A bird with too many hobbies which currently are watching live comedy, writing ethical consumerism w...
A bird with too many hobbies which currently are watching live comedy, writing ethical consumerism websites/blogs, family history, writing poetry and factual stuff and widening my travel experience.
Member since:28.08.2003
Reviews:32
Members who trust:11
Written by a member of two and a half years so I've thoroughly tested this diet and it works!
**Scared of classes? Read on..new online slimming world starts 1st Feb 2004!****
Please Note: Updated on 29th December 2003 to include new 'Synergy' programme and other new elements for members. Also slimming world have made an official response to both the Atkins and GI diet trends.
Me and my attitude to food: A am by nature a comfort eater. I really do not stop feeling hungry all day. When I wake up I think about what will be for breakfast. When I'm enjoying my last few bites of Breakfast I'm thinking how nice it would be to have something a bit different for lunch. When I get home from work I then set about lining up a series of snacks for the evening. Food is my life.
The major competitors: -Weighwatchers: I investigated Weightwatchers but discovered that once I'd eaten my 20 points for the day I'd have to spend part of the evening NOT eating. NOT possible, sorry. At slimming world you can stock up on free foods whenever you feel hungry.
-Atkins: I have read all the articles, watched all the recent documentaries and don't think this is for me. I love potatoes, pasta, fruit and vegetables and slimming world allows an unlimited supply of these. Although Atkins allows these in the latter stages of the diet, it argues that carbs incourage insulin production which in turn reduces the body's tendancy to burn fat. Unfortunately eating the Atkins diet, according to the FSA could lead to kidney problems and loss of bone mass. On a lighter note, once you've spent a week eating fried breakfasts and coleslaw you'll most likely get very bored. In my opinion, fruit and vegetables should be eaten in abundance as tough old meat infested with BSE and lardy dairy products simply clog up your arteries and carry far more health risks than the humble potato. This is purely my opinion but this can't be an enjoyable life time plan, it is probably a quick
fix to get you into your bikini every year rather than a healthy eating plan.
-GI: This is in essence a good theory and Slimming World endorsed it recently in their Jan/Feb 2004 magazine which I would recommend as it details their responses to various other diet trends. (All back copies of the Slimming World magazines are available on Ebay). Slimming world have always encouraged the choice of complex carbohydrates and foods which satisfy your appetite for longer than others. This is already a big part of the Food Optimising plan.
My final choice: In despair, at 12 stone 9 and being 5ft 3 tall, I found the Slimming-World.com website and began to see if I could try any of their suggestions. The site talked a lot about sin free food that you could eat as often as you liked - no limits whatsoever - and it wasn't all cabbage and mung beans. The recipes on the site looked good. I recognised that I would need someone to chase me up and give advice. The whole idea of going to a class was at first scary. I tried to locate a class on the website is a nice part of town! Luckily in one of the quainter parts of the city I live in was a class in a lovely church hall. It's bizarre isn't it? I love living in the city with all it's buzz and vibrancy but all I wanted was the equivalent of a Women's Institute meeting in some upmarket village down south!
My first steps: Having selected the area I was interested in and after the details arrived swiftly by email from the site, I rang the consultant. I really didn't know what to expect. Luckily there was an opening offer. The membership fee had been slashed to half price and I would only have to pay £3.95 for the class and £5 to join. So, Tuesday night it was.
My first Class: At the door of the church hall was a sign saying 'There are no strangers here, only friends you haven't met'. Still felt nervous.In the church hall there were lots of members, more than I expected. It helpd really as I didn't feel that I stood out! As the existing member milled about getting weighed and chatting, the consultant took us 'newbies' aside into a group and she gave us the little yellow books that would be our main guide to the diet. (If you lose the book I found you can get these on Ebay but they can cost up to £10). We also got a kind of diary in which our weight would be tracked. he explained about the groups of food that would be free - this was my focus. She also explained how on different days dependant on your choice that day, you would eat different groups of foods.
