To Follow a Plan or Not to Follow a Plan?...

welshgirl21

Silver Member
That is the big question - do I just change the foods I eat, reduce portion size and exercise myself or do I follow a plan like SW?

I did WW last year but really didn't get on with it, but I did SW with my mum about 10 years ago and we lost loads between us with exercising as well so was tempted with that.

Has anyone else any recent experience of SW? How complicated is it to follow and stick to? I would be doing it online rather than going to group so has anyone done it online?
 
Yes, I would recommend SW; I think you will love it (again). Plus, the SW section on minimins is very popular - there's lots of traffic and support there, always.
I do think that it is important to decide on a way forward and stick to it. I'm sure all the diet plans featured on this site work, but you did ask me about SW and I must say I'm a big fan, even a year down the line. xx
 
If you feel you will be able to stick to 'doing it yourself' by reducing portion size etc then fine. But I find I need the guidelines of SW for me to lose weight.

There have been quite a few changes with SW over the last few years so you will find it different. But its so easy to follow and as biggysmalls said there is lots of people on here only too willing to help you.;)
 
Thanks both for the information - I think I'm going to do some research tonight on Slimming World, look at the costs etc and also talk it over with my partner as he wants to loose weight too.

I've just decided I have to make changes whatever way I do it as my weight is creeping up and I am looking bigger every week. Last night I ran up the stairs and was slightly breathless which, at 26, scared me. Plus I was standing all day at an event with work and my knees were really sore so I don't like where this is heading :eek:

It's time for action
 
I think it depends what kind of a person you are, whether you need guidance, motivation etc. I have tried both plans, and "my own thing", and out of the 2 I prefer to do my own thing.
 
If you like the diet plan and exercise then have a looksie at the Rosemary Conley Clubs, they do a plan that is low fat and have an aerobics session in every class!
 
Some people need the freedom and flexibility of making your own plan, others need to be given structure. Depends on what you think will suit you best and what's been the issue in the past.

Whatever you decide, good luck :) There's always calorie counting too! :)
 
Thanks for your replies, much appreciated.

I did some research into SW last night but I can't afford to do it online and the group local to me runs on a night that I work late so I'd never make it in time.

I had a good chat with my OH and we are going to do it together; we both identified things we need to work on personally - I need to not come in from work and be like 'urgh I don't fancy that for dinner' or 'oh I don't know what I fancy' because then OH feels he needs to have something he doesnt want to make me happy, but I told him he doesn't have to do this. We're also going to join seperate gyms as we used to be members of the same one, but if one of us said we didn't fancy going then the other wouldn't go either.

Our food intake we are going to cut down together though - soup or salad for lunches, wraps or brown rice for dinner (alternated day to day to brown rice for lunch then soup or salad/wrap for dinner) with lean protein (steamed or grilled meat/fish) and loads of vegetables (boiled or steamed), fruit and nuts for snacks and low fat yoghurts. We are also going to try and not fry anything and really limit the amount of oil we use and I am going to look around a gym tonight which is on my way home from work so I'd go straight from work rather than go home and then go out again.

Will this work?
 
If you eat enough calories daily then this will work! Well done, you seem to have it all worked out and thats half the battle there :D

xx
 
I think it sounds like a really good plan :) Hope you and OH can stick to it, I'd suggest writing a food diary which I think will really help the both of you - obviously sometimes you will be eating different things like if you're at work or something, so you can pick up tips and downfalls from each others.

I think it's nice that you're helping each other out by not going to the same gym etc, after all you have established that you were being held back by one not doing something because the other didn't want to :) This will probably work wonders for strengthening your relationship too!

Regarding limiting oil and frying, try FryLight instead? You can still have stuff like chips that way, just make them the SW way - parboiled, sprayed liberally, baked for 45mins.

Hope you succeed in your weight loss journey, would love to see how you're getting on in a week or so.

Ali

xxx
 
I'd never heard about SW til last night.. I don't know anything about it but seems to be really popular here.. I've too much information about dieting in my head between WW, herbalife, low calories diets, atkins. I'm so flustered and is overloaded with diet information. I need to revaluate what I've learned and start over..
 
I prefer to do things myself rather than going to a group. Having this support network on here is totally new to me but it's so encouraging and everyone is amazing!

I am doing my own thing, looking at calorie intake etc. I've gone through so much information about different diets and exercise and it seems to me that whatever you do- if you watch your calories and exercise you will get somewhere. Fingers crossed!

Also as you have planned, have little high density foods in your diet, i.e. fat.

Good luck!!!
 
I'm the same clw10, I rather eat low calories foods and exercise rather than doing an actual diet like atkins or something. Hopefully it will pay off us! Do what you feel is right for you. Everyone is different and what will work for someone else may not work for you. I guess its all learning!
 
Thanks all, I hope we can stick to it too. I went to the gym on Friday and joined up, am seeing my personal trainer on Friday which should be a good kick start for me. He's going to be measuring weight, taking measurements, body fat % :eek: , he'll then put a programme together for me.

I'll let you know how I'm getting on over the next few days, tomorrow is my official start day so I'll keep you all updated.

Thanks again for all the support, I have a feeling I'll be needing it over the next few weeks.
 
Best of luck with it girly! Let us know how it goes with the trainer! xx I've been kinda thinking of doing that myself to motivate me but I'm too shy to go and ask. Also I live in the country and driving and going to the gym is more time consuming than going for a 4 mile walk.. Maybe that's just me being lazy... :eek:
 
Well, I am now 2 days in and so far, kind of so good; we threw out all the left over cakes that we still had from a family BBQ on the weekend.

I had a spa day with my friend who is visiting from Holland yesterday, the lunch was healthy with fresh fish, 2 salads, rice salad and cous cous, I also had a small piece of bread with a dip in olive oil. Then she went and bought us both some brownies so I did end up eating one and a half small triangle brownie. In the afternoon though we sat in a 45 degree sauna plus 2 other steam rooms so I think we sweated out about a weeks worth of food, we also swam for half an hour.

Today I had bran flakes with semi skimmed milk for breakfast, chicken noodle soup with a small side salad for lunch and we're having homemade wholewheat pasta in tomato, basil and garlic sauce with spinach and mushrooms. I am also going to my Zumba class while my OH is at the gym.

Feeling good so far, slightly hungry now but had no desire to pick this afternoon so all in all, feeling pretty good.
 
I'm so frustrated. This was my first week- where you can generally expect the biggest loss? Or a decent one. I have stayed the same! This week I have been counting my calories:

Thurs: 1018
Fri: 1513
Sat: 1145
Sun: 1357
Mon: 1494
Tues: 1350
Wed: to come....

I have just noticed that it's tomorrow i should have weighed, but i'm still disappointed. I have been to the gym 3 times for 40 minutes cardio. I know I still need to up my exercise, but I still thought it would have been a loss! Grrrr!
 
I'm sorry you are disappointed you sts, it's so frustrating when that happens especially when so much work has been put in as you have done this week. Try not to get disheartened though clw10, stick with it and you will see that loss you're waiting for; just remember staying the same is better than a gain (my old SW consultant used to say that).

Keep smiling :)
 
From what I remember being told, the average calorie intake for a woman should be around 2000 per day, for weight loss it's reccommended to reduce this by 500 so yours are at this or lower which should be fine. Sometimes in the first week it can take the body a while to get itself into 'weight loss' mode so that could be the reason you stayed the same too.

I'm sure you'll see a loss next week.
 
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