Slimming World

A question about : Slimming World

Hi all,

First of all, SW looks like a great way to tweak an already health conscious diet, so I visited a local SW meeting.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to ask about minimum membership length/trials/refunds/terms & conditions, remaining a member under a custom attendance plan.
I was told that I would have to attend every week which is far from flexible.
Firstly, I don't fancy walking alone in the dark that late in the evening every week to get to the meetings and back home.
Secondly, I am on very low income, so ongoing costs are an issue, I will not be able to spread the costs, opting for a little less support, but remaining committed.
Thirdly, I get ill… regularly, poor attendance is 99% guaranteed. I did not get any further with the conversation as I got the feeling “I do it their way or no way at all”, there was simply no give.
So much for SW presenting the lifestyle as something which I could fit around my life.
I could imagine attending the first three meetings weekly, but after that, I would like to attend every 2 or 3 weeks to stop me getting bored and leaving. The IMAGE and goal setting circle was not really my thing, I was the only person who weighed in metric and did not understand the imperial system! Furthermore I am not motivated by star stickers.

I loved the books however, from what I saw it was full of great ideas, and my way of cooking seems to already mirror the books. I would definitely buy the books, as it's an investment for life. Unfortunately I have cooking restrictions (physical disability), which makes peeling/carrying heavy things painful. I am just hoping that the recipes do not involve actions where I have restrictions.

I saw many people visiting the venue, getting weighed then leaving. I am assuming this high number of Weigh Ins occurs due to the lack of flexibility in attendance, I heard that the people would get charged anyway if they didn't attend? Furthermore there were very few attendees in the group circle who were members for longer than three weeks.

Surely, if people could agree a custom attendance plan to fit their needs and commitments, people would remain members longer, and would probably not get bored with the group?
I do not understand this arrangement other than it gives the consultant a regular income, does SW not realise people have busy lives, not all people are rich and are mobile with cars?

Is there any way I can follow the SW eating lifestyle without being blindly committed to ongoing weekly subs and meetings?
Having a disability and being poor should not be a barrier to improving diet.
After visiting SW with a positive outlook, I left feeling as though I had been kicked in the teeth. HELP...

Best answers:

• Come join us on the SW New Year New You thread, some are paying members and some go it their own way but we all help each other and muddle through together : )
• Just buy the books off ebay then.
  SW is a business, they make money from you attending meetings. Attending once a week is part of the deal for joining. Most towns have more than one meeting time/place a week, you dnt have to go to the same one every week, thats the flexibility, you go to whatever meeting you can get to.
  Everyone reaches a point of boredom with any dietplan. To be bored after one week, doesnt bode well, for most people disillusionment kicks in around the 3m mark.
  They do offers where you can prepay for a block of weeks. Works out slightly cheaper, but the weeks run comcurrently, so you lose money for weeks you dnt attend
  Staying to class meeting and attending weigh-in is supposed to keep your weightloss on track. The consensus seems to be, if you dnt attend meetings your weightloss is less. I Think shame mentality rather than the support they give, helps limit yr eating tho
  You can do SW online though, so that might be an option, but its the same price as attending meetings
• Personally, I feel you're being a bit harsh. About 16 years ago, I was a consultant for SW and I have to say, they were really good.
  When I did my training they covered things like this and explained that they had done extensive research which proved that people who stayed to class every week were more likely to lose weight and keep it off. This is another reason regarding paying and going. If you are not obliged to pay every week, you get a bit 'oh well' I'll not bother etc now and again. When I was a consultant I got weighed in my own class but didn't pay. I steadily put weight back on. I really should have carried on going to my proper class where I was a member. I got complacent.
  Also, as PP says, they are a business but they also want people to be successful and their research has concluded that this is the best way to do it.
  As a paying member you also get full access to their website to find out syn values etc and a whole host of other things. This has to be paid for somehow.
  Also, once a member, you can attend ANY class (I went to one on holiday once). So, you could argue that they are being flexible there. They also used to have an allowance for shift workers where they would only pay when they weren't at work. You could ask if they could offer something like this for you taking into consideration your circumstances.
  But, if you cannot get on with what they offer, then just get the books and go it alone. Or join the thread on here. I was on for a while and it is very supportive.
• Thanks flea72,
  Shame one cannot book the weeks in a non-block format, SW would still earn the same but give members flexibility.
  Yes, I realise that it's a business, I was just trying to find if there were tricks to getting flexible membership. I would even pay 3 months attendance in advance, they could then mark off my attendance card each time I visit.
  Maybe SW are missing a trick there, if someone has taken the time to walk through their doors, and someone has challenges in many areas of their life, why can't they be more accommodating?
  I mean if one size product fit everyone, then Henry Ford would have been successful with: "You can have any colour as long as it's black."
  I am not sure about the Online product, I try and stay away from computers, my disability has already caused repetitive strain injury on my good shoulder/arm/hand. I am better with physical products and I try and stay away from keyboards and screens where possible.
  I did think about a referral via my GP, but I cannot guarantee attending without being sick.
  All I can guarantee is that I will prepare food and eat it.
  I am unusually very self motivated and willing to tweak my habits and techniques for a better lifestyle.
  @lantanna
  Thank you, I will look up your thread.
• But when you sign up you also get access to the website etc which is part of what you pay your fiver a week for. Think of it as Ј20 a month and then you go to which meetings you want
• @Anoneemoose
  I was not trying to be harsh, I was just trying to provide as much information so I could find a solution.
  I cannot see myself taking the bus to other SW sessions, I feel bad enough walking alone in the dark as it is.
  SW would get their money, I just needed some flexibility for chronic sickness so I can get my allotted sessions in.
  This model, you are more likley to succeed if you have something to lose don't work here. I can guarantee I will have many weeks of sickness where I will not get out of the house.
  If SW have flexibility for shift workers, do they have flexibility for the incapacitated who cannot work and are often sick?
  This may be the solution I am looking for.
  Thanks
• Reading your post I think its you not being flexible, not slimming world. And I think you are missing the point of the meetings, its not just about being weighed weekly, the meetings form part of their plan. It also encourages commitment, its ok to say, "but i will be committed", because the response then is, prove it by coming to the meetings. It's a really big part of what slimming world is about, and those that go and stay lose more than those who just pay and weigh.
  You can:
  Follow them online
  Go to the weekly meetings.
  If you cant attend a meeting you can go to an alternative another day in your local area.
  If you still can't attend you can take a holiday that week so you don't have to pay, though there are limited holidays per year.
  That covers all bases, I have gone to the meetings in different cities before when I've been out of town working, I've also texted them just before a meeting to say I can't make it and take a holiday.
  At the end of the day, if you don't like their model, don't follow it.
• There are lots of ways of eating that dont involve paying 5 quid a week to go to a slimming club. I too don't think SW is the healthiest way of eating around. I do Paleo, its cost me nothing so far and Ive lost a lot of weight.
  Slimming world does work for some people, many people, but it's certainly not your only option.
• I think really any diet or healthy eating plan is there for you to take what you want and need from it and adapt it to fit your life and your principles.
  I have been at sw for nearly 2 years, I have tailored the plan to suit me and there are large parts of the SW ethos & general principles that I don't like and concern me. I lost 6 stone after a year and have kept that off going between 6 & 6.8 stone lost max.
  I don't stay for the meetings anymore afterwards as I feel that I have gotten all that I can from them. I really just go now to stay accountable on the scales as I personally do need that accountability of having to be weighed by someone else.
  I also don't agree with the pushing of certain branded foods.
  I completely agree with the OP that large parts of SW are not flexible and I do agree that an adaptable membership package should be allowed. Not one size fits all.