Slimming world diet,

I followed the slimming world diet plan in April 2011. I lost a 

stone in 8 weeks & I enjoyed the diet plan.

Extra Easy

On a normal daily basis I would choose the extra easy option from the diet plan. This meant that any 'free food' I could each, then I could choose a 'healthy option a' & 'healthy option b'. Free foods consisted of all fruit & veg, potatoes, beans, pulses, lean meats, fish , pasta, rice, couscous & muller light yoghurt's. I found this fabulous as I could eat soooo soooo much! Healthy option a choices were your dairy requirements; cheese & milk. Healthy option b was my whole grains- bread, cereal bars & there were a few soup options. On top of ALL this food I also had 15 syns a day! The best way I can explain this is 10 chocolate fingers- each chocolate finger had 1.5 syns. The book came with an easy to follow syns index; you could find out most naughty foods syn value in less than a minute. And you also had a catalogue of free foods which you can help yourself to.

Red Day

On a red day, you could eat more meat, and more whole grain. Your potatoes & pasta weren't 'free foods' & you had to weigh these out. I didn't often have a red day as I'm not much of a meat eater so I'm probably not the best person to write about red days. Your fruit & veg are still free & you can have as much as you like.

Green Day

When having a green day you could have two 'healthy option a' & 'healthy option b' foods. But you had to measure & limit your meat/fish intake. I often had green days as, like I said I'm not much of a meat eater so I needed my protein from other foods. Like on the red days, your fruit & veg are still free & you can have as much as you like.

Most days I did extra easy, because as the name gives it away, it is so easy! Slimming world doesn't encourage you not to eat, or to cut down, but to choose the right things, & to pick the healthier options. They also encourage exercise, giving bronze, sliver & gold awards based on how often you exercise & for how long. I found this very encouraging for trying to change your lifestyle & attempting to maintain any weight loss. Slimming world groups were very supportive, but I did sometimes feel like something out of a comedy! 'Girls, Sheila has lost 2lbs! Everyone give her a round of applause'. However it was very nice, & the group all seemed to know each other well & supported everyone throughout their own journeys.

Slimming world is fabulous if you have the time to make your meals from scratch. This is one of the best things that slimming world taught me, if you make your own meals you know exactly what is going into them. However this did make eating out a bit of a nightmare, I was always very conscious & I think this was probably where I missed out on losing them extra few lbs because I didn't always make the right choices.

On-line support

Slimming world has a great on-line network, you can search an item to find out how many syns it contains & you get access to new recipes. You also have a clear space to track your progress, with a graph and a BMI chart so you can see how much healthier you are becoming by choosing to loose the weight. This tool made me motivated to keep going, as I always wanted to log on & record my weight loss. There is also an app so you can keep a food diary & track your progress on the move!

If you are a busy person you do need to be very organised with your meals/shopping to ensure you can stick to your diet & slimming world might not be the best option for you. I would recommend slimming world for anyone who is starting from scratch  & willing to really make an effort, it really helped to educate me with what healthy eating actually was.