7 upvotes, 0 direct replies (showing 0)
View submission: Does Slimming World make sense?
You’re spot on. It’s an absolute cult. If you dare to criticise it the yummy mummies jump at you.
It’s based on utter pseudoscience and pseudonutrition. Basing it on satiety rather than actual nutrition is incredibly damaging for those looking for lasting lifestyle change and really damaging for those who are overweight or obese.
The mental gymnastics used to justify the actual word “syn” - “oh it stands for synergies…” - we all know it’s designed on purpose to be “sin”.
White carbs - pasta and potatoes - are “free”. Their own website says “Unlimited Free Food - including pasta and potatoes - frees us from worrying about weighing, measuring or counting.” - so when you rightly say, “oh so you can eat as much pasta as you want?” they instantly jump to “NO NO that’s not how it works”. Eyeballing pasta instead of weighing it is the difference between consuming double the amount of calories and not losing weight.
They have brand deals so will put foods filled with crap as either free or low syn - Müller Light is a prime example of this, whilst low in calories they’re high in sugar, artificial sweeteners and additives. Yet plain, full-fat Greek yogurt (which is superior nutrition wise) is full of “syns”.
Their own brand ready meals, again full of crap, are “syn free” - but competitors’ ready meals will be “synned” - despite having the same/similar nutritional values.
An avocado has the same nutritional value to SW as a can of Strongbow Dark Fruits[1].
1: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/slimming-world-claims-avocados-worse-12270551.amp
And then there’s the mashed vs whole when it comes to fruits. A single banana is syn free. When you mash or blend it, it suddenly has syns - **despite the nutritional content remaining unchanged** and the fact that to eat a whole banana, you have to mash it with your mouth! A banana still has 100ish calories whether it’s whole or not. “Oh well you’ll eat more if it’s mashed” - well, not really, if a smoothie recipe wants 1 banana that’s all I’ll add. It’s a lie that blending fruit “releases more sugar” - if a banana has 12g of naturally occurring sugars, it **still** has 12g of naturally occurring sugars if you blend it. Sugar doesn’t just appear out of thin air.
They use utterly infantile language “body magic” “speed foods” and the like. It’s so cringe.
Best way to lose weight is to **move more and eat less** and work with an actual qualified nutritionist or dietitian.
There's nothing here!