To go to group, or not to go to group...

Violet Shrinks

Full Member
I started trying to lose weight on my own after New Year by eating sensibly and cutting out alcohol, and lost 10lbs in January. I then 'fell off the wagon' a in February - partly due to a couple of trips away for work, partly because I just let things slide - and put 2lbs back on. In an attempt to get things back on track I rejoined a SW group last week and started posting on here. I've had a really good week and lost 3lbs - I'm feeling very motivated and determined at the moment...

BUT...

I have to admit I really don't like group!! The consultant is really nice and does her best, but it is just painful. There are toddlers running about making a noise, people chatting among themselves while the consultant is trying to talk to individuals, and endless clapping with very little else. I don't know whether it is just this group, but it is not at all how I remembered SW group from when i used to go years ago. I got up and slipped out half way through because I couldn't stand it any more.

So what I am wondering is, do I

a. give it a chance, keep going and hope that it has just been a couple of bad weeks.
b. look for a different group - there are a couple of other options, but this one is at the most convenient time for me.
c. just weigh and go
d. stop going altogether, save my money and use my books to do this at home on my own, using this lovely site for support?

I'm also going to be away for most of April and have worked out that I won't be able to get to group at all that month.

To be honest I'm leaning towards going it alone, but I don't want to spoil things when they are going so well at the moment.

Any thoughts?
 
Hi, I do it from home. I to hate the boring routine of the meetings, listening to the consultant going on & on & on and the clicky groups sitting there looking at you if you even dare say one word. Like I said I do slimming world from home, follow it to the T & weigh myself every Sunday. If you want to loose weight, then you will have the will power to do it. Hope this helps xx
Also this forum really helps full of friendly people xx

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins
 
Either speak to the consultant and give them a chance to make the group work better or maybe try another group?

When I first started SW I lived in London and the group I went to was lovely, I looked forward to going. When I moved out of London I tried two groups in my new area and hated them... the consultants didn't seem interested in anything other than getting your money each week and there was no support. I tried a third group which was further away and not that convenient but it made a massive difference as the consultant was lovely and the people going really friendly. I then got pregnant so stopped going. When I wanted to re-join this time I was worried I wouldn't like the group however I've found a lovely one that is convenient for me.

I take my toddler with me as I have no other option but if you find a group in the evening there would be less chance of young children being there.
 
I take my toddler with me as I have no other option but if you find a group in the evening there would be less chance of young children being there.

I honestly don't mind people taking their young children to group - I know it is often the only option, and I sometimes took my little ones with me when I went to group years ago. It is just that there were four of five toddlers there today, all running about unsupervised and getting louder and louder until the mums finally got up and told them off, which quieted them down for a few minutes until the cycle began again. It was really disruptive. The adults were no better though - talking among themselves instead of listening to others...
 
I keep mine seated and quiet with his lunch and letting him play on his brothers DS.

People talking amongst themselves is annoying as it's just not fair on the consultant or those who want to listen/need help that week. It's supposed to be a time to get hints and tips from others so to speak over people is just rude. I think some just see it as a social gathering. Could you email the consultant?
 
I'd try different groups before giving up, especially if you feel like you might not be 100% if you go it alone.

Maybe try an evening class, the 7.30pm ones don't usually have many children, but saying that, I go to a lunchtime class and there aren't any children there either. :) I've been to loads over the years and I always prefer the smaller, more personal meetings to the bigger classes, I suppose it's just about trying them out to find one that suits you best.

Good luck. :) x
 
Thanks for the advice folks,

I don't think I'd feel comfortable raising it with the consultant yet, as I am very new and don't know anyone - maybe if I keep going and it doesn't improve I will. Also, I think she is aware of it, but is just struggling to know how to deal with it.

I might look into other groups, but I'm a little hesitant to try join another one right now as I am going to be travelling a lot in April and have worked out that I will only be able to make a most one, if any meetings that month - I don't really want to join a new class for a week or two and then not be able to go for ages. TBH that is one of the reasons I am thinking of going it alone.

At the moment I feel like the willpower is there 100% and I would stick to it whether I went to group or not. I've set myself a Lent challenge and feel very motivated about it. But I've been here before - I felt like this in January, before going off the rails a bit in February!!
 
I go to a late one, and there are never any kids there, probably because its at 7pm. I do get what you mean though, with the endless clapping, and whatnot, but once you've been there and gotten to know people, you want to clap for them. It could be that you've had a bad group experience, and you could give them another go, OR it could really just not be a good fit for you. I joined at New Years, so there were loads of new members which helped A LOT. You could always give it a go yourself until your back at the end of April, and if you're not 100% happy with the results, try a group?
 
I think I'll give the group another couple of weeks and see if it improves - maybe it was just a bad week. I have two more classes that I can get to before I go away, so I'll keep going until I leave and then see how I feel when I get back. Really hoping I can stay on track while I'm away. I'm staying in an apartment with a kitchenette, rather than a hotel, so will be able cook for myself, but there is always so much temptation to let things slide a little when away from home!!
 
I went down to one near me last year. It was so full of mums and tots running round and pushchairs that I didn't even get through the door. I found a further away evening group. Much better.
 
Well, in the spirit of giving it a chance I went back to group and it was slightly better than last week (couldn't have been worse). That was mainly because hardly anyone had stayed though, so things went a bit quicker, and there were only two quiet instead of five noisy toddlers. I still found people distracting the consultant when she was trying to talk to individuals annoying, though - either by talking among themselves, or in one case, when a lady had been asked to look up a syn value on her phone and when she finally got it, instead of waiting for the consultant to finish talking to the person she was dealing with, she just butted in. It wasn't me who got interrupted, but I felt bad for the ladies it happened to. I don't know - I just feel like you go and sit there for ages as she goes round group, then you are entitled to your couple of minutes of focus on you and feel annoyed when people don't get that courtesy. I don't want to stop going as I'm doing really well at the moment, but I do find it frustrating. I don't think there is any point saying anything to the consultant because she seems to be aware of it and has told people to hush, and I actually don't think people mean to be rude, but it is just constant low level disrespect.

I'm going to have to go to a couple of different groups, on different days, in April if I want to get weighed at all that month, so I'll see what they are like then make a decision when I get back from my various travels.
 
Maybe it's because my group is relatively small, theres only about 10 of us, but i find theres a decent bit of cameraderie in there. I doubt i'd enjoy one of the bigger groups. The meeting right before mine has about 50 people!

If you look on the SW website (before signing in) it will list all the meetings near your postcode. Usually with a contact email for the consultant email a couple in your area asking how big their group is. But as others said a later evening mid-week group may be your best bet
 
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