I lost 5st with Slimming World and found the secret to losing weight is the support of others
New research shows we're less socially connected to others since the Covid 19 pandemic. As well as having an impact on physical and mental wellbeing, people say this lack of connection has increased their weight problems.
Conversely, research from Slimming World shows that feeling connected in a group of like-minded people, who care about your success and positively support you to succeed, makes all the difference when you are trying to lose weight.
Kerstin Stewart, 27, from Paignton in Devon, lost 5st after joining her local Slimming World group. Kerstin says spending one hour each week in the group with people who are on the same weight loss journey is what keeps her on track. Her experiences back up the research findings that the secret to successful weight loss is social.
She says: “I joined my local Slimming World group in Paignton on 4th January 2018 weighing 17st 1lb. I’d met a friend on Christmas Eve who I’d not seen in a while, and I could see she’d lost a lot of weight. When she told me she’d joined our local Slimming World group, I decided that January would be a great time for me to join and lose weight too.
I went along with her to our local group and from the moment I walked through the doors my life changed for the better
“The Consultant Lucy was so reassuring and when I heard about the flexibility of the Food Optimising eating plan, it all made sense. I could eat foods like meat and chicken, rice, pasta and veg freely on the plan, without needing to count, weigh or measure them. I found it so reassuring to know I wasn’t on my own and being with people who just ‘get it’ and know what you’re going through was so refreshing and it was just what I needed. I’ve been overweight for as long as I can remember, even as a child," says Kerstin.
“Before joining Slimming World, I’d never cook from scratch. Every weekend I would go out drinking and get a McDonald’s or a kebab on the way home. Now I batch cook a lot to help me stay prepared for the week ahead and lunch will often be leftover dinner from the night before. I’m a huge pasta fan and I love jacket potatoes and one pot meals like jambalaya. I still go out at weekends however now I drink spirits instead of cider and I make sure I have something from the Slimming World food range at Iceland when I get home.
“Lucy makes group so fun! I’ve made a lot of friends and the support of group is amazing. We have a Facebook group where we post recipe tips and ideas and I love seeing what everyone is making to eat that week. It’s another tool for us outside of group. My friends and family all support me and when I see people I’ve not seen for a long time, they can’t believe the change in me, yet I know I’m doing this for me and no-one else.
“Going to the group each week helps keep me focused and on track and gives me the tools and knowledge to help me in the long term. I’ve turned my food habits upside down and now, for the first time in my life, I have a good relationship with food.
“Losing weight has helped me to be more active than I ever was. I used to hate walking and now I walk loads and go swimming three times a week. Being more active is so good for my mental health. When I think about it, I played netball and other sports at school yet when I turned 18 I started driving and stopped exercising altogether which must have had an impact on my weight.
“Although this has been an extremely personal journey, I couldn’t have done it without the support of my Slimming World group. It’s so strange to think where I was and where I am now. I love listening to everyone’s stories every week and hearing what they struggled with and sharing the knowledge I’ve gained to help them from my own experience. I enjoyed finding out new tips and new foods or recipes that I could try myself. Since I joined my Slimming World group, I feel like I’m glowing. I’m happier, more independent and I’m much more likely to meet up with friends and go places. Life is altogether much more colourful!”
Dr Jacquie Lavin, Special Advisor on the Science of Weight Management at Slimming World says: “Kerstin’s story shows the sense of belonging our members very quickly feel within our groups, which helps to lift them out of any loneliness and isolation they’re feeling and helps them to feel valued – sometimes for the first time in some time.
“Being part of a community of likeminded people is as important as our healthy eating plan when it comes to successful weight loss as it’s what keeps members coming back week after week to get the support they need. As our members’ self-esteem and self-belief grows, they feel safe enough to open up and do the deeper thinking needed to make changes. They also have more confidence in their ability to adopt the new healthy, life-changing habits which the group supports them to build, and to develop and share real-life strategies to deal with potential pitfalls which makes losing weight easier and more successful in the long run.
Slimming World groups are the original social network. For more than 50 years our members have found a sense of belonging within our groups as they’ve joined together with likeminded people who understand what it’s like to be overweight. At Slimming World, we understand it’s a physical and a psychological journey and members need support to tackle both.
More than a third (38%) of those questioned in a survey of 2,000 adults* said they feel less socially connected now than they did before the pandemic, and only 36% currently feel a sense of belonging within their local community. Meanwhile, nearly half (44%) say they are meeting fewer people in real life than before March 2020 and 31% say they feel socially isolated even when with other people.
