All about Slimming World - Food Optimising Programme

What is Food Optimising?
Food Optimising is a highly sophisticated system made deceptively easy for the user. It translates the whole science of slimming into a way of eating that's user-friendly, extremely generous, and highly practical for use in the real world and, above all, it's totally effective. Make friends with Food Optimising and you'll look good, feel great and enjoy a quality of life you may have thought was forever out of reach.

Food Optimising is a radically different way of reducing your calorie intake and your weight without the mind-numbing chore of counting calories or the willpower-sapping desperation of going hungry.

How does it work?
The Food Optimising system has a strong scientific basis: it is rooted in the principles of satiation and satiety, and makes use of the differing energy density of foods. It sounds complicated, but it's simply to do with relative feelings of fullness, and how different types of foods affect our appetite.

Satiation is the scientific term for the satisfying qualities of food, in other words the feeling of fullness we get as we eat. Satiety [pronounced with the emphasis on the 'ti' as in knot] describes the lasting effects of satiation, that is, the feeling of repletion that staves off hunger.

OK, but what about my cravings?
Food Optimising addresses the very real problems of food cravings and fancies - the things we love to eat whether we're hungry or not. So it includes foods of medium and high energy density, even though their ability to satisfy appetite is poor. In this way, the distress caused to slimmers by feelings of deprivation are eliminated.

How it works

Simply decide whether you want to have a Green Day or an Original Day and stick to that choice all day.

You can make every day a Green Day, or have a mixture of Green and Original Days. Pick your recipes according to which day you choose.
 

Then choose your food from Food Optimising's three basic categories:

Free Foods - a huge list of foods that need no weighing or measuring. Includes unlimited fruit, vegetables, rice, pasta and potatoes on a Green Day. Includes unlimited fruit, vegetables and meat on an Original Day. Fill up on these foods whenever you feel hungry.

Healthy Extras - choose three items daily from this list. Includes a measured amount of foods which provide extra fibre, calcium, vitamins and minerals.

Sins - this list provides favourite treats like chocolate, alcohol, cakes, sweets, snacks. This is the only food that is counted - most slimmers choose to have 5 to 15 Sins each day.

The Meeting

Each week you go into the meeting and have the weigh-in, then usually everyone sits down and we talk about what type of week we have had. There are also awards for Slimmer of the Week and Slimmer of the Month. Then there's also Club Ten which you have a target to lose 10% of your body weight when you joined, if you manage to stay at or below the target for 10 weeks you get a free week where you do not have to pay the weekly fee. The meeting is an excellent place to exchange recipes and find support if your having a hard time.

Sources of reference

There is a book that tells you the basics on the programme that is available to buy from WH Smith or Amazon, which is very useful but the best way to get into the programme is to join. If your unsure whether this plan is for you or not give it a go for a few weeks and give it a chance.

Buy Slimming World books from Amazon: