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Slimming World or Calorie Counting?

Hollister11

What works better for loosing weight? Is it simple calorie counting, or are plans like slimming world better.

I was on slimming world previously and look 4 stone. But I put 1.5St back on. I now want to loose 2st, but I got quite bored of eating get the same email food on slimming world. There doesn't seem to be as much of a variety with free foods and syns, as apposed to calorie counting where you can eat anything once you don't spend you allowance.

For instance with slimming world I can eat as much pasta as I want until I'm full, no weighing, no serving sizes. I don't spend calories I just eat as much as I want. It fills me longer, but I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Any opinions or advice would be great.

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marialouise

I haven't ever seen a SW plan but I think it sort of works by reducing food intake which generally results in weight loss. It's great for people who are coming from a place where they feel they know nothing about nutrition and need a plan to stick to and support along the way. It's pretty much calorie counting but with SW's own take on it, and as you can see it doesn't really teach people much about nutrition as you understand that eating unlimited pasta is not beneficial to weight loss.
It sounds like you're more than a beginner and you get bored by SW, so you could probably go ahead with just calorie counting. I use a digital weighing scales and MyFitnessPal. I set approximate goals for calories and macros (carbs, fat, protein), and monitor my weight and adjust accordingly. I eat balanced meals but I just weigh the food first, and then there's still room for treats and food I enjoy, just in portions which fit into the calorie budget. It sounds like you have a grasp of calorie allowances so I don't see why you'd stick with a slimming world plan - but whichever one you'll stick with is the one which is best for you!

TheLass

Hollister11 wrote: »

What works better for loosing weight? Is it simple calorie counting, or are plans like slimming world better.

I was on slimming world previously and look 4 stone. But I put 1.5St back on. I now want to loose 2st, but I got quite bored of eating get the same email food on slimming world. There doesn't seem to be as much of a variety with free foods and syns, as apposed to calorie counting where you can eat anything once you don't spend you allowance.

For instance with slimming world I can eat as much pasta as I want until I'm full, no weighing, no serving sizes. I don't spend calories I just eat as much as I want. It fills me longer, but I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Any opinions or advice would be great.

If you lost 4 stone before then it works for you. I do SW and try out new recipes when I get bored. you have your syns for the higher calorie foods and there are loads of ways to make meals that don't feel like your are on a diet. Ultimately it's your choice , for me once my calorie allowance is gone I can't cope :eek: on SW I can always have something for free. It's just finding which works best for you. I do find standing on SW scales means I'm accountable if I gain (and get a pat on the back if I lose)

SarahMollie

I'm surprised by anyone saying that they're bored of the food on SW - you can effectively cook most meals in a SW friendly way, there is no reason to be eating the same few meals over and over again.

There is a blog called Pinch of Nom which is great for SW recipe ideas. Could you do with improving your cooking skills OP?

BetsyEllen

I don't really understand how anyone can get bored of 'slimming world food' - it's any food you want, nothing is banned, you can eat what you want just so long as you syn it or count as your healthy extra if not free.

You lost 4 stone which is incredible, so it obviously worked for you.

Counting calories is highly effective, yet highly tedious in my opinion.

Maybe try MyFitnessPal.com for a couple of weeks and see how you go - only you can decide which way works best for you personally.

Alf Veedersane

They're both means by which people can be in a caloric deficit. Different ways work for different people but the reason they all work is by putting you in a deficit

Elemonator

You wouldn't want to calorie count too severely. If you eat less than certain amount of calories, your body will go into a state where it burns less calories as it begins to expect little nutritional intake. So maybe cut 500 calories a day max.

Alf Veedersane

Elemonator wrote: »

You wouldn't want to calorie count too severely. If you eat less than certain amount of calories, your body will go into a state where it burns less calories as it begins to expect little nutritional intake. So maybe cut 500 calories a day max.

The more weight you have to lose, the greater a deficit you can afford.

TallGlass

If going the calorie counting route, I would advise you get yourself something along the lines of a Fitbit that can feed into the My Fitness Pal app, this will give you more accurate readings on what your body is burning, along with the input from you regards your food intake, you'll have a pretty accurate snap shot of what your +/- calories are for the day.

Just watch the foods on the MFP app, they seem to sometimes be out, this might be down to changes in the food itself and bar-codes remaining the same.

conzy

You loose weight by being in a calorie deficit. And you do this consistently until you are the weight you want to be. Not just Monday morning to Friday afternoon

People say counting calories is too hard but they are happy to count "syns" and "points"

Any diet plan works by trying to trick you into being in a calorie deficit.

"As much pasta as you like" Sounds fantastic.

