I’m Tracey! I am a Slimming World Consultant in Tallaght but most importantly I am a Slimming World member. I have lost five stone following the plan and words cannot convey just how much it has changed my life in every single way. I was a comfort eater, a secret eater and miserably unhappy for all of my teenage life. Since becoming a parent something clicked for me.

I want to be around for my son for as long as I can be. I don’t want him to grow up seeing food as the enemy and as a reason to hide his emotions. Slimming World has changed everything for me and I want to help others do the same.

One of the best things about Slimming World is the sense of liberation and freedom around food. It is not restrictive in nature and that is why so many people are experiencing life-changing weight losses and health changes through this plan and supportive community. It promotes a positive relationship with food and a lifestyle that is healthier in both body and mind.

There are a couple of myths about the Slimming World plan when it comes to eating unlimited amounts of food and I wanted to give you the facts. As a Slimming World consultant and a slimmer myself it is really important to me that people are dealing with the truth rather than internet hear-say.

Slimming World does not promote eating unlimited amounts of food so let’s start there. Unlimited amounts of food are not going to help someone reach their target weight. In fact, on a personal level, it was unlimited amounts of food that caused me to gain so much weight and struggle to shift it. To lose weight you need some kind of structure and a plan of sorts. It just so happens that the Slimming World plan is designed in such a way that it doesn’t feel super structured or strict and this is the reason why people have so much long-term success with it.

Having unlimited amounts of food, in general, is not a healthy way to approach nutrition. If I was to have unlimited amounts of chocolate, crisps and biscuits for example – that would cause me health issues and it certainly wouldn’t bring me any closer to my health and fitness goals. At Slimming World you might hear about unlimited Free foods and that is very very different.

When we talk about unlimited free foods we talk about not having to count, calculate, weigh or measure certain foods. We are talking about foods that have a nutritional value and “feed” our bodies vitamins, minerals and nutrients that we need. Knowing that there is always a healthy food to turn to is hugely important when it comes to your mindset. I have done so many “diets” in the past that lead me to feel starving. I lost weight and gained it immediately as I grew to associate that diet with starvation and restriction.

It was never going to be healthy and it was never going to work long-term. On Slimming World if I am hungry there is always a free food I can turn to. It is natural to eat if you are hungry and that’s a simple fact of life. The important word here is hunger though.

Slimming World does not promote eating huge volumes of food just because you can. It has an amazing array of free foods available to you but within the context of your appetite. What fills one person will not be enough for another person because we are all made differently. We all have different levels of activity throughout the day and for that reason, a person’s appetite is a very personal thing. This is why free foods are unlimited. You eat until you are full. Until you are satisfied and until your hunger has been satiated. You don’t eat unlimited amounts of food for the sake of it.

Weight loss is so completely entwined with what is going on in your mind. For a lot of people food is an emotional thing and trying to create positive habits around that relationship is extremely healing. Finding a balance, losing weight and enjoying beautiful food without a feeling of restriction is a really wonderful thing. So to set the record straight Slimming World does not promote unlimited amounts of food. It promotes unlimited amounts of free food within the context of your own appetite. Slimming World gives the power to the Slimmer. It affords the slimmer the opportunity to have that control, that confidence and ultimately that amazing weight loss at the end of it all.