“As someone who has lost more than 5st (31.8kg) with Slimming World – and has helped many others achieve their weight loss goals through running my own group – I’ve been thinking a lot about weight loss jabs lately. To me, they fall into the same category as diet pills, shakes and meal replacements – as soon as you stop using them, your results are likely to vanish, leaving you back at square one.
For me, it’s not about whether any of these methods work in the short term. What I do worry about is what happens after – the long-term impact and whether they help the person build healthy habits that truly last.
I think it’s important to acknowledge that, without the right support and mindset, you can start following any weight loss plan in an overly restrictive way. If the approach feels like a real burden, slog or hardship, it moves away from what we’re trying to do at Slimming World, which is to ‘optimise’ our lives to feel healthier and happier – for good.”
Read about Slimming World’s approach to supporting members on weight loss medications
Watch Joe tell his weight loss story
Read more real-life success stories from Slimming World members
Joe continues: “We don’t judge or criticise other weight loss methods – and we’ll support anyone who wants to lose weight, including members who are on weight loss injections. I personally completely understand the temptation to try absolutely anything to lose weight, no matter what the cost, as I’ve been there myself.
Our healthy eating plan, Food Optimising, isn’t about restriction or deprivation – and treating it like just another ‘diet’ misses the point. The magic lies in its balance, its flexibility, and the way it encourages us to listen to our bodies. Eating beyond our appetites won’t work on any plan because if we’re taking in more energy than our bodies need, it will be stored as fat.
What we need to remind people of is just how incredible ‘optimising’ feels. That sense of euphoria when your body is thanking you for listening to its signals and fuelling it with the right foods. The danger of suppressing and ignoring hunger through weight loss injections is that this could leave you lacking in the vital nutrients that the body needs to function well and feel good.
It’s also been proven that ongoing support is the true key to sustainable weight loss results. In our groups, you get personalised support to help with mindset change and overcoming your own individual challenges. There’s a real sense of community as you go on your journey surrounded by friends who are all striving for the same thing.
At Slimming World, we’re so proud to have been helping people lose weight for over 55 years. When other trends have come and gone, we’ve stayed strong. However, as someone who was trapped in a miserable cycle of yo-yo dieting for many years, I worry that people are possibly being led away from what truly works – healthy, sustainable and truly enjoyable lifestyle changes.”
Read Joe’s weight loss success story here
Join our supportive weight loss community
We’d love to welcome you to a Slimming World group, where you’ll get all the help you need to achieve the real, long-lasting results you want. If you have questions about joining Slimming World while you’re taking weight loss medications, please give your local Consultant a call.