Friday, 29 January 2010

Slimming World vs Weight Watchers

It's January, so I'm going to be all stereotypical and decide I want to lose some weight/get healthier. Of course I'm going to be a bit late on the bandwagon with this one as it's almost the end of the month already.

Now, before I launch into this post in detail I wanted to make clear a couple of things:

  • I am not a doctor, nor am I advising anyone on how to lose weight.
  • I don't think crash diets are the way forward.
  • Yep, that time old approach of healthy eating and exercise works.
I am considering signing up to either Weight Watchers or Slimming World. The reason I want to do this is so I feel a bit better about myself. I am not overweight, my BMI is 23.4, which is deemed healthy, but for my height (5ft3) my weight is higher than I would like it to be, and a BMI of 23.4 is on the higher end of the scale.

My aim in signing up to either Weight Watchers or Slimming World is to bring down my BMI and weight to a level I am more comfortable with.

I am looking for something that is healthy, balanced, doesn't exclude food groups, doesn't leave me hungry and is easy to follow. Something that means I can still eat out or have take-away occasionally.

I don't want to go to the meetings, so an online plan would suit me best. I have done a bit of research already and I like the look of SW, but the price is a bit off putting - twice the cost of three months of weight watchers. Is it worth the extra cost?

What I would love to know from anyone reading this is - have you tried either WW or SW? What did you think - good or bad?

Any helpful comments would be fantastic!

(oh, and I'm also going to start doing more regular exercise - starting with buying an exercise bike)
Posted by on Friday, January 29, 2010
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14 comments:

  1. I haven't tried Slimming World, but WeightWatchers really works.

    I am rubbish at following it at the minute but a few years ago I lost a lot weight using it. It doesn't restrict any food which makes it bearable.

    x
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  2. hey =D
    I went to slimming world with my mum, the meetings were held in the school over the road from me and we both lost 2 stone in 6-7 months! I think the meetings are a key part of the clubs, as its like your all a team and can help eachother. We each brang a healthy food/drink every meeting and the 'slimmer of the week' won the basket of food so that was good! It was also a good way of sharing recipes and tips, we found it really helpful and my mum enjoyed the social aspect of it as she made a few friends there.
    The lil book you get is really helpful and theres a chart in the back so you can mark your progress, and we also got a free recipe book. The whole idea of slimming world id red days (meat) and green days (veg and carbs) and not mixing them!

    I honestly think going to the meetings/weigh ins is the best way to really benefit froma slimming club xxx
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  3. Weight Watchers is amazing. I did it for a little while just to drop a few lbs but I have family and friends have have done it and lost 30-60lbs and look fantastic.
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  4. I have done both and its safe to say none of them work for me,
    However my mum swears by weight watchers because you need to stick to the points she knows shes not overeating, whereas with my i felt it didnt really cut out all the junk because you could still eat it just in smaller quantaties.
    I liked slimming world but with all the free foods it doesnt restrict your eating so it is easy to overeat.
    I dieted on my own and lost 2 stone, then tried weight watchers and didnt lose any weight, maybe because it was after i had cut out all junk and wouldnt have been eating as much.
    Im sorry that this hasnt been of much help just thought i would give my say :)

    xxx
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  5. weightwatchers all the way for me. I am 19 and I was only about 3lbs over my ideal bmi but WW has been so helpful in not only losing the weight, but teaching me how to eat properly and better choices to make. In addition to that I find that if you go off the rails occasionally, its ok because everything can be fixed, which is the opinion of my leader. I pay monthly and get the internet resource which is really helpful in tracking and since it uses points, it is less confusing than calories and fat grams, plus it has a good forum for support and recipes! Andddd the best part is you can save points for special occasions, and still have cheese. x
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  6. I've done both and found WeightWatchers the best. I only lost about 3 lbs on SW, mainly because of the unlimited food options (which I totally abused!) but with Weight Watchers it taught me what foods fill you up, which choices are healthier, and how much a portion is. I ended up losing almost 3 stone in almost a year on WW.

    Hope whichever you choose works for you :)
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  7. I've tried Weight Watchers in the past and it's always been good and easy to follow. Sensible eating really. Recently I also tried NOSH detox and Body Chef, both of which deliver detox food and juices to your door. Very good results and a good tip to get a healthy eating plan kick started :)
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  8. I was with WeightWatchers for about a year and I lost around a stone. I didn't go to meetings but looked up their recipes and bought their food (this is a bit before their online stuff got big) and it's good, it works as long as you stick with it.
    But most things work if you stick to it.
    WW seems easier as well, Slimming World has all them sins things.. I don't understand it aha.
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  9. Thank you everyone for the comments, really helped me make my decision of which to go with. I have now signed up to the Weight Watchers online programme for the next three months. I think I will do a weekly update or so on how it's going.

