Slimming World and OS real food dilemma

ness_w

I thik the best way to lose weight is probably the low GI way - it's good for veggies, and the concept of dividing up your plate works well. I tried slimming world but actually put weight on whilst there - like the OP, I really didn't get on with trying to cook normal meals and actually ended up eating more bad foods as syns because using them for a handful of nuts etc seemed such a waste!

Ness.

npsmama

Well, here's one OS-gourmet-SW- friendly recipe that is gorgeous!

Risi e bisi...it's in this month's Delicious mag. and has 1 HEb per portion

mancbird

Please bear with me as I am new to this site, but I felt I had to reply to this thread!

Slimming World's Food Optimising plan is based on healthy eating principles. If you read the member pack (and the SW recipe books) you will see that the vast majority of the free foods are foods that are healthy and good for you (i.e. fruit, vegetables, lean meats, fish etc). I have recently been on training at SW Head Office and the trainers were very keen to emphasise that people should be encouraged to eat the free foods that were good for them and that actually satisfied people.

Yes, there are some foods on the plan which are free which are not as good for you but no-one forces you to eat them! It is easy to follow the plan without eating ready meals or packets of smash etc and I say this despite not being the best cook in the world! I have been following the plan for almost 1 1/2 years and have been a consultant for the last 6 months. I don't eat mullerlights or ready meals or packets of instant smash (or a lot of the other food that a lot of you seem to be objecting to so vociferously on this thread!) and have found that by following the plan I am actually eating far heathier (and for less money!) than I have done in the past. I have found that many recipes can easily fit in with food optimising and in our house we are doing most of our cooking from scratch since following the plan. Also, the number of convenience foods that are free as part of the plan has actually decreased over the years in order to focus more on healthy eating.

For me, the best thing about SW is the flexibility and choice it allows you to have whilst you're losing weight. A number of people on this thread have objected to the presence of ready-meals and mug shots etc on the plan but there are some people who find that these meals can be a real help when trying to fit everything into the day. If you don't like those sorts of meals, don't eat them, there's loads of (far healthier!) free foods you can eat instead

One person (sorry, can't remember who it was) said that one evening she had had all her syns during the day and had a choice between eating
a packet of pasta and sauce or a chicken and veggie curry (or was it stew?). She said she had to choose the pasta and sauce even though it was less healthy. I would disagree with that as she could have had the chicken as a Healthy Extra and the rest of the ingredients in the curry would have been free anyway! Or if she wanted to she could have pasta and quickly made a sauce packed full of veggies to go with it. Another person has mentioned that people are encouraged to use cooking sprays like Frylight as they are free. If you would prefer to cook with olive oil, you can have that as a healthy extra or use your syns (after all, that is what they are there for). It's down to your own personal choice.

The slimmer of the week baskets should contain fruit only and there shouldn't be packets of noodles etc in them. The reason for this is because SW are keen to emphasise the importance of fruit and veg. If you are attending a class where this isn't happening, maybe you could have a word with the consultant?

In addition to the food optimising plan, people are also encouraged to build more activity into their daily lives and in our increasing sedentary society this can only be a good thing! :j

Sorry if I have gone on a bit but I just wanted to let people know that Sliiming World is a really healthy diet, fits in well with OS and offers people lots of choice, whilst losing weight in a healthy, sustainable way!

rsdiscos

I completely agree with everything mancbird.
I cook most things from scatch and if you look at the magazines and cook books they are always adapting traditional recipes generally changing the way they are cooked.
To be honest being 9 stone overweight has got to be more dangerous for my health than whatever may be in Frylight.
I have been doing slimming world on and off for 6 years. It is a great eating plan.
The only reason why I haven't manged to sort myself out is because being motivated long term has a lot to do with whats going on in your head mentally.
I have lost 1 1/2 stone since January steadily without putting pressure on myself and setting unrealistic targets.
I am feeling more positive then ever before thanks to a wonderful consultant and supportive group ( a vital component if you want to follow this plan successfully)
Melissa

thriftmonster

One thing I have found helps with SW for me is to mix and match the Healthy Extras. So if I'm cooking for 4 people I might use 2 of mince, 1 of oil and one of cheese to make a sauce for pasta or rice. If I eat a quarter of it I know I'm still getting 1HE.

