If you stick to Slimming World properly, week one you have an amazing loss. It’s so exciting and really gives you a kick to keep going. Week two will be less, and you may even have no loss in week three as your body catches up. In the long term though, as long as your overall progress from month to month is a loss then don’t panic. Our bodies fluctuate depending on hormones and time of the month, what we’ve eaten or drunk and of course our exercise levels. What should you do when Slimming World isn’t working though?
Slimming world isn’t working?
If you are attending a group rather than doing it online, have a word with your leader. Whether it’s during the meeting, or you have some sort of support such as a Facebook group and you can reach out during the week. What about if you are doing it online, or even just don’t feel comfortable reaching out? Here are my top tips to get back on track and move forward.
Drink enough water
Make sure you are drinking enough! Water is your best friend especially when trying to lose weight. It helps keep the body hydrated and flushes it out. If you find drinking water boring, you can add fruit or vegetables such as cucumber, lemon or mint to give the water a hint of a flavour and this can help you drink more!
Make sure you have enough speed
Make sure 1/3 of your meals are made up of speed foods. Whether you mix then into your cooking, or serve your meal with a side of vegetables or a salad, that ratio and bulking out your foods with speed foods is key to Slimming World success. You can access the full list of speed foods via the Slimming World website or app if you are a member.
Weigh anything and everything
Make sure you are weighing anything and everything that isn’t syn free. Once you’ve been doing the plan for a while, yo can get a bit complacent with portion sizes. I even stopped weighing my healthy extra dairy portions, thinking I could estimate it really well. Once I hit a plateau I started weighing it again and soon realised that I was consuming about 50% more than I should have. It’s therefore really important to make sure you are weighing healthy extras and anything with a syn value!
Keep a food diary
There’s a reason when you join a group that they give you a sheet to keep a food diary for at least the first few weeks. Again, you can so easily get complacent, one biscuit here, a chocolate bar there. By keeping a food diary and tracking anything and everything you eat and drink, it will make you more accountable. You will be less likely to lose track of what you are eating, and because you have to record everything you are less likely to snack and graze. Whether you design your own sheet or spreadsheet, or you buy a food diary to fill out, writing everything down will help you get back on track!
Try new recipes
One of the things that sometimes slows down my progress is when I get stuck in a rut with my menu. If I am bored I can tend to graze or snack more. There are loads of great resources online (including on the Slimming World website and by bloggers such as Slimming Violet) and in print of amazing collections of recipes, so have a browse and find something new to try. Giving your menu some variety will make it easier and more enjoyable to stick to!
Make sure you are eating enough!
Whilst this might seem counterintuitive, you need to make sure you are eating enough food and consuming enough calories. If you aren’t eating enough syns, your body can go into starvation mode and actually slow down your weight loss. The programme has been developed over a number of years by nutritional experts so make sure to stick to it properly as it’s highly unlikely you will know better than them!
Slimming World still not working?
Try all these steps and then review your progress! Other reasons it’s might not be working are if you have a medical condition – so make sure to speak to your doctor or physician. If you are doing it online, it might be time to reach out to a group leader, as the group can really be key to your success and the contact with a leader can be really beneficial!