    I made the choice to go with Weight Watchers because I'm not over weight, but I make terrible diet choices and know that if I didn't do anything about it then it wouldn't be long before I was. I would like to lose a little bit, just so I am a little happier in myself - but not silly amounts.

    So far, Weight Watchers is going well. Will do a blog post on Sunday about it as an update. But again - thank you so much for all your comments and the stories of how much it helped each of you are really fantastic!
    ReplyDelete
  10. Me and my mum have done both and she swears by WW, as Dainty Dollymix said she has to count her points, but for me the idea of counting points I hate, I love on SW you can just have a big bowl of pasta! I haven't been for a while (bad) but I got a text from my old leader at SW saying they have an offer on so I am going to join in March. Hope you're doing well on WW. xx
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  11. Joined SW 19 months ago. Yes 19 months! Lost three & half stone. Been on maintenance now for about 3 or 4 months. I am 64 years old & no longer look so M.m..m. elderly? Anyway I LOVE food. Am greedy & get bored easily with same ole same ole. SW is great. ANY diet that says I can have 1oz of this or that...forget it. SW is so versatile & yes you really can eat as much as you want. That's the secret. Not hungry!Good luck!
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  12. slimming world its work for me at first then i start putting wieght then i joined ww and i lost weight but feelinng hungry all the time
    ReplyDelete
  13. I have been to both SW and WW and find that WW is the only one that is gong to help you re-learn to eat modest portions of food (even if they are on a "free" list) so that you will have a calorie deficit and lose weight. I go to SW with a friend at the moment to keep her company, but we both also count calories whilst on the SW plan. Many girls at the last SW meeting I went to had not lost weight,despite sticking to the plan. You cannot "eat as much as you want" of anything and hope to lose weight. Everything has calories in it!Look on the pasta or rice packet at their serving size recommendations and stick to that if you go to SW. Having massive bowls of pasta everyday, with or without rich sauces, is not going to do it. How did we all get so fat in the first place? By overeating! We need to learn what is a reasonable portion of food and to minutely examine our deep psychological reasons for wanting to fill our mouths and tummies. Replace bad habits with good, reward yourself for success and keep on, week after week, knowing that you will get there in the end.
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  14. I have tried both and to be honest the only one that worked for me is.... neither....

    Both may work for the short term - but go to a group each week and watch the members leave one by one. They are too difficult to maintain for life with all the points and syns values etc etc! Its too easy to mess up and make yourself feel awful over it! SW in particular is bad for portion control. Any diet that tells you to pile your plate with unlimited food is not setting a good example... even if they do dress it up as 'free'.

    I've been there, seriously - I got tired of paying money for subscriptions and used the money more wisely by taking a Personal Trainer course which has taught me a LOT!

    SW & WW are good short term solutions and they may work for some people, but all that will really work for most of us long term is taking in less calories than we expend, making sure our diet is around 60% carb, 30% fat and 10% protein and getting regular exercise!

    Figure out what your RMR (resting metabolic rate) is and stick to those calories (mine is 1,400 cals per day for my height and weight) but as I work out most days I end up eating more calories to make up what I burn off, so often I eat around 2,000 a day and am still dropping weight from the fat burnt through exercise). Whatever your calorie deficit is after working out you need to eat back to get to your RMR. You will find yourself eating a lot more than your RMR when you're active/exercising, so don't worry!

    Secondly, work out - Cardio 3-4 times a week at moderate intensity (55-90% of your maximum heart rate <220-your age =maximum heart rate>) and you will see the weight fall off, no syns, no points, everything in moderation... I did! Almost 2 stone in 4 months and toned up too ...

    To summarise:

    1. Find out your RMR calorie allowance and stick to it

    2. Cardio 3-4 times a week (2-3 if you're a beginner) - any aerobic activity that makes you feel breathless is great and will be doing the trick (do it for 20-50 mins for it to be effective)! Don't over-work yourself though, there's no need.

    There, that's my advice to you. You don't need to pay a hefty subscription to go off and get started on that, you can have this info for free lol :-)
    ReplyDelete

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Hello, I'm Jen from 'A Beauty Junkie in London'. This is a blog for all beauty fanatics or anyone who dreams of being polished to perfection and wants to find the products to make it happen (as quickly and easily as possible...)



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