weightwatchers or slimming world?

[daftmoo]

I never thought I'd be asking this, but here goes. After only losing a stone in 6 months I've decided I need more help then doing it on my own. So advise please what would you do weightwatchers or slimming world?

 

[Big an Bouncy]

For me Slimming World,easier to do and better results for me.Cant be doing points,might as well count calories.Will you say you have had surgery?not take part in slimmer of the week?

 

[suepat10]

I agree Slimming World.

I'm no expert on this gastic surgery thing as I've only just had my funding request submitted BUT I think from what I've read the original/red plan with it's low carb intake would be the best plan to follow.

(And like B an B, I can't be doing with the points etc).

 

[yorkiegal]

can you not be slimmer of the week at diet clubs if you've had surgery then?

 

[Big an Bouncy]

No you can!Its just we always have a prize for sotw and I would feel awful taking it!tbh I would probably tell everyone I had wls and just needed to keep on track,then I would feel more comfy!

 

[Laura b]

I think if ur far out of surgery and go slimming world an get slimmer of the week u should take it Hun cus to b fair u do have to work with ur new tool u have to eat healthy food and if u work hard and lose the weight then it's ur doin so yes u should have it, I was at slimming world b4 op and I'm goin bk in 3 wks once I'm recovered had op 16th April I don't want everyone to know so not gonna tell them my leader knows and agrees cus ppl could throw that in ur face, I'm on a weight loss journey like all the other members ok I have a tool but still gotta put in hard work, I'm not gonna have slimmer of the week straight away as I'm bound to lose alot at the start but wen it becomes harder I will it's an incentive and very much deserved wen u work so hard all week xx

 

[Kevin1708]

So advise please what would you do weightwatchers or slimming world?

Just a thought hun but you look to have done brilliantly in the early stages (loosing 60lb) . . . if you have only lost 14lb in 6 months then you need to revert back to your team . . . though I suspect you have simply reached a plateau which given a few more weeks will pass – I am told that this is very common and bypassers will have 2 – 3 such plateaus before finding their end weight. The bypass is highly effective, if you go to SW and have a Green Day you will struggle to get your proteins if you go to WW heavens only knows what ‘E’ numbers and alike you will be ingesting !!!! you might lose weight it will be muscle instead of fat . . . have a word with your team and see what they say before going to the expense of WW or SW xx

 

[BlueDiamond]

Slimming world I would do , Dont seem too get on with ww after trying it before, my weight loss was only 4lbs in 6 months and that was going too gym 4/5 days a week also and just living off ww products, I even cut the booze out as well...............Each to their own tho hun xx

 

[Tracey ( eyore)]

i like slimming world xx

 

[Katkit1]

I think slimming world would be the best one to opt for as there meals are very much orientated towards proteins, rather than carbs. They like you to have proteins 1st then veg, then carbs as an extra if needed.

Also I like the fact that they build some excercise into their sessions....which is very good for us trying to get extra pounds off ...and encourage us once home to do more excercise.

Why don`t you buy ww and slimming world magazines this week and see how they compare recipe wise? It might give you a better idea what you want!




Keep your chin up hun x









Love Kat x

 

[Fuffs]

SW has a few eating plans which makes it easier to be able to choose one that suits you best.

I think if I have to go after WLS I will take myself out of the running for Slimmer of the week. This is not because I would be putting the work in. Its just that it would not be that important to me I would simply use SW as another tool to help me be monitored, follow the plan, get to goal and gain support along the way

 

[Mazza]

Have you tried either of them before? its an individual thing really. I've no doubt some people do really well on Slimming World but for me being a non meat eater the green days totally go against the band eating 'rules' ie lots of rice and pasta. I dont know much about the red days but the extra easy plan which is low GI carbs looks good.

There are a few post op bypassers doing WW so hopefully they will see this and give you some more info - I dont know anything about the new pro points plan but it seems succesful.

The diet that worked best for me was Rosemary Conley, portion control, low fat and calorie restricted - perfect for a bander but not for everyone!

Kats idea about buying the magazines is a very good one.

Good luck whichever you decide x

 

[phatmomma]

As you know Sue i am doing w/w, have been for 3 weeks now and have lost 6lbs. 4.5 in the first week, 1 in the second week and .5 this week. Taking into account i was guessing my portion sizes in week one that was a brill result, week 2 i didn't double check points values so had a loss of a 1lb, week 3 i had two surprise events and over indulged in naughtiness so was happy with 1/2 lb off. Before someone shoots me for been naughty just know this, i didn't get morbidly obese cos i love lettuce...

