I am eating so much food?

[Hamish's Mum]

Hi I am new here, just started SW last Wednesday evening. I have done many diets before (that have never really worked for me) but never SW. The only thing that confuses me is all the food I eat, I feel like I have never stopped.

I love fruit and veg so that is no problem to eat at least 1/3rd of my plate, but how do you manage to eat all your syns too?

Does this diet really work or am I likely to gain week at my weigh in next week.

 

[MissUno]

I'm new to SW as well, in my second week now. It does sometimes feel like "how can I possibly lose weight...I'm actually eating!!" But it does work, I lost 8lbs in my first weigh-in.

You don't have to have all 15 allowed daily syns, it's simply there so if you do fancy that glass of wine or a packet of crisps, you can have it guilt free, it's all about control so you don't go over the 15 syns.

When you think about it a level tablespoon of ketchup is 1 syn, so you can use them for sauces to add flavour and stuff, too.

For example I used 3 syns so I could add a bit of low fat sweet & sour sauce to the stir-fry I made the other night.

I wish you well on Slimming World, and enjoy seeing the lbs come off without depriving yourself of being able to eat. x

 

[kerry b]

Yes it works. If you follow it properly.

I sometimes feel like i am being a complete pig and stuffing myself silly but as long as you are staying on plan then eat all you want. Can be difficult to get your head around particularly if you have followed othe diets where what you eat is restricted.

Good luck.

 

[Circes]

A lot of people feel like this when they start SW. It's because we have been conditioned to believe that we need to eat less to lose weight. But actually if you looked at what you are eating it is all relatively low calorie foods (as long as you are following the plan properly). And it is healthy, nutritional foods in place of empty calories. I eat a lot more on SW than I did pre-SW and it for the reasons above it absolutely works!

 

[IanH]

"I've stuck to plan but I've eaten so much food - there's no way i could have lost weight" is a frequent cry of many people in their first week.

You know what - even after 2yrs and (nearly) 2 months - i can stil be amazed by how much i eat considering that people around me still describe me as "being on a diet".

My first week - i ate loads - big heaped plates of meat and veg, all sorts, but stuck religously to plan. and lost.

There's no abolsute guarentee of a loss in the first week - going to depend on lots of fctors (such as what your diet consisted of before) - but gains are extremely rare. - and those that do gain in their first week often end up having good losses in their second week.

.

 

[Wegle]

I've just joined this week and have been thinking the exact same thing. I've eaten more this week than I would normally but when I look at what I have eaten it has all been healthy, high fruit and high veg which I wasn't eating before. I think Slimming World is much more about training you to eat a healthy diet to maintain a healthy weight rather than just to lose weight like other diets. I've got my first weigh in on tues so hoping that despite eating more, because it has been I healthy food I will lose.

Best of luck to you too!

 

[ColJack]

if you do the plan 100% and eat lots of good food, you are almost certain to have a 3lbs loss or more the first week..

the worst thing you can do is to cut down on portion sizes if you're 100% on plan..
you don't get enough calories if you do and your body then starts to panic and think there's a food shortage so it stores everything it can..

if at any point your losses slow down greatly or stop, then go back to the book, forget everything you think you know and try and prove that eating loads of healthy food doesn't work.. in other words, go back to week 1..

 

[WelshJojo]

if you do the plan 100% and eat lots of good food, you are almost certain to have a 3lbs loss or more the first week..

the worst thing you can do is to cut down on portion sizes if you're 100% on plan..
you don't get enough calories if you do and your body then starts to panic and think there's a food shortage so it stores everything it can..

if at any point your losses slow down greatly or stop, then go back to the book, forget everything you think you know and try and prove that eating loads of healthy food doesn't work.. in other words, go back to week 1..

I don't think you can say that about the amount you can lose cos everybody is different! I've known lots of people who eat fairly healthily before SW to only lose 1lb and some even to maintain or gain. It also comes down to how much you have to lose!

 

[mia_angel]

Personally i am aware of my portion size, i do red days but i wouldnt eat a whole chicken lol....i have lots of salad and veg to fill my plate which is what we are told to do, so really there is some portion control there anyway

 

[Spicy]

I have seen a few people say "on SW you can eat as much as you want". That's not right. You eat as much as you need, you eat until you are satisfied.
There's no guarantee you'll lose weight the first week, your body may need time to adjust, especially if you're taking advantageof all of the great food you can eat. But don't worry it'll adjust, as will you.
The first time I joined SW I gained 3lb the first week! But I went on to lose 2 and a half stone.
Don't fret and don't give up, stick to plan and the weight will fall off.
Good luck.

 

[ColJack]

I did say almost..
the average SW joiner has a pretty naff diet to start with.. it's usually only re-joiners or people switching from other diets that don't have big losses in week 1 because as you say, they are already eating fairly healthy..

it's still not really portion control because you are eating plenty of veg and so on, you're not reducing the amount you eat, just the proportions of what you eat..
as you say, "to fill my plate " so it's not like you're only having half a plate of food..

obviously as your size comes down so does your required calorie intake so there is some reduction in portion sizes, but the pitfall a lot of people find themselves in is when you have a good week, and think to yourself "wow, if I lost that much this week, if I only eat 3/4 of that next week I will lose more.. " which doesn't always work..

 

[ginlin]

I joined last Thursday, and the family are astounded at what I am eating compared to what I was on WW propoints.
Don't suppose I'll be a big first week loser, just hope I don't gain any!