Slimming World is SO much better

[Smoffi]

Than WW!

So why all over sky news this morning are they pushing for WW to be free on NHS?

Personally the only club I've ever done is Slimming World, but we have SO many people come to our group from WW, and say that they were hungry when on their plan.

I have NEVER been hungry on SW - yes there are times I've wavered, but never through hunger, or boredom.

If they're going to put WW on NHS then they should also afford Slimming World the same status!

rant over

 

[Starlight]

Sw used to be available on referral but it was stopped recently

WW is every bit as good a diet as SW for every person who leaves WW for SW you'll find one leaving SW fir WW

Quite honestly if people are hungry on ww then they're not doing it properly. The biggest complaint on the ww forum is people being full and still having points left.

Neither diet is better they're different but every bit as good as each other it's just down to personal choice which one suits a person best

 

[Smoffi]

Thank you for pointing that out starlight, as I admitted I have no personal experience of WW, just going on what I've heard from others.

However as you say, they are both equally as good, so should both get equal NHS status!

My own GP already does a 12 week refferal to WW, but can't do the same for Slimming World, which I think is unfair.

 

[Sassia]

I did ww for a few weeks and was starving! Maybe I was new and hadn't learnt the low point filling foods, but it was clear quite soon that it wasn't going to work for me. It's a shame because in some ways it fitted with my lifestyle better. For example I love pizza. Not smash pizza or wrap pizza, but doughy pizza. On ww I could have a whole Iceland Mediterranean veg pizza for my dinner, but I think I'd have to flexi syn it on sw and I don't want to do that unless absolutely necessary.

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[Stoffie]

I did ww for a few weeks and was starving! Maybe I was new and hadn't learnt the low point filling foods, but it was clear quite soon that it wasn't going to work for me. It's a shame because in some ways it fitted with my lifestyle better. For example I love pizza. Not smash pizza or wrap pizza, but doughy pizza. On ww I could have a whole Iceland Mediterranean veg pizza for my dinner, but I think I'd have to flexi syn it on sw and I don't want to do that unless absolutely necessary.

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I know what you mean - I've been a pizza free zone for 3 months now!!! Pizza (real pizza) is just too high in syns and too irresistible to stick to one slice!

 

[Sassia]

That's all I'm going to think about now! *sigh*

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[vanilla_cupcake]

I personally don't agree with any of them being offered on the NHS, if you want to go you pay for it yourself!! Why should some of us pay while others get it free, we are all there for the same reason....to loose weight!! If this is the case we could all go the doctors asking to be referred to a class, I just don't agree with it at all....there are quite a few things available on the NHS that I don't agree with and this is definitely one of them!

 

[Sassia]

If it encourages someone to lose weight who wouldn't have thought of it before, then its good. There must be loads of people with obesity related medical problems who are costing the nhs a lot of money. If they lose weight and improve their health as a result, isn't it ultimately worth it?

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[Stoffie]

I've just seen the same report now on GMTV. It said "WW worked better than all other diet plans". Interesting statement to make!!! I wonder what plans were in the study? WW must be clapping their hands at the mo and if I was SW I would be getting my hands on that study asap!

I wonder if the study was between dietician, doctor and a weightloss group rather than all the weightloss groups... ?

Nothing on the BBC website yet...I shall watch and read with interest...

 

[vanilla_cupcake]

If it encourages someone to lose weight who wouldn't have thought of it before, then its good. There must be loads of people with obesity related medical problems who are costing the nhs a lot of money. If they lose weight and improve their health as a result, isn't it ultimately worth it?

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The doctor can still mention SW & WW to them and tell them the benefits etc, if the person wants to go thats up to them!

 

[Stackhead]

People do tend to lose weight faster on WW, that fact I don't dispute.

And while, yes technically on WW you could live off small amounts of junk food rather than a healthy diet, people tend not to, I've read some food diaries in my moment of boredness. And it does teach portion control, something that SW doesn't really do.

I can understand what they mean and I've recommended WW to alot of people. I personally think you need more motivation to do SW... and if a person is having to be referred by their GP, their motivation isn't likely to be that high.

xx

 

[vanilla_cupcake]

I personally think you need more motivation to do SW... and if a person is having to be referred by their GP, their motivation isn't likely to be that high.

xx

Completely agree, if you want to loose weight you'll go yourself without the doctor having to refer you!

 

[Sassia]

But that's just it, people often don't do it. If it encourages them to, it must be an improvement.

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[Stackhead]

Precisely, I'll champion referral to slimming clubs (regardless of the club) over surgery/food replacement/icky tablets any day.

