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Slimming World
Slimming World is a long-established UK company which operates a very successful weight-loss program as a weekly class for members, based on its diet plan “Food Optimising”. (NOTE: All trade marks mentioned in this article are the property of the registered proprietor).
Food Optimising Diet
The Slimming World Food Optimising Diet promotes weight-loss through calorie restriction in the diet. Members are encouraged to be active, but exercise is not a formal part of the Slimming World plan. The diet is based on these principles:
- Nutritious or filling foods having a low calorie content are termed “free foods” (that is, the quantity consumed is unrestricted).
- Higher-calorie foods containing plenty of minerals, vitamins or fiber are termed “healthy extras”, and are recommended to be eaten in 4 small servings daily.
- Other foods are measured against a daily allowance based on their “syn values” (coined by Slimming World and short for synergy SYN is actually a re-working of the registered trademark SIN). A total of between 5-15 syns per day is permitted, depending on your goals – 1 glass of wine comes in at 5 syns. Syn values for individual foods are calculated by a proprietary method based on calories, and the values for thousands of foods can be checked on the Slimmers World website by members of the program.
Red Days and Green Days
Each day of the weekly diet under the Food Optimising plan is termed an Original (or Red) day or a Green day. Foods may be classified differently depending on which day they are to be consumed.
- Red day “free foods” include most fruits and vegetables, white fish, lean meats and eggs. Milk, cheese, bread, grains, beans, potatoes and dried fruits are restricted “healthy extras”.
- Green day “free foods” include fruit and vegetables, grains, beans, pulses, pasta, rice, tofu, and eggs. “Healthy extras” include milk, cheese, bread, dried fruit, nuts and seeds, meat, and fish.
Participants choose either the Green or Original (Red) option for the day and stick to it all day. With either option, members can eat plenty of healthy, highly satisfying foods, while the intake of energy dense, fatty and sugary foods is controlled.
The recent addition of two further choices, Mix2Max and Success Express, gives more flexibility to the Food Optimising diet plan, and more options for slimmers.
- Mix2Max gives flexibility by allowing a mix of Green and Original the same day, choosing at each meal time instead of each day, and still allowing snacking through the day from a long list of foods.
- Success Express gives participants a super boost to their weight loss when needed, by allowing Green and Original Free Food on the same plate, without counting. One third of the plate is filled by free choice from Green or Original Free Food lists. The other two thirds is filled with so-called Superfree Foods (super healthy, super low in energy-density) such as vegetables and salad. There is still a long list of foods that can be snacked on throughout the day.
Sample Meal Plan
| Breakfast 1oz muesli and fat free vanilla yoghurt. Snack Lunch Dinner Syns: 0 |
Healthy extras
227g baked apple with 1tbs mincemeat, and 7 high fiber crackerbreads.
Main meal
On a Green day – Spicy chicken and spinach with pasta and a green salad.
- Stir fry in a wok, about 120g chicken, marinated in (fat-free) yoghurt and curry paste (2 syns) .
- Add spinach until wilted.
- Add steamed green beans.
- Add cooked pasta and half a small pot of fat-free natural yoghurt.
Sample Alternatives:
On a Green day, for a tasty and very filling spaghetti bolognese use a measured serving of lean mince in tomato sauce with plenty of pasta.
On an Original day, for a very satisfying lunch have a jacket potato, mounded with low-fat chicken curry.
Find more healthy low Calorie recipes here.
I have been a member of Slimming world on and off for about 4years.
I am a pure Vegetarian means that I don’t eat no fish,Eggs meat or any products that contain animal fat.
I find that Slimming world worked for me when I rejoined last time and then left the group in Stanmore,UK. My consultant was Claire Albaum, who is very understanding Lady and guides you the right way and you are open to phone her any time when you are feeling down.
I think its well worth its money.
So all you people who are out there contemplating to join or not? My advice is go and join TODAY.
I am just thinkin about joining S.W. having tried almost every diet known to man (and woman) apart from a one time only success with W.W. several years ago,(Ilost 3 stone, getting down to 8st 8lb’s) and a million attempts to…do it myself, have never been able to keep the weight off, I am hoping this might be the one for me. will keep you all posted….
love reading all your entries,i started sw 3 week ago and have lost 3 1/2 lb 1st week,6 lb 2nd week and weigh in tonight,so fingers crossed!been a yo yo dieter all my life so this is great,if you hungry,just eat!!it’s allowed
i love going 2 slimming world its a laugh. the food is so nice and healthy. its my second week now. had a good 1st week i lost 4lbs hope ive done good my second week as well. Every1 got 2 try the slimming world chips they are just the best u can get. good luck 2 Every1 4 this week hope i have lost sumthing this week.
i am feeling so unhealthy and so overweight, but so worried i am not going to be able to stick to this eating plan….
I love it – I was always a gym joiner but no goer! now I save myself £70 a month and see quicker results. I mostly eat green days but allow myself wine and chocolate if I really want it! It really does work i was convinced i would never get rid of the belly flab but now I have lost 1 stone 4 pounds sine June. I have learned how to cook differently and love the syn free chips and roast potatoes! It has now become a way of life for me not a diet and i’m so so glad I joined. Best £4.50 a week i’ll ever spend and as i’m not in the gym anymore i can spend money having my hair done every 2 weeks!
I was two stone heavier after the birth of my son and got straight onto this eating plan – Not only did I lose the weight (and a further 4lbs) incredibly quickly, but I learnt the imoportance of healthy eating and gaining back the control of what I ate.
