Bigbird is looking to downsize!!

So this is my third (I think) attempt at Slimming World - always had good losses before but stopped after losing a stone or so. This time I'm determined to do it! My husband and I want to start trying for a baby so I need to get my act together and get healthier.

Hoping to keep this diary for a few reasons - to keep myself on track, to get some feedback on my choices, and a place to share any nice treats/recipes I come across!

I started on Monday so am now on day five... here's what I've had so far this week..

MONDAY

Brunch: 60g wholemeal bread (HExB) with scraping of spread (1.5 syns) and 2 poached eggs

Dinner: Ginger & spring onion pork stir-fry with lean pork, egg noodles, garlic, ginger, cabbage, spring onions, chicken stock, soy suace, tbsp hoisin sauce (2 syns) and tablespoon of oil (6 syns) between 2 of us so 4 syns total

Snacks: Fruit salad with melon, raspberries, blackberries & blueberries and a Glenisk Greek-style yoghurt (3.5 syns)

I was really bold as well and had a bottle of pink Lucozade as it was in the fridge and tempting me - not worth it though, 11 syns!

So Monday wasn't a great day! I had 20 syns, no HExA and no SF with brunch!!

TUESDAY

Breakfast: 1 Alpen Light (HExB), 2 apricots and some melon

Lunch: 2 eggs scrambled, with smoked salmon. Melon boat with berries

Dinner: Risotto with rice, prawns, spring onions, garlic, lemon juice, stock, 2 tsp olive oil (4), 80g Parmesan (40g for me of which 30g is HExA so 10g is 2 syns), huge spinach and tomato salad (2 syns for dressing. It was between two of us so total of 5 syns

Snacks: Loop the Loop (4.5) and 30ml semi-skimmed milk for tea (1)

Total syns 10.5, had my HExA & HExB

WEDNESDAY


Brunch: Jacket potato with half tin of baked beans. Melon and berries

Dinner: Homemade chicken biryani with chicken breasts, rice, frylite, onions and Pataks biryani sauce (7), cucumber batons, raita made with fat-free natural yoghurt, small naan bread (5)

Snacks: 70g semi-dried apricots (HExB) and 2 mini Babybel (HExB)

This dinner was absolutely delicious!! I had planned on making a lower syn version with the Pataks curry paste but couldn't find it in the supermarket

THURSDAY

Breakfast: Alpen Light (HExB) with big bowl of berries and apricots

Lunch: Jacket potato with half tin of baked beans, cucumber batons and a small bottle of coke (7.5 syns)

Dinner: Homemade mince stew with onions, garlic, frylite, extra lean mince, tomato puree, worcestershire sauce, beef stock and carrots with steamed baby potatoes and a punnet of strawberries

Snacks: 30g cheddar (HExA) and Glenisk yoghurt (3.5)

Total 11 syns

I know other yoghurts like mullerlite are free but I love the Glenisk yoghurts, they're so thick and creamy - think they're worth spending a few syns on now and again!

Today hasn't been great, had a really strong craving for chocolate which I gave in to! I used to keep treat sized bars in the house so I could have one when I had a craving but then I ended up keeping syns to make sure I had at least one a day which is totally against the point of trying to live more healthily. On this occasion I'd have been better off though - ended up raiding the chocolate I had in the baking press and it wasn't even that satisfying.

Breakfast: Pancakes made with porridge oats instead of flour - HExB plus 1.5 syns and a punnet of strawberries

Lunch: Meant to be jacket potato with tuna but my tin opener broke Ended up putting some spread on the potato (3 syns) and 30g cheddar cheese grated for my HExA and I had two mandarins

Dinner: Fake Nandos! Chicken breast marinated in Nandos medium marinade (0.5 syns) and done in the oven with corn on the cob, baby potatoes fried in Frylite and a big portion of broccoli with tbsp of Nandos sauce to dip (0.5)

Snacks: Loop the Loop (4.5) thought it would do for the craving but it didnt so then I ended up having the aforementioned chocolate (5 syns and not even nice!)

Total: 15 syns

Trying to leave dinner until a bit later so I don't want to eat anything after it! Any and all critique/info/help greatfully accepted!

