Why Am I Not Losing Weight On Slimming World?

sophiegw

4 years ago

Slimming World is fantastic for weight loss, and many people praise it as their success tool in shifting those excess pounds! It takes weight loss away from diets and makes it more about lifestyle, which is essentially where the problems lie for most people. As much as I want a quick fix, I also understand that even if by some miracle I could make a wish and be a healthy weight tomorrow, that weight would not stay off without some serious lifestyle changes. With Slimming World, you make those changes as you go, making it much more successful in my experience. Although many people rave about Slimming World, some people really struggle, and I often get asked; Why am I not losing weight on Slimming World?

Follow my current weight loss journey here: My Weight Loss Goals for 2023

The Slimming World Plan

The Slimming World concept is quite simple, which is the main thing I love about it. At first, it seems a little overwhelming but doesn’t everything new? Once you become familiar with the terms and names, it’s like second nature! Some people take to it straight away and start to see results on the scales almost immediately, but one of the biggest questions I get asked from people is; Why am I not losing weight on Slimming World?

Related Post: How To Lose Weight Fast On Slimming World

It can be frustrating when you struggle to lose, especially when you think you are wholly following the plan and doing everything you should be. There are a few traps that people seem to fall in with Slimming World that can cause issues with weight loss and they are the first thing that should be addressed and 99.9% of the time these changes fix everything and the weight loss starts to become evident. If you are attending a group, a good consultant will be able to not only identify these, but they will have prewarned you about them in advance. The problem is, and it’s one of my pet peeves with the Slimming World groups is that sometimes you get a consultant that doesn’t really help or in some instances, doesn’t even know how to! I’ve detailed a few of the common mistakes here, and it may answer that ominous question: Why am I not losing weight on Slimming World?

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Why Am I Not Losing Weight on Slimming World?

Forgotten Speed Food

A couple of years ago, a friend and I joined Slimming World together. Initially, we both had some success, but her losses soon petered out, and she asked the critical question; Why am not losing weight on Slimming World? She was, but the losses were minimal, or she’d have the odd gain when she wasn’t having a cheat day or anything that would scupper her results. I knew all of the Slimming World foods she was cooking because we often shared recipes and at first, it seemed like a complete mystery except when she shared a photograph of her evening meal, and I noticed she had no speed food on her plate – none.

Speed food is the key to success on Slimming World. You can eat a whole plate of free food until you are fit for bursting BUT only if a third of your plate contains speed food. It doesn’t matter if you have added speed food to your dish; it’s about what that speed food represents on the plate. By filling your plate with a third speed food, you are reducing your portion size and replacing it with lower-calorie options. A side salad, broccoli, carrots and other speed veg make a great accompaniment. If you want seconds, that’s fine too, but that also includes another third of your plate to include speed food.

The majority of people that message, email or comment asking; Why am I not losing weight on Slimming World? Are not eating speed food or enough of it! Speed food is a replacement on the plate, so eating this after the meal doesn’t work as well either. Go through this list of speed foods and find the ones you love. Create recipes or just include them as they are with every plate, and by doing so, you will see success on the scales.

You’re Not Being Honest

Sometimes the biggest reason for lack of success with Slimming World is that you’re not honest – there I said it! On Slimming World, you only have to measure your Healthy Extra’s and your Syns. Everything else is free, and you can eat as much of it as you like (see point above!) Those things you do have to measure, though need to be measured accurately EVERY SINGLE TIME. I’ve fallen victim to the milk “guestimations” where you drop a bit in a cup of tea and measure it entirely by eye! Now, the odd brew here and there probably won’t have a considerable impact, but if you do this daily it adds up, and it will hinder your weight loss.

Related Post: Slimming World Syn Calculator

Accurately weigh and measure all Healthy Extra’s and Syns every single day. Use an insulated travel cup for milk on the go so you are ready to whip it out at your friend’s house or in the coffee shop. Invest in a good set of kitchen scales and a few measuring jugs and ALWAYS make sure you know the Syns in an item BEFORE you indulge. So many times, I’ve scoffed something which I plan on finding out the Syns of later only to totally forget of realise it’s taken me entirely over my Syn allowance for the day. Think of Syns as currency – you can’t eat a bag of crisps from the supermarket without paying first, nor should you indulge without knowing how many Syns it is.

You’re Not Tracking Your Intake

Similar to the point above, tracking what you consume is a helpful way to spot any mistakes. Try logging what you actually consume, including your Healthy Extra choices and your Syn allowance. If you are asking; Why am I not losing weight on Slimming World? The answer will be within those logs.

Consciously keeping a record of your intake can really help you stay mindful of what you are consuming each day. It shows when we’ve had cheat days or moments off-plan, which can highlight where we are going wrong so we can actively improve.

Related Post: Eating Out on Slimming World Tips & Tricks

You’re Not In the Right Head Space

I genuinely believe that weight loss is heavily dominated by mindset. If you are in the right headspace, you can boost your way to success with little hindrance. If your mindset isn’t in the right place, you are almost working against yourself. Find out why you want to lose weight and dig deep for what your triggers are or what is stopping you. If you do the mental mindset work in advance, it makes losing weight much less of a battle and more of a journey. I created a weight loss printable which I’ve been using to help get me into the right headspace. You may find this a useful tool to put yourself in the right mindset, and it’s available to purchase here.

Motivation is Low

Along with my above point motivation is a big key driver to whether weight loss is a yay or a nay. You need to identify what your motivation is and focus on that. For me, I want to be healthy and have the ability to run around with my kids as they grow up. I hold on to this when I have those waivering moments asking myself; Do I want this or do I want to be healthy for my kids? It’s about balance so sometimes I’ll eat the pancake or the cookie and sometimes I’ll close the door and pick up a piece of fruit.

Staying motivated through the journey can be hard, but some key points are:

Don’t get frustrated if you have a day/week/month off-plan. Guide yourself back as soon as you are in the right headspace and start a fresh.
Keep your goals realistic. I want to lose four stone, but there is no way this will happen in a month. I focus on the smaller losses and see them as mini-goals in themselves.
Celebrate the wins. A loss is a loss. It doesn’t matter if it’s 10lb or 2lb you are on your way to your target, and that deserves a celebration.
Ditch the scales. Sometimes the numbers are a trigger concentrate more on how you feel in your own skin. Are your clothes looser? Are people commenting that you’ve lost weight? Do you just feel better?

Your Journey

Have you been asking the burning question; Why am I not losing weight on Slimming World? Give these tips a try and let me know if you see an improvement. Remember that there is no one size fits all to anything in life. If you don’t get success or enjoyment from the Slimming World plan, there will be something out there that works for you! Perhaps this isn’t the right plan for you and you would be better suited to calorie counting for example. I have a blog post listing the differences between calorie counting and Slimming World here.

If you want further support and company on your weight loss journey, join my free Facebook Group here. If you have found this website and articles useful and you’d like to know how you can say thank you then I am always appreciative to receive a virtual coffee here.