One of the best decisions I ever made (Slimming World)

Member Name: Emka

Product:	Slimming World
Date:	17/10/08 (1406 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An easy to follow plan.

Disadvantages: none

I first joined Slimming World about 4 years ago after I had seen my friend get some good results doing it. I was very nervous about going to my first group, but was made to feel extremely welcome and not once did I feel embarrassed about my weight, and at 5'3" and 14 stone I was 5 stone overweight. Anyway, here comes the science bit...

Slimming World is based on food optimising, which involves choosing each day whether focus on getting your calories and energy from carbohydrates or protein (okay so it's not very sciency really).. My Slimming World consultant explained it to me really well on my first visit. She said that the human body is like a car engine and that it runs best on one type of fuel at a time - ie petrol or diesel / carbs or protein. If the body is only receiving one type of fuel at a time, it uses it as energy rather than storing it as fat. If the body is getting lots of protein and carbs at the same time, it is more inclined to use one as energy and store the other as fat. That's how she explained it to me anyway and it made sense to me and helped me to understand how the plan worked.

So, on the Slimming World eating plan you choose Original Days (protein) or a Green Day (carbohydrates) and fill up on a huge variety of 'Free foods' which fall under each category and of which you can eat as much as you like!! (that's the best bit!!). For example:

Original day Free Foods:
* Lean meat
* Fish

Green day Free Foods:
* Pasta
* Potato
* Rice
* Pulses

Then there are 'Super Free Foods' which you can eat as much of as you want on either day and include all fruit and veg, salad, eggs, Quorn, low fat cottage cheese, low fat yoghurt, diet drinks... The list is very long.

So already you will be able to see that there is a lot you can eat on slimming world - but - you can also have 'Healthy Extras' and 'Syns' which are as follows:

Healthy Extras - this means that if you are on a Green day and having a jacket potato for lunch but fancied some tuna in it - you can have it as long as you weigh the tuna and only have a small amount. This works the other way around too so if you are on an Original Day and were having chicken, you could also have a couple of small potatoes as healthy extras - it is all about not overdoing both carbs and protein together. Other Healthy Extras include milk, cheese, nuts, cereal, bread... again the list is very long!

Syns: - the other best bit! ;O) Syns are your ticket to being able to indulge and you are allowed up to 15 Syns per day. Slimming World have worked out the syns for virtually every available food and brand so you can always keep track of how many you have had. For example - a vodka and diet coke is 2.5 syns - which means you can have 6 a day if you really wanted to! A packet of crisps can range from about 3 syns to 10 syns. A glass of wine is 5 syns... Again the list of things that are available to have as syns without ruining your diet is endless.

Slimming World classes cost £4.50 per week and £5 joining fee. When you join you receive several books containing all the information you need about the plan. Your weight will be recorded each week so that it is possible to track progress, and motivation is improved by receiving a certificate for every half stone milestone. I have been to several different groups over the last few years and have never been made to feel embarrassed or ashamed about my weight or if I have had a bad week and put weight on. The classes are about motivating eachother and being there to support eachother with handy hints and tips. I think £4.50 is very good value. You can also purchase a block number of sessions by paying upfront for 10 sessions and you get 2 free.

I lost 4 and a half stone in 18 months with Slimming World and I haven't looked back. It was one of the best decisions I ever made and made a very positive difference to my life.

Summary: A plan that works long-term