Getting to know the diet: Essentially you choose the type of plan you would like to follow EACH DAY. This gives you great flexibility. If you feel wake up feeling like a carnivore who's not had a good taste of Lion for ages simply choose the Original (or Red) days. This gives you a feast of Meat but with restricted potatoes and pasta (carbs etc). If however you feel like eating like a crazed vegetarian Italian (if such a thing exists) you choose the Green Day plan (nothing to do with the famous punk rock combo). This involves lots of jacket spuds, pasta dishes and rice. On these days the Meat (Red Day) or Pasta (Green Day) are free - no limits- eat til you're sick!!! Also at all times, most fruit and veg are free too. Syns are great fun too. These are points given to all foods that are not Syn Free but are the treats in life. Usually I spend my personal sin allowance on alcohol, chocolate and crisps. On top of all this you also get to eat a selection of 'healthy extras' which differ on green and red days. These range from bread to cheese to nuts or even houmous! For those of you who did the diet some time ago, 'Sins' are now called 'Syns' which reflects the new term 'Synergy' which is being used to explain how the plan works. Food Optimising really meant the synergies (benefits of being together) of eating certain foods together. This was announced in the Jan/Feb 2004 magazine officially. Other change are that you can now have an extra 'A' type healthy extra which is the cheeses and milk for calcium.
Being Weighed: For those of you who have never been weighed, I offer these word of comfort: It really i not as bad a you expect. The lass of women don't sit their like a crowd of football fans watching you get weighed and shouting "who ate all the pies" - which i the dream I had about it the night before the big event. You queue up with the others and step onto a descreet electonic scale that looks like a black doormat and a tiny screen no-one else can see shows your weight. The kind lady notes it down telling you by how much you weight has increased or decreased. That is the basis then of how people hare their succeses or otherwise - purely on gain or loss not sharing your actual weight with others if you don't want to.
Being supported: The consultant sold some raffle tickets for which a prize would be drawn for each winner. The prizes were syn free food items brought in by people who had gained weight last week. This weekly incentive to loose weight was a nice gentle reminder. The draw prizes were plentiful at times such as christmas when most people had a little break from their diets! She then went round the group celebrating successes and helping with people's challenges if they'd gained. Also in the session she shared recipe ideas and gave us quizzes to remind us of ways to enjoy the diet.
Heaven is a comfort eater without guilt: I ate myself silly the first day!!! Mash, Pasta, Mushy Peas, Grapes, Noodles...crikey. A diet where I felt comfortable being a comfort eater. My weight loss was slow and steady - usually 1 or 2 pounds a week. I learned how to control the alcohol I drank adn choose drinks with lower syn values. I felt I had lots of choices and the website had a good online system for telling me the sin values of everyday foods.
Lots of great books: Slimming World provide you with lots of good books to back you up. Branded Foods guide gives you food values from all the major supermarkets and is updated every year. It is only around £5. If you don't fancy that there are lots of mini books that focus on specific groups of items such as canned foods, purely syn free foods, or low-syn snacks. The bi-monthly Slimming World magazine is full of new products that you can buy from the supermarket, recipes, inspirational stories and techniques. This magazine is £2.35 in the shops or £1.40 in class.
The Hi-Fi Bar: This phenomenon is worth going to the classes for in it's own right. It is a cereal bar that is counted as a healthy extra. It comes in really gorgeous flavours - I loved cherry and the white chocolate flavour bars and when I had some in stock found them useful for a quick breakfast at work or to take on holiday as a snack in my bag. In fact anywhere that you'd find getting a snack tricky.
Website: The website is much improved of late: www.slimming-world.com. It has lots of new features. I went on it today (Dec 29th 2003) and found that there was a new section where members could keep a food diary, chart their progress, find motivation, and use a personal target predictor. You have to get a password from your consultant to use this service. I'll be doing this soon and adding it to this review. Another alternative is to wait until February 1st 2004 when the new Body Optimising website opens. You will be able to be a member online with all the cool new facilities - I can't wait! The only down side of this is that from that date you will no longer be able to get syn values online for foods.
So how did I do? I started in January 2002. By August I had gone from 12 stone 9 to 10 stone - my target weight (set by each member and changeable at any time). I had gone from a size twenty to a size 12/14 or smaller sometimes. I recieved my life time membership for achieving target and no longer have to pay for classes. Shortly afterwards i met my current boyfriend who is really keen on helping me and we have slimming world meals all the time that he loves cooking. I have managed to keep the weight off and am still the same target weight a year later. I was interviewed by Slimming World featured on their website earlier this year. It was really rewarding.
My Overall opinion: Do it, try it. It's not for everyone but for me it has changed my life. I am completely aware of how much I can eat to stay healthy. I can wear fashionable clothes and have a healthy body image. I never felt bad or guilty, just in control. Take a look at the site and choose a class!