Beside, once your in a weight loss club, the whole world or weight loss clubs is open to you. Many people swap and change so they could switch over to SW at some point.

xx

 

[vanilla_cupcake]

But that's just it, people often don't do it. If it encourages them to, it must be an improvement.

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To loose weight you have to want to loose weight, someone telling you to go to WW/SW isn't going to make you any more determined, paying for something yourself might make you work that bit harder than having it handed to you on a plate!

There are some people out there who just don't care what they look like and how overweight they are! Seeing these people in my group would annoy the hell out of me as they would only be there because their doctor sent them there, I want to see people in my group who want to loose weight and who want to be there!

 

[krupskaya]

I agree with Sassia and Stackhead. If a doctor's referral gets someone through the door then that's got to be a good thing. The costs of a referral are a drop in the ocean compared to the costs to the NHS of weight related illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, joint problems and so on. Added to this, some people, like those on benefits, simply couldn't afford to go without a referral. £5 a week may not sound a lot, but when you're on unemployment benefit every penny counts.

 

[Stoffie]

Done some more diigging - major mis-quote by GMTV. The study says;

"Obese patients referred to a year-long programme like Weight Watchers lost twice as much weight as those offered standard NHS care, a study in the Lancet reported."

I think the trial used WW as the commercial example. It's not a SW vs WW trial. Another quote;

"Dr Susan Jebb, who led the study, said her data suggested that commercial weight loss programmes - such as Weight Watchers - could be rolled out on a larger scale. At present, weight loss schemes are offered to many NHS patients - but they usually last for just 12 weeks. Dr Sarah Jarvis, a London-based GP, told Sky News that she wasn’t surprised by the research. "What we need are sustainable weight programmes and many of these programmes, not just Weight Watchers, will help you to retrain your eating habits in the long term.” "

Weight Loss: Weight Watchers Style Support Should Be Free On NHS To Combat Obesity, Says Report | UK News | Sky News

 

[PatchworkPuss]

Calm down. This is not a conspiracy by the news companies to have WW take over the NHS. All that has happened is that WW have done a review on their referral scheme and issued a press release with their findings. This has then been picked up by the various news agencies. All business companies will do this to promote themselves. SW does it as well - how else do you think we see the SW Slimmer of the Year on GMTV?

And they are not saying that WW is better than all other diets - only that people referred to WW performed better than those on a standard NHS dietetic programme.

 

[Sassia]

To loose weight you have to want to loose weight, someone telling you to go to WW/SW isn't going to make you any more determined, paying for something yourself might make you work that bit harder than having it handed to you on a plate!

There are some people out there who just don't care what they look like and how overweight they are! Seeing these people in my group would annoy the hell out of me as they would only be there because their doctor sent them there, I want to see people in my group who want to loose weight and who want to be there!

Oh definitely. You have to want to lose weight to actually succeed. If someone gets through the door because of a referral its entirely possible that they find some motivation to then do something about it.
How many of us decided we had a weight problem and immediately, that day joined up? I know that I'm not alone in spending some time with my head firmly in the sand!

We could all be bitter about things that we perceive others to get that we haven't, but don't get me started on that or I'll moan about our company giving mileage to people that cycle to work, but not those (like me) that walked!

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[mandy296]

To loose weight you have to want to loose weight, someone telling you to go to WW/SW isn't going to make you any more determined, paying for something yourself might make you work that bit harder than having it handed to you on a plate!

There are some people out there who just don't care what they look like and how overweight they are! Seeing these people in my group would annoy the hell out of me as they would only be there because their doctor sent them there, I want to see people in my group who want to loose weight and who want to be there!

I mentioned in passing to my practitioner nurse that I wanted to lose a bit of weight for my wedding and asked if they had any leaflets or something.

She checked my weight and then looked something up and said that I could have some vouchers for slimming world - I think she was probably checking my BMI - I think to qualify for free vouchers you had to be in the obese category - I was only just in there, but it got me the free vouchers.

That was last January - I've now lost around 3 1/2 stone and been at target (more or less) since February this year.

You can disagree with it if you like, but I can tell you right now, it had never crossed my mind to have joined a slimming club before and I would never, ever have done it without the referral. I can also safely say that without going to slimming world I truly believe I would not have lost 3 1/2 stone and been at a healthy BMI and mainintaing - I would have just been half arsed dieting and failing - and seeing the weight slowly creep up until it got to the stage that I would be more and more unhealthy and more of a drain on the NHS.

So disagree if you wish, but without SW being "handed to me on a plate" I wouldnt be here!

What I do vehemently disagree with is SW being offered in some areas but not others - but then thats how the NHS works across the board often with far more serious implications when it comes to treatment and drugs offered in different PCTs - but thats a whole other argument.