SW or WW (also posted on ww thread)

saltypuss

Member
I have tried both over the past 6 years and to be honest never really got my head round either.

I lost all my weight years ago on Rosemary Conley but find her too restrictive now I have more weight on.

I weigh 17st now and need to lost 6st and I really want too.

I am going to join either WW or SW this week.

I like the idea of SW as fruit is free and carrots etc as I do get bored/hungry while I am at work. My worry is that I might over eat on rice/pasta on a green day and not lose weight.

My worry with WW is that I have more to eat at lunch one day if I fancy a sandwich from M&S but have no points then for my tea.

Where I get confused with SW is is have a prawn & Mayo sandwhich from M&S, can I count my bread and prawns as choices and then just the mayo as syns? Same as ready meals, are they all a syn or can you split it down to ingrediants.

Would appreciate any help. Not sure if to post this on the SW board too.

Sarah :confused:
 
Even 'over eating' rice and pasta you would still lose weight as its free, and as for the sandwich, in theory yup bread could be your HEB, prawns free on red and syn the sauce. Dont know how exactly you'd do it with ready meals, but in theory you could do.

good luck which ever you choose x
 
Oh I cant fathom WW hence me doing SW...

I know what you mean about the sarnies but they all have hidden stuff in so never as simple as Prawn - free, Bread HEXb, Mayo - syns....

You would have to check online for things like that! Sorry!?

Good Luck with what you choose and SW do have a new plan which you can get if go classes... Much less restrictive than red/green days but is very new!
xxxx
 
I have done both SW and WW and would choose SW everytime. I was nearly 21 stone when I started so I knew that WW would be too restrictive for me as it was before. I also found that my losses were really slow on WW. The thing I love most about SW is that if I am still feeling a bit hungry after dinner, I can take advantage of free food and eat something. Whereas, on WW I would go to bed early to avoid eating as I had already used up my points for the day.

I also think that SW is a plan that you can do for life, and not just until you reach target. It's not restrictive, so your not gagging to get off of it (if that makes sense).

With ready meals, you can find the syn values for them online or in the directory that you can buy at your meetings. These usually include allowances for free food etc. SW is really easy if you plan in advance what you are going to have. A cooking day every Sunday and freezing meals for the week is an easy way of making sure you have food available quickly.

Good luck with whatever plan you decide.
 
I'm a SW bod all the way too. I tried WW but it was far too complicated. I find SW so much simpler.

I understand what you mean about sarnies etc but I think with all eating plans, we have to adapt what we have in some way or t'other. x
 
I wouldn't worry about eating too many free foods. The good thing about SW is that if you get bored or stuck in a rut with free foods, it forces you too cook more to make nice things which can only be a good thing rather than eating ready meals etc.

At the end of the day, the plans will both work if you stick to them. I prefer SW because I like to be able to eat sometimes inbetween meals and the diet allows me to do that without affecting my losses.

I know some people on WW say they find the diet much easier but it is less restrictive when you are eating out. I can understand that: but for me I find making healthy choices when I am eating out (chicken wrapped in bacon/ham with cheese and/or jacket potatoes are always good options, free options!) works okay for me. Also, you can easily hang on to your syns for a couple of days to use up for a night out. Or go 'flexible syns' (where you can use, say, 50 syns for a night out and not worry about it) which works well too.

I prefer SW, but I'm sure if you asked someone who had lost 3 1/2 stone on WW: they would say WW is best!

Whatever you do, good luck. And don't worry too much. If you join, say, SW and don't like it - you can always move to WW.

Ste
x
 
I've done both too, but I'm going back to SW on tues mainly because I hate continually reckoning up points. I feel so much less harassed on SW. On WW I never think about anything but food.
 
I did both and although i liked ww and that i could eat choc and crisps? Thats all i ate and the loss was quite slow.
I switched to sw and i love it!
Put it this way i went back on it friday? and according to my wii fit i have lost 5lbs already!!!
x
 
Thanks very much for the replies.

