Am I really the only person who....

[BevBunny]

doesn't seem to need syns!

I'm new to this forum and do SW online so don't have a group/consultant. I have been doing SW for 14 or so weeks and constantly lose weight but do not use my syns. I don't seem to need them.

I have stopped eating chocolate, crisps, all bread, desserts and so on, and don't miss any. I bake a lot, so now I just bake things and give them to friends without eating them, and it seems to stop the craving for baked things.

I can't bring myself to eat syns cos I don't want to eat the food, so see no point in forcing myself. I just eat all free things, and the odd healthy extra but not many.

Am I doing it wrong? Why don't I crave all the things that everyone else seems to!?

I do crave peanut butter on toast and decided that when I've lost 2.5 stone (Ihave 2lb to go) then I will treat myself with peanut butter on toast. So, I weight myself on Friday, and I will have lost at least enough for that. yummmm.

 

[*honey]

Sticking to plan 100% means having all the HE's for the plan your following so 1 of each on EE and 2 of each on RED/GREEN. and you should be having 5 - 15 syns a day. Your syns dont have to be on what most people call naughty things like chocolate/cake etc. You could use your HEBs on olive oil in your cooking, extra cheese in meals, nuts and seeds, have your peanut butter, whatever weight you are.

The HE are there so you have a balanced diet, your syns are there to help prevent you feeling deprived, which i know atm your not, but one day you will!
Also if you have not been having any syns, if your losses nearer to target slow, you have nothing to cut back on to boost them.
I couldnt live with out my syns, honey on my breakfast, hot choccie in evening, pudding after evening meal.

 

[hastalavegan]

Yes, you're not following the plan properly. It's really important that you eat both your syns and your healthy extras. Healthy extras are there to ensure that you have a balanced diet, healthy bs in particular are high in fibre and help you with weight loss. Syns are part of the plan not only so you can feel like you're not depriving yourself bur because sw is a plan for life and these foods are not unhealthy in moderation. Also, if your losses slow down what are you going to cut back on? Limiting free foods will set you up for a fall, it is not something easy or realistic to maintain for long periods of time.

It's fair enough if you don't want to use your syns for crisps, biscuits and cakes. But you can use them on nuts, seeds, avocados, dried fruits and wholemeal flour which are more healthy options. If you're craving pb then have some, it won't stop you from losing any weight if you count it into your daily allowance of food.

 

[shell_y]

Yes you are doing it wrong especially down to the healthy extras, they are an important part of the plan for health reasons.

 

[CAPRICORN]

Hi there

When I first started I was like you -I really struggled to use my syns (and I still do some days)...but I decided to try my best to use at least some every day as I realised that when my weight loss slowed and I needed to cut back my intake I was going to struggle as I would have "no-where" to go...

Im on week 26 now and in that time I have had no:-

1. bread
2. pastries
3. cakes
4. biscuits
5. sweets
6. chocolate -apart from fibre plus bars
7. takeaways
8. alcohol

and I can't say that I have missed any of them -in fact Im feeling great. I menu plan -planning all my meals and even penciling in "snacks" so now I can spread out my syns -I used to save them for the evenings "just in case" and then find I didn't need them

I now use them mainly on :-

• olive oil -I won't use spray
• yogurts (2.5 syns for the activia intesely)-I can't stand the free ones
• and recipes -I like to try lots of new recipes so I can use some up there...

I know it sounds odd but I find that for me it means Im using my syns without adding extra volume to my day , and my weightloss hasn't stopped either

 

[Fulltum]

What you are doing is absolutely fine for losing weight but can you sustain long term (ie the rest of your life??!!)

Slimming world isnt a quick fix diet to lose weight it is a healthy eating plan for life so when you get to target you dont need to stop dieting because you have never actually been on one! All you do is add in extra healthy extras and/or syns till you find what keeps your weight stable.

I too dont want to encourage myself to just eat crisps and choclate because I have syns left so I use them in my cooking instead eg butter in mash, mayo, cheese, olive oil etc and then if I do fancy a bit of chocolate or some crisps I can still have them and just use frylite instead of oil.

you could have toast and peanut butter every single day aslong as you measured and synned it but instead you are using as a reward which long term isnt teaching you good habits, syn what extras you want and reward yourself with smaller clothes/makeup/holiday and you will find long term you wont regain the weight you have suffered to lose!

 

[BevBunny]

Thanks everyone. I do use healthy extras most days (especially now I've realised I'm only supposed to have one on an EE day and not two).

I am going to make more effort to use more syns, and just start with getting to 5. I do use the odd few but mostly in cooking, like adding a splash of wine to a recipe or I added dried apricots to a tagine the other day. I think if I start to properly document and count my syns I'll realise that I do use some. Also I go out for drinks a couple of times a week and whilst I'm still losing weight I've not worried about this, knowing that I can cut it out if I need to - I guess these are my syns too. I think if I keep a better food diary then I'll see that I will be more on plan.