I think in your area Sue you could qualify for slimming on referral, why not chat to your gp.

Also as a cheap option if you have a Android phone (not sure about iphone but guess it would be that too) you can download an app for £1.99 that gives you more or less the same access as ww online... hth xx

 

[Mini]

Below are two excellent posts from MiniMins Weight Watchers forum and Slimming World forum which might help you to see which plan might be best suited to your needs. Both are excellent healthy eating plans and focus on changing your eating habits long term. Both plans encourage exercise and have awards for your achievements. WW have their own PP pedometer where you can earn extra ProPoints for exercising, walking etc.

Introducing the new Pro-points plan As you all know, Weight Watchers has changed from today, the 7th of November 2010. This is the biggest change Weight Watchers had in 15 years, since the old points were introduced.

Reasons behind the change:
Seems that Weight Watchers consider themselves as the leader company in weight loss. The points system has been "avant-guarde" for years, allowing WW users to eat out and still have control of their diet and allowing anyone to still have the food they liked but keep on losing weight.

Why changing then?
Well... first of all, in 15 years science has moved forward. Researchers have found out much more about how our body breaks down the food we eat. For example, looking at 2 food with the same number of calories, it has been found out that your body consumes more when it breaks down proteins than when it breaks down carbs. Besides, carbs are broken down in glucides (sugars) which are released as energy immediately and increase your insuline level. If you don't use that energy, your body will much quickly store that energy as fat, because of the higher insuline level in your blood. Therefore, the new propoints will have lower values in food with a lot of proteins than in foods with a lot of carbs. WW still allows you to eat carbs though, no food is off limits with the new system exactly like with the old one!

So... now that this is clear, researchers have also seen that when people eat fruit, the energy contained in fruit's carbs is released at a slower rate. So eating a banana is not like eating a chocolate bar, even if it's the same number of calories and saturated fat. Hence, to help you feeling fuller for longer, the WW dieticians have incorporated the normal amount of fruit and vegs people usually have in a day within your propoints daily allowance. This means that now ALL fruit will be 0 points, and most vegetables also (except things like corn, beans, peas and things like that).

Now, there is a news about how your points are divided during the week. With the Discover plan, you would have had a daily allowance, let's say 18 points, and you could have saved up to 4 points per day to use when you felt like you needed. In the new plan, the minimum propoints allowance you can have is 29 propoints. You CANNOT (and I underline and stress out, CANNOT!!!!)save points out of your daily allowance and use them later in the week. You SHOULD use all of your daily points allowance every day. That is to ensure that all the right nutritions are taken during the day, that you take the right amount of carbs, proteins, fat and fibre for your body to function. This means that if you don't use them, you LOSE them. On the top of your daily allowance however, to give you flexibility, you have 49 extra propoints you can have during the week. You can use them or not, but you can't carry them forward to following weeks.

* How can I lose weight if I have more points?
You will see that you DO NOT have more points. The way the propoints are calculated means that there's no half points any more. So something that could have been 2.5 would now be 3 and there's nothing that is 0.5 point anymore or things like that, including the WW fruities (now 1 propoint per box). Because of all this "rounding up" you will see that the amount of food you can actually eat with the 29 propoints is less than what you could have eaten with your points previously

* I understand that, but if I also have the extra weekly points, how am I going to lose weight?
The 29 points that you have per day are the MINIMUM your body can't live without. In the Discover plan, you were allowed to save 4 points per day. So let's say you were on 18 points, you could have had 6 days at 14 points and 1 day at 46 points and still manage to lose weight, right? If we hence compare the old plan to the new one, it's as if WW was telling you with Discover: "you have a budget of 14 points per day, but then you have a weekly allowance of 28 points that you can have when you feel a treat".

