From SW to CC any tips gratefully received x

[Slimming world newbeeeee]

Hi Calorie Counters,

I have probably tried most crazy diets but did successfully lost 20lb on Slimming World a couple of years ago but found the weight piled back on when I stopped so realised it didn’t actually teach me anything apart from how much pasta, rice and potatoes I was able to eat (a lot) !!!
I need something long term which fits in with my life, I want to have a few Prosecco’s without feeling guilty I’ve gone over my Syns and eat out with my friends and family without having to order a jacket potato with beans so a calorie controlled diet seems the perfect solution.

Although I use an app to log meals posting on here really helped last time and reading other people’s treads for meal ideas and tips was brilliant..

How is everyone getting on ?

Nicky (the serial dieter lol)

 

[littlemissnaughty]

Hi Nicky!

I have been doing CC successfully for the last 15 months. I have lots of holidays so I am off plan for a lot of the time but I have still managed to lose 3 stone and I'm still losing. Like you I use an app (MFP) and it is great but I've been doing it for so long now that I'm in a habit of eating properly. I have 1 cheat day a week (usually Saturday) and try to stick to 1000 - 1200 calories a day the rest of the week. It works perfectly for me.

I'm sure you will do great as it is so easy and when you have a cheat day it doesn't matter, you can just get back on it tomorrow. SW is great but I agree the weight will pile back on as soon as you go off plan.

Good luck with your CC journey and I look forward to hearing how you are doing.

 

[Nanny Doreen]

I have found that SW helps me to make the choices near to normal eating.

I loved doing calorie counting previously but when I stopped I put it back again.

It has taken me years to lose weight but it is going.

I hope this works for you, I know so many people who calorie count and do really well. Sadly not me.

Good luck

 

[Slimming world newbeeeee]

Hi and thank you for your replies!
You have both got good losses, well done you’ve done brilliantly,

I am currently doing 1600 a day, which is great I definitely get to eat enough and there is a treat everyday included. I am trying to make this a lifestyle rather than a diet as I know once I’ve lost the weight, keeping it off is the hard part. I did have success on slimming world but being a working mum of two children, who do lots sports and clubs I found if I wasn’t super organised it would all go to pot and really wanted something less stressful!!! I eat plenty of fruit and veggies as I actually really like them
I also love wine but it has way too many calories so I switched to Gin and slimline tonic.. it’s about small steps eh !!

It’s nice to be able to talk ‘diet’ with people who understand the struggles ! I will have a look at your diaries

Have a good week x

 

[littlemissnaughty]

Hi and thank you for your replies!
You have both got good losses, well done you’ve done brilliantly,

I am currently doing 1600 a day, which is great I definitely get to eat enough and there is a treat everyday included. I am trying to make this a lifestyle rather than a diet as I know once I’ve lost the weight, keeping it off is the hard part. I did have success on slimming world but being a working mum of two children, who do lots sports and clubs I found if I wasn’t super organised it would all go to pot and really wanted something less stressful!!! I eat plenty of fruit and veggies as I actually really like them
I also love wine but it has way too many calories so I switched to Gin and slimline tonic.. it’s about small steps eh !!

It’s nice to be able to talk ‘diet’ with people who understand the struggles ! I will have a look at your diaries

Have a good week x

That's what I love about Calorie Counting, you can still have a treat each day and it be ok.

Like you I am a working mum, I find doing a meal plan before I go shopping and writing a shopping list the best way to stay on track. It also helps me manage my time and cooking etc. I also try not to have snacks over 100 calories in the cupboards, as they are too tempting.

I usually have a drink at the weekend, I have also switched wine to gin and diet lemonade and if I have a beer, I go for something like Budlight as it is only half the calories which is great. I always plan my weekends and if I know I'm going to have a drink, I tend not to have snacks that day to try and keep the calories down. I usually have 1 cheat day a week as well which really help stay on track.

 

[Slimming world newbeeeee]

Great advise, thank you !
The weight is coming off slowing and I’m fine with that, my short term goal is to feel better for my holiday in August and long term to get to my target weight, no rush though, I want it to stay off this time.

Meal planning sounds like a good idea, I really should do that. I tend to just wing it in the supermarket so yep

With breakfasts I eat the same thing until I get bored then move on to something new, should really mix it up a bit, at the moment it’s porridge!

I get lunch at work and it’s usual a chicken salad or poached eggs on toast

Dinners can be literally anything, I try my best to vary them and only cook one meal for all of us (as much as possible) i might not have the carb part of the dinner depending on how many calories I’ve had in the day. It’s surprising how many calories are in pasta, rice and potatoes considering they are free on slimming world !

I take fruit to work with me and always save some calories for a treat..

I’m in the zone at the moment and that’s 90% of the battle..

Have a good weekend

 

[Slimming world newbeeeee]

Bad calorie day yesterday, ended up going to the pub and went out for Chinese food. I did avoid the battered/ deep fried foods..
Had 1 g&t then stupidly had a glass of wine which lead to more glasses
Drawn a line under it and back on it today..

Breakfast was porridge made with unsweetened almond milk, peanut butter powder (my new favourite thing) and a small banana.

Can’t believe it’s Monday already, where has the BH weekend gone !!

 

[Wolf]

I also made the switch from SW to CC a few months ago.

I originally lost around 4st on SW about 5 years ago, for a holiday, then left SW and put it straight back on afterwards! About two years ago I then joined SW Online (since I hated the groups) and managed to (slowly) lose around 1.5st before just hitting a brickwall. I stayed the same for around another year then decided to give CC a go and I'm loving it. SW is good for people that have truly AWFUL eating habits as it starts to get them on track but my main issue was portion sizes, not WHAT I was eating, and SW doesn't help with that. SW makes people obsessed. Obsessed with syns, obsessed with "tweaks". Obsessed with bloody mug shots.

With CC it's soooo simple and stress free. I eat what I want pretty much. I'm on quite a high calorie rate at the moment (1600) as the best advice I have EVER been given was this: before reducing your calories, spend two weeks logging absolutely everything you normally eat. Doesn't matter if its 4,000 calories a day, just log it. After two weeks, work out your average daily calorie amount and reduce it by only 200 to 300. That is your starting point.

The worst mistake anyone can make when starting to CC is to instantly reduce their calories to 1000 or so. You need to start high so you have some wiggle room to reduce slightly if you hit a plateau. I'm comfortably losing around 2lbs/1kg a week on 1600 and I eat loads, which is great.

 

[Slimming world newbeeeee]

Hi Wolf,

Thank you for your reply and yep feel the same about SW, to start with I thought it was brilliant all those free carbs, but soon realised I wasn’t learning about portion control/self control.. you have done really well

Calorie counting for me is working and I find it much easier not to give up if I have a bad day. I have been away on holiday this week and it was all inclusive and I had pretty much what I wanted without going silly and only gained 3lb, when I went on holiday when doing slimming world I gained 8lb in one week !

I am back in it now and will hopefully shift these 3lb over the next few weeks, I tend to lose weight slowly so am not putting pressure on myself to get to target although am going on holiday again in August and want to feel more comfortable in my bikini lol

It’s good to chat with people who also CC and look forward to reading more of your journey xx