Ex - Slimming World Disordered Eating Recovery

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It’s not SW, however during lockdown a PT at my gym offered an online coaching thing, and put me on 1200 cals a day. I’m 5ft 9, and also wasn’t overweight, I was 11.5 stone! I also had to get 80g protein a day, and I’m a veggie so found that hard on those cals, so I ended up basically having 3 protein shakes and one meal a day for 3 months. I lost 2 stone but I was constantly light headed, and of course I put it all back on once I stopped. I struggled with anorexia in my teenage years and this definitely brought back some of those feelings. I think SW just promotes that sort of mentality, and preys on people who don’t know/understand how actual weight loss works for the vast majority of people (calories in v calories out!)
 
anniemouse said:
I would sit there feeling terrible for losing 1lb while Sheila over there just back from 2 weeks all inclusive in Spain lost 3 even though she probably hadn’t had anything since breakfast that day.
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I remember feeling bad when I went back to SW and ‘only’ lost 4lb my first week. Other people who’d just started were losing 8/9lb each. The first time I did SW I had a huge loss that first week but I think the more you go back the harder it gets.
 
Mr Krabs said:
I remember feeling bad when I went back to SW and ‘only’ lost 4lb my first week. Other people who’d just started were losing 8/9lb each. The first time I did SW I had a huge loss that first week but I think the more you go back the harder it gets.
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Those people of which I was one probably binged for a week before going back . . . starved during the week and then possibly purged before weigh in day. I say this as this was my own strategy. The key was were they there 3 months later.
 
This is so sad. Being sick of the plan but terrified to come off it.
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I had tried my first slimming world meal at a friend's birthday dinner the other day. It was a macaroni cheese but it was made with butternut squash and spreading cheese triangles for the sauce, and also water. It wasn't awful but I wouldn't be rushing out to eat it again it seems to take a lot more time to make it than a normal macaroni cheese with making the sauce as it seemed to be a bit watery and you had to let it sit for ten minutes or so when you put it in the pasta ( I helped with the cooking). I'd rather eat a normal macaroni and cheese, though I suppose that using the squash would be good if you were gluten intolerant or needed to get extra veggies in, I would rather use normal cheese than cheese triangles. I don't think that I'm that tempted to try any more meals for a while .
 
The thing that’s helped me is if I fancy a takeaway, I have it, but ill get right back onto a balanced meal the next time I eat. Before I would think oh duck it I’ve had a fry up for breakfast, may as well have an ‘off plan day’ and eat way over my calories for lunch and dinner. But now, I just get straight back to the food I planned to eat
 
I’m still really struggling. I signed up with Nutracheck which I think is great, but something about the logging of everything I eat, and looking at the calories just seems to trigger me. I’ve had a really bad couple of weeks. I ended up signing up to WW, as well as having NC :(
WW is just as bad as SW, imo. Followed the plan for a few days, and then ended up eating all the wrong things because I went over my points.
I need to learn to trust myself to make the right choices and not to stand or fall by counting things.
I was never like this until I went on a diet for the first time, years ago. I’ve swung between SW and WW ever since and I’ve lost the ability to eat “normally”
 
mee43 said:
I’m still really struggling. I signed up with Nutracheck which I think is great, but something about the logging of everything I eat, and looking at the calories just seems to trigger me. I’ve had a really bad couple of weeks. I ended up signing up to WW, as well as having NC :(
WW is just as bad as SW, imo. Followed the plan for a few days, and then ended up eating all the wrong things because I went over my points.
I need to learn to trust myself to make the right choices and not to stand or fall by counting things.
I was never like this until I went on a diet for the first time, years ago. I’ve swung between SW and WW ever since and I’ve lost the ability to eat “normally”
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I had to go through the dreaded "self/inner work" because SW really messed me up. I do really recommend it - whether via a life coach, counselling or whatever method suits you best. Learn your triggers/what's blocking deep down and methods to get over that. It took me well over a year and I'll probably always have BDD floating but I'm better equipped to deal with it now so that calorie counting doesn't have that trigger/obsessive reaction from me anymore. It's just a tool. I've been losing weight slower, going to the gym for musco-skeletal health and not to counteract what I eat (any body improvements are a bonus) but I personally think that the underlying issues need to be sorted first to improve that food relationship that I definitely didnt have before and that SW made so much worse ❤️
 
mee43 said:
I’m still really struggling. I signed up with Nutracheck which I think is great, but something about the logging of everything I eat, and looking at the calories just seems to trigger me. I’ve had a really bad couple of weeks. I ended up signing up to WW, as well as having NC :(
WW is just as bad as SW, imo. Followed the plan for a few days, and then ended up eating all the wrong things because I went over my points.
I need to learn to trust myself to make the right choices and not to stand or fall by counting things.
I was never like this until I went on a diet for the first time, years ago. I’ve swung between SW and WW ever since and I’ve lost the ability to eat “normally”
Click to expand...
My coach told me that some people don’t get along with calorie counting, so she offers them meal swaps. It’s basically a long list of calorie counted meals for breakfast lunch and dinner. So you give yourself a menu of options for each meal (and snacks) that you’ve already got a rough idea of the calorie count of. It takes away the intense need to track before/after every meal but means you don’t go to OTT. Obviously, only counts for home cooked food really, but it could help.

