Finding the weight loss solution for you

There is no such thing as the perfect solution when it comes to weight loss. While one way might work for your friend, you may have tried it 10 times over, only to be right back at the weight you started. In fact, there is only one variable that is true to any weight loss solution and that is consistency.

Finding the weight loss solution that works for you can be half the battle. In this week’s Irish Country Living, we present some of the most popular weight loss solutions, so that you can compare what’s out there to find the best option for you.

Weight Watchers

What’s it about?

Weight Watchers is a slimming company based on tracking your food intake through a system called ProPoints. This helps portion control. There are over 700 meetings nationwide.

What happens when you join?

You attend a weekly meeting where you are confidentially weighed by a leader. The weigh-in takes 30 minutes to accommodate everyone and the meeting is 20 to 30 minutes. Each meeting is based on a specific topic, such as starting out, getting more exercise or surviving a Bank Holiday weekend.

How does the food plan work?

In Weight Watchers, every food has a ProPoint based on its protein, carbohydrates, fat and fibre. When you join you’re told how many ProPoints you’re allowed each day, based on factors such as your weight and height, and you are encouraged to track your food intake and stay within your daily allowance. You’re also given a weekly allowance of 49 ProPoints, which allows you to still have a glass of wine or a meal out.

What role does exercise play?

Exercise is encouraged, starting with small steps. You can earn activity ProPoints, which means a brisk walk can allow you that extra piece of chocolate at the weekend – if that’s what you enjoy.

What’s the cost?

The joining fee is €20 and €10/week thereafter. You pay €5 if you miss a week.

What extras do you need?

You don’t have to buy anything, but there are extras like the Eating Out Guide (€5.25) and Shopping Guide (€7), which help you find out the ProPoints of foods, as well as recipe books and Weight Watchers food.

Any online support?

There is a good amount of information online, including online ProPoints and recipes, but at present there is no specific area for members who signed up.

Pro: The structured plan is pretty easy to follow and if you reach your goal weight you can become a gold member and never have to pay for a meeting again.

Con: It can be quite challenging to remember the ProPoints of every food. Also, although there is a big focus on healthy eating, you may find yourself opting for more processed foods on this plan, especially as Weight Watchers has ready-made meals. www.weightwatchers.ie

Slimming World

What’s it all about?

Slimming World started in Britain, but has really increased in popularity in Ireland since 2009, with 780 local groups nationally. You also attend weekly meetings and follow a food plan.

What happens when you join?

The structure of the meetings is very similar to Weight Watchers, although it can run a little longer. The group session is called IMAGE (Individual Motivation and Group Experience) therapy. There is a lot of interaction and the consultant has a portable computer on which every member’s weight loss is tracked.

What role does exercise play?

Slimming World says that by following the eating plan members will lost weight. However, exercise brings greater results. Body Magic is their step-by-step programme to inspire and support members to become more active.

How does the food plan work?

Slimming World’s plan is called Food Optimising and has a lot less weighing and counting. First off, you have free foods which are filling and can be enjoyed freely. These include most fruit and vegetables, fat-free dairy products and eggs, lean meat and poultry, fish, potatoes, rice and pasta. You then have a certain amount of healthy extras such as milk, cheese, wholemeal bread and breakfast cereals. Everything else, such as chocolate, crisps and alcohol, is calculated as a syn. You’re allowed up to 15 syns a day.

What’s the cost?

The joining fee is €18, €9/week after that, €9 if you miss a class.

What extras do you need?

Again, you don’t need to buy anything extra, but there are recipe books and products such as the Slimming World Hi-Fi bars. Because there’s such a good array of recipes online, there isn’t much need to buy recipe books.

Any online support?

Their online experience is excellent. Members have their own log-in on the site, there are hundreds of free recipes and you can chart your progress.

Pro: It can take a little bit of time to understand the food plan, but when you do it is really easy to follow and very filling.

Con: In our experience, the weekly meetings can run a bit too long. Also they are very interactive, which may suit some people but could be considered a bit intimidating by others. www.slimmingworld.ie

Unislim

What’s it about?

Unislim is Ireland’s original slimming company, with over 300 classes every week. It has a holistic approach, helping people with their mindset and understanding the role of sleep and exercise in weight loss.

What happens when you join?

You have a weekly meeting with a confidential weigh-in and a talk, where the emphasis is on creating a casual environment. The talks have a theme and are motivational and educational. The leader texts people throughout the week to keep you focused.

How does the food plan work?

The focus is on portion control, with three meals and two healthy snacks a day. There is an emphasis on healthy eating, but without any counting. You have Forever Free foods, with unlimited fruit, vegetable and lean proteins, and one portion of carbohydrates in a meal. The idea is to fill up on these higher-nutrient foods. You’re allowed five yums (treats) a day.

What role does exercise play?

Exercise is encouraged, especially as you can earn yums, meaning you can add them up and save them. A half an hour brisk walk, for example, would be considered two yums.

What’s the cost?

Joining fee is €25, then €10/week. You pay €5 if you miss a week.

What extras do you need?

You don’t have to buy anything but their cookbooks range from €3 to €5. They also sell exercise equipment and have a book that offers advice to teenage girls (€9).

Any online support?

With 10,000 members on Facebook, there is an active online community for support. They don’t have a members log-in on the website at the moment, but that is being developed.

Pro: Because Unislim is a smaller company, members claim that it has quite a personal experience.

