When you are thinking about what weight loss programme is best for you, which of these is your priority?
- Lose weight as quickly as possible
- The easiest way to lose weight
- The cheapest option
- The option that will mean you never gain weight again
- The best weight loss programme you can get
We know that for a lot of people, the answer will be the easiest, quickest and cheapest route for them – rather than taking into consideration what is best for their health. There are lots of weight loss programmes out there designed to help you reach your weight loss goals, but deciding what weight loss program is best for you can be difficult.
To help you on your weight loss journey, we have explored some most popular weight loss programmes available in the UK to see how they all compare to each other. Read about the core differences between Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Noom and The Slimming Clinic – our own medical weight loss programme – and find the solution most suitable for you.
Weight Watchers
If you’ve been on, or have researched weight loss programmes before, you will have undoubtedly have tried Weight Watchers.
How does it work?
Now known as WW, their weight loss plan works by allocating each patient’s ‘points’ for the day, based on your weight, height, gender and age. Through an initial online personal assessment, WW finds out what affects your weight loss the most and give you a weight loss programme to follow. Once you are allocated your points and programme, you can begin your weight loss diet.
Each food has a point value based on its energy, sugar, saturated fats and protein. To follow the diet plan, you must stay within your points ‘budget’. WW deliver their plans via an App and workshops local to you, supported by WW Coaches to help keep your journey moving forward.
Pros of Weight Watchers
- Low cost with frequent offers for new starters.
- Easily accessible to everyone through the app or groups.
- Have their own range of foods in supermarkets – making it simple to assign point values.
- Have a great recipe selection on their app.
- Help promote good portion control.
Cons of Weight Watchers
- Counting points is not so different to calorie counting and can get tedious.
- The more you lose, the fewer points you get, the less you can eat.
- No 1-to-1 support, all within an App or group setting.
- Run by Coaches who are only trained in the WW programmes and not in nutrition, diet, mindset or movement.
- Only 11% of people on WW successfully keep weight off over the long term.
Slimming World
Again, much like WW, Slimming World is a hugely popular weight loss programme in the UK and there are thousands of people following their diet.
How does it work?
Slimming World claims to not be a diet, but a lifestyle change. Based on their ‘Food Optimising’ plan, Slimming World allow you to eat endless amounts of ‘free foods’ and for the foods that aren’t free, you apply ‘Syns’ to.
Free foods on the Slimming World weight loss programme tend to be foods that are filling, or low in calories, like meat, fish, pasta, rice, fruit and vegetables. You can choose an online membership or head to a local group where you will meet others who are on the Slimming World weight loss programme and have a meeting with them and your leader.
Pros of Slimming World
- A meeting in nearly every town/city.
- Cheap to join and regular new starter offers.
- Easy to follow weight loss diet.
- The whole family can eat the same foods.
- You don’t have to measure or control the amounts of free foods you eat.
- The support you get from being in a weekly weight loss group with others can be a great mental boost for your weight loss journey.
Cons of Slimming World
- The groups are run by Consultants who are not professionally trained in weight loss areas like diet, mindset or movement.
- No portion control training as you can eat unlimited free foods like pasta, rice, potatoes etc. This can lead to over-eating.
- Restrictive on certain foods that are given ‘syn’ values.
- No focus on mindset and why you’ve gained weight or how to change your mindset to help lose weight.
- They do not focus much on activity or movement for weight loss, which is a key part of a weight loss journey.
- Easy to regain weight if you ‘fall off the wagon’ because of the lack of portion control advice.
- No 1-to-1 support from professionals, your plan is either on the App or in groups.
- If you attend a group, you are weighed in front of others. Whilst your weight is not read out, it can feel intimidating.
Noom
Noom is a relatively new weight loss diet programme within the UK, but it is proving to be really popular as it focuses on the psychology of what you’re eating rather than a strict diet regime.
How does it work?
Instead of taking the ‘weight loss diet’ approach, Noom wants you to learn to eat mindfully as they believe their psychology is the key to lasting weight loss change. Working with a traffic light system of green, yellow and red foods, Noom will work out the percentage of each colour you need for optimal health and weight loss.
When you join Noom, you are allocated a group within their weight loss App with a group coach, who checks in on your progress with you a few times a week, by messaging you through the Noom App. Additionally, to keep you supported each day, they send you daily articles to give you the psychology behind why you eat, to help change poor habits to good ones.
