What am I actually paying for?

northernboi

Full Member
Hi everyone

I started Slimming World about a month ago. I was just wondering around online when I found this site and it's been really interesting to read through all of your food diaries and journeys. I've joined up.

I guess I just had a question. I've been going to my local Slimming World for 5 weeks now. In that time I've lost 12lb, which I'm really happy with. I have about three stone to lose, so I'm going to be around for a while. But so far, I've really enjoyed the diet, ate really well, not felt hungry and lost weight. So far, so good.

But I have a confession. I absolutely *hate* the 'image therapy' session of the Slimming World group. I hate the woman telling everyone how much I have or have not lost. I hate the pointless questions about why I succeeded or what I am going to do next week. I hate seeing other people's failures in particular. There was one woman who, apparently with quite a lot to loose (although I couldn't really tell to be honest, she looked great to me) cried last week after putting on 2lb. She couldn't understand why as she said she had followed the diet to the letter and began to cry in the group. I felt very strange about that - it was a very personal, upsetting moment for her and I didn't really feel as though I should have witnessed it.

I hate the falseness of the consultant, I hate the people in the group who talk for too long about themselves and their boring lives, I hate it when someone is shy and I feel nervous for them. The whole thing is just deeply unpleasant for me.

Now. I hope I've not offended anyone. I absolutely understand and respect that many, many people (probably most people) really enjoy and get something out of those sessions. I'm sure it is just me. Or maybe it's a boy thing. But whatever. I just hate it.

I've forced myself to go for four weeks because I figured that I was paying for it and there might be some useful food tips that I could get. But there wasn't really.

So this week, after the crying incident, I decided just to go and get weighed and leave afterwards. I've seen other people do the same and often been envious of them! So I walked in, paid my dosh, bought a couple of bars that I don't really like but are handy for Healthy Extras, got weighed and left. The whole thing took about three minutes.

I already knew my weight, because (rightly or wrongly) I weigh myself at home. I don't really like those bars and the Alpen ones are better.

So, on the walk home, I just kind of thought it was a bit pointless going at all. I haven't really met anyone in the group, it is not like they go for a drink and share tips after the meeting or anything, as far as I know anyway.

I'd basically wasted a fiver (or, over a year, £260) and half an hour of my time. The walk was about the best thing I achieved, and I'm walking pretty regularly nowadays anyway.

So - what's the point? Why bother going to class?

Do you hate the image therapy? Or love it?

Do you go to the group, or just do it yourself at home? If you go, what exactly do you get out of it? If not, do you manage okay?

I'd be really interested to hear what you all think about this!

Take care,
Ste
x
 
Hi Ste :)
I think for some people the idea of staying to the meeting would be a fate worse than death!

I can certainly see why someone wouldn't want to sit around talking about it. I've got to the point in my life where I am so desperate and focused that I see the group more like an alcoholics anonymous meeting to be honest, maybe not the most enjoyable hour but something I need to do to keep myself on track!

I would say, if it doesn't work for you then see how you can get on without it. Maybe try your second month without the classes and see how your weight goes. You might find that just the annoyance of the walk and paying the money keeps you on track and eating the right things through the week. For example yesterday I was *so* tempted not to go to weigh in because by the end of the day I'd convinced myself that I had put on weight. But I bought the countdown in my first week so I'd paid for last night's meeting already and knew I had to go and luckily I'd still lost weight. I know in my case at least that if I had the option to not go it would have been tempting, and this is at a point when I am loving the diet and still in the early stages like you. I know how difficult going to the meeting will be in a few months but going will encourage me and the idea that I have to go may just stay my hand from the cookie jar.

When I did WW a few years ago I was doing ok but the meetings all got a bit much for me and I never returned after a holiday. With no meetings, the diet went totally to pot.

I know plenty of people on here though don't go to the meetings and do really well. It's about will power I guess and it's true that we are all adults who really shouldn't need to pay someone to tell them how much they weigh each week, but it is one thing to face the scales in the privacy of your bathroom and another to do it in a class. It is easier to deny the reading when you are on your own or to not step on the scales at all if you don't have someone leading you by the neck!

So I really try to make the most of the meetings by thinking of tips about nice things I've eaten for when it's my turn to speak. You never know, something you say may well encourage someone else's journey.


Emerald
X
 
I felt exactly the same as you about class - I did go to one for years which was great but then I moved house so moved class and it was awful. Since living here going to class has not been an option - I have to say it was the most unfriendly place I have been to and like you say there is always one person who goes on and on! I have done SW on my own with just my books from class but I struggle to stay motivated. I have now joined SW online and am doing well with it - you get info, receips etc without the class. You also get a little progress graph showing you loses which I love (for some reason!). It is extra support and motivation (it is expensive) but it does seem to keep me going. It may be worth considering if you find yourself needed a bit of extra support & info but class isn't for you. Not that this site isn't great but I need all the support and motivation I can get! x
 
I was the same as you Ste. Although I never mentioned it to anyone. With WW I went for a while and over 6 of those weeks gained a pound a week. Gained again was a public phrase and I didn't like that. For me that wasn't motivating. With more than 5 or 6 people the whole journey becomes too formal and public for me. I have had more success in 3 weeks on Cambridge than anything else I have ever done. I think it is good that there are different groups and diets because there shold be something that suits each dieter.
xx
 
I used to love going to class. Mainly for new ideas of what to eat, the taster sessions, getting the magazine (cheaper than supermarket) and to talk over why I thought I sts or gained that week. That made me be honest with myself.

