INTRODUCTION

A SIMPLE TRUTH

The mechanics of losing weight are simple, and have not changed throughout the course of human existence. The simple and stark truth - i.e. if you eat more than you burn off, you’re going to gain weight, and vice versa - is often lost in clever marketing gimmicks and "lose weight quick" schemes, whose perpetrators are forever encouraged by the willingness of the guillible, uninformed and sometimes plain lazy to believe that he basic rules of science and nature can be short-circuited. So what makes SW different? Succinctly put, this message - this simple truth about weight loss - is at the heart of everything it does, and is constantly reinforced at every available opportunity.

SW has three main plans that you can follow on any given day. Original (or Red), Green and Extra Easy (there are a couple of others, including one called "Mix to Match" but it doesn't seem very popular). You are encouraged to try them all, and more detail on each follows below. Some members stick to one (such as Red) for the whole week between meetings, others, like me, tend to do a couple of days of each - it depends on where you are and how much flexibility and variety you need to keep you interested and "on plan".

On all three plans, you are encouraged to load up on what they call “Free” foods. These (on all plans) are fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, tofu, quorn and very low fat or fat free dairy products (e.g. yoghurt, quark, frommage frais, crème fraiche). In addition, on Red days, all meat, poultry and most fish is free, and on Green days, potatoes, pasta, pulses, and rice are free.

+ SUPER SPEED FOODS

+ HEALTHY EXTRAS

Extra Easy is a new plan which allows you to have anything that is Free on a Red or Green day (i.e. you could have pasta and lean mince in a Spaghetti Bolognese) but you have to sacrifice one Healthy Extra A and one Healthy Extra B.

On top of all this, you are given a target of 5 to 15 “Syns” per day to use for whatever you like - as a treat – or to add flavour. For example, I use my Syns for things like ketchup (1 Syn per tablespoon) and the occasional Caramel Rice Cake (2.5 Syns) while my wife would indulge in a 2 finger Kit Kat (7 Syns) or small packet of Cadbury's Chocolate Buttons (4 Syns per bag).

The reason it works is because your diet is rich in fruit and vegetables, complex carbohydrates and starches and very low in fat, sugar and wheat products. This is because most of these products are restricted to measured Healthy Extras or Syns. For instance, for breakfast, I will typically have 28 grams of cereal (Shreddies, Weetabix or Bran Flakes, but many others are OK) as a Healthy Extra B, with up to 250ml of Semi-skimmed Milk as a Healthy Extra A, topped with sliced fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries (or whatever is in season).

Mostly we’ve had to accept that the way we ate and what we ate was not conducive to a healthy lifestyle. As such, success at SW is as much down to a change in attitude and lifestyle as it is down to a “diet”.

Whilst it is entirely possible to lose all your intended weight without doing any serious exercise, its obviously going to speed up your weight loss if you do. the key thing to remember here is that this does not automatically involve going to a gym, or going swimming at the local pool - it can be achieved and managed by doing the little things that add up.

Pictures of Slimming World

My 2009 Group Man of the Year award. I was also given a sticker for my book and an A4 certificate.

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PREGNANCY & SPECIAL CONDITIONS

SW believes (and this is medically supported) that a 10% reduction on body weight has tremendous health benefits, and, as such, they make it a point to celebrate your achievement of this target. Once you hit your "Club 10" you are given a certificate and a sticket for your book, and if you manage to maintain that weight (or lose more hopefully) for en (10) weeks, you are given a free week as a reward.

The core part of the SW experience is the weekly group sessions. You pay around £10 to join and get a joiners pack that includes your personal progress book, information on the plans, and template food diaries which new joiners fill out for four weeks so the consultant can ensure they are doing things properly. After four weeks, its up to you whether you keep doing it. Attending group also gives you access to the password for the Lifestyle Online site run by SW, where you can track your progress, check on new additions to Healthy Extras, check Syns on branded and generic products, get recipe ideas from other members and read success stories.

You then pay £4.50 a week to get weighed. All of your progress is recorded electronically on a credit card sized card. You get six “holidays” a year, which, if taken, must be notified to the consultant in advance so you are not charged. Otherwise, no shows are charged if they fail to attend. The exception is “shift workers” (i.e. those who may have to work late) who get a free pass as long as they call to notify of it.

It should be noted that most consultants accept cash and cheque only - I don't tink any have the facility to accept credit or debit cards. This holds true for all purchases of books, bars and magazines as well as the session fees. If you miss too many sessions, some consultants will allow you to pay a new joining fee, rather than insist on you paying backdated non-attendance fees. Again, the emphasis is on encouraging your attendance rather than fleecing you of your hard-earned.

Members bring a Free food (usually fruit or canned goods) to place in a communal basket, which is then awarded to the Slimmer of the Week (the person who has lost the most weight over that week – provided he/she has lost or maintained the previous week). There is also a Slimmer of the Month certificate, and you get stickers and certificates for each half stone you lose. You are also awarded a certificate when you manage to lose 10% of your starting body weight and keep it off for ten weeks (Club 10). Sticker-collecting gets addictive after a while and can be a good motivator for some people (i.e. me!). Mst weeks there is also a raffle - with prizes depending on the consultant (typically M&S vouchers, free weeks and such).

The format of the sessions depends on your consultant, but will generally start with a short talk, followed by any awards for weight loss milestones, followed by going around the room to hear what people have managed to do, share tips and tricks, then Slimmer of the Week/Month and then maybe a raffle before going home. The whole session usually takes between an hour and an hour and a half, depending on group size, from arrival and weigh-in, to leaving.

UPDATE 11th May 2009: I received my four (4) stone certificate at last night's meeting along with the fab news that my group have voted me as their "Man of the Year" for 2009. I was given a lovely silver pen and pen holder in the shape of a star, an extra big sticker for my book, and an A4 certificate to mark the occasion.