Choice and flexibility are at the heart of what Slimming World is all about. We love the community feeling and unbeatable support found in our buzzy local groups. We also understand that some people aren’t able to get to group or commit to regular group meetings. That’s where our digital-only service, Slimming World Online, comes in.
Just like our group members, Slimming World Online members get access to an information- and inspiration-packed website and a useful app, which include a huge recipe collection, an easy-to-use Food Search tool and a food and activity Planner. Our Slimming World Online members also have their own online Community area – a lively space where they can post updates, thoughts and photos from along their slimming journey.
In this new regular series, we’ll be taking a look at what our online members are sharing – and who better to bring us a monthly Community catch-up than our Slimming World Community coordinator, Michelle Hall. Over to you, Michelle!
Hi everyone. Well, April has been a very strange month, but the spirit of our Community has shone through brighter than ever. Our online members have been dealing with big and difficult changes, yet they’ve come together to support one another through challenges, to share inventive meal ideas for making the most of what they have and to celebrate each others’ achievements. The Slimming World Online Community really is an inspiring place to be – and these are just a few of the posts that caught my eye…
One thing that’s really blown me away is how our members are finding the positives in these really tricky times. Nealy shared a pic of her tasty-looking ‘Full English’ brunch, saying:
“Brunch is served! Working from home has really changed my daily routine, but what it has done is given me the time to plan and prepare my daily meals (hopefully more effectively). This should keep me full until teatime.”
Our members are also rising to the challenge of keeping up their Body Magic, and finding new ways to be active. Lynn is making the most of having time on her hands and has taken up cycling. She says:
“My house is cleaned from top to bottom, so I’ve been concentrating on exercise. I wanted to do my exercise while it’s quiet, so I’ve taken up cycling – getting up at 5am every other morning to do an hour’s ride.
I started off doing 5 miles through a couple of villages, but struggled with the hilly bits. Now, about 3 weeks on, I’ve not only been able to get up the hills, but also succeeded in getting up an absolute pig of a hill, increased my ride to almost 7 miles some mornings and my time has dropped from an hour to 45 minutes.
Start off with a mile. Be prepared for saddle soreness (oh my poor bits!). You will want to increase to 2 miles and so on – I bet ya!
I see so many varieties of birds, and I see rabbits and foxes too. I’ve endured thick fog, but the sunrises have been amazing. And no people or traffic! So if I want to rest I can without feeling embarrassed (though I don’t).
I think over my last 8 rides I’ve done 43 miles. I never dreamt I could achieve that! Xx”
We set our members a little ‘I spy’ Body Magic challenge last weekend – asking them to get active and send us a snap of what they spotted along the way. One of my favourites was this beautiful canal view sent in by CTS, who went on an 8km walk with her son:
Fakeaway ideas are always really popular in the Community – our members love that they can have all the taste of their favourite takeaway, while still working towards their weight loss goals. This amazing DIY Chinese banquet made by Victoria_Lorna really got my mouth watering! She says:
“Tonight was Chinese. All recipes are from the app, plus some stir-fry veg packs. Sesame prawn toast, satay chicken (used the satay beef marinade recipe), egg fried rice and duck pancakes.”
Motivation can be difficult to keep up when we have other things on our mind, and the entire Community support team has been inspired by the determination of our members to keep working towards their slimming goals. We’ve also been excited to welcome lots of new members, and one new member, Charlotte252, shared her reason for starting her slimming journey:
“What was your trigger to really do something about your weight/health? For me, it was a photo that my partner took 2 weeks ago when I was in the paddling pool with my son. When I looked at the photo later, I felt so upset with myself that I looked like that. Since then, I’ve been using a couple of free apps that said I should only have 1,200 calories each day – I joined Slimming World this morning as I’m starving! 😆😆”
I also absolutely love this no-scale-victory posted by GAScot:
‘”Just had puppy food delivered (pup home on Saturday) and struggled to get it in the door as it’s so heavy. Weighs 12kg and I’ve lost 11kg. Really brought it home how much weight I’ve actually lost. It may have taken me a while but I’m getting there.’”
Finally, I want to leave you with this uplifting and inspiring post by Melanie01, who has hit two significant milestones this week. A huge well done, Melanie!
“I got my 8st award and bought a pair of size-14 jeans, which fitted! Yayyyyyy! Down from size 26! So very, very happy!”
Are you a Slimming World Online member? We’d love you to share your favourite blog posts in the Community!