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Reviewed By Juliette Kellow BSc RD

Slimming World is certainly a big name in the diet industry and with a 40-year history it’s apparently stood the test of time. Margaret Miles-Bramwell created Slimming World and the original diet in 1969 and remains the chairman of the organisation today.

Four decades on and Slimmingworld has around 2, 500 consultants in the UK and it’s estimated that group members lose a total of 2, 551 stones every day! They’re impressive statistics and so it would seem the Slimming World diet certainly works. But just what does the Slimming World diet entail and can it help you keep the weight off afterwards? We delve deeper…

How Does The Slimming World Diet Work?

Slimming World is basically a slimming club that combines a unique diet plan with group support. To gain access to the diet, you need to become a member. You can also become a Slimming World online member and receive the diet information this way.

Tell Me About the Slimming World Diet?

Slimming World’s unique plan is called Slimming World Food Optimising. The theory behind the plan is simple – to lose weight you need to take in fewer calories than you use up. Slimming World Food Optimising achieves this reduction in calories by encouraging dieters to freely eat foods that are lower in calories but high in nutrients such as pasta, lean meat, rice, fish, fruit and veg, whilst limiting calorie-packed foods that are nutrient-poor such as biscuits and booze. This is essentially the same as the WLR Plan – it focuses on reducing calories and eating more healthy foods. However WLR does not set limits on any foods and instead encourages you to educate yourself on your food choices, rather than being told what to eat.

Because the focus is on eating mainly lower-calorie foods, Slimming World claims that its Food Optimising diet lets you eat as much as you like, without having to count calories or constantly weigh or measure food. However, this lack of focus on weighing and measuring means that you are unlikely to learn about portion sizes and calories and could easily revert to your old ways of eating. All the information about Slimming World Food Optimising is provided in a book that’s part of the joining pack you receive when you become a member.