Con: You don’t have as much leeway for sweet treats compared with other companies. This is a good thing for weight loss, but waving goodbye to foods like white bread can be a challenge.

www.unislim.ie

Motivation Weight Management Clinics

What’s it about?

Motivation is focused not just on what you eat, but why you eat. They help clients tackle their weight problems by addressing the habits, emotions and behaviors at the root of the problem.

What happens when you join?

You have an initial private consultation which includes taking measurements, a full body fat analysis and learning about the programme. After that, you have one-to-one consultations once a week. The first lasts an hour, but as you become more familiar with the programme these can be just 15 minutes.

How does the food plan work?

Each plan is designed based on how much weight you want to lose and how fast. For the average female, that would be three meals and two snacks a day, eaten at regular intervals that are timed around your lifestyle. Overall, it is a very structured programme. The focus is on a nutritionally balanced diet of protein, fruit and veg, with very little processed foods or sweet treats, apart from the recommended supplements.

What role does exercise play?

Exercise is recommended as it is good for mental health and dissipating stress. However, the main focus is on nutrition.

What’s the cost?

Initial assessment is €25. After that, the price depends on your individual programme. On average, it’s about €27/week with different payment plans in place.

What extras do you need?

There is a basic plan in which you do not have to buy anything extra. However, many clients opt for the supplements as it speeds up weight loss. These include soups, bars, cereals and drinks. One box costs €15 and lasts a week. There are also optional books (€35) and CDs (€25).

Any online support?

Clients can contact their advisers by emailing them and there is also a team monitoring queries on the social media sites. There will also be an instant messaging service on the website soon.

Pro: Some people need that one-to-one support to focus on their weight loss issues and Motivation provides that. Also, the plans are tailored to suit your lifestyle.

Con: Motivation can work out very expensive, especially if you opt for the supplements. A supply of just one supplement can cost €60/month on top of your membership fee.

www.motivation.ie

Operation Transformation

What’s it about?

Operation Transformation is run by RTÉ and VIP production company and is sponsored by safefood. With two TV shows a week (Wednesday and Thursdays, 8.30pm on RTÉ One) and radio shows, it follows five leaders for seven weeks of weightloss.

What happens when you join?

The whole concept is “follow the leader”. The leaders are reflective of people with weight loss issues, from the overweight to the morbidly obese. They have different lifestyles and health issues and you pick the leader that you most relate to. You can then follow their food and fitness plan online.

How does the food plan work?

The food plan is pretty easy to follow. You basically make the meal that they recommend each day. Each recipe comes complete with a video on how to make that dish. As they are all developed by a nutritionist, they are nutritionally balanced based on calories. However, it is important to note that they are created taking into consideration that you should be complimenting your meals with the advised exercise.

What role does exercise play?

Exercise plays a huge role and should be done hand-in-hand with the healthy eating. There are exercise videos on the site as well as weekly nationwide events, such as walks and cycles. The show culminates with a 5k walk in Dublin and Cork on 21 February.

What’s the cost?

It’s free.

What extras do you need?

Just a broadband connection and some workout gear.

Any online support?

The website is the main vehicle for this programme and when you sign up you can input your starting weight and track your progress each week. With 140,000 likes on Facebook, there is a huge online community.

Pro: It’s a really balanced approach to weight loss and aims to give you the tools to have a more health-conscious year. Also, the helpful recipes and exercises remain online after the show has finished. Of course, it’s free and the support across the country seems to ramp up every year.

Con: Unfortunately, the show only runs for seven weeks and people can lose momentum after it finishes. Also, you don’t have that one-on-one support that you get with other programmes.

www.rte.ie/ot

Other companies

In this week’s comparison, we’ve presented some of the biggest weight loss options in Ireland to help you make an informed choice. However, it’s also worth doing your own research about the options in your locality.

There are some excellent smaller operations that might not be available to readers across the country, but are certainly doing a great job of helping people reach their goals locally. Many of these have a really big focus on fitness.

Pat Divilly, Galway

Featured in last week’s Irish Country Living, Pat started his boot camp on a small beach in Galway. In 2013, he set up his fitness centre in Barna and now has more than 800 clients. With a focus on strength training and clean eating, there is no calorie counting and the ethos is all about group support. For €75 per month you get 12 group classes with the fitness instructor (20 people in a class). If you’re looking for the semi-private model with 10 in a class, that will cost €120. And if you’re too far away from Galway you can opt for his online course, which is also €75 a month. Visit www.facebook.com/PatDivillyFit

SF Fitness, Dublin

Personal trainers can cost an arm and a leg, but John O’Connell’s new Personal Fitness Centre in Dublin is offering a more affordable option. You get your own personal programme and every week you get an assessment as well as a semi-private personal coaching session. There are three people maximum in the session so you get plenty of attention and support. You also get supervised coaching sessions, group fitness sessions and food plans. Membership starts at €167 a month, which may appear steep, but given that some personal trainers charge €50/session, you’re getting a lot more value for your money. Visit www.sffitness.ie

Why Weight Ireland, Wicklow

Hannah Nolan is a lady who knows how to lose weight. She lost eight stone herself and now runs Why Weight Ireland in Tinahealy, Co Wicklow. While Hannah certainly has a strong following at her fitness classes, you can also opt to join Why Weight Ireland online. You’ll have access to your online food diary and workouts, as well as personal and tailored fitness plans and unlimited support. The online package costs €33/month, with added discounts if you pay in full and if you’re in the area, her studio classes cost €8/hour. For more information, visit www.whyweightireland.ie