I am looking at SW as healthy eating for life, and my plan has always been to add in syns when I get to my target but really that should be - 'add in MORE syns' when I get to my target.

Right, am off to the shops to find a small and slightly synful treat. Or, I have steak for dinner tonight, it could be time to cook it in a spot of olive oil, not fry light.

 

[Happy Holidays]

SW is a plan for life, it's not a quick fix.

Can you honestly see yourself not eating chocolate, crisps, all bread, desserts etc for the rest of your life? I think not. You can easily incorporate these into your daily syn allowance. And why wait to have peanut butter, have it now that way you won't feel like you are missing out.

How are you going to manage SW when you go to a party, Christmas, lunch/tea out? These are all everyday things which will happen & you will need to take part in.

You are being unrealistic to think you can do SW without syns.

Oil is so easy to fit into your cooking, what about tomato sauce, gravy, food without these is possible, but do you enjoy them?

 

[shell_y]

So you are having syns just not Counting them properly? Alcohol can mount up to a fair few...

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

I am going to make more effort to use more syns, and just start with getting to 5. I do use the odd few but mostly in cooking, like adding a splash of wine to a recipe or I added dried apricots to a tagine the other day. I think if I start to properly document and count my syns I'll realise that I do use some. Also I go out for drinks a couple of times a week and whilst I'm still losing weight I've not worried about this, knowing that I can cut it out if I need to - I guess these are my syns too.

This is exactly what happened to me. When I first started I didn't want to use any syns and didn't think I really needed too... I never ate much chocolate or crisps anyway! But once I decided to start properly counting and using them wisely, I realised I was already using about 5-10 a day anyway.

I use mine now for things like butter on toast or tomato puree, a splash of oil every now and again etc. To add to what everyone else is saying, it's making it an easier transaction into the SW plan from my old food eating habbits. It's a personal choice I guess.

Good luck with the rest of your journey!

Emily

 

[BevBunny]

SW is a plan for life, it's not a quick fix.

Can you honestly see yourself not eating chocolate, crisps, all bread, desserts etc for the rest of your life? I think not. You can easily incorporate these into your daily syn allowance. And why wait to have peanut butter, have it now that way you won't feel like you are missing out.

How are you going to manage SW when you go to a party, Christmas, lunch/tea out? These are all everyday things which will happen & you will need to take part in.

You are being unrealistic to think you can do SW without syns.

Oil is so easy to fit into your cooking, what about tomato sauce, gravy, food without these is possible, but do you enjoy them?

No need to rant. I'm here to learn, not to be shouted at.

See my post above.

 

[BevBunny]

To add to what everyone else is saying, it's making it an easier transaction into the SW plan from my old food eating habbits. It's a personal choice I guess.

Good luck with the rest of your journey!

Emily

Very wise words Emily, and thank you.

 

[CAPRICORN]

SW is a plan for life, it's not a quick fix.

Can you honestly see yourself not eating chocolate, crisps, all bread, desserts etc for the rest of your life? I think not. You can easily incorporate these into your daily syn allowance. And why wait to have peanut butter, have it now that way you won't feel like you are missing out.

How are you going to manage SW when you go to a party, Christmas, lunch/tea out? These are all everyday things which will happen & you will need to take part in.

You are being unrealistic to think you can do SW without syns.

Oil is so easy to fit into your cooking, what about tomato sauce, gravy, food without these is possible, but do you enjoy them?

Hi there

Do you know what? I can actually... I have gone completely off all the things I listed... simply a case of not having them for a few weeks and now I can't actually remember what they taste like -and, well how can I miss something that I don't remember
As for the going to the parties etc.. why does having a good time have to be based on what you eat ? that thinking is what got me to my biggest -now when I go out -its based on having a great time with family and friends -so is based on the company etc and not what food is there.
I know that its only my opinion, and that we all need to find what works for us individually -but I really know that I have found mine..I certainly don't go without as my meal plans show ..... hope that makes sense

Bevbunny -hopefully when you start writting down your meals etc you will find that its not so difficult to use up some syns.. good luck

 

[*EB*]

I think you have done very well already on SW, but re-read your books - or go online, it explains in more detail the science part of Syns and HEA and HEB's -

Someone once said that for the plan to work at its optimum that you need all the parts - but missing them wont do too much damage!! I know that I should have a HEA choice each day and cos i only usually have cheese it sometimes doesnt fit in with my plan that day!

As long as its working - dont worry, but if you stop losing then re-evaluate xxx

 

[time2bslim]

I have all my syns - as many as I can and my 2 heb's as I follow red mainly and have lost weight every week - probably will never lose weight as quuickyt as you will but I am losing - 1.5 stones in 12 weeks. I don't think I have lost weight this week though - weigh in tonight - I've actually been a bit naughty - but hey ho - I am human.

Out for a chinese buffet tonight for DS's birthday and then back on plan properly as of tomorrow morning.

THE plan actually says you SHOULD have at least 5 syns a day - and people who have said they didn't have any syns has actually not lost weight - it's so finely balanced.

BUT wish you well - good luck.