Having no syns

Becca Wecca

skinny minny here I come!
I've only just started the slimming world diet, and have tried to not use any syns per day. Mainly focusing on having free foods and extra healthy foods. I read somewhere that you should have no less than 5 syns per day. Is this true? Is my not having syns actually going to affect my weight loss?

Thanks, Becca :)
 
Read the thread for newbies up in the sticky section at the top of the board. You need to have at least 5 a day otherwise that's a tweak and you're not following the plan correctly. If you don't use your syns you're more likely to feel deprived and more likely to fall off the wagon. Also some people find they need to cut back on syns as they approach target, and if you've been having very few then you have nowhere to go. And yes many people find not using their syns slows their weight losses.
 
hey becca i try not to have any syns most days either, but they always recommend u use 5 or more, i just think its just to give yourself alittle treat, but if you're happy with free foods and health extra, then you'll be fine and probably healthier :)
 
Just to quote my consultant - 'why aren't you having syns? - they are in the plan for a reason'.

You do need them - stop you feeling deprived, give a wider variety of options and many other reasons.

Go for it and use your syns
 
There's always so much food to eat using your free foods and healthy extras. I think i'll struggle to find room for more! But shall try to encorporate some in!
 
I was told that the syns are there to make you feel like you're having that little extra/a treat, in turn making you feel like you're not depriving yourself of anything, then you're less likely to quit/binge/cheat/etc. :)
 
use your syns - your body needs a balanced diet, and syns give the body part of that balance.

good luck!!! x
 
I've struggled to use my syns over the last couple of days and early last week. But honestly, you will eventually NEED some chocolate or a bit of alcohol or crisps or something. And that's what our syns are for :) I think it is a very good idea to have at least 5 a day as it is giving your body that balance. Some days I struggle to get anywhere near 5 (like today, I've only had 2.5 so far so may have a hot choc in a bit) but then there are days where I will go over.
It's about finding what works for you and not depriving yourself. I love SW because I can have the foods and treats I want-just not as much of it as I'm used to ;)
 
If you went to the doctors with an illness and he gave you three types of tablets to take and told you that it was essential that you took all three, you'd take them or not expect to get better. The SW plan is exactly the same - we're given 3 steps to follow to maximise our weight loss, our healthy eating AND our ability to retrain our eating habits for life - EVERYTHING in moderation! Unless we plan to spend the rest of our lives only eating free food and HE's, its essential that we 'unlearn' bad eating habits and we learn how to be around higher calorie foods without making poor eating decisions. SW is about so much more than losing weight and every single decision made by them is there to enable us to be the very best we can, both as slimmers AND as reformed overeaters for life. Enjoy your syns and make the most of at least 5 per day - they're really important - and they're yummy!!!!!!! xxxxxx
 
I'm the same during the week, as I like to save syns for some alcohol at weekends. However, I try to have 5 a day with things like low fat margarine on sandwiches, extra ight mayo, tomato puree, tomato sauce, cornflower etc, as these improve the free food meals I am having.
 
If you went to the doctors with an illness and he gave you three types of tablets to take and told you that it was essential that you took all three, you'd take them or not expect to get better.

What a great comparison that is :) I totally agree, if youre doing a plan DO IT. If youre told you need to factor something in as part of it then theres a reason for that.
 
Thats where most of my daily syns go - I couldnt eat salad without a dressing of some sort!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Starlight - I DO try!!!! LOL xxxxx
 
You need to eat your syns every day - if you hit a plateau in your weight loss the idea is to cut back on the syns to 'kick' start you losing again, but if you are not eating your syns you will have nothing to fall back on, so you must eat your syns for the diet to work properly.
 
You need to eat your syns every day - if you hit a plateau in your weight loss the idea is to cut back on the syns to 'kick' start you losing again, but if you are not eating your syns you will have nothing to fall back on, so you must eat your syns for the diet to work properly.

EXACTLY!

I find that the less syns I use, the slower my losses. 10-15 a day seems to keep me at a good loss rate :) I imagine that if you don't use syns, and say, 3months down the line you decide to start using them all, it would slow down the losses/stop them all together until your body gets used to it.

So, use them! they're there for a reason! I doubt SW would be so successful without them.xx
 
I think part of the trouble is a lot of people perceive syns to be all about chocolate or booze. I never drink alcohol anymore and rarely ate chocolate even before I started dieting. The term "syns" covers a multitude of different things, such as sauces, oil etc in your cooking. That is how I generally use my syns, my only regular syn is a digestive biscuit with my mid morning tea. That is a new habit I've formed since starting SW, but one which I enjoy.

As others have said though, use your syns, you don't have to use the full 15!
 
I have done weeks in the past where I didn't use syns and in my experience it actually doesn't mean you will lose any less, in fact on those weeks I maintained, I always try to have at least 5 per day unless I know I have something on for the weekend, in that case I save them up in the week so I don't go over the syns for week. Try to have some at least otherwise you will start to feel deprived, the syns are there to be used so don't go denying yourself something if you really want it.
 
I've looked into the syns thing. And decided the best way i can use some of them up is having sugar in my tea :D can't stand it with sweetner!!
 
omg someone who doesnt need syns wow, hmmmmm most of mine go on sauces, gravy, mayo, butter, that type of thing. not having syns wont give you a bigger weightloss like the others have said if you deprive yourself of something it come back to bite you in the butt i made a mistake of not eating the chocolate which triggered a 3 week binge on all things bad.
 
My only concern is this - when you hit a plateau or are approaching target and struggling to lose that last few pounds, what will you cut down on?

You can't reduce A's and B's, you shouldn't have to reduce portion sizes, you can't cut out free and superfree food. The answer - you reduce your syns. If you don't have any syns then what?

Have them, even if it's an extra slice of bread!!
 
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