Slimming World on a Budget {Week 3}….

So, rather embarrassingly, my last Slimming World update was way back at the end of January and I don’t have too much more to report since then as I’ve struggled more than I expected.

My first struggle was that I was getting stomach cramps on about day 2 or 3 each time I tried it for some reason so I gave up each time.  My specialist mentioned that Slimming World may not be the best diet for me to follow as it doesn’t necessarily encourage the best eating habits ( apparently the ‘free’ foods can encourage over eating of the wrong foods) and he suggested I give Weight Watchers points system a try.

A little review of Weight Watchers points

(FYI – This isn’t an actual review that WW have asked me to share, it’s just my opinion after signing up to the online only option)

I signed up for their online service as I had no idea about Weight Watchers and needed a lot of help with how it worked.  It’s free for the first month but you need to cancel within 14 days if you don’t want to be charged for the rest of months in the subscription plan you choose when you sign up.

It really is a lot cheaper than Slimming World with various options available with the options available for online access only or online access plus meetings and with prices starting from £2.09 a week, I thought it was well worth it.

I absolutely loved the Weight Watchers points in principal – you get a set number of points to stick to each day and a weekly allowance to use as extras when you need them.  There’s a pretty wide range of Weight Watchers ready meals about and if you shop in Tesco, their Healthy Living range has points values on the packaging which makes it really easy to get started.  I remember feeling really overwhelmed when I started Slimming World with all the choices and this was so much easier than that.

If, like me, you’re on a budget then I expect you won’t be buying too many of the pre-prepared meals but you don’t need to worry about working out points values, I just downloaded the app and used the extremely handy little barcode scanner on the app.   The app also syncs to a Fitbit or even just to Apple Health and lets you know how you’re doing towards your exercise goals which was another thing I loved as it was a great motivator.

So, the prices are great, the points are easy to work out and the app is amazing – so why have I cancelled my subscription after just 13 days?

It’s because I hated the weighing and the measuring and the having to think of everything in advance.  You really can eat anything on Weight Watchers if you count the points but if you use all your points then you’re stuck as the range of free foods isn’t great as far as hunger pangs are concerned.  I much prefer the free foods idea of Slimming World and I know that it worked for me last year until I got ill and it will work again.

I have a month to go until New York so I’m feeling super motivated and ready to do this!

2017 weight loss so far – 4lbs

This week I’ve been through my wardrobe and got rid of all of the clothes that I don’t feel good in, which was actually around half of my wardrobe.  Most of them have accumulated over years and I’m pleased that quite a few things I tried on yesterday were too big after my weight loss last year before I was poorly.  I now have much fewer clothes but the ones I do have make me feel a lot better than the ones I got rid of so I’m better off for having less clothes if that makes sense.

I’ve been back on Slimming World for a week and so far, there’s been no stomach cramps like there was before I tried Weight Watchers so it’s looking good.  I think the difference is that I’m not really eating too much of one food type – I may have overdone the fruit and veg last time around. 😉

Fingers crossed.

I’m joining in with the new #SlimmingSunday linky that Michelle  and Mrs Shilts have started so I hope that’s going to give me even more motivation!