As a result, I am so very happy, confident and full of energy, And most importantly, I got myself back!
If anyone is even slightly considering trying this out, my suggestion is DO IT!!!
10 months ago i was 17st 4 1bs i was sent to slimming world by my GP for for a free 12 wk course. i lost 26 1bs in those 12 weeks and decided to carry on with the group i was attending i have so far lost 5 stone altogether just by doing the red days as i love my meat and fish without having to weigh or measure them. and i also still have chocolate (in moderation though)i can not thank my GP and slimming world consultant enough as without their help im sure i was heading for an early grave.
i was 16stone 4lbs last monday, and 9 days later i am 15stone 9lbs – 9lbs loss in 9 days, simply by using the online bodyoptimising plan. i honestly cannot believe how easy it has been and how much easier it is to get ready for work in a morning if my breakfast consists of apple chunks, melon chunks and a satsuma covered in fat free natural yoghurt as opposed to toast caked in butter. In addidtion, it is much more tasty. Personally, ive found the easiest was around the diet plan to think of red days=meat, green days=starch, both days = lots of fruit, veg and a couple of poached eggs.
On this diet do you have to follow a memu? I prefer to cook whatever I like obivously using the guidelines of the program, also if I was out shopping and wanted sometime to eat how would I find out the syn value?
May I have a list of veg and fruit thats S or SS i am going to work abroad and want the hotel where i am staying to cater appropriately.
Many Thx
Fi
I know it sounds crazy but this just works. Their website is awful, the plan is hard to get your head around. I found it helpful knowing someone who had been on it for a while. You can limitless amounts of allowed food. Ignore anyone who slates this, go grab a trial week from them and see for yourself. Amazing results – Never ever feel hungry.
I did slimming world a few years ago,I am thinking of rejoining. Do they still do the home made corned beef quiche, this was sin free when I went?
I did this about 10 years ago..and it is and remains one of the best ways to loose weight.. and with the just sheer quantites of food you can eat (like pasta on green days) ..theres no hunger !
I’d still choose the wholewheat grains over white..just for nutrional sake.
I did slimming world a few years ago and now just getting back on it… but i still cant get my head around the fact that on green days i can eat as much pasta as i want? is that right?
I rejoined SW for the second time this year and I’ve just become a target member after losing just over a stone. It’s a really good diet because it doesn’t restrict you from eating ‘naughty food’! Anyone thinking of doing it – do! xx
Hello, I used to do the slimming world doet a few years back and at that time the food optimising book said you sohould have one healthy extra A per day and two healthy extra b’s. Is this still the case?? As the website seema to indicate otherwise and i’m confused!!!! thanks
hi there,
i like the idea of slimming world. i am a vegetarian so will be doing all green days. i wanted to know if white rice, potatoes, and regular pasta is allowed or does it all have to be wholemeal?
but is it worth it
this is the most amazing diet ive ever been on.
the reason its so good is because you arnt restricted to ANYTHING like mostly every other diet out there.
you are able to eat chocolate, crisps, fatty foods (in moderation of course) and not feel bad about it.
this is what keeps me going on this diet because every week after i get weighed i have my bar of chocolate, and its fine!
ive even had chinese takeaway one night and lost 1 1/2lb the week after!
i used ot be a member wheni lived int he uk, now livingin vancouver i miss the slimming world plan so much. can anyone send me the new inf and some food diaries please. And is white rice still a free food? i would so love some one to help me get started. ninab37@hotmail.com.
hi iam rejoining and looking forward to it just hope iam as successful as a few years ago when i lost 3 stone in 4 mths
I find the diet very complicated. Im not really sure what I should be eating on which days. Plus it is very expensive as the things you are supposed to eat are not foods that I would normally eat.
Hi people
Just want to say that I started SW three weeks ago, I have stuck to the plan, I mainly have red days as I am a big meat eater but in three weeks with a steady weight loss I have lost 1/2 stone not once have I ever felt hungry and never have I come across a way of eating that allows me to loose weight and still have some of those naughty extras we all cant live without.
I am a converted SW fan and if this kind of weight loss continues I will be over a stone lighter for my Wedding day on 3rd August and back in my size 10 jeans by Christmas.
I have been a memeber of slimming world for two years now, i am a target member which means i no longer have to pay and i can still go to groups and get weighed.
I am currently keepin off just under 4 stone in weight. This diet was laughed at and ridiculed by many of my friends and family, but since losing all of the weight around 6 of those have now joined and are on their way to reaching their target weights.
Gemma
this diet has so worked for me
Hi Pebs, basically you have to throw away all your ideas about what “dieting” is, the SW plan is based on a lot of things, not just calories or fat content and believe me it does work, I’ve lost 2stone in 3 months on it and have friends who’ve lost a lot more.
Basically it is a sound plan which teaches you how to eat well, but you MUST stick to what is allowed on your day whether you’ve chosen green or red i.e. eating loads of baked beans on a green day is fine but eating loads on red is not.
I cannot see how this diet can work,when told you can eat as many bananas as you like.If I were to eat say 8bananas and my meals as well,would I lose weight? That would take me over the amopunt of calories my body needs in one day in order to lose weight. Can you explain?
Pebs
You’ll find two 7-day Slimming World menus – one for vegetarians and one for people who eat meat – at the website: http://www.slimmingworld.com/healthy_eating/free_trial_menu.aspx
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