I.e you’d have a list of things for breakfast that you can choose from - yoghurt with fruit, bagel and PB, egg on toast, sausage in a sandwich thin. And you can just pick one each day.
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Greencatfysh said:
My coach told me that some people don’t get along with calorie counting, so she offers them meal swaps. It’s basically a long list of calorie counted meals for breakfast lunch and dinner. So you give yourself a menu of options for each meal (and snacks) that you’ve already got a rough idea of the calorie count of. It takes away the intense need to track before/after every meal but means you don’t go to OTT. Obviously, only counts for home cooked food really, but it could help.

I.e you’d have a list of things for breakfast that you can choose from - yoghurt with fruit, bagel and PB, egg on toast, sausage in a sandwich thin. And you can just pick one each day.
Click to expand...
Also, just to add, you also need to try and think about the long game. It’s not about losing Xlbs over three months and being done with it. It’s about a long term change. As someone above said, if you treat yourself to a high calorie meal, don’t dwell on it, just get back on track with the next meal. You’ll still be eating 70-80% on track.
 
When I first started calorie counting I had a few weeks of just simply tracking. I wasn’t aiming for a calorie deficit or any other goals. Just getting used to tracking. It gave me a bit of an insight to what meals were a lot higher in calories that others, I know some are obvious but there are a few surprises.
I’ve since set myself a calorie deficit and I’m just trying to make a few gradual changes to get to it. I know this approach won’t work for a lot of people but I found it quite helpful.
 
mee43 said:
I’m still really struggling. I signed up with Nutracheck which I think is great, but something about the logging of everything I eat, and looking at the calories just seems to trigger me. I’ve had a really bad couple of weeks. I ended up signing up to WW, as well as having NC :(
WW is just as bad as SW, imo. Followed the plan for a few days, and then ended up eating all the wrong things because I went over my points.
I need to learn to trust myself to make the right choices and not to stand or fall by counting things.
I was never like this until I went on a diet for the first time, years ago. I’ve swung between SW and WW ever since and I’ve lost the ability to eat “normally”
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I understand this alot!!
SW for over 10 years, WW for 2 years..... a couple of weeks ago I just thought enough is enough, I'm 30 next year and all I want is a healthy relationship with my body and the food I eat. I decided to try and follow my bodies queues (ETA cue not queue!!!), as terrifying as that sounds when since I was 16 I always had some sort of plan to follow. In the first week I did binge a few times, but no where near to the extent I would have on SW/WW, 2nd week I binged once. I'm hoping this teeters out and I just gradually think, look you can eat chocolate digestives WHENEVER you want, just because they are there doesn't mean you have to eat 10. Like you say, it's like we're taught we cannot trust ourselves or our bodies and that we are programmed to rely on these plans and programs, but once we realise we CAN trust ourselves, that we are adults who can make informed and sensible choices, we will then hopefully be free and be able to move on!
 
I actually eat less when I’m eating/cooking with full fat versions of things you’d never be allowed on SW. With SW I’d have seconds or even thirds because I didn’t feel satisfied but now sometimes I can’t finish one portion.

I was using Nutracheck but I’m trying to just move towards just eating healthily and intuitively with the portion control as I just don’t think tracking every single last calorie is healthy or sustainable.
 
Greencatfysh said:
My coach told me that some people don’t get along with calorie counting, so she offers them meal swaps. It’s basically a long list of calorie counted meals for breakfast lunch and dinner. So you give yourself a menu of options for each meal (and snacks) that you’ve already got a rough idea of the calorie count of. It takes away the intense need to track before/after every meal but means you don’t go to OTT. Obviously, only counts for home cooked food really, but it could help.

I.e you’d have a list of things for breakfast that you can choose from - yoghurt with fruit, bagel and PB, egg on toast, sausage in a sandwich thin. And you can just pick one each day.
---

Also, just to add, you also need to try and think about the long game. It’s not about losing Xlbs over three months and being done with it. It’s about a long term change. As someone above said, if you treat yourself to a high calorie meal, don’t dwell on it, just get back on track with the next meal. You’ll still be eating 70-80% on track.
Click to expand...
I follow Liezl Jayne Strydom on ytube and she does that - the meals are about 400 cals each so you choose what you want along with snacks if you want them so already counted. There are meal plans and prepping and she shows how she cooks and stores them. Worth a watch.
 
mee43 said:
I’m still really struggling. I signed up with Nutracheck which I think is great, but something about the logging of everything I eat, and looking at the calories just seems to trigger me. I’ve had a really bad couple of weeks. I ended up signing up to WW, as well as having NC :(
WW is just as bad as SW, imo. Followed the plan for a few days, and then ended up eating all the wrong things because I went over my points.
I need to learn to trust myself to make the right choices and not to stand or fall by counting things.
I was never like this until I went on a diet for the first time, years ago. I’ve swung between SW and WW ever since and I’ve lost the ability to eat “normally”
Click to expand...
I feel the same, I find it tedious logging everything. Being in work, logging everything at work, busy day then I can’t be arsed logging my food and inputting new recipes.
I need to decide if i’m going to renew another year or Nutracheck or not bother. I do need to lose weight though, it’s affecting my self esteem.
I need to
 
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