Thread: HEEEEEELP...REALLY STRUGGLING!

Right I've been trying to do slimming world at home on my own for the past few months...with no success! :/
I understand the plan and have all the books however I just have a mental block when it comes to having syns?! I dont understand how you can eat so much and still lose weight so I dont have any syns AT ALL for a few days then I just go crazy and back to square one!
Anyone else having this problem?!

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi. I used to do sw but I don't follow it now. So it may have changed. But my advice would be to make sure you are having at least the minimum 5 syns a day. Your body needs them & if you don't eat enough you will end up storing fat anyway. Plus like you say it's not maintainable, you end up binging after a few days because you need what you have been missing.

I've been there myself & it is so hard, but I honestly think you need to stick to the 5-15syns a day, which I have seen give people fantastic results!!! Once you get into the swing of it, it will be second nature to you :-)

All the best

The syns are there for a reason and you should make sure you eat at least 5 a day though I would recommend that you eat 10 or even 15 if you want to.

Syns are there to let you eat food that you'd not normally be able to have when following the plan. They stop you feeling deprived and allow you to have a treat and satisfy your cravings for 'bad' foods. This means that you are fat less likely to binge.

Try thinking of Slimming World as less of a diet and more of a healthy eating plan. There is no way you can go through life without having any treats - it's just about putting in some control when you do.

Also to add to what those above have said, people will usually find they lose less when they don't have syns, as the plan is designed to be low calorie without having to count and its easy to actually come in under the recommend daily minimum calories without your syns. This can cause your body to go into starvation mode and rather than get rid of the fat, it holds onto it.
Syns are as much a part of the plan as the free food and healthy extras and you would never arrive at class feeling pleased with yourself for hardly having any free food in a week would you? Same rule should apply for syns. If you don't use them, you aren't doing the plan properly.

Some great advice has been given to you already but I'd just like to reiterate that have small controlled amounts of 'syn'ful food means you won't fall off the wagon and binge. So eat your syns - that's what they're there for!

I honestly wish the SW had thought of another name for syns because to my mind it's completely counter productive and gets people all worried about using them. I know that 'syn' is officially short for 'synergy' but the negative connotations are still there.

Syns shouldn't be about 'being naughty', they should be part of the plan and give you the leeway to have something that isn't a free food. Doesn't even have to be chocolate or wine, it could be olives, or coconut milk or another slice of bread... To my mind if I don't eat my syns (at least five a day) then I'm 'being naughty' because I'm not following the plan properly.

I know it seems weird, especially if you've come from a very restrictive diet it's hard to see how you can eat so much and lose weight but I promise it does work.

In short - syns are there to be used so use them however you like and enjoy! xxx

Originally Posted by missy1978

I honestly wish the SW had thought of another name for syns because to my mind it's completely counter productive and gets people all worried about using them. I know that 'syn' is officially short for 'synergy' but the negative connotations are still there.

Totally 100% agree with this!

I actually couldn't do slimming world WITHOUT the syns, I too in the past have found that not having my syns at all I've actually gained, when using my syns I've lost!

I would also fall off the wagon without syns and agree that they should have been called something else. As others have said, they are part of the plan and there to be eaten without feeling guilty etc. I'm sure you would feel so much better having the 5-15 syns a day than you would having a full binge at day 4 or 5. I have come to a conclusion about SW... I will never try to understand it because it will drive me crazy... I'll just do what the books tell me to do and love the results! good luck with your weight loss journey and enjoy those syns!! xx

Originally Posted by Sophieeee

Right I've been trying to do slimming world at home on my own for the past few months...with no success! :/
I understand the plan and have all the books however I just have a mental block when it comes to having syns?! I dont understand how you can eat so much and still lose weight so I dont have any syns AT ALL for a few days then I just go crazy and back to square one!
Anyone else having this problem?!

Any advice would be appreciated!

The thing with sw is that it is a healthy way of eating for life rather than a diet. I had never quite 'got it' before I got pregnant - I'm 30 weeks and currently following SW as a way of being healthy while pregnant. Its all about having a bit of everything in moderation. As you've learnt already, you can't live the rest of your life without a little bit of what you fancy each day. So have it and enjoy it x

I always do red days and always have my full 15 syns. I have only just started back on it today but last time I did the plan, I always had my 15 syns and wondered how on earth I'd lose weight with eating so much but then each week I'd weigh myself and I would have dropped 2lbs, sometimes 3lb even. So it works and you realise that you can eat lots and still lose weight. I always told myself I'd drop my syns down to 5 or 10 a day when the weight loss slowed but it never got to that stage as the weight kept on falling off.

Like others have said, have a minimum of 5 syns a day but don't feel ashamed to have 15 if you want to.

Lots of people keep a syn box - so if your downfall is sweet stuff/chocolate you could syn the bars/packets and have 1 a day and still know your within your syns