When asked about the challenges of trying to manage their weight since the pandemic and lockdowns, 31% said they found it more difficult, with 12% of those stating it was much more difficult. Of those surveyed, more than one in three (36%) reported that they had gained weight over the course of the past two years (compared to 19% who had lost weight).
Lucy Nicholas runs the Paignton Slimming World group which Kerstin attends. She says: “Kerstin has been an inspiration to me and the rest of our group. Her determination to reach her weight loss goal and her commitment has been incredible to watch. I feel privileged to have been able to support Kerstin on her journey.”
The research also polled members of Slimming World’s 7,700 community weight loss groups**. Three in four people who joined a Slimming World group said they were more confident and self-assured (74%) as a result. They had also made new friends (73%), felt more connected (68%) and, crucially, 93% of Slimming World members felt committed to their weight loss. Slimming World, the UK’s and Ireland’s leading weight management organisation who commissioned the research by Censuswide, says the findings show that providing opportunities for real-life connection with others, in a powerfully motivating weight loss group setting, is key to stemming the tide of the obesity epidemic and provide the authentic sense of belonging that people are searching for.
Group: Kerstin attends the Paignton Slimming World group run by Consultant Lucy Nicholas. For more information or to find your nearest group, visit slimmingworld.co.uk.
*Data relates to a nationally representative sample of 2,003 people in the UK surveyed between 25th and 28th July 2022
**A random sample of 1,113 Slimming World members were polled via Slimming World’s member website during the same period
Kerstin Stewart
Starting weight: 17st 1lbs
Weight lost: 5st 1lbs
Current weight: 12st
Height: 5ft 5in
BEFORE
Breakfast: Toast spread with butter and jam (could range from 2-8 slices)
Lunch: Sandwich with shop bought sandwich filler, crisps and chocolate biscuit
Dinner: Pasta with a jar of pasta sauce, garlic bread
Snacks: Chocolate, crisps
Drinks: Full sugar fizzy pop and squash, cider
AFTER
Breakfast: Sausage and egg wrap
Lunch: Jacket potato or pasta with salad or leftovers from dinner the night before
Dinner: Fakeaways: burger and Slimming World chips, homemade thin base pizza, curry made from scratch or one pot wonders like Slimming World's vegetable jambalaya
Snacks: Hi fibre bars, low fat crisps, low calorie popcorn, ham, lean chicken, boiled eggs, fat free yogurt, sugar free ice lollies
Drinks: Water, sugar free drinks, vodka and slimline tonic
Slimming World was founded by Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE in Derbyshire in 1969 and has become the UK and Ireland’s leading weight loss organisation with more people choosing to attend a Slimming World group each week than any other weight loss programme. We support hundreds of thousands of people, both in our groups and online, to lose weight and to adopt new habits to stay slim for life.
Over the years our founding principles haven’t changed:
· Our unique programme is based on a powerfully motivating support system called IMAGE (Individual Motivation and Group Experience) Therapy. Underpinned by a deep understanding of the psychology of overweight people, and incorporating the most effective sustainable behaviour change techniques, IMAGE Therapy is designed to inspire and motivate slimmers to make positive changes and to develop new, healthier habits around food and activity.
· Food Optimising is our healthy eating plan, based on the liberating concept of Free Food. We encourage our members to fill up on those foods that are naturally lower in energy density (calories per gram) and also highly satisfying while limiting foods that are highest in fat and sugar and are less satisfying, so they lose weight without ever feeling hungry or deprived and without having to weigh, measure or count everything they eat.
· Our activity programme, Body Magic helps members to overcome any barriers around activity. Members choose when to start and they set the pace, finding activities they genuinely enjoy, until regular physical activity becomes an intrinsic part of their daily routine.
At the heart of everything we do lies our passion for treating every member with genuine care, empathy and respect.
We’re proud to work with the NHS, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), The Royal College of Midwives and others to help shape the future of weight management in the UK and Ireland.
For more information about Slimming World’s approach visit slimmingworld.co.uk or slimmingworld.ie
Follow Slimming World on Twitter at twitter.com/slimmingworld or become a Slimming World fan on Facebook at facebook.com/slimmingworld
For the Press Office visit our newsroom or email public.relations@slimmingworld.co.uk