If its not for you, dont go and see how it goes. I find this site very motivating and do spend a lot of time here, but thats because I'm at home during the day. I dont go to SW at the moment, but might do if I struggle at home.
 
i think it's all down to the individual mate. i personally have been to WW five times and stayed religiously to the meetings afterwards and lost weight until i decided to stop staying and then stopped attending altogether! and then all weight plus more ended up going back on......
been at SW 12 weeks lost 26.5lb and stay to all the meeting
i am lucky i have a great group and a fantastic consultant, she's no way false lol
the group are all everyday folk like me all there for the same reason as me to lose weight! tbh i have friends i actually have less in common with!!!!!

i know that if i don't stay to WI i will get cocky with the diet and not follow it properly and then i will be back to square one!!!!

i don't mind sitting there and my consultant telling folk how much weight i have lost sometimes i get more praise from my group than i do from certain members of my family..


i don't care who knows how much i weigh i tell everyone who wants to know lol
i forever telling everyone how much i have lost and recommend my class to everyone

next week i am taking a half bag of spuds in to show how much weight i have lost in total (27.5lb bag from morrisons and i will have lost the missing lb for next week lol)

if you don't like staying to the meetings then don't!! you may be one of the lucky ones that can do it on their own but you also find that you do actually need to be there to keep you on the straight and narrow give it a few weeks of not staying and see how you go
xxxxx
 
It doesn't sound like you're benefiting from your meetings at all, so if you feel you can go it alone, go for it! I enjoy going to meetings, the consultant is great and we have a laugh. I also know from personal experience in the past that once I give up going every week and don't stay for meetings, I soon give up trying altogether. I don't feel that competitive urge to lose weight by weigh-in day. It's a lot of money which I can't really afford at the moment, but I'll carry on as long as I can.
 
Hi Ste and welcome to the forum.

At my old group, the meetings were a bit cringeworthy. The leader was just that bit too enthusiastic! My new group is great. I get on well with the ladies and gentlemen there. It's a small group, so we have all got to know each other.

The best part of Image Therapy for me is seeing if I am slimmer of the week. I am quite competative! I also attend the group with my best friend, so it makes it easier.


A lot of people manage perfectly well without going to the meetings, and I admit that this website is a fantastic source of recipes etc. At our group we have a weekly raffle, monthy tastings etc and I like that. So I guess it just depends on you and how you feel.

Do you think that you will be able to stick to the diet without the weekly weigh ins? I have tried and failed to do it on my own, but that could just be me!

So do whatever you feel comfortable with and I wish you luck, whatever you decide.
 
its interesting to see the divide in peoples opinions! i really think its down to the individual group, my consultant is fab! i have only missed one group session and that was last night due to the fact im full of cold and really couldnt be bothered, however it does give me the support and motivation i need. i did go to another class a few years ago and the consultant was rubbish. really really rubbish, she was sarcastic, unsympathetic and totally uninterested. it really makes a difference when your consultant is there for you. i do understand what people are saying about it being a bit cheesy and stuff. i think the fact someone cried at the group just goes to show that your group isnt all it could be. even when i have gained my consultant is there to encourage me and so is everyone else i cant imagine ever getting upset or anyone else for that matter because when i step into my group i feel empowered and positive and so does everyone else i speak to. on the other hand my mam did join with me and she hates the clapping and the atmosphere of the group and she left after week 2. if i didnt go to meetings i doubt id keep on the diet so it keeps me going and gets me out the house so for that reason i really look forward to image therapy every week :D
 
Arrgh I really hate the meetings too, but I know it is the only way I'll stick to plan. As someone else said... it's all too easy to "forget" to weigh yourself at home, where as if you've paid for classes in advance, I feel I have to go!

I've been to three groups around my town now, and still can't find a consultant who was as good as my original one when I lost 3 stone.
 
No way do I stay, I stayed once and never again, I weigh and go, after weighing and going for about 6 months I thought that seeing as I didnt stay I could prob go it alone and save my money..... but it turns out I cant, I need the incentive of going to class, but not the image therapy! x I'll start a poll to see who stays and who doesnt x
 
hmm i have only been to 2 meetings so far but i have enjoyed them i love my consultant she is so helpfull. my mum said the group she went to before was a gay man and he only talked about himself and she hated it so she is happier at this one too. i like the raffle and the discussions but i do hate when they point you out and say ohhh youve put on a pound this week( not that i have gained yet) this week i know im doing bad alreayd so im worried she will point me out. but i wasnt doin any good when i went at it alone so i kinda have to go to keep me motivated. oh also i didnt realise you could just weigh and leave?? :p might have to try that
 
I stay every week (I have to in order to stay focussed - in the past when I've stopped going and tried it alone I've given up!) but know people who don't stay to image therapy and still get the same losses as me every week so I think it's really an individual thing.