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Whether you're cooking up breakfast on the run a packed lunch a lazy weekend brunch a ... more
perfect Sunday roast or an informal midweek dinner party this book shows you how--without forgetting your diet plan. Gone are the days of feeling as though you are missing out. Instead here are more than 120 delicious recipes that are anything but typical dieters' food including spicy beef fajitas with salsa Moroccan-style tagine cinnamon and apple crumpets seafood cakes with fennel and orange salad and chocolate caramel cheesecake. Illustrated with stunning photographs throughout this will be a must-have purchase for dieters everywhere.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
60 Minute timer with bell. 3 Oval tiers. Up to 8 Litre capacity. 1 Ltr Rice container. ... more
Removable basket floors. Visible water gauge. Easy fill handles for safe and quick water top. Easy store system. Dishwasher proof containers. Easy carry handles., Manufacturer: Morphy Richards
Postage & Packaging:free Super Saver Delivery Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days......
The Slimming World system gives you plenty to eat and no forbidden foods. This approach ... more
has enabled hundreds of thousands of members to reach their target weight. No foods are banned there is no calorie counting and there are hundreds of 'free foods' which can be eaten in unlimited amounts. So how can it possibly work? Slimming World defines its highly successful weight-loss technique as 'food optimising' encouraging you towards a healthier style of eating for life rather than simply for short-term weight loss. But if you ever thought this would be difficult or time-consuming think again. In the same time it takes to heat a pre-prepared meal Slimming World Fast Food shows you how to prepare quick delicious meals for yourself and your family. It is packed with advice and contains no less than 120 fast and effective recipes designed to set your tastebuds tingling. Every one of these recipes takes less than 30 minutes to create and food values are calculated for you so you can easily make Slimming World food a part of your daily life.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
Food Optimising by Slimming World enables you to make the most of healthy yet delicious ... more
food. No foods are banned there' s no calorie counting and there are hundreds of ' Free Foods' which can be eaten in unlimited amounts. Food Optimising was originally designed for Slimming World members to make slimming easier and more enjoyable. Now for the first time this book makes it available to everyone. Packed with nutritional lifestyle and diet information as well as over 120 wonderfully healthy recipes simply follow this healthy eating plan and see the weight fall off - and keep off.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
The people at Slimming World know that all slimmers want plenty of gorgeous food - but to ... more
deny yourself is not the way to get slim and stay slim. This unique approach to slimming is based on a revolutionary concept - that of 'Free Foods' - foods you eat in any quantities whenever you're hungry. And they aren't just typical diet staples such as lettuce and low-fat cottage cheese. Free Foods include pasta rice lean meat fish poultry and fresh fruit and vegetables. Fancy a big plateful of vegetable curry with unlimited rice or a pile of pasta with a spicy tomato sauce? How about a monster jacket potato with a tin of baked beans? Or a meaty tuna steak with a heap of ratatouille? Recipes such as Farfalle and mixed bean salad Mild and creamy chicken curry Fragrant pilaff and many more besides can be eaten as Free Foods when you are Food Optimising. Gone are the days of feeling as though you are missing out!
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
At last here's the book we've all been waiting for: curries that are healthy low in fat ... more
and absolutely mouthwatering! The Slimming World approach to food optimising means that you never have to deny yourself or miss out - you can indulge your wildest curry fantasies and cook quick and easy exotic meals every day of the week. "Slimming World's Curry Feast" takes in dishes from across India Thailand and Malaysia with dishes both sweet and spicy fresh and fragrant and delicious and decadent. With soups and starters such as Thai green curry soup and Onion bhajis you can recreate all those restaurant favourites at home. Main-course curries feature such classics as slow-cooked lamb rogan josh red-hot beef madras and mild creamy chicken korma. There are plenty of fish and seafood options too like aromatic Goan prawn curry or Kerala-style fish steamed in banana leaves. Or for a lighter option try refreshing lemongrass and prawn salad or chicken tikka with red onion. For vegetarians lentils rice and pulses make fantastic dishes including tarka dhal chana masala spiced beetroot with coconut and Mumbai aloo (cumin-scented potatoes).And an Indian banquet wouldn't be complete without accompaniments such as lime pickle and coconut pickle. Whether you want a simple one-dish supper at home or a feast for family friends this exciting selection of authentic tasty recipes makes for the perfect meal.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
At last, here's the book we've all been waiting for: curries that are healthy, low in fat ... more
and absolutely mouthwatering! The Slimming World approach to food optimising means that you never have to deny yourself or miss out - you can indulge your wildest curry fantasies and cook quick and easy, exotic meals every day of the week
Postage & Packaging:refer to website Availability:in stock
Aug 30th, 2003
(Jan 2nd, 2004)
very helpful by (100%):
