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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.
Well I have done my first week and I have lost 5lb!! My other half lost 8lb. Was a little upset that I didnt lose as much as he did as I have more to lose that he, but I have been told men lose quicker. I cant believe how much you can eat and still lose weight. Im totally gutted that I didnt know how fantastic SW is before I got to 10 stone over weight!! Id have joined years ago. Im really enjoying the diet. Anyone with any douubts – Please dont!!! It really does work. Forget those silly adverts of diet pills etc. Get yourself to SW. ITS GREAT! Will keep you posted how I get along. I actually thought it wouldnt work as I was eating that much but the proof is in the pudding; I was the second woman in the group of about 20 to lose the most and my other half was the top. Had it not have been our first week of diet, he would have won the fruit basket, you have had 3 visits from when you start and lose the previous week before you won it. He got a certificate for losing 1/2 stone. They also have a raffle for the food basket. It really is FANTASTIC no joke. Please have no more thoughts about should I or shouldnt I – GO!!
Has anyone else had weight gain rather than loss with slimming world. I’ve been sticking to red days and in my first week I’ve 2 pounds on ??? Go figure and I have been following the plan religiously 6 daily sins, 1 healthy a and b measured out. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I am eating loads of fruit though?
Hi this is to amanda. I too have about 10 stone to lose and also have an underactive thyroid. When I read your post it I couldnt believe it, it was almost like Id written it myself. Id like to lose my weight for my wedding which is about 20 months away. Im going tomorrow for the first time EVER, luckily I have my bloke for support. He doesnt need to lose as much as me. It wont take him long I doubt but for us it will take longer but hell girl We can both do it!!! All the best and post your progress – Ill do mine too.
Hi, I am going to a class on Thursday. These comments are so helpful when you are considering something like a new diet, so I will come back in the next few weeks to report back! Am nervous about going by myself mainly!
Hi i so need help i have been highly recommended to s/w i have to loose 10 stone i feel ashamed however i have been diagnosed with an under active thyroid now on medication its time to put wheels in serious motion i do need a kick up the !!!!!!!however i cant seem to get to grips with the actual diet could someone please plan me one many thanks
i am really confused.. i do not know how eating endless potatoes and beans can make me lose weight, i started yday, i have had bachelors packet rice on its onw for main meal, omlette with chopped papper/onion/mushrooms for lunch is this correct for a green day, as well as fuit.
red means i dont eats carbs except fruit and veg am i right so far? would really appreciate help/advice
andrea.walkey@btinternet.com.. feel free to mail me tips!!! please!
Reading your comments have made up my mind to go back to SW. Have tried it before but not stuck to it for long as i’ve read paul mckennas book and similar which say eat what you want when hungry and lose weight, but i can’t stick to that either!! but has turned my mind off dieting. Has anyone had similar experience or comments?
hi all…i`m thinking of starting the s.w diet and as its new to me ive got to learn all about it, ive only ever been to weightwatchers, which i lost 35lb on….so here we go folks lets hope i can understand this diet and lose the weight… good luck to all thats on it
bev
Other quick thoughts — even a little exercise helps; my mother’s Consultant recommended no more than one banana a day; we also try to stick to no more than 5 or so syns most days.
Lucy — a lot of people find that green days are better than red. Not true for everyone, but worth a try if you lean mostly towards red normally.
Please see above.I ment to say…’a couple of months, since sept!!
Hi, Ive been on the diet for a couple of sept, so far i have lost 1 stone. I love the diet! I have been sticking to the diet, but my weight seems to have stayed the same for the past month. Does anyone have any suggestions?? Thanks.
Extra Easy is being introduced in the UK in the new year (2009). It’s a very good plan, but no one is allowed to know what it’s about until it is unveiled.
SW really does work, iv’e lost 4 stones since March, great eating plan.
Hi Tash, could you tell us a bit more about the new Extra Easy plan? Can we eat freely from the list of ‘free’ foods or do we have to have them as say 3 meals a day (a bit like WW Core?). Can we still have the same number of syns per day/week? And is it true we will still be allowed 1 HA choice and 1HB choice per day?, Thanks
hi ijoined slimmers world 5 weeks ago; and have lost my first stone’ great you never starve, like other diets. its also a great way 2 meet other people. im so looking forward 2 dressing up and feeling social again. after months of baby fat.its great to have found a diet that does work.
Hi, i did slimming world about 4 years ago, and it really does work, went from nearly 13st down to just under 9st, think it only took about eleven months, also have got my mum onto it again, and she’s lost nearly 3 st sofar, i am now training to be a diet & nutrition advisor, so would love some input from you guys, if anyone has any thing they want to say then email me on AstonDB9S@aol.com keep smiling
I love slimming world, it’s not the only diet that’s worked for me, but it’s the only one I’ve been able to stick at for more than a fortnight. I’m a total pasta fiend and eat it every day without fail which is free with slimming world! Because it fills you up you don’t end up eating tonnes and tonnes which is why the calories aren’t a problem. We eat chilli con carne, spag bol, bacon burgers, syn free chips and use our syns for deserts like angel delight or jam steamed puddings.
I gave up at the end of the summer and now a year later I’m back on it but I didn’t put a single pound back on, I kept every one off. I’ve lost half a stone in two weeks and feel so much more energetic.
It can be complicated at first but stick at it, it teaches you to change how you eat and you find your palette changes and you find greasy foods realy sickening to eat. I did the plan for about 6mths and lost two stone (having a takeaway every week so I knew I’d have a slower weight loss than I could have had). Lost every week though
Plan your meals in advance to make sure you use your healthy extras properly and enjoy!
