Slimming World - Sensible Syns!

I've been doing a lot of research online for Slimming World recipes since I started a few weeks ago, and I'm amazed at some of the creative recipes I've come across so far. Especially some of the Syn free alternatives to what would normally be a fairly high Syn meal/food.

Examples of the type of food I mean are:

SMASH pizza
Banana ice cream
Cous Cous cake
Slimming world microwave crisps


I did notice that while most people agreed that these foods are SYN free, other SW dieters argued otherwise. Let me explain.

Most people would not normally make a pizza with instant mashed potato or a cake with cous cous. There is the suggestion that if you process certain ingredients in a way they would not normally be used, you may over eat them.

Say for example, you wouldn't normally eat 3 bananas in a row would you? Or if you did you would probably be full and wouldn't eat any more? However if you freeze then blend banana to make ice cream it is very likely you could potentially eat a lot more.

It's the same with making SW crisps. You would be full after eating a certain amount of whole potatoes, but when you make them into crisps you would probably end up eating a lot more.

So this is why people argue that foods like these should be given a SYN value. However, I disagree. Surely it's all about portion control? I like banana on toast, sometimes sliced and sometimes mashed if the banana is ripe. So effectively I would have to use my Syns for banana on toast if I mashed the banana, but not if I sliced it? Even though I would be using the same amount of banana? I'm sure you see the problem. That's just silly. I say if you want to eat the above foods without using them as SYNS, then do it! As long as you check that the portion size isn't much larger than it should be. Personally I would only SYN these foods if I planned to have a big portion.  Surely it's common sense that if you use more instant mash than a single serving size so you can have a massive pizza, you are going to be having a lot more calories?  Similarly, if you make a Cous Cous cake and then eat the entire cake to yourself it's hardly going to help you lose weight is it? You still have to consider portion size.

I can see why some SW people are cautious when it comes to some of the recipes, but as long as you are sensible, surely it's up the individual how they choose to follow SW? If they can still manage to eat these foods and lose weight without ever using them as SYNS I think that's fine! What do you think?

Stepping into Slimming World!

Hello strangers! It seems I've been a bit neglectful of my blog in recent months. Sorry!

However, I'm back and ready to dust the cobwebs off for 2014!

In case the title didn't make it glaringly obvious, I've started slimming world. After Christmas I was feeling pretty down. I'd crept back up to my heaviest weight and didn't seem to be able to stop myself eating. Even though I was thoroughly miserable about my weight I just kept eating. I was lethargic, grumpy and my weight was starting to make my ever present back pain even worse.

I really didn't know what to do. I didn't want to try any faddy diets, as I've fallen foul of those before. Cutting things out of my diet simply made me obsess about "forbidden" foods and gorge on them whenever I got the chance. That's where Twitter came to my rescue. I noticed a few weeks ago that several of my twitter friends had joined Slimming World. They would post pictures of their meals and I was hugely surprised not only by how delicious they looked, but also the generous portion sizes!

So I started looking into it for myself, to see if the plan was really as easy to follow as it looked. I have to say I was more than pleasantly surprised. Unlike Weight Watchers where EVERYTHING has to be pointed and weighed, on SW the majority of the food you can eat can be eaten freely. With the exception of a few foods which are assigned a SYN value. Each day you have a 15 SYN allowance so if you feel like you need a little treat you don't have to worry about it.

My mind was made up. I decided I would try it out...

So here I am about to start my second week, and I can honestly say I have not been hungry once. Which is usually a big issue for me when I try to lose weight. I can still eat reasonably large portions & I really don't feel deprived of anything since no foods are actually forbidden!

Another thing I'm enjoying since starting SW is the variety. The majority of food you eat on SW is homemade and I although I do like to cook I felt that I had gotten into a rut in terms of meal ideas before. I used to eat the same meals week in week out and wasn't really appreciating what I was eating as a result. SW offers lots of different meal ideas. If anything I actually struggle to decide what to make because there are so many new recipes I'm dying to try out!

As I go on with Slimming World I would like to share my favourite recipes, but if you'd like an example of the type of meals I've been able to have since starting SW here you are:


Lasagne
Pulled Pork
Cooked breakfast
Breakfast banana pancakes
Banana Ice Cream
Chicken Saag (curry)
Creamy Carbonara
Chow Mein


So doesn't it sound great? I feel very confident about being able to continue with SW for as long as I need to. I suppose only time will tell though, but I look forward to sharing my journey with you. So if there are any other Slimming World people out there I'd love to hear from you!