I wanted both sides of the coin and appreciate everyone views.

I am going to read these in more detail and check out some recipes and weekly plans on both.

I will post back when I have decided.

Cheers

Sarah
 
i have done both and overall prefer ww, although there are things about sw that i did like, i personally found it too restrictive, obviously other people dont. it really is personnal choice. i dont think either plan is 'better' it which suits you best
 
I agree with FNM that WW is less restrictive however it doesn't teach you long term healthy eating whereas SW does. SW doesn't restrict your healthy foods, all foods low fat and low in synthetic sugar are encouraged with the concentration on satisfying your appetite rather than what you can get for your calorie allowance - to my mind a much healthy way of thinking as well as eating. I tried WW once and ended up using all my points on drink and treats then trying to manage on salad all day long, not really a plan for life.
SW makes sense to me as I don't focus on food all day long as I have with other diets (can I have this, if so how much and will I have to do without tea?), I can pick a red or green day and go from there and even switch to mix 2 max should I need to all without compromising my weight loss.
As others have said though it's all about what suits you best and if you're not a sugar obsessed boozy suzie :ashamed0005: then WW would probably be great, unfortunately the tempting option to swap meals for squiffy nights out didn't work so well for me. SW makes me feel healthier which is a massive appeal.
 
Just posted this on the same thread on the WW board, thought I'd post it here too for ease of reference.



I'd say have a look and a search on the forums to see if you can find an idea of the kind of 'free' foods on Slimming World. If you look at those foods and bear in mind you can eat as many of them as you like as much as you like without restriction ('there's no such thing as too much free food' being a favourite Slimming World mantra!) or thinking about weighing and counting and messing - then do SW.

If you feel that you want to eat chocolate and crisps often but know that, in doing so, you'd have to restrict other foods - do WW.

No foods are banned on either diet, it's a myth that foods are forbidden on SW. They do encourage positive, healthy choices of TYPES of food (and not the size of portion or the amount of times you eat it) which, for me, has long to a long-term healthy strategy not only for loosing weight but keeping it off.

If you stick to the rules - both diets work. Those who like unrestricted, healthy foods and never going hungry should perhaps try SW. Those who need help with portion control and/or want to eat more unhealthy foods more often in small portions and don't mind counting, should perhaps try WW.

We're all going to bat for our own team, I'd say given the stories and fabulous successes that I've seen week in, week out at my group: go for SW.

I couldn't be bothered counting all the time! Food should be a small but important part of our lives, not something that requires a total sum in our heads all day, every day!
 
I agree with FNM that WW is less restrictive however it doesn't teach you long term healthy eating whereas SW does. SW doesn't restrict your healthy foods, all foods low fat and low in synthetic sugar are encouraged with the concentration on satisfying your appetite rather than what you can get for your calorie allowance - to my mind a much healthy way of thinking as well as eating. I tried WW once and ended up using all my points on drink and treats then trying to manage on salad all day long, not really a plan for life.
.

See I totally disagree with that. WW has totally changed the way I look at food, its taught me so much about portion control and the new plan is totally geared towards healthy eating.. thats the whole basis of it. I cook so much more than I ever did, and just naturally make much healthier options.

If someone chooses to use their points up on chocolate and crisps well its not rocket science to work out that theyre going to be hungy and unhealthy. There seems the be this idea that thats what WW is about - letting you eat constant junk.

Ive honestly never been hungry on WW and my eating habits have changed immensley since it started.

But lets face it we're not going to agree on a SW board that WW is best and vice versa, all the OP can do is look around at both diets, see how people are doing and most importantly see which will suit best to their lifestyle.

Theres no doubt about it... both diets work, theyre both great and FAR healthier than most others, but its horses for courses, what suits one, wont suit another, and lets face it it would be awful boring if we were all the same ;)
 
It would be very boring if we were all the same and, yep, we're going to recommend what has worked for us I guess.

