How strict are you?

Hi All,
I've been a slimming world member before and managed to re-gain all the weight I lost, but now i'm back in class and hoping to loose that again and more.

But one thing I'm really struggling with is getting back into the strictness of it.

I never do food diaries, I don't really know how many syns I have a day (I do a rough count in my head), I never weigh my HE (I rarely use them so doesn't seem too much of a problem).....

I guess that's stemmed by weeks in the past where I did manage to lose weight when I didn't strictly count, so it's hard to do it when you know you don't have to...

What does everyone else do? Do you religiously know how many syns you've had AND stick to them?

I'm pondering whether this may be a major hinderance to my weight loss :sigh:
 
I think you know the answer already- you need to write and track and measure when necessary. You were successful before so I hope you can succeed again! Minimins is a great resource x
 
The thing is right, and you know this really, that for the plan to work effectively, you DO have to do all those things. Keep a food diary, count your syns, have your Hexs. If you arent, you arent really following SW at all, you are following a plan thats a bit similar but vague and harder to track your progress with.

If you want it to work, follow it properly. If you dont, you will lose focus, lose interest and not lose weight.
 
You have to find what is right for you, I can't cope with a food diary, it makes me overthink what I am eating (if that makes sense) but I always make note of my syns. If I didn't I would eat far too many.

I also measure my HEX's, or again I would have too much. I think you should be trying to have these, they wouldn't be part of the plan if they weren't important.

Good luck, it might take you a while to get used to it again, but you know that it works and will be worth it in the end :)
 
You're right!! I think it will be good to get back on it properly - going to stock up on food diaries at my next group!

Thank you - i'm sure it's exactly what I needed to hear!
 
I am also doing sw the second time around and found it really hard to get back on it but when i started seeing the losses it spurred me on and i am lot more strict with myself by measuring everything and also staying within syns usually 5 to 10 syns a day. Maybe if you plan ahead and have everything ready for the week ahead it might help you if you dont like filling out a diary x
 
I log everything I eat, otherwise I might find i've eaten 3 HEXB's or forgotten about something i've eaten that i've synned. I also find it helps to plan the next day's food ahead. I use the 'my fitness pal' app and just make notes of my syns on it. It's interesting to see how many calories i've had too, even though i'm not counting them.
 
I used to be religious about filling a food diary in but after a couple of month I relaxed into the plan a bit more and my weight came off just as easy but if I ever have a gain fall off the wagon or go on holiday I'm straight back to food diarys - i prefer the SAS log ones
 
I am a second timer too having done rather well and putting it all back on. I couldnt get motivated propperlly until I forced myself to write everything down. Rejoined in Jan and lost 7lbs and in 3 weeks that all went back on as I stopped counting. I made myself sit down and plan and keep a count and after 16 weeks have lost 2st! Havent managed more than 7lbs in the last year of trying. Last week I didnt count my syns but I had an idea, I was just so busy! I like writting everything down though as it does remind me - oh actually I had cheese at lunch so thats my heA gone which I forgot about so need to syn that other cheese etc.

If writting it down isnt your thing though, just keep a syn log but would definately recommend measuring heX's as what you think is 28g is sometimes VERY different to what 28g actually is! Good luck xx
 
I keep a food diary here AND when I'm away from my computer I write everything down in my little book. I weigh all HEx AND Syns (so if I have a slice of cake I know EXACTLY how much it weighs). If I wasn't I'd vastly underestimate syns and HExAs.
 
I'm VERY strict, when I went out for dinner last I didn't have... stuffed deep fried portabello mushroom topped with cheese, or steak and chips with peppered sauce or Malteser cheesecake! :rolleyes: ;) :rolleyes:

No in all serious though last night was a wee blip, i'm normally very strict, I measure my HE's (so easy to underestimate these) and stick to it religiously! (98% of the time)
 
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Lol @ vanilla cupcake ;o)....xx
 
Ooooh, I think this is a very interesting topic. I have done so many diets - some of them extremely "strict" and difficult to follow. Compared to those SW is so easy however changing habits is always a challenge.

I think you need to find what works for you as an individual. I've mentioned in a lot of my posts that I've struggled for over a year being overweight - yo-yo dieting with food replacements diets etc. Now I have decided that SW is the way forward for me and my aim is 1lb a week on average from now until Christmas so I'm back to a comfortable weight. HOWEVER, I turn 30 in a couple of weeks and my various nights out start this weekend so I'm doing "slimboots modified diet" lol! I'm sticking to plan religiously in terms of what I eat, not having sysns and then drinking alcohol as I see fit on my nights out (gin and slimline). After my birthday celebrations I'll get back to being "good". So, no this isn't technically sticking to the diet however it is my 30th birthday, I want to enjoy drinks with my friends, I want to socialise without "counting£ drinks sysns.

I accept this will slow my weight loss and I've come to terms woth that however, my alternative would be drinking what I want AND eating what I want and probably gaining another 10lbs.

There are many who will disagree with this approach but it works for me - and that's what losing weight should be about - finding something sustainable so you don't feel deprived. All the very best of luck with getting on track x
 
slimboots said:
Ooooh, I think this is a very interesting topic. I have done so many diets - some of them extremely "strict" and difficult to follow. Compared to those SW is so easy however changing habits is always a challenge.

I think you need to find what works for you as an individual. I've mentioned in a lot of my posts that I've struggled for over a year being overweight - yo-yo dieting with food replacements diets etc. Now I have decided that SW is the way forward for me and my aim is 1lb a week on average from now until Christmas so I'm back to a comfortable weight. HOWEVER, I turn 30 in a couple of weeks and my various nights out start this weekend so I'm doing "slimboots modified diet" lol! I'm sticking to plan religiously in terms of what I eat, not having sysns and then drinking alcohol as I see fit on my nights out (gin and slimline). After my birthday celebrations I'll get back to being "good". So, no this isn't technically sticking to the diet however it is my 30th birthday, I want to enjoy drinks with my friends, I want to socialise without "counting£ drinks sysns.

I accept this will slow my weight loss and I've come to terms woth that however, my alternative would be drinking what I want AND eating what I want and probably gaining another 10lbs.

There are many who will disagree with this approach but it works for me - and that's what losing weight should be about - finding something sustainable so you don't feel deprived. All the very best of luck with getting on track x

I have a similar approach too. I accept I'm a slow loser but it's not about losing weight fast it's about the lifestyle change. I'll never use oil again and I'll never fry meat again - if I could put mince on my george foreman I would lol.

I've recently had 3 weeks 'off plan' as it were one week spent moving so we ate literally what was available, a weeks AI holiday, but again I still tended to stick to grilled meat salad etc, I've realised how rubbish I feel when I eat junk now hard to believe I ate that daily and felt fine, and then wen we got back I just couldn't back into the routine of SW again. Went to WI and found I'd only put 1/2lb on which shows subconsciously I'm doing it anyway. I'm going away again and because I'll miss my weigh in I'm not sticking strictly to plan but I'm remaining 'good'. When I get back I'm going to the new members talk and will be strict again, doing diarys etc. When I first started I didn't drink alcohol for 3 months nearly!
 
erm, I don't do a food diary, get too obsessed with them! but I do weigh my hex's and plan, plan, plan my meals and syns a week at a time.

I am not very good at filling a 1/3 of my plate with superfree foods but find it easier to include them in a meal, ie, a casserole, chilli, etc. I lay my fruit out in a bowl of a morning for the day to ensure I am eating enough otherwise I forget or don't bother!

Its really what suits the individual!
 
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