A new way of life (Slimming World)

Member Name: Mezamoo

Product:	Slimming World
Date:	12/03/09 (1740 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to follow, never hungry

Disadvantages: If you sway too far from the plan you won't lose the weight

Slimming world is a very successful slimming club with classes all over the country on most days of the week. It was my first diet club at the tender age of 17, I really enjoyed being a member and lost over 3 stone in weight.

*Food plan*

The basic plan 'food optimising' is split into original days (red days) and green days. On each of which you have free foods, healthy extras and syns. The food in each category depends on which day you are following, red days primarily have protein foods as free as well as fruit, most vegetables, low fat dairy, eggs and things like Quorn, the healthy extras are the carbohydrate foods such as rice, potatoes, pasta, on green days it's mostly the carbohydrate foods that are free along with the other things listed above and it's the meat/protein which are the healthy extras, as well as things like cereals, olive oil, dried fruit. The idea of the plan is that you pick whether you want to follow a red or a green day for that day and that's what you stick to, filling up on free foods and ensuring that you have your healthy extras and between 5 and 15 syns per day. It's really easy to stick to because there is never any need to feel hungry and you can always have a little bit of what you fancy using your syns, so there isn't a feeling of depravation.

Here is a sample food plan taken from the slimming world website: (http://www.slimmingworld.com)

Green day:
Fruity filler:
Munch on a big bowl of fresh strawberries, pineapple and black grapes mixed with unlimited strawberry Müllerlight yogurt and topped with 28g of crumbled Nestlé Honey Nut Shredded Wheat.

Roasted vegetable and mozzarella couscous:
In a big bowl, mix together loads of courgettes, red onion, mixed peppers, garlic and carrots that have been chopped, sprayed with Fry Light and roasted at 200°C/Gas 6 for 25 minutes. Mix in lashings of tinned sweetcorn, red kidney beans and cooked couscous, plus 42g chopped Mozzarella cheese.

Steak and spicy sweet potato wedges:
A real weekend treat! Dish up a piece of steak with lots of spicy sweet potato wedges Serve with peas, grilled tomatoes and grilled flat mushrooms

Red day:
Bacon and sausage frittata:
Grill some Surprisingly Succulent Quorn sausages or 2 Bowyers Less Than 5% Fat pork sausages (2 Syns) and lean bacon, then chop them into chunky pieces and set aside. Next, quickly fry some red onion in a non-stick pan sprayed with Fry Light, add some halved cherry tomatoes, the chopped sausage and bacon, and cover in well-seasoned beaten egg. Turn the heat right down and place a baking tray over the frying pan. When the top's firm, sprinkle with 28g Cheddar cheese and tuck in! Finish with a bowl of refreshing orange segments.

Soup 'n salad:
Start with a bed of crisp iceberg lettuce leaves topped with piles of prawns coated in Marie Rose dressing, made from low-fat fromage frais mixed with a drop or two of Tabasco sauce and a level tablespoon of ketchup (1 Syn). Then enjoy a 320g serving Baxters Healthy Choice Soup Minestrone with Wholemeal Pasta.

Chicken Tikka Masala:
Creamy chicken tikka masala. Serve with basmati rice and garlicky sautéed spinach (spinach wilted in hot water, then fried in a non-stick pan with a clove of crushed garlic and a sprinkle of nutmeg).

In between meals if you are hungry you can snack on fruit or any of the free foods listed for that day. I honestly didn't believe that this plan could work so well by eating so much, but it does.

Slimming World have also introduced a new plan called 'Extra Easy' but I personally haven't ever followed that plan.

*Classes*

Not everyone stays to class, the cost is the same whether you stay or not. Many members just come to be weighed, but I found that staying to the class really helped to motivate me. I went through a phase of not staying to class and found myself maintaining for a few weeks. The first half hour of the class is for weighing in and the consultant will also give her new member talk to anyone who is there for the first time, to give out the plans and to explain how they work.

The consultant will start off the class with awards, which are given to people who have reached a landmark loss, half a stone, 1 stone, and so on in half stone increments. She'll also announce the slimmer of the week, which is the person who has lost the most weight that week, everyone who stays to class brings a piece of fruit and this is given to the slimmer of the week. There are certain rules that if it is your first week or you gained last week you don't qualify to be slimmer of the week. It's a great way of keeping each other motivated and celebrating achievements. There is also a raffle which is supplied by the consultant, tickets are sold for 10p each, the prizes are usually free foods and the class will offer suggestions of how to use them, which is really good for keeping inspiration and sharing of ideas.

The consultant will never disclose your weight to the group, only the amount you have lost in total, if you've had a gain she will say you've had a small gain but never disclose how much. Everyone always claps to keep the encouragement going. Each member is given the chance to talk about their week and the up and coming week, whether there are any possible challenges such as eating out or food related events, also whether you have tried anything different. This really helps everyone to feel part of the group and to contribute.

Other things that happen at class is recipe swapping, general support and frequently there will be a week where everyone cooks and brings something for the class to try. There is also the chance to buy the Slimming World books, magazines and Slimming World branded foods (these foods are not essential to following the plan and in fact I didn't eat any of them)

*Online/postal membership*

There is also an opportunity to follow Slimming World via post and online, I've personally never tried these plans but details can be found on the slimming world website.

*Cost*

The joining fee is £10.00 but there are usually half price or free membership offers, especially around the times of year where people traditionally join slimming clubs, New Year, Easter (to lose weight for summer holidays) and September (post holiday leading up to Christmas).

There is also a weekly fee to pay every week which is £4.50 (students and senior citizens get a reduced rate of £4.25), children get free membership when they join with a paying adult. There is also the chance to buy what Slimming World call 'Countdowns', where you make a commitment to attending for either 6 or 12 weeks and pay in advance, the financial advantage is that if you get a 6 week 'Countdown' you only pay for 5 weeks and if you get a 12 week one you only pay for 10 weeks.

The first time I joined after a few months I became one of the volunteers who took the money, and in return I got to go to class for free!

Also one you get to goal weight you become a life time member and don't have to pay for class anymore as long as you stay within your goal range.

*Consultants*

The consultants are all Slimming World members themselves who have lost weight and decided to become a consultant, they are all self employed. I've always found them to be very friendly, offering their phone numbers and email addresses in case I've needed to make contact during the week for extra support or had any questions. They usually run more than one class a week, so if you're not able to attend your usual class you can attend one of their other classes for that week instead of missing out.

*Literature*

There is a huge wealth of literature available most of which are really useful recipe books, but also food directories which are really useful as they detail syn values (and free food) on supermarket branded items. I would do the bulk of my food shopping at Asda and found the Asda food directory an invaluable tool when following the slimming world plan. Although these aren't essential they certainly help to keep the plan full of variety, the book in the starter pack does contain all the basics but I think I needed a little more inspiration. They can be bought at the group, on line and there is also an order form in the back of the magazine.

The Slimming World magazine is also fantastic, it can be bought for a reduced price in class and is full of food ideas, members success stories and fitness ideas. It's like a meeting in between meetings!

*Final word*
Slimming World is a way of life rather than a diet, if you follow the plan you do lose the weight but I've got so much more from it than that. I learnt how to introduce healthy eating methods into my cooking, and even though I don't follow the plan today I still use low fat cooking spray and eat recipes I discovered when following Slimming World. I personally found it much easier to follow because I wasn't counting points (as with other slimming clubs) and if I was hungry I could fill up on free food.

Check out the website to find your nearest class: www.slimmingworld.com

Summary: Great slimming club, very friendly, it works