On the crisps and chocolate thing, to be fair, it is often said by WW members that this is a plus point of doing the diet - you said it yourself a couple of times Starlight. In addition, the WW advertising and their own products seem often to mention and be based around the fact that crisps and chocolate can be a healthy part of a diet.

I've never really understood why people use it as a plus point for WW though, as it's exactly the same on SW. If you wanted a bar of chocolate and a glass of wine every night on SW - you could by using up your syns. I wouldn't recommend it, and neither would most SW members, but it's a possibility in the same way eating small amounts of crap on WW is a possibility.

For me, therefore, I'd rather have the option to occasionally make an unhealthy choice if I really want to, whilst not having to frigging count all the time! I find that I stick pretty much 70 per cent to eating free foods (potatoes, pasta, meat, fish, baked beans, vegetables, fruit, low fat cheese etc), the rest being Healthy Extras (brown bread, breakfast cereal, cheese, oils & dressings) and the occasional naughty thing like a bar of chocolate or a pint (or two!).

Loosing weight is a journey, often a difficult one and it starts my making a commitment to something and sticking to it. Whatever you choose Saltypuss, I wish you all the very best and hope that 2009 brings weight loss and happiness if that's what you want.

All the best,
Ste
x
 
Oh I have said it before Im not disputing that and I like that I CAN have the treats I just hate when people seem to focus on that aspect of WW and nothing else. I think thats probably why the WW new plan has so much emphasis on healthy food and restricting the treat aspect. Any diet that lets you have the occasional bar of choc or crisps HAS to be good lets face it ;)

Im not a far of veggies etc and found SW way too restrictive as I wanted things together which I couldnt have, although I believe thats a bit plus of the new plan. My main problem with free food would be portion control. The time Ive been on WW now I dont give counting points a 2nd thought to be honest, its almost 2nd nature lol Actually I can work out a lot of things without my calculator.. .how sad an admission is that ;)

If Im honest too, if I hit another plateau at WW I probably would now consider SW if my understanding of the new plan is correct :)

And I bet we're doing NOTHING to help poor salty with their decision :rotflmao:
 
As already said, all diets work if you stick to them and find one that suits you personally.
For me, I always end up back with sw, because of the availability of all the free foods, the Healthy extras that you can/must have every day and the use of syns should you want anything 'naughty'
When I follow WW, and I have lost count over the years I can tell you, I have to work out with militry precision how I am going to spend my points every day for fear of running out before the day is through!!! lol And I might add that I am not one for 'wasting' points on rubbishy foods. The only good thing I will say is it helps with portion control, ie making you eat less because you can't 'afford' the points (not always good if you are starving, of course!) and I also find that I eat tons more veg because I have to bulk my plate out to make a 'proper' filling sized meal!!! So actually, looking at the pluses for ww they are rather negative positives...lol if you see what I mean!!
One other reason I used to like to swap to WW was so I could eat 'red and green day foods together...which of course we can do that now with Extra Easy plan!! whoo hooo!!
 
Starlight, I completely understand where you're coming from for your personal preference. My weighty issue doesn't lie with portion control as I have never been a big eater so Slimming World helps me make the best choices and is restrictive in the way that I prefer - those who love big portions would argue that SW is very flexible and not restrictive at all (just as your point about WW not being all about treats is perfectly valid if you can control sugar and vino cravings). 10 syns a day is never going to allow me the alcohol I would like on a night out and I won't allow myself to save syns for this reason unless it was an extreme case (as I'd be having great fun every week but gaining all the time :)). WW was far too flexible for me as to what I could spend 20 points a day on so SW would definitely be my preferred option.
However as you quite rightly say they both work well and I have friends at work who have lost and maintained the loss with WW - just depends on what your main issue is as to which offers the best solution.

Definitely wishing all the best whatever people choose though, sorry if we all sound completely ambiguous Saltypuss x
 
Back
Top