles to overcome such as a STS on a perfect week or an unexpected gain but in the long run as long as the numbers go down its in the right direction and 4 lbs is like 8 packs of butter!!

Personally I have used my fitness pal for tracking and its very good but it simply doesn't fit with SW as although the ultimate aim is the same the methodology differs. She must be counting and eating SW friendly foods but she isn't doing SW.

Having done every diet under the sun (you name it and I've tried it) this is the most sustainable and that means long term staying power. I also had some hypnosis to support my mental approach to diets (that's related to a binge eating disorder that I live with) and the two together have changed my life and my approach to food.

You are on the right track and ultimately only you can decide.

Good luck

Sam

 

[lemonblondie]

i haven't been losing very well on slimming world both doing green (4lbs off in 4 months) and ee (7lbs off in 9 months) with many weeks plateau-ing. I thought it was possibly to do with something with me and after having blood taken a few weeks ago, Dr said everything is fine do 5-2 and only consume 1200 calories a day. The 5-2 doesn't do anything bad to your metabolism, if it does anything it wakes it up, from being on automatic pilot to having to 'work' on food days. I can go without food till tea time no problem, and have my calories in a decent meal and a snack later on if I wish. If I was eating 3 small meals a day, I was finding myself struggling to stick to approximately 500 calories. You'll have to experiment which works better for you.

I am finding it much better limiting the calories on SW as if I plugged in my daily food, I was consuming loads more calories on 'syn free or free' stuff. An example is if you have a mug shot as a snack it is just over 250 calories which should be the bulk of a meal caloriewise if your meals are roughly 350 cals plus snacks. You're actually eating a lot more calories then you actually think you are on this plan. I suggest you plug into myfitnesspal what you've eaten for a day or two and see how many calories you've actually consumed following the plan. Is it worth it to change over? Yes, it's pretty easy too. You will feel a bit hungry until you body gets used to the decreased calories whereas on SW you shouldn't be hungry.

Is it going against SW? Not really you're still following the plan exactly, but you're just limiting the calories a little as they can get out of hand. Some people cope really well on following SW strictly others like myself can't and have to watch calorie intake. Don't forget it's supposed to be a lifestyle change and with that I think it's more to do with people eating more veg, fruit and limiting their junk/take aways intake, basically what we're supposed to be doing anyways.

I have been doing it for about 2 or 3 weeks now and I actually feel/see more of a difference following 5-2 and 1200 then simply following SW alone. I suggest trying it for a week as you have nothing to lose (sorry no pun intended!), and if it isn't for you for whatever reason you can then make an informed decision as to what to do next. How you go about losing weight is your business, and if others start saying you're not following plan correctly so it won't work, don't necessarily have issues on the plan itself. For me, following the plan, but totally taking into account calories from free and syn free choices while still having at least 5 syns has made a difference for me and I can now say yes the plan works for me, but it had to be modified slightly.

 

[lickthelid]

I think the answer is there is no one size fits all and you need to do what works best for you and what you can sustain as this is a marathon, not a sprint

 

[kirsty_baird_26]

Have you tried mixing up the plans? Changing your healthy extras? Success express? x

 

[Libertylb]

Its personal preference but I love the fact that your never hungry on the plan and calorie counting would drive me bonkers!

I went back to basics and it really helped. Ask yourself the following....Am I having my 1/3 superfree on most meals (assuming you're on EE)? Are you weighing and measuring your HE and syns? Am I embracing my free foods? Oh so often you see members avoiding 'carbs' because 'they don't lose with them,' Slimming world has been running for over 40 years, they wouldn't encourage members to eat them if they slowed losses (sorry *rant over* s).

I went back to doing a food diary and got as much detail in there as possible. A good detailed food diary will really help your consultant to help you ) they are not mind-readers!

 

[Miss.S]

Hi,

Just read this post with interest as I recently read an article about 5:2 suggesting it could affect fertility in some women. Someone above mentioned seeing their GP before doing it, which I definitely feel would be a good idea.

Ultimately, in my view, the weight may come off slower on SW than on other plans, but losing it fast means you're more likely to put it back on again, and more, so don't be disheartened by what you see as 'only 4lb'. It's all in the right direction.

Good luck in your journey!
x

 

[Laney]

Thanks for your replies everyone, very interesting. I have sat down and looked over what I have been eating and I genuinely think I have been eating too much. Now I know that you're all gonna say well that's the magic of slimming word but I constantly graze which is why I am overweight, that's the issue I have I think so I'm going to follow the plan but without snacking, not even fruit between meals. I'm having mugshots and mullers and things I would not of normally consumed and in my opinion these are all added calories so I plan on having larger meals with lots of veg etc. and fruit as a desert, still using HEX's and syns but I am also going to fast for 2 days. I am also back at the gym this week after 7 weeks so hopefully that will help it along too.

I'll keep you all updated on what happens.