* So how do the two diets compare? I'm fearing that if I can have free fruit I will be eating more!
Ok, let's give an example. This is what I would have had when I was still dieting with WW and not maintaining, for 14 points:

breakfast (3.5 old points, 7 new points):
30g Ready break porridge 1.5 old points, 3 propoints
100ml skimmed milk, 0.5 old points, 1 propoints
1 yogurt activia 0.1%, 1 old points, 2 propoints
1 small glass orange juice, 0.5 old points, 1 propoints

lunch (4 old points, 11 propoints):
2 slices of small hovis bread 1.5 old points 3 propoints
30g philadelphia extra light 0.5 old points, 1 propoints
2 small slices of cooked ham 0.5 old points, 1 propoints
300g cherry tomatoes 0 old points, 0 propoints
1 can of free 7up, 0 old points, 0 propoints
1 plantain, cooked and mashed, 1.5 old points 6 propoints

dinner (6.5 old points, 10 propoints):
300g cherry tomatoes 0 old points 0 propoints
1 chicken breast medium, no skin 2.5 old points, 4 propoints
300g mixed vegetables 0 old points 0 propoints
1 ww double chocolate brownie 3 old points 5 propoints
1 tsp olive oil, 1 old points 1 propoints

snack:
1 bag WW fruities 0.5 old points, 1 propoints

This menu comes out to be 14.5 old points and 29 propoints. I remind you that the minimum on the old diet for people who were 8 stone or less was 16 points, with the possibility to get down to 14 if they wanted to save max 2 points per day. That showed, it is easy to understand that the two plans are very similar and compare really well. I show you that menu because that was me in survival mode, when I had a large meal the day before and wanted to save points. With that menu I would go to bed feeling a bit ravenous. Now I wouldn't need to feel that way any more!

Now on your meeting this week you WILL NEED to stay to the pep talk. Your leader will tell you how many propoints you can have a day. The amount of points for the weekly allowance is always the same, 49. She will give you new material, including a wheel that works out how many propoints are in food.

* Isn't it complicated having to take into account all these new variables, proteins, carbs, fibres, fat? I can't waste a lot of time counting!
It might look complicated but it's less so than you think. Besides, there's a little trick if you want to just grab something on the go and not have any surprises: look at the calories of the food and divide that by 40. Round from .1 to .49 to the previous figure and from .50 to .99 to the following one. For example, a pot of Activia yogurt fat free, 70 calories. That with the old plan would have been 1 point (because of the 0 sat fat). If you do 70/40 you get 1.75, so you have 2 propoints. Check on your list and you'll see it's correct. There *IS* room for error, but you can always check it at home and adjust your allowance in case you're a bit wrong.

As a rule of thumb, all cereals seem to be 1 propoint every 10 grams, no exclusions. All "diet" cereal bars, including Alpen light and Weetabix (which were 1 point in the previous plan against the 1.5 of Kellogg's and etc) are now 2 propoints, except the ones that are filled with jam or coated with yogurt (pp values are various here), or the Weight Watchers Oaty bars (3 pp).

Change is good guys. Follow the new plan and you will feel fuller for longer and still lose weight.


Introducing the new Pro-points plan - MiniMins.com - Weight Loss Support Forum

Slimming World:

Slimming World FAQ's Slimming World FAQ's - MiniMins.com - Weight Loss Support Forum

Slimming World FAQ's OK here we go, another thread that will hopefully answer a lot of question we get here

What are free foods?

Free foods are called free because you can have as much as you want without feeling guilty. No measuring, no weight - just eat until you're full.

Green Day carbohydrates fill you up and slowly release energy; rice, pasta and potatoes. Pulses lentils and grains.

Red day protein fills you up and keeps hunger pangs away. Lean meat and some fish.

These foods are chosen as they fill you up quick and keep you full up for longer.

Super Free Foods
The old definition of superfree foods was:
"Super free foods are simply those that are free on both days; fruit and vegetables, Mullerlight yoghurts, Bovril, Herbs, Soy Sauce to name a few!"

With the introduction of Extra Easy superfree foods now mean all fruit and vegetables that are free on both red and green. In my opinion this is just a marketing thing from SW so they don't have to say 'fill half your plate with fruit and/or vegetables'. So now Mullerlight yoghurts, Bovril, Herbs, Soy Sauce are just referred to as syn free.

What is the difference between Free Food and Syn Free?

There is much debate about this, so this is just my take on it. Free foods are foods that you can have as much as you want without feeling guilty. No measuring, no weight - just eat until you're full. Therefore keeping you full up and less likely to snack.

Whereas syn free foods are low enough in calories in combination with their ability to fill you up not to be synned - such as muller lights. With things like soy sauce, herbs etc., you would have to eat incredible amounts to add up to too many calories.

Why are they ‘free’?