I'm lucky in that my SWC and other people in the group are really supportive - that must make all the difference?

There's always the online SW club or alternatively, you could always try another club in your area if you want to still have support from a SWC.
 
im saying similar to others, i have to go to meetings its the only way ill loose weight because i feel guilty if i buy a pizza knowing id put weight on so i wont buy the pizza ill buy a banana for example! i have no will power and im paying to loose weight

i did WW and all the meetings lost all the weight got to goal then stopped going put it all back on.

So im hoping SW works out for me only my 2nd week but yes the meetings make you cringe but i like slimmer of the week and the raffle too.

if you have the will power do it at home but ive tryed and i cant
good luck with it all though
 
i loved the meetings when i used to go but now with work and 2 children i just havent got time to go. i think its either one of those things you either love or hate. if you feel you can do it without attending the group then go for it!
 
I alternate weeks - stay one week, the next just weigh and leave.
 
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I used to attend slimming world - in fact, have done several times but now on W8 as I am far too impatient :D

In terms of the classes, I liked some bits and not others. The public roll call of weight loss and polite clapping left me cold - but the ideas and tasting etc was great. My consultant was fab - very down to earth, normal and supportive. Apparently she has given up now which is a shame.

To any slimming club consultants out there - how about rather than the one by one approach that you change how you do it. I think that if you got the group to line up according to how much weight they had lost that week - highest to lowest then it saves anyone having to sit there waiting for their "you've put on" moment - and means that it is still fairly safe (if, of course, you have to do it at all)

That way, the ones who have lost most still get credit and then we can just give ourselves and everyone else a round of applause at the end. It will take about 2 minutes rather than the 20 that it used to take at our group - boring, boring, boring!!!

LRO xx
 
I am a WW member but over the years have attended many different slimming classes. I never liked them but always stayed for inspiration. It seems a lot of money to pay to just go and get weighed. It is true some leaders are better than others. As someone with a lot to lose - over 10 stones to start with - I find it hard to relate to someone with only a stone to lose and so does not know what it is like to be obese
Irene x
 
if you don't like staying to image therapy and you think its false then simple answer...........................


don't!


but do you have to moan about it and rip it to bits there are people who do stay because they are genuinly interested in how other people get on and to get a bit of praise!!!! me being one!!

i know quite a few consultants and none of them are what you call false, i have been approached to be one when i get to goal will that make me false?????

don't condemn folk you don't know

its all down to the individual if they want to stay to image therapy like i said in earlier response but like i just said there is no reason to sit and rip it to bits

if you think you can do it without going to class go ahead you may succeed you might not
only time will tell


and the idea about lining everyone up from biggest loser to lowest reminds me of being at school


i am quite proud of my fellow slimmers in image therapy as they are of me and i am quite sincere (as most people are if you ask them ) when they have lost weight and i will applaud accordingly.........and if they have had a gain then at least they have support to try and see why


i don't normally rant on here but this has got my back up
if i have offended anyone then sorry
 
I rejoined and went to class for the first time in years last night (post LT loss and still motivated to carry on losing weight)

I now know why i stopped going to slimming world in the first place, it really was hellish i just sat there thinking everything that Northernboi thought, its the whole happy clappy atmosphere that just doesnt do it for me i thought maybe now im older id be more into (last time i went i was a teenager)but it wasnt . No offence to anyone who is into it in the case of weight loss its definatley each to their own

so the question is now am I good enough to go it alone and am I good enough to make myself weigh in weekly, I like the whole concept of a food diary and writing things down so i do take account of everything I eat and I have done this since giving up Lipotrim and have managed to lose more weight with healthy eating following an old slimming world book , i have 3 colleagues who will nag me for free and ask me every week how much I have lost in a public setting so i still have that mental incentive of wanting to say ooo 2lbs this week havent i done well.

This week I am deciding if i want to pay £4.50 to get weighed or 50p to weigh myself in the chemists every friday , If i do go to class I will definatley not be staying for image therapy ever again if anything it will put me off slimming world

The consultant was a lovely lady really nice but i just dont think the whole group thing is me, im motivated by myself and my results i used to hate the 5 minute chat when i was on LT and the chemist soon figured out to just let me weigh and run. Thats not to say im not proud of other peoples losses and their hard work because I am and last night every time i clapped i meant it, but i just didnt think im really into this
I am geniuinely happy for anyone who loses weight and much respect for that 1lb a week but when push comes to shove the only 1lb im interested in is mine. Plus class ended so late i ended up eating at 9pm something i never ever do i dont eat after 7pm so this will bugga this up every week also i spent half the night feeling rough because I had eaten so late and it was only a salad
Gen x
 
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