Hate to say it though - the one thing that really shifts weight for me is giving up alcohol completely - far more than the calories would count for. Apparently if your liver isn't processing alcohol, it's much more efficient at processing fat - or so \I read somewhere - and it's true for me.

rockie4

I agree with everything mancbird says. I've been doing SW on and off for 10 years and my leader encourages everyone to cook from scratch as much as possible. I only use the free convienience foods if I'm there's only me to cook for or I'm in a tearing hurry.
I've got a freezer full of 'ready meals' that I've cooked myself, most of them are free or have 1-2 syns in them.
I think it's a far healthier eating plan than WW - I've got to goal with both plans over the years!

ceridwen

thriftmonster wrote: »

Hate to say it though - the one thing that really shifts weight for me is giving up alcohol completely - far more than the calories would count for. Apparently if your liver isn't processing alcohol, it's much more efficient at processing fat - or so \I read somewhere - and it's true for me.

Think I found the bit you mean:

www.hornetjuice.com/alcohol-weight-loss.html

4 days later without a glass of wine and counting:rolleyes:

Hmmmm.. also found:

www.dolenutrition.com/articleDetails.aspx?Recld=107

thought: must write in Slimming World cookbooks "A daily glass of wine can mean up to 15lbs weight gain per year" ....damn!

thriftmonster

Thanks Ceridwen for that - what I had seen wasn't as scientific - but had the same message.

I was cooking on Cub camp at Easter - cooked brekkies, packed lunch, cooked dinner with puds and toast for supper etc - basically whatever I wanted to eat - but no alcohol for 5 days and I lost weight.

On SW - I can't use most of the prepacked stuff because of lactose intolerance - but I find it good for home cooked food, because you can count in some bread, some sheeps cheese etc.

dlb

I agree with Mancbird, I have only been on the plan for 4 weeks but i have ate more heathly than i did before, most meals are cooked from scratch, my fruit and veg intake has more than doubled.
I only used the mug shots, yogurts ect to pack up DH lunch as he is following the plan with me and has lost over a stone already. And he has these as extras on top of salads, sandwiches, fruit ect to have as snacks throughout the day.
I have lost 8.5lb in 3 weeks and feel a 100% better, i am more energetic, am excited about meal planning again, i have started excersising on a regular basis, my skin seems better, and my 4 kids are all eat more heathly too, they have stopped grabing a biscuit when they are peckish and grabbing fruit instead.

Sw i feel is not a diet but a new way of eating and changing your eating forever, a healthly lifechanging food plan.

ceridwen

And -n a different n

thriftmonster wrote: »

Thanks Ceridwen for that - what I had seen wasn't as scientific - but had the same message.

I was cooking on Cub camp at Easter - cooked brekkies, packed lunch, cooked dinner with puds and toast for supper etc - basically whatever I wanted to eat - but no alcohol for 5 days and I lost weight.

On SW - I can't use most of the prepacked stuff because of lactose intolerance - but I find it good for home cooked food, because you can count in some bread, some sheeps cheese etc.

Thats giving me hope here - think it must be 5 alcohol-free days so far.

I know I had a 5 day "spell of time" come to think of it where I visibly noticed the weight coming off....a macrobiotic diet and plenty of walking combined for that 5 days.....(long story - of going to a Summer School of various New Age type activities - well, that was what it was billed as being - to rapidly realise that it was really Macrobiotic Summer School - wasnt best pleased and duly deliberately didnt go to any of the macrobiotic cookery classes:D ) - but I did have a few glasses of wine during it.
Hmmmm.....could I handle a couple of weeks of making myself macrobiotic food and doing loads of walking to give myself a good "kick in the right direction weight-wise".

Hmmmm....and on a different note....so far found no reason not to do the O.S. water down the milk (2:1 full-fat milk/water) - after all more milk to drink for my Syns etc and instead of that unhealthy spray oil - I think it probably doesnt make much difference if one tips a bottle of olive oil quickly onto a kitchen paper towel and just swipes it over the saucepan or whatever concerned (and then - being even more O.S. - use the bit of oily kitchen towel to rub over your face for extra moisturising).