Is Slimming World Online a bit of a con?

[Soupy]

Hi all,
Newbie here :jelous: and new to Slimming World. Just signed up a few days ago and feel that there's nothing really much on offer in terms of continuous support and interaction. I was expecting some sort of an online forum, regular emails or even a weekly online meeting but it just seems to be a case of 'here's the info and the lists- no go ahead and do it alone.'
There's no accountability like in a physical meeting and no one to discuss your progress/weaknesses with. Am I missing something? Or am I expecting too much?

 

[Target140]

You're right, I was disappointed too and it's not cheap. I think weight watchers is a lot more geared to this but I prefer the SW diet. I ended up joining a meeting.

 

[louise56]

I agree. It really doesn't offer much. Group meetings are great and well worth the money but if you're doing it yourself at home, the online subscription's really costly for what it is.

 

[MummyJoJo]

I have done both sw and ww and sw online is not a patch on ww. Sw really need to take some tips from ww website. It's disappointing when you pay all that money. I have cancelled my membership and I now do it from home and have just started on this forum which is very informative.

 

[Soupy]

Do you think it would be a better idea to switch to a local meeting?

To be honest, it's at a very inconvenient time for me, which is why I opted for online subscription. I thought it would be a good alternative but it's just a fraction of the service. Feeling disappointed now.

 

[Featherhat]

Regular meetings with weigh in accountability and group support are probably the best way to go in my personal opinion. However its its difficult why not go along to a meeting once or twice to buy the books and have a consultant properly explain things to you before deciding if you think you can “go it alone” (with minimins) or not.

 

[AnnaFaraday]

Do you think it would be a better idea to switch to a local meeting?

To be honest, it's at a very inconvenient time for me, which is why I opted for online subscription. I thought it would be a good alternative but it's just a fraction of the service. Feeling disappointed now.

If you are dissatisfied you should say so and ask for a refund.

 

[PatchworkPuss]

They do have online Q and A sessions if you are able to take part in them. There used to be a forum many years ago but it was disbanded because it was unmoderated and wrong info was being given. I don't think we can really compare SW to WW because WW is a far larger organisation with a completely different infrastructiure x

 

[MrsK81]

Do you think it would be a better idea to switch to a local meeting? To be honest, it's at a very inconvenient time for me, which is why I opted for online subscription. I thought it would be a good alternative but it's just a fraction of the service. Feeling disappointed now.

If you ring SW customer services and explain that you'd like to swap to meetings, they will send you a voucher for the remaining weeks of your online subscription. I've done it and they were really helpful and nice x

 

[mysticmel]

I go to meetings and really enjoy them, but did wonder where the support was online as no forum, seems a bit pointless to me x

 

[Manxy64]

You get emails every few days, and one after each weigh-in, plus various links to different features and articles on the website. They also seem to have online chats every few weeks where you can ask questions, and although I haven't taken part I've read the transcripts afterwards and picked up some useful info. I'm a recent returnee to SW so the website is useful to me at the moment but I can see it becoming of less use in future.

 

[staticrhubarb]

I'd definitely recommend the groups - the IMAGE therapy is the best thing as you don't tend to binge in the week if you're worried about gaining in front of everyone at group!

 

[Phoenix_Girl]

They do have online Q and A sessions if you are able to take part in them. There used to be a forum many years ago but it was disbanded because it was unmoderated and wrong info was being given. I don't think we can really compare SW to WW because WW is a far larger organisation with a completely different infrastructiure x

This is incorrect apparently.
I went to an Ops event as a lot of people have told me that I would be a great consultant (both other consultants/area managers and members of my group) so I thought I would have a nose around. The figures Slimming world gave in the meeting states they are the largest slimming organisation in the country.
They are lower profile commercially due to WW having a vast array of products and SW opting for Hi-Fi's and only supplying them to consultants. They have finally taken the initiative to make ready-meals but they should have done this a long time ago. I'm looking to approach them regarding various issues to do with online services and apps as I am able to write apps and such.

I will let you all know if anything comes of it, hopefully something will!