Is SW Low Fat?

Wish

Silver Member
Hi everyone,

I was just wondering as its never really dawned on me, is SW a low fat plan? Is that how the syns are based on?

Thanks
 
Yes, SW is a low-fat plan. If you think about it, we're eating almost exclusively superfree and free foods, which have very little fat.

What fat we do have mainly comes from the healthy fats in our Hexs (eg. nuts, olive oil, cheese) and potentially from our syns - but that's not much, considered as a percentage of our daily foods :)
 
isnt every diet a low fat plan?
 
isnt every diet a low fat plan?

Nope, some are low calorie, some are low carbs (Atkins) some count fat, some don't. I was just wondering if SW is classed as a low fat plan;)
 
isnt every diet a low fat plan?
I would think with the exception of Atkins, yes.

I do agree that SW is very low fat, the only fat I have is cheese, milk and my syns of biscuits, chocolate, olive oil & advocado to name a few. It's only a small amount though.

And of course the good fats in salmon and tuna steak.
 
I love slimming world its such a sensible plan :)
 
The basis of syns is calories so if you look at it like that then it would be low calories

but no matter what plan you had if you had a very big fat intake you would probabaly still struggle
 
Yeah it is, when i was having problems with my gall bladder i was told to follow a low fat diet until they could operate.

When i mentioned to the doctor i was following slimming world he did say if i carried on my gall bladder should not flare up again as it is low fat.
 
I don't think it's low fat as such...i would say it's low GI which includes lots of low fat and low calorie foods but not too low in fat.just about right!

You have to consider that fat is highest in calories if you compare all 3 main food types...protein, carbs and fat. and the upshot of it is that if you want to eat less calories (which u have to if u want to loose weight) but still don't want to starve yourself you automatically eat less fat...that's just logical...you can choose oil for your hex and cheese. But it's not a low fat diet as such as low fat diets try to cut out as much fat as possible which isn't healthy either...sw uses the concept of low gi and food combining. This gives you a good balance of all food groups.

Low gi means low density foods that keep you fuller for longer and are low in calories and therefor automatically lower in fat.
 
@circes: can you back this up? What else are green and red days to you?(extra easy is a different plan but still forces you to eat protein and carbs in moderation)...or rather: what do you think is food combining?

And of course low fat diets try to cut out fat...at least more than sw does. In most low fat diets for example eggs are a non-no...or at least not viewed as a free food. Same with cheese...sw tries to moderate cheese but technicall you could use all your hex a&b for cheese on the green plan. A lot more than would be allowed on low fat diets...let alone nuts&oils...it obviously depends on the type of low fat plan..but sw in my eyes is not a low fat plan rather a lowER fat diet..but it's not being promoted as a low fat diet either. It's a healthy diet and on a healthy diet you need to eat all 3 food types in a balanced way..and that includes fat.

Edit: it also depends how you define "low-fat-diets" - if you mean that you are starting to eat less fat than before you started to go ona diet then you could view ALL diets as low-fat (apart from Atkins maybe..even south beach is low fat although high in protein)...

But if you mean that a particular diet concentrates mainly on "low-fat"-foods then SW is NOT a low-fat diet. Otherwise you would be hungry all the time (like on all the other diets you have tried so far) because once you drastically reduce one food group you WILL be hungry all the time. Fat in particular helps us to feel fuller (in combination with other food groups of course) but has to be eaten in moderation due to it's high calories content (9 cals per gram).
And here is the official definition of the SW plan from Wiki:

Slimming World states its eating plan, 'Food Optimising',[5] is a "flexible, empowering, permissive approach to healthy eating". There is little or no weighing and measuring and no calorie counting involved. Food Optimising is purportedly based on the scientific principles of satiety (the satisfying qualities of food) and energy density, and encourages slimmers to fill up on nutritious, low energy dense foods to satisfy their appetite, while limiting consumption of less satisfying, high energy dense foods. Unique to food optimising is the unlimited choice of many 'free foods' which can include lean meat, fish and poultry, pasta, rice and grains, vegetables and fruit, which may be eaten freely. To help ensure a balanced diet, daily portions of 'healthy extras' are permitted, including bread, cereals, cheese and milk. Finally, controlled portions of higher calorie, less filling foods are included, such as crisps, wine, chocolate and sauces. In Food Optimising these are called "syns". Most adults have a daily "syn allowance" of between 5 and 15 "syns".[1]
Food Optimising has a variety of plans, which may be followed on a daily basis as the slimmer chooses:[2]

  • 'Extra Easy plan': Free Foods include most fruit and vegetables, fish, lean meat and poultry and eggs, wholemeal pasta, potatoes, grains and beans. Healthy extras include bread, cereals, cheese and milk.
  • 'Original plan': Free Foods include most fruit and vegetables, fish, lean meat and poultry and eggs. Healthy extras include bread, cereals, cheese, milk and carbohydrates such as wholemeal pasta, potatoes, grains and beans.
  • 'Green plan': Ideal for vegetarians, Free Foods include most fruit and vegetables, pasta, rice, potatoes, grains and eggs. Healthy extras include bread, cereals, cheese, milk, nuts & seeds, and protein such as lean meat, poultry and fish.

So if you want to call it a "low-anything"- diet - call it a "low-density-diet"
 
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