Do you Want to Know my Secret? (Slimming World)

Member Name: Groovee

Product:	Slimming World
Date:	16/06/05 (14750 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lots of free food so you never feel hungry, easy to build into your life style

Disadvantages: Your shopping bills may go up

In October 2004, My son celebrated his second birthday. I thought it was a great day until 6 weeks later I downloaded the photo's of his party and wondered who the big fat blob was. I suddenly realised that in 4 and a half years I had ballooned by over 5st and my health was in danger zone of me being a high risk. That is why in January 2005 I walked through the door to my first Slimming World Meeting.

I chose Slimming World for 2 reasons. Most of my friends were doing it so it would be easier when having lunch etc with them and secondly because there is very little counting and weighing out.

Slimming World call their "diet" Food Optimising. There are 4 plans and the basic 2 which you need to learn about first and red days and green days. Your Red Days are Meat and Fish days. You can eat as much Meat, Fish and Fruit as you want to feel full. Most vegetables are free too bar pea's sweetcorn, parsnips and potatoes. Green days are unlimited potatoes, pasta, rice, noodles, vegetables and fruit. You can choose 1 or 2 Healthy Extra A's which are milk and cheese options. Calcium has been scientifically proved to speed up weight loss so I always try to have both dairy choices. Healthy Extra B's vary according to what "day" you are having, you have 2. You get to choose, cereal or bread. On Green you choose meat or fish, nuts or dairy products. On Red you choose potatoes, pulses, pasta. On both you can also choose dried, canned or cooked fruit as well. Although most fruits are free, if you puree, or cook it then you change the sugars in it.

You also get a daily syn allowance of between 5-15 syns, so you can still have treats. Everything has a syn value in "bad foods!" but nothing is banned. The idea of Food Optimising is to have a healthy balanced diet with you not depriving yourself which usually results in the binge eating of all the wrong things.

The other 2 plans which you can follow once you know the basic ones well enough are mix and match and success express. Mix and Match means you can have a red meal for Breakfast, a Red lunch and then a green dinner. It means mixing the 2 plans and snacking on free food during the day. This is not recommended to people until they have their heads round the main plans first. Success express is for people who's weight loss had slowed down which often happens in the last few pounds to target. I've not really got my head round it yet but it can help speed up your weight loss apparently.

For me after I had paid my joining fee, I received a Food Optimising book which became like my best friend. I always had it with me until I had learned the basic 2 plans. But even now 5 months down the line I often refer to it to ensure I am having the right things and right amounts as your Healthy Extra's are weighed out and often if I haven't had some meat or beans for a while I just need to check what the amount allowed is again. The syns in the book are basic and I invested in Slimming World's Shop at Tesco book which gives you all the free food, and food which you can buy in tesco from Tesco's own brands to named brands.

The class can vary from place to place. I found my class by looking on the Slimming World Website. They e-mail it through to you. I went along to my first class and found it to be a small class. I paid a £5 joining fee but it is usually £10. The class fee at the time was £3.95, but that has now gone up to £4.25. For that you get weighed and you get the chance to get help through Image Therapy where we discuss how we feel about our losses or gains. We also share tips in this time and it is great for picking up new ideas for meal times or snacks.

After being there for 3 months I was asked if I would mind weighing in. So every week I get there early and weigh in the other members. This gives the consultant time to chat with members who may have a problem which they don't wish to discuss in the class. I never reveal a members weight to other members. I only really look to see how much they have gained or lost and that is the only thing which gets told to people. Only the member truly knows their own weight which means you never have the embarrassment of people knowing your weight if you are feeling sensitive about it.

When you reach a target or a goal such as a half stone award or club 10 which is when you have lost 10% of your body weight when starting. It took me 4 weeks to loose my first half stone award and 7 weeks to loose a stone. I reached my club 10 within 10 weeks of starting on the plan. 5 months down the line I have lost 2 stone 2lb's so far and have lost 3 dress sizes since January. Although I feel like the same person within myself, I have gained a lot more confidence within myself. Instead of struggling to get nice clothes to fit me, I can go anywhere to a petite range and proudly buy a size 14. I don't feel like I am ever deprived and I usually manage more than my 5 portions of fruit and veg a day as well as drinking about 8 pints of water a day which makes me feel much better too. I never feel deprived as I can still have my treats and meals out without really thinking about it.

Slimming world encourage you to look at the plan as a way of life rather than becoming a yoyo dieter or someone who gets to target and then gains it all back. Food Optimising is now a way of life and I do it without thinking. I hardly ever buy convenience foods and the whole family eat much healthy and better than we did before. I won't lie, my food shops have jumped from around £60 to £90 a week but it is worth it to buy lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. I've rediscovered cooking which is fabulous again too and I do really enjoy it. I do have my off days where I do slip too many biscuits into my mouth without thinking but I usually get straight back on track. I do believe that for Slimming World to work you have to be determined to do it and be in the right frame of mind for it to work.

Slimming World also encourage "Body Magic" where you incorporate gentle exercise into your daily life. It can be a brisk 5 minute walk leading up 3 times a week to a brisk 30 minute walk 4 times a week. Research has shown apparently that exercise can help you loose an extra 2lb a month which makes 24lb a year which is just over 1 and a half stone. That is a lot of extra weight to loose.

I would definitely recommend Slimming World to anyone who is wishing to loose weight. It is a very easy plan once you get your head round it which can take a bit of time but the results to me proves that it works and I am not the overweight person I was 6 months ago. I still have a fair bit to go to target but I am so much happier within myself at being able to walk along the street without my legs rubbing off one another. I look much healthier and feel healthier too. I don't feel out of breath when I walk or have to rush. To me the day I walked through that door was the day I made a committment to get a healthy lifestyle back. So far that is exactly what I have done.

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