Problem 1: I can definitely eat enough pasta to not be in a calorie deficit. It doesn't matter how many syns I have left over or how many green shakes I drink I will not lose weight

Problem 2: It sets you up for failure. As much as diets like to sell the idea of eating as much as you like thats simply not true. There will always be some restriction involved. People need to learn delayed gratification and stop eating like children.

As non sexy as it is. You lose weight by being in a calorie deficit. The easiest way to do this is to eat your fvcking meat and vegetables and eat like an adult most of the time. And understand that eating a snickers bar is not a "sin" or a black mark.

SarahMollie

conzy wrote: »

"As much pasta as you like" Sounds fantastic.

Problem 1: I can definitely eat enough pasta to not be in a calorie deficit. It doesn't matter how many syns I have left over or how many green shakes I drink I will not lose weight

I'm surprised at the OP making that comment if he's successfully done SW in the past. Its not true to say you can just go on eating pasta - it has to be balanced by other, low calorie density foods (speed) and/or a lean source of protein. The pasta cannot be more than 1/3 of your plate and the speed food must account for at least 1/3 of your plate, ideally more.

SW is about using this ratio method to control how much pasta (or whatever) is in your diet without the need to weigh it out, which some people find hard to stick to. Also, I guess your brain is tricked into thinking you're not being deprived. IME its this feeling of deprivation which has lead to me breaking other diets in the past, and I generally don't feel this on SW.

You're absolutely right however, it is just a trick to get you into a calorie deficit, but it works for some people.

Also - even green smoothies etc have to be synned on SW because they don't approve of techniques whereby you can consume a great deal of food very quickly - you have to eat whole foods in order for them to be "free" - most people would find that a waste of syns!

anewme

I did slimming world a few years back and it was very much a way to" buck the system"

Of course you could eat healthy, but most of the people wanted short cuts, pushing those rubbish bars, mug shots, noodles that have about as much nutrition as cardboard. Pink n white biscuits?

If you had a large amount of weight to lose, it is a very good place that start, but I found I outgrew the Slimming Workd mentality very quickly.

The weekly talks were about being "good" or "bold" which was not a healthy attitude.

In fairness though, SW is just a calorie defecit diet and works on those principles, do if OP has the basics, it should be fairly easy to eat within your own calorie e deficit. I'd recommend my fitness pal.

Slimming World don't promote proper exercise enough either, who calls exercise "body magic". That really used to annoy me!

Mellor

SarahMollie wrote: »

I'm surprised at the OP making that comment if he's successfully done SW in the past. Its not true to say you can just go on eating pasta - it has to be balanced by other, low calorie density foods (speed) and/or a lean source of protein. The pasta cannot be more than 1/3 of your plate and the speed food must account for at least 1/3 of your plate, ideally more.

Those ratios based roadblock to overeating, and really easy to bypass.

200g Pasta
100g Bacon, 2 Eggs
100g Mushrooms, 100g Peas

Everything in thirds, over 1000 calories.
Most people will know that's ridiculous, but don't underestimate how many people will use every loophole to binge will on diet.

conzy wrote: »

"As much pasta as you like" Sounds fantastic.

Problem 1: I can definitely eat enough pasta to not be in a calorie deficit. It doesn't matter how many syns I have left over or how many green shakes I drink I will not lose weight

Problem 2: It sets you up for failure. As much as diets like to sell the idea of eating as much as you like thats simply not true. There will always be some restriction involved. People need to learn delayed gratification and stop eating like children.

As non sexy as it is. You lose weight by being in a calorie deficit. The easiest way to do this is to eat your fvcking meat and vegetables and eat like an adult most of the time. And understand that eating a snickers bar is not a "sin" or a black mark.

You look at it the as way as me. Analytically mined I guess.
any video diary vlogs planned? A 4 week bulk, while still following the SW plan might open some people eyes.

SarahMollie

Mellor wrote: »

Those ratios based roadblock to overeating, and really easy to bypass.

200g Pasta
100g Bacon, 2 Eggs
100g Mushrooms, 100g Peas

Everything in thirds, over 1000 calories.
Most people will know that's ridiculous, but don't underestimate how many people will use every loophole to binge will on diet.

I couldnt eat that in one sitting, thats a huge portion for anyone. I never cook more than 100g of pasta for myself, let alone double that. Also, that would need to be bacon medallions, all viable fat removed otherwise its off plan. I've just looked up the calories on 100g of tesco bacon medallions, and thats 69 calories. When I googled typical fat in bacon, it was over 500, so you need to be more precise and quote your sources.

The OP has already lost 4stone of SW so clearly it wasn't a barrier to his weightloss.

Further - people can delude themselves on pretty much any diet.