SW free foods are worked out by calorie density, (i.e. how many calories for the volume) and how they fill you up. For example say a choccy bar is 300 calories, yet it won’t fill you up, you want to eat more (probably junk).

Whereas you could have a large jacket potato and some baked beans for the same calories and it would fill you up and heck of a lot more than that choccy bar. (These calorie comparisons are estimates - I'm not a walking calorie book

)


Can I really eat as much as I want?

Yes! The number one rule of Slimming World is ‘everything in moderation’. The idea is to fill up on free foods, keep eating until you feel full – then stop. It’s about learning your body’s limits, whilst not feeling guilty. Learning when your body is full will help you maintain when you get to target. If you'd usually have a small bowlful of pasta for example don't have a bathtub full just because it's free!

What is Extra Easy?

Extra easy is the new plan introduced in January 2009 to celebrate Slimming World's 40th birthday.
You can think of EE as a hybrid of Green and Red. You follow it in exactly the same way with a few slight changes:

• Anything that is free on Red OR Green is free on EE.
• You have ONE healthy extra A and ONE healthy Extra B. You can choose from either of the Red and Green healthy extra lists.
• The number of syns you have stay the same (between 5-15 more info below). The only difference is you take the lower syn value. If something is 6 syns on Green and 3 on Red, you count 3 syns on EE.
• It is advised that you fill your plate with 1/3 superfree foods (see above) at each meal. It is not essential, but is highly recommended.
• You must fill 1/3 of your plate with with superfree foods (i.e. fruit and veg) at each meal.

What are syns?

Syns are everything that don't fit into the category of free food or healthy extra - it's not just "treats" like chocolate, wine, sweets, biscuits etc.(although these do have a syn value). It can be things like gravy, butter, stuffing, additional Healthy Extra's like cheese, milk and bread. Syns are there so you don’t feel deprived or have to cut anything out. We all like a nice treat, whether it be a big bar of chocolate or gallons of gravy on our Sunday dinner, but too much causes weight gain.
Everything that isn’t a FF or HE has a syn number the number depends on how calorie dense it is. i.e. how many calories it has for its volume, and how quickly it turns to energy.

How many syns should I have?

Unless your consultant has told you different, aim for 15 syns a day and definitely no less than 5.


Do I need to use all my syns?
Yes! It is a myth that having little or no syns will help your weight loss. If you are having no / very few syns then you aren’t following the plan. There are several reasons to have all your syns.

You should never feel like you are giving anything up on SW, but still obeying SW’s number one rule: ‘everything in moderation’. Don’t eat for the sake of eating as this just reaffirms bad eating habits. Try mixing syns into meals, using sauces/oils, or extra health extras (each HE is approx. 6 syns)

Remember:
15 syns = 300 cals
300 x 7 days = 2100 cals

In order to lose a 1lb per week you need to reduce your calorie in take by 3500cals per week in order to lose a pound (on top of your normal maintenance cals) so by not having any syns at all you will not even lose an extra pound!


Should I have them daily or weekly?

This is a debate that continues to rumble on. The official Slimming World guidelines are that you should have them daily and you can’t roll them over or save them up as this may promote ‘binge eating’. Whether saving your syns up and using them all at once, a night in the pub for example, affects your weight loss it largely down to individual circumstances.

If you want to do this all I can advise is that you keep an eye on it, if you notice a slow in your weight loss, plateaus or gains this may be the cause so maybe have a rethink.


What are Healthy Extras?

A’s and B’s 2 or 4 depending on the day. Healthy Extra’s are in the plan to make sure we get the nutrients our body needs; protein, carbohydrates, fibre, calcium, and fat. Plus all the vitamins and minerals we need. The reason these foods are limited is because whilst they are good for us, when eaten in excess they cause weight gain – so it’s very important to measure them correctly and not to guesstimate. (Each HE is approx 6 syns if you want to have additional amounts and syn them)


Do I need to have them?

Yes! Again it is a myth that having little or no healthy extras will help your weight loss. If you are having no healthy extras then you aren’t following the plan. Not only do healthy extras help your weight loss, they provide you with all the goodness your body craves

How can I possibly lose weight eating this much?

There is a reason Slimming World is the biggest slimming club in the UK!

Slimming World have 40 years worth of amazing success helping thousands of people to lose weight, with a very clever, thoroughly thought out plan.

The ONLY way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you are taking in (having a calorific deficit). Weight Watchers, Slimming World, TFR diets and so on all do this, but in different ways.

