A Letter To All Past Members
An updated! message for members thinking about returning to Slimming World. What your consultant (in this case me of course!) thinks and your account options!
I originally wrote a lot of this message before covid and indeed before I struggled myself personally during those years.
First off let’s get one thing very clear about restarting or returning as a new member. It doesn’t matter what you decide to do (keep history or return as a new member which we will talk about later). The main decision that should be celebrated is returning no matter what the damage may have been. Go you! You’re not a quitter! The moment you return that label is long gone. And it doesn’t matter if you suddenly disappeared as if you landed into the middle of the bermuda triangle in the past. I don’t care if you ignored my messages seeing if you were ok. Yes I saw you run away in the supermarket that time! I know you joined another Slimming World group or you tried to do it alone or you went on a gym buzz or to another weight loss organisation. You had a great few weeks losses and figured you knew what you were doing and under estimated the power of group support. You may have blocked my phone number!! I don’t care! I really really don’t. I’m just delighted to see you walk back in our door - your groups door. Your seat is always there for you
Never ever be afraid or embarrassed to return to group. You’re amazing for coming back and I’m damn proud of you! The only judgement you’ll get from me is that you’re awesome!
If you've been away since before covid times it might feel even harder for you to come back as there may well be covid stones to deal with. I say covid stones because the concept of everyone putting on a covid stone is a bit of a myth - in reality it was much more than one stone for most members - and me included. The circumstances we as human beings dealt with during covid times were absolutely unprecedented. It felt a bit like Christmas for the first few weeks, then it got a bit more serious, then the stress began and stayed for two years. Metal stress, financial worries, grief, isolation etc all contributed to people simply returning to bad habits, comfort eating, comfort drinking, stress eating and drinking etc.
Will Smith himself nailed it (before he nailed Chris Rock at the oscars :D) when he posted on his own instagram a picture of his own post covid weight gain. He commented that this was the body that got him through lockdown and now he was ready to get back to the real healthier him. It's a perfect way to look at your weight gain - even if covid isn't the reason. You did what you did to get through that part of your life / those circumstances - and now you're ready for change. Come along and make that change with us!
To restart your journey or not?
It’s a very commonly asked question of themselves at this time of year from members returning to Slimming World from a break. Should I restart my journey as a brand new member or should I keep my history?
Let’s look at the two options!
Keeping history means all your previous weight loss progress is saved and you continue on with your old account. Restarting as a fresh new member completely wipes your history and a new starting weight is recorded on the day you rejoin.
So what’s right for you?
It really depends on your own circumstances / weight loss history and mentality. Some members do prefer the motivation of a fresh start because that first 7lbs off means a half stone award and some bling on a brand new book whereas keeping history means you have to wait until you’ve returned / past the weight you had reached on your previous journey before gaining an award / having something new to aim for.
At the same time some members hate to think of giving up their hard earned awards and history and want to get back to where they once were and know that the next award will be a cumulation of entire weight loss from the very start. A lot of this will be influenced by the total weight loss before leaving Slimming World and how much weight a member may have gained since.
Cost wise an existing member would not have to pay a membership / joining fee but there are a number of ways to get free membership for new members so drop me a message if you'd like the most up to date options. Ultimately it is up to the member themselves to decide what is right for them! One caveat though - if your last attendance was more than 12 months ago you will need to restart as a new member. But you can be 100% sure no matter what is decided that I and the group will be there to support you all the way to your target in 2023!
Pat