Hi and welcome. What you have been eating sounds great. If you want a treat, treat yourself. I deprived myself big time in the first few weeks and I gave in to a munch fest late one night and wrapped myself in guilt for a few days after. Looking back it was so not worth the added stress. I love chocolate Freddo's and they are not that high in Syn value so when I have the urge (which isn't as often as it used to be) I have one. Only thing I can offer in advice way is not to deprive yourself of all your favourite things too much. Take it one day at a time.
Good luck. Look forward to reading about your journey.

Hi Siggy - thanks a mil for the advice, I really appreciate it. I agree with you actually about not denying myself so next time if I have a craving for something I'm going to have the "least bad" version of it i.e. want chocolate have a fredo, want coke only buy a can. I'm not beating myself up too much, tomorrow is another day! From your signature you seem to be doing really well

Just heading to bed now - working tomorrow Have a busy weekend ahead so putting up my plans for the weekend now, that way if I break them I have to come back and justify myself!!

SATURDAY

Breakfast: Porridge pancakes (HExB & 1.5 syns) and some berries (SF)

Lunch:Nandos chicken breast (0.5), cous cous (F), peppers and spring onion with some Nandos sauce (0.5)

Dinner: Babysitting for a friend so won't be eating at home. We're getting a Chinese. I'll have half a chicken in black bean sauce (5), boiled rice and one glass of coke (7)

Snacks: 2 Babybel (HExA)

Need to stick to it as have my weigh in on Monday and I don't have any syns to spare as that's 14.5/15

SUNDAY

Breakfast: Wholemeal roll (HExB) with homemade egg mayo (0.5 for tbsp of mayo), some melon and a nectarine (SF)

Dinner: I'm having my mum and dad to dinner and have decided to cook the three course meal from the SW mag so starter of loaded potato skins, steak and salsa with green beans, and chocolate egg custards all for 8 syns (mag had less but I'm using slightly more cheese in potato skins and using oil instead of frylite to fry my spuds)

Tea: Pete's chicken noodle soup (F) and 2 mandarins (SF)

Snacks: 2 Babybel (HExA)

So that'll be 8.5 syns and the end of my first week back on SW! I'm really looking forward to the weekend's food, hoping Sunday goes well

You look very organised which i am told is key - I cant do organised yet lol.

I am going to second what Siggy said about treats. If you deprive yourself you will crave them even more. I use my syns to usually have some hoops n crosses and either a freddo - 5, or frozen curly wurly - 6 on most days and find then I dont crave them as much. It works for me but we are all different so dont feel you have to do anything. I am having my full 15 syns a day on most days too as hey, they are part of the plan and when my losses slow or i hit a plateau i have something to play with.

Keep on going and keep posting I find my diary is very helpful xx

Well done to a great weeks food & plans.
Personally, I too ensure I eat (read drink) my syns - several beers or ciders on a Friday night, but I use my syns weekly, you just have to find little compromises that you can deal with.
I wouldn't 'spend' 7 syns on a glass of coke, but I will use 10 on a pint of beer, this is a lifestyle plan, so it needs to fit in and around your life.
Good luck

So the weekend is over and I did ok - not great. I've come off my pill a few months ago and my cycle is all over the place, I can never tell when I'm going to be due my time of the month and it arrived on Saturday. Soo I ended up having breast of chicken curry, fried rice, one chicken ball and half a portion of salt and chilli chips. I didn't finish the rice and the curry, had about half. I also had 2 big glasses of coke not one but again it could be worse!

Today my hubby had a big bag of Galaxy counters so he weighed me out 35g... 9.5 syns so I was a bit over but again it could have been worse and again I feel justified given the time of month, and I still wasn't half as bad as I'd usually be!

Just settled in watching The White Queen on BBC, loved the books and really liking the programme so thats my Sunday nights sorted for a while. WI in the morning, fingers crossed

Hope WI was ok, although, don't worry if not, it's quite usual to bloat at that TOTM
Well done for keeping in control this weekend, you must be pleased with that
Have a good day

Yay I had a loss! 1.5lb down! It's not as much as I'd usually lose in week one but given the weekend I'm happy

I've had a funny couple of days - yesterday was a disaster in terms of slimming world - or even eating normally! I was good up until the evening but it was day 3 of my time of the month and it's always the worst for me, very hormonal and bad cramps. Ended up getting Dominos, and treats in the shop & coke. Unusually though it didn't make me think there's no point now, I was prepared to have the evening off plan and get straight back on today.