Slimming World has done an excellent job of creating a plan where you never feel hungry or deprived, yet helping you receive a calorific deficit and lose weight - sometime without even realising.

Weight loss shouldn't seem like constant hard work. If you are seriously trying to get rid of excess weight and keep it off for life, then why do something that makes you feel miserable? As surely once the weight is off, that is if you don't get so frustrated you come off it before you've lost the weight, you go back to your old eating habits; put the weight back on; and you're right back where you started; usually with it all - and more to lose!

Which Day Should I Do?

This is completely down to personal preference. If you're a veggie or a vegan then you're probably not going to get the benefits of Red or Extra Easy - doesn't mean you can't do them though!

Everyone's body is different and will respond differently, some people swear by Red, some Green and some Extra Easy. Experiment and see what's right for you.

Some people will tell you they can lose 1st a month on Red, while some people struggle shifting a few lbs, while others will tell you Green is the way to go - as I said before everyone's body is different and will have varying results.

Do I Have to Stick to Red/Green/Extra Easy all week?

No not at all, you can have Monday: Red, Tuesday: Green, Wednesday: Green, Thursday: Extra Easy - whatever combination you want!!

All I will say is that once you have picked a plan stick to it for the entire day. There are two other plans: Mix2Max and Success Express where you can choice which plan you are on at each meal, although these plans are only advised if you have being doing SW for a while and have a solid knowledge of the main (Red, Green, EE) plans.

You can do Green, Red OR Extra Easy for the rest of eternity, and never deviate, or you can mix it up and have a different plan everyday - it's completely up to you!

If you have only been following one plan and your loss has slowed down or stopped, don't be scared to try a different plan for a few days and see if it helps

Do I need to exercise?

Part of any healthy lifestyle is exercise; however you can lose weight with Slimming World without exercise. As time goes on and you notice your loss’ slowing down or stopping, it might be time to start exercising.

Exercise doesn't mean going to the gym, even sitting at home with some baked bean tins watching the telly. Try this link for ideas to do at home.

Slimming World have their own Body Magic programme that promotes getting moving to help improve your lifestyle and weight loss.

How much is it to join a group?

It costs £14.75 to join a group; a one off £10 joining fee and £4.75 weekly fee. Keep an eye out in your local paper and the Slimming World website for offers of half price membership.


I can’t afford / don’t want to join a group, can I go it alone?

Of course you can! Many slimmers on MiniMins are going it alone. The best and most cost effective way of going it alone would be to go to a meeting once. You can get all the latest books/info and ask all your questions to someone who has been trained and is being paid to answer them! Even if you never go back it could be the best £15 you ever spend!

If you really can’t get to a meeting then you can either join BodyOptimise; Slimming World’s online version of the plan, (prices vary, see website for details) or what a lot of SW’ers on MiniMins have done is buy the books from ebay, just be aware that there is quite often a big mark up in price and although the books claim to be the latest this isn’t always the case.

Weekly fee might of changed as the SW post is over a year old.

 

[Katkit1]

Really useful info Mini - good for anyone looking to find out all the ins and outs of each programme.


Thanks for the help x







Love Kat x

 

[magicbeans]

i prefer weight watchers.

 

[tray]

Sue,
before i started my journey i would of said slimming world all the way, due to the amount of food you can eat, i used to do the green days as im not much of a meat eater, but since surgery there is no way i can do slimming world, as you have to eat so much to lose the weight, as they say the more you eat the more you lose, and also the thought of having to add up sins puts me of, as to me nothing now should be a sin.
the reason i have joined W/W is because with having to count the points, it makes me feel i'm now in total control of my eating again. Also W/W have changed the way they do the points now, it is very much based on protien and fibre, it really confussed me when i went, as i was used to the old way of W/W, there diet is a lot better now.
good luck with what ever one you go with, we have both been slow loser's, but like i say slowly slowly still gets results xxxx

 

[Fuffs]

Mini, that was really helpful. I am liking the look of WW new systrem. Look pretty good

 

[goofy07]

I know this isn't in the running but I like Rosemary Conley as you get an exercise session as well. This could be the boost that you need.

good luck with getting the weight to move again

 

[Mini]

Rosemary Conley is another healthy weight plan with exercise but I don't personally know much about it to do a post.

It would be very helpful goofy if you could do a post about it and how this weight loss plan works so that our members had more of a choice.