I’ve been going to slimming world on and off for several years and it is the only form of diet that has ever worked for me. when i first went i lost 5 stone in 9 months and then made the silly mistake of not going and subsequently put the weight back on over 5 years. I like it because I can eat until I’m satisfied unlike weight watchers where I felt permanently hungry.
I have since lost it all again. In answer to Maria’s question, Slimming World is apparently opening in america next year and introducing a new plan called extra easy. This does away with red and green days so you can eat any free foods together. This for example means that you could have chicken curry and rice which up until now has been a big no-no. I am trialling this new plan this week because I have to admit the separation of carbs and proteins is a very contrived way of eating to me.
I like Slimming World, but I’ve come to the conclusion it’s not for me. I don’t eat a lot of junk food, fatty food, sweets etc but I do have a huge appetite. On a green day meal I can easily eat a whole packet of pasta (500g dried weight!) with bolognese sauce made with quorn – all free food on a green day. On a red day I can easily eat a 500g packet of extra lean mince cooked with onions and carrots – again all free food on a red day. I find it difficult, when adding up all these calories, to know how I can lose weight and I didn’t actually lose any weight! If anybody has any views on this please let me know! Also, I agree with a previous post that the Bodyoptimise.com site is boring. I don’t think it has been upgraded once in the last 4 years.
This may sound like a really dumb question but is it possible to join this club or maybe an American version of this in the US? I know someone who has literally lost 72 pounds in 6 months…..that is amazing! As I am so trying to get back down to a reasonable I’ve failed on my own, I am now seeking for help.
HI all, well im on my second day of slimming world, im going it alone without the classes and im gonna but the books, after reading all your stories i feel so excited just came off the cambrige diet on tuesday It was way to hard and actually a form of starvation, this diet, i didnt think it was possible to loose weight on it, almost too good to be true!! I love it already thanks for the inspiration
Nay
I joined slimming world at the end of January, and it still never fails to amaze me how i have managed to turn my life around after years of failed attempts at various diets. So far I have lost three stone and am well on my way to target. My health has improved greatly and I bore my freinds silly with my tales. Fortunately they love me enough to put up with me and they are extremely proud of their new slimline freind. Its a whole new way of life and it is so easy. My advise to anyone thinking of joining is GO FOR IT!!! You will be pleasantly suprised when those pounds roll away .
Hi
You have all done well with sw i used to do sw and lost alot of weight but then had a few problems and the weight came back been trying another diet wont mention but you will know it but feeling really hungry on it
What confuses me when you cant have mashed potatoe on a red day
But can have as much as you want on a green day.
The other thing is where you can only have 1 oz cereal i would feel hungry by mid morning
Ive lost 5 stone in 4 months doing the SW plan, my family and friends say im losing it too quickly but cant believe the quantities of food i am eating and still losing, i cant help it i eat all day everyday, my 3 main meals and my calcium and fiber choices, plus snacks fo fresh fruit and yoghurts in between, i lost 7lb in my first week and have done it twice since. this plan is amazing but you have to change the way you look at diets, if you believe a diet consists of limiting your calories and only having a certain amount of red meat or carbs then you will fail, but if you can stop thinking like this and just eat what you are allowed then you will lose weight easily and quickly without feeling deprived while on SW. i say go for it to anyone considering it, its not hard to get your head round it is unbelievably straight forward, eat as much free food you want, add a couple of calcium choices and fiber choices to that then have up to 15 syns of anything that takes your fancy, it is all in the books.
A very long time ago a lovely friend who has since passed away with cancer, gave me a receipe from slimming world (back in the UK) it contained canned corned beef, mixed with chopped onion, cottage cheese on top and topped with sliced tomatoes I cannot remember if the two eggs were mixed with the corned beef or the cottage cheese. It was then placed in the oven in a shallow dish and backed. When it came out you could eat it either hot or cold and it sliced like quiche. It was delicious and I just want to know if you have the exact receipe. Regards Susan.
i was thinking about rejoining sw but was a bit hesitant,but reading all the comments on this page has given me that little nudge i needed.i hated the thought of being a rejoiner with friends and family telling me what a waste of time it would be because of failing,but i needed some motivation and i got it here so here goes im going tonight.
It’s a really good diet for anyone regardless of allergies and medical problems because YOU choose what you are going to eat. If yu are allergic to wheat or nuts etc, don’t eat them – pick something else. I lost a lot of weight on it a few years ago and then fell by the wayside and I am back and it is great. I heard a number of people say they dont feel hungry and I agree totally. You NEVER need to feel hungry. But just remember not to go thinking about counting calories or it will do your head in. Think of it as a test of faith. IT WORKS and as well as losing weight you learn to eat healthily and nutritiously.
The most important thing is for people to find thier personal dietry food balance. Carbs/proteins or protein/carbs?
For some people its all red days and for others its all green days or a few days red/few days green.
Personally speaking I think SW is great for personalizing a persons eating habits for life. Its not a go back to what you was eating before plan. Eating healthy and consistently is the aim and to enjoy it also.
With finetune planning and effort/trying new foods this plan is great. If I was to join again I would eat 5 small meals a day and not go over my limits in my daily protein (if red day) or my daily carbs (if green day) even if they say eat as much as you want. I know my appetite and it needs a limit. Others dont. Fact.
i went to SW and got all the books that i needed but after a while i couldnt afford to go anymore so i continuedthe diet on my own. i lost 12 pounds in 4 weeks which was great.