Pros of Noom
- Access to Team of Dietitians via the App.
- Based on the psychology of health/diet and offer you daily lessons to help you learn the psychology of why you are
- Builds plan around you, your requirements and long-term goals.
- Long term focus, helping you develop a new approach to how you eat, to teach you much better habits.
- Daily updates and coach check-ins are great for motivation when you need it.
Cons of Noom
- All interactions you have been through the Noom App and not face-to-face.
- Coaches are based in the USA, so you do get alerts in American time zones, not the UK, so it can be odd times in the morning!
- You will spend a lot of time on your phone each day using the App.
- Encourages daily weigh-ins, which can often be disheartening and do not account for the natural daily fluctuations in our bodies.
- The plan is built by algorithms, based on what information you input into their assessment.
- Have to log everything you consume religiously, which can become tiresome and often, you can ‘forget’ to log food and be less than truthful.
- No telephone or face to face contact with a coach to support you on your weight loss journey.
- Coaches aren’t professionals or weight loss experts – they’re trained in ‘Noomiversity’.
- Colour coded food can result in disordered eating and make you avoid ‘red’ foods.
The Slimming Clinic
And so to us, The Slimming Clinic!
How does it work?
At The Slimming Clinic, we offer a number of weight loss programmes that are designed around you, with access to real, trained professionals with additional weight loss medication, where appropriate. Using 1-to-1 remote appointments with weight loss doctors, we build weight loss programmes that suit your lifestyle and weight loss goals.
Rather than focusing on certain diets or activities, we talk to you and get to know you. Our GMC-registered weight loss doctors recommend the best ways for you to lose weight and diet plans to follow. Alongside this, we offer weight loss medication. Safe and effective, weight loss medication is prescribed after we have ascertained your suitability.
If suitable, our medical experts prescribe weight loss medication to help suppress your appetite and curb cravings, which will assist you and support your weight loss diet changes. Whatever level of weight loss programme you join with The Slimming Clinic, you will get access to our weight loss experts too – to support you in every way that can affect a weight loss journey.
All our medical weight loss experts are fully trained in their professions and their sole purpose within The Slimming Clinic is to help you lose weight and keep it off for good. Our team of experts is made up of Dietitians, Mind Coaches, Level 4 Personal Trainers, Psychologists and Doctors. All these roles require years of training and require them to be experts in their field.
Pros of The Slimming Clinic
- Remote appointments mean you can have your appointment wherever you are, 6 days a week.
- All our weight loss experts are just that – EXPERTS!
- All patients get access to our medical weight loss experts, depending on the programme you select.
- 1-to-1 appointments only – no groups to attend or weighing in in front of others.
- Regular 1-to-1 appointments mean we can update your weight loss programme whenever you need it. We can adapt to suit your needs, no matter what direction life takes you in!
- Weight loss medication to support your journey and help you feel fuller for longer.
- Our services and programmes outweigh the cost that you pay.
- Teach you ways to lose weight and also ensure you have the tools to maintain your weight loss for good.
Cons of The Slimming Clinic
- More expensive than traditional ‘High Street’ weight loss programmes.
- We can only treat those with BMIs over 27.
So, which is the best weight loss programme for you?
Overall, when you are looking for the best weight loss programme for you, whether you choose a high street weight loss group, app or The Slimming Clinic, these are our top tips for what to look for and questions you should ask:
- Does my weight loss programme offer a wealth of information to support my weight loss?
- Does it look at external factors like sleep, stress, mindset and willpower and show you ways to support these areas?
- Does my weight loss programme offer ongoing care and support for the full duration?
- Can you access professional support from your weight loss provider, when you need it most via telephone or online?
- Is my weight loss programme delivered by professionally trained experts in diet, mindset, movement and, if appropriate, medicine?
- Does my weight loss programme offer realistic weight loss goals of 1-2lbs per week and not offer fast, fad weight loss diet solutions?
- Does my weight loss programme offer support for keeping weight off long-term, once you are at target?
In order for you to be successful and retain your hard-earned weight loss, your weight loss programme should answer all of the above questions. So what will it be?
The Slimming Clinic provide weight loss support across the UK and our appointments with medical professionals and weight loss coaches operate remotely. We also work with a large number of venues to provide our health assessment centres where we can perform the necessary weight and health checks required in order for you to be prescribed our weight loss medications.