SarahMollie

anewme wrote: »

I did slimming world a few years back and it was very much a way to" buck the system"

Of course you could eat healthy, but most of the people wanted short cuts, pushing those rubbish bars, mug shots, noodles that have about as much nutrition as cardboard. Pink n white biscuits?

If you had a large amount of weight to lose, it is a very good place that start, but I found I outgrew the Slimming Workd mentality very quickly.

The weekly talks were about being "good" or "bold" which was not a healthy attitude.

I agree - I dont stay for the meetings because they do nothing for me and the level of chat about being good/bad is just annoying. I do like the eating plan however, its easy to follow, the recipies are pretty nice and I've not had to totally cut favourites (ie pasta) from my diet in order to see good weightlosses.

anewme wrote: »

In fairness though, SW is just a calorie defecit diet and works on those principles, do if OP has the basics, it should be fairly easy to eat within your own calorie e deficit. I'd recommend my fitness pal.

Slimming World don't promote proper exercise enough either, who calls exercise "body magic". That really used to annoy me!

Completely - if the OP is already thinking in the SW mindset, it should be pretty easy to run a calorie deficit. However the comment about being bored wtih the food makes me think that really the OP just needs to up their cooking skills, otherwise any low calorie diet is going to be pretty boring.

Slimming World euphemisms also annoy me (another reason not to go to meetings - dont get me started on Star Week!) My consultant (ie woman I pay to weigh me) is actively against what I'd consider proper exercise. She goes running, but gave up going to a trainer as she had put on a few lbs (shes tiny now anyway) and wanted to stay at her weight above all else. I think shes a moron.

anewme

SarahMollie wrote: »

Slimming World euphemisms also annoy me (another reason not to go to meetings - dont get me started on Star Week!) My consultant (ie woman I pay to weigh me) is actively against what I'd consider proper exercise. She goes running, but gave up going to a trainer as she had put on a few lbs (shes tiny now anyway) and wanted to stay at her weight above all else. I think shes a moron.

It was the same where I went to, they were afraid to do exercise as they focussed on weightloss over anything. Therefore, you could eat a load of pink and white biscuits, drink Mugshots and lose weight, probably be left with no muscle tone.

I dont know what Star Week is, thank God, body magic was annoying enough. It was like talking to kids.

Mellor

SarahMollie wrote: »

I couldnt eat that in one sitting, thats a huge portion for anyone. I never cook more than 100g of pasta for myself, let alone double that
Also, that would need to be bacon medallions, all viable fat removed otherwise its off plan. I've just looked up the calories on 100g of tesco bacon medallions, and thats 69 calories. When I googled typical fat in bacon, it was over 500, so you need to be more precise and quote your sources.

Even with chicken breast, the point stands. But as you mention it. Medallions works too. There's no way 100g is 69 calories, I'd guess you were looking at the per "portion" line.
100g is close to 200 cals. Source:Tesco Website, 199 caks
So that comes to 1160 for the meal.

I don't eat 200g portions of pasta myself.
But I also don't eat full packets of biscuits, or whole pizzas to myself. Some people do however.
It was just an example. Even if it was dialed back to 150g for pasta and 75g bacon. It's c.900 cals.

The OP has already lost 4stone of SW so clearly it wasn't a barrier to his weightloss.

It wasn't aimed at the OP. It was a criticism of the inherent flaw in the system.

Further - people can delude themselves on pretty much any diet.

Of course, but the issue here is that the person eating the above huge bowl of pasta is technically sticking to the diet.
Unlike someone eating outside a diet plan and mentally justifying it.

SarahMollie

anewme wrote: »

It was the same where I went to, they were afraid to do exercise as they focussed on weightloss over anything. Therefore, you could eat a load of pink and white biscuits, drink Mugshots and lose weight, probably be left with no muscle tone.

I dont know what Star Week is, thank God, body magic was annoying enough. It was like talking to kids.

Its SW speak for the week of your period.

Can we not put on our big boy/girl pants and just call use the real terms.

The thoughts of grown adults being too embarrassed to say the word PERIOD just makes me LOL.

I like the plan/food, but I edit out the bits of it that I don't like, and the nonsense about mugshots, pink and white biscuits etc is in one ear and out the other with me.

I go to small group training 3x per week, which would blow any of their Body Magic awards out of the water, but I just keep it to myself, don't see the point in telling my consultant as she doesn't really have anything to add in my view and I'm not obsessed with collecting stickers.

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

j@utis

Hollister11 wrote: »

<...> There doesn't seem to be as much of a variety with free foods and syns, as apposed to calorie counting where you can eat anything once you don't spend you allowance...

This is the major flaw in your thinking. Your food choices should provide not only fuel but also nourishment to your body. Maybe read some books first? When you change your thinking regarding the food, start make wiser choices, your body will change too.

One to start with...