The Slimming World diet program was developed in the United Kingdom by Margaret Miles-Bramwell in 1969. She continues to heads up the program today. According to their website they have helped over five million people to lose over 60 million pounds over the years the company has been in existence. The website states that the success of the program is that it is not a diet per se but that it teaches people a way of eating for life.

This weight loss program is designed and run similarly to the Weight Watchers program in the United States in that its clients sign up for the program and attend weekly meetings that are run by self employed consultants. These consultants provide program information, support and offer food for purchase to the clients. The program accepts adults who are at least seven pounds overweight.

Clients who join the program pay to join then are charged a weekly fee as well. They attend the weekly meetings to be weighed, receive support, get ideas or tips for weight loss, purchase special food products that are sold by the company, or just talk with others who are trying to lose weight as well.

Slimming World’s program is based on what the program calls food optimizing. They have a list of foods that are considered “free”. This means the foods that are listed can be eaten in unlimited amounts every day. Foods on this list contain few calories and are high in nutritional value. These foods are usually quite filling as well so they stave off hunger pangs and cravings.

There are two plans that clients of the Slimming World can choose from. The two plans are the red and green plans. The original plan for Slimming World is the red plan. According to information gleaned from the company website, this plan includes healthy amounts of lean protein and energizing carbohydrates as well as the free choices on the food optimizing plan. The green plan includes higher content of filling carbohydrates and portions of lean protein. Both of these diets are low in fat content.

Free foods on the red plan include lean meats, eggs, and white fish. Most of your fruits and vegetables are included in the free foods as well. The healthy additional foods that are included in the diet are breads, grains, potatoes, cheese, milk, beans and dried fruits.

The green plan has free foods that include fruits and vegetables, beans, tofu, pastas, eggs, and whole grains. The healthy additions are dried fruit, nuts and seeds, breads, meats, fish, milk and cheese. Other foods not on the plan are given what the plan calls a syn (sin) value and are listed according to their nutritional values.

Slimming World does not require that their clients exercise in order to stay on their diet program however they do encourage that the clients increase their activity levels in order to increase their weight loss efforts. They do counsel the clients that when starting an exercise program muscle mass that is built up weighs much more than fat that is lost so weight loss can be temporarily slowed when incorporating exercise in their program. This is one reason Slimming World relies heavily on their diet and nutrition rather than exercise for their weight loss goals.

According to the website, Slimming World’s diet plan adheres to the United Kingdom’s healthy eating guidelines. Physicians in the UK can refer patients to the program if they feel that would be beneficial to their health. Pregnant women or nursing mothers can continue on the program with permission from a healthcare provider.