I ended up eating very little today, not by choice just how it worked out. I had my HExA & HExB and went slightly over syns because not everything I had was as good as it could be but it could have been worse. 5 more days until I weigh in on Monday morning so my focus now is on making sure those days are 100% on plan. I don't have anything organised for this weekend so it shouldn't be too difficult. I'll pop up tomorrow's menu in the morning, off to bed now!

Whew I'm exhausted - spent the whole day doing housework - definitely burned a few calories!

Brunch: 2 boiled eggs & a nectarine

Snack: Alpen Light (HExB)

Dinner: 3 smoked rashers with rind removed (F), steamed baby potatoes (F) & broccoli (SF) Just over a tsp of butter (2.5)

Dessert: Mini Sandwich ice-cream (4.5)

Snack: 30g cheddar cheese (HExA)

Total : 7 syns

I'm in work tomorrow so I'm popping up my food plan tonight

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs & grilled bacon with strips of raw peppers

Lunch: Wholemeal roll (HExB) with extra light mayo (0.5), cooked ham (F), tsp American mustard (0.5), large portion of cherry tomatoes (SF) and 2 Babybel (HExA)

Dinner:Spicy grilled Colorado pork chops from the SW website (they used lamb but I couldn't get lamb anywhere) - 2 syns, with fried baby potatoes done in the Actifry (F) and broccoli/other veg (SF)

Snacks: 2 mandarins (SF) and a bag of crisps (won't know syns until tomorrow but I have 12 to play around with)

Off to marinade my chops!

Well done on the loss, brill!

TOTM can be tough with cravings sometimes - SW did a load of lab tests, experiments etc, with nutritional peeps and scientists and found that if you stick to green plan a few days either side, results showed that cravings dwindled a fair bit

Well done getting straight back on plan

PS. You can have 2x Alpen light for an HEB

That's really interesting about the green plan days - I might look into it for next month. I've only ever done extra easy, will have to do a bit of reading up on green/red days.
Unless I'm really hungry I just have the one Alpen Light as a HExB as one is super speedy so I feel like I'm just eating the second one for the sake of it. Sometimes I might have a second one later in the day though if I've no syns left and want something. The lemon drizzle ones are amazing

I lost 3lb this week! To be honest I think it's a hangover of last week's loss being quite small for my first week as I haven't been very good. I proved to myself that I can't have low syn chocolate/crisps in the house cause I just eat loads of it and spend way more in syns than I would if I walked to the shop and bought a regular size bag/bar. Oh well the multipacks are almost gone lol and I'll know not to buy them again.

I need to be 100% this week as I have a birthday party on Saturday and I'll be going straight from work so will have to get a Subway or something for tea - will check out the syns during the week!

Today's food:

Brunch: Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and cherry tomatoes

Snack: Nectarine & two mandarins

Dinner:Ginger pork stir-fry (2) - Really love this recipe, got it off the SW website and it's absolutely delicious. I wouldn't have put cabbage in a stirfry before but this is yummy

Snacks: 2 mini Babybel (HExA), 70g dried apricots (HExB), small bag of buttons (4) and small bag of crisps (4)

Summary:10 syns, SF with every meal, HExA & HExB - 100% day

Loving Wimbledon so much - think when I lose a bit of weight I might sign up for a course of tennis lessons - need to lose a few stone first though, would feel too self-conscious at the minute

Brunch: Glenisk low-fat Greek style gooseberry yoghurt (4.5), large coffee made on milk (HExA), 3 mandarins & a nectarine (SF)

Dinner: Homemade chicken tikka masala (3) with basmati rice (F), half a mini naan (6.5) and a cherry tomato & scallion salad (SF)

Snacks: Lemon drizzle Alpen Light (HExB)

[[60g wholemeal bread (HExB) with spread (2) and funsize bag of buttons (4)]] Didn't have these in the end

Summary: 14 syns, HExA & HExB, SF with every meal