I'm so confused :-(

[LoveEmAndLeaveEm]

Hey Everyone

My name is Diz and I started SW on Tuesday.....and despite seeming to understand everything in the meeting and coming out really pumped up and ready to do it, yesterday (my first day) was just a nightmare, I couldn't get my head around the plan at all, couldn't work out how to count syns and basically was really awful, I started off really well, had an apple when I got up, then was running round from 6am-3pm by that point I was starving and stressed out as all I could think of was that I needed to eat but didn't have a clue what I COULD eat, so my hubby said please god just eat something so I had a ham and cheese panini (on seeded panini bread) but then in the evening I then had had half a chicken balti, some pilau rice, half a naan bread and 3 onion bahjis, then a cornetto, then a mars bar :-(

Anyway I decided that TODAY was going to be the day I start.....hubby found me this site to be able to get help and here I am......(please be gentle with me!)

I've so far been up since 6am, drinking water and eating strawberries (with nothing on them) but I have NO IDEA where to go from here!!!

Please help!

 

[otleymorgan]

Hey Diz!
I just wanted to say I was the same when I joined. It let it go straight over my head and confused myself but Extra Easy (I take it you are following EE?) is really easy to follow.
I found if I planned my days for the first week helped me get the hang of it. I picked my healthy extras a & b.

For example, one day I'll wake up and have 2 slices of Warburtons Wholemeal (400g loaf) and 2 'fried' eggs (cooked in fry light no oil). That's my B choice. My A choice is semi skinned milk, 250ml, I'll put that in the fridge and have my cups of tea out of that and then a mug of milk before bed. That's my healthy a.
Lunch I might have a healthy fry up - bacon (no fat) cooked in fry light, eggs, plum tomatoes, baked beans etc. Or I might make a healthy pasta - tuna and sweetcorn and a side salad. Yum.
Dinner, spap bowl, cottage pie, chilli con carne - all free.

Through out the day I'll have fruit and salad. I'll also work syns into my day with mayonaise, tomato ketchup, a small packet of crisps or chocolate bar if I'm tempted. That's when I reach for my slimming world book and check the syn value. I aim for between 10 - 15 syns a day as my consultant advised.

I eat as I did before but I try to adapt it into a healthy SW version. I don't use fat, I don't eat oven chips anymore I make slimming world chips, same with roast potatoes. If I have a curry I wouldn't have the naan for example, unless I use my HEB.
Oh and I try not to let myself get hungry where I'll reach for rubbish instead. I've found a lot of it is not relying on prepackaged stuff for me personally.

I hope this has helped a little? xxx Good luck

 

[LoveEmAndLeaveEm]

Hey,

Thank you so much! At least I know I'm not alone!!

Firstly-what is HEB??

Tomato Ketchup-oh god I'm going to struggle! I love the stuff!!

I think bread is my downfall, I love the stuff, especially white bread that you cut yourself and then cover in butter (ooops!)

Saying that though I don't drink, I don't smoke, I only normally eat chicken and bacon meat wise, I do a lot of dog walking but because I was injured in Dec and only started being able to walk without crutches again in March and can only swim or cycle at the moment rather than run or play netball like I'd normally be doing I have this extra weight-which needs to go!!!

I really need to plan meals to get myself knowing what the values of things are but how do I work out what the syns are?

Eg I like chicken fajitas, so peppers, chicken, onion (they're all free right?) but how much for a wrap? Does the bbq seasoning need syning??

 

[alwayssunshine]

Right? Are you going to a group? If so, get out your Food Optimising book. Starting on p 9 you will find a list of free and superfree foods. These are foods that can be enjoyed without weighing or measuring. Free foods include lean meat (cut visible fat off) and fish as well as carbs like potatoes, pasta, couscous and other items like eggs, seasonings and fat free yogurt. You can enjoy these foods guilt-free. Simply eat untl you are full and then stop. In addition to your free food, there is also 'superfree' food. These are non starchy vegetables and fruit. Not only are these good for a healthy diet but they promote weight loss by filling you up. You should make sure that 1/3 of each of your meals is made up of fruit and/or vegetables. So have a fruit salad with your cereal at breakfast or a salad with your jacket potato at lunch. There are so many great meal ideas on the 'what's for breakfast/lunch/tea' threads.


2) In addition to free and superfree food there are Healthy