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Weight Loss in Bristol

Tamara Willner
Written by

Tamara Willner

Medically reviewed by

Fiona Moncrieff

5 min read
Last updated March 2024
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If you live in Bristol and are looking to lose weight and make some healthy lifestyle changes, there are a number of different options.

It’s important to remember that what suits one person might not suit another.

Before you sign up for a programme, there are some important things to consider, including:

  • Do you want to join an in-person programme?
  • Are you more suited to making changes alone or with group support?
  • Would you prefer a digital programme?
  • How much money are you looking to spend?
  • We’ve done the research for you to help you make those decisions.

This guide will explore popular in-person programmes as well as digital ones, complete with programme feature and pricing comparisons.

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In-person programmes

In Bristol, there are a number of slimming clubs, which require regular face-to-face visits. Some of the popular clubs include:

1) The Slimming Clinic™

This popular weight loss clinic advertises medical weight loss. The first step is a consultation with a doctor. There are different low-calorie plans to choose from, the most common being the 4-month long ‘Change’ plan.

Included in this plan is weekly meetings with a doctor, access to a private Facebook group, monthly body composition analysis, and weight loss medication. In certain regions, this clinic provides consultations with a dietitian, however, this isn’t available in Bristol. They also don’t provide any clinical evidence for the weight loss medication before you sign up to the programme.

2) Slimming World®

A popular brand name, the Slimming World® support group plan offers weekly meetups with other members and a consultant who is a previous member. Usually, members discuss their weight loss and various recipes as well as publicly ‘weighing in’.

3) Weight Watchers® (WW)

The in-person programme for individuals in Bristol is the digital plus workshop plan. Similarly to Slimming World®, this WW® plan requires regular meetups with other members and a coach, who is a previous member.

Medication
(unclear scientific evidence)

The Slimming Clinic™ Slimming World® WW®
Access to doctor
Access to dietitian
Weekly appointments
Group sessions

Pricing

When programmes provide price plans in different formats, it can be hard to accurately compare prices. To make this easier, we’ve calculated the price of monthly price plans on each programme to show you how costs compare over 3, 6, and 12 months (as of March 2020). All prices include pay-upfront discounts.

The Slimming Clinic™ Slimming World® WW®
3 months £150 / month £21 / month £15 / month
6 months £115 / month £21 / month £19 / month
12 months £115 / month £21 / month £19 / month

Digital programmes

The challenge with joining in-person weight loss programmes in Bristol is that you have to take a few hours out of your week to travel to and from sessions and appointments, which can last 1-2 hours themselves. There are also travelling expenses associated with in-person programmes.

For this reason, many people prefer the convenience of a digital programme, where they can communicate with their coach or group around their busy lifestyle and save travel money.

1) Second Nature

Second Nature is a digital habit change programme that helps you to lose weight and make long-term lifestyle changes. The programme combines support from registered nutritionists and dietitians with the convenience of a digital programme.

When you join Second Nature, you’re assigned to a small group of members who’re on a similar journey. This is an extra source of support and provides accountability when you need it. The programme tackles weight loss from all angles and focuses on sleep, stress, and mindset as well as nutrition and exercise.

2) Noom®

Noom® is similar to Second Nature in the sense that it’s a 16-week digital programme, designed to help you change your behaviour and lose weight. The big difference is that Noom® coaches are individuals from any health-related background, rather than registered nutritionists or dietitians.

Having a coach that is registered to a professional body is extremely important, which is what Noom® lacks.

3) WW® or Slimming World®

Both organisations offer totally digital programmes. The two programmes are relatively similar, so we also created a separate guide comparing the two.

Both of these programmes have point counting systems to monitor your food intake. Some individuals find this helpful, as it provides strict rules to stick to. However, others find that this behaviour harbours an unhealthy relationship with food and isn’t sustainable in the long run.

Second Nature Noom® WW® Slimming World®
Registered dietitian or nutritionist coach
Dietary approach Lower carb Low fat Low calorie Low fat
Recipe videos in app
(Free recipe videos available on YouTube without signing up)

(Free recipe videos available on YouTube without signing up)
Exercise videos in app
(Free recipe videos available on YouTube without signing up)
Counting/point system
(calories represented by traffic light system)

(Smartpoints® and Fitpoints®)

(Free Foods®, Healthy Extras®, and Syns®)
Weighing scales and activity tracker provided
(on tech plan)

Pricing

All prices are of March 2020 and include pay-upfront discounts.

The main difference between all these programmes is that with Second Nature, your health coach is a registered dietitian, rather than a previous member or any individual with a health-related background.

To put it in context, registration to a professional body requires a nationally recognised nutrition or dietetics degree. Weekly face-to-face sessions with a registered dietitian or nutritionist are very expensive (£40-£100/hour).

Second Nature Noom® WW® Slimming World®
3 months £40 / month £43 / month £9 / month £20 / month
6 months £40 / month £18 / month £12 / month £20 / month
12 months £40 / month £13 / month £12 / month £20 / month

 

Trustpilot

Trustpilot is a platform where consumers can leave reviews and scores reflect overall customer satisfaction. Below is a table comparing all the different programmes mentioned in this guide (in-person and digital) to reflect members’ experience.

Star rating Score
Slimming Clinic 4.3 / 5
Slimming World® 2-3 stars 2.8 / 5
Weight Watchers® 3 stars 3.1 / 5
Second Nature 5 stars 4.9 / 5
Noom® 4.5 star rating 4.2 / 5

To find out more about what users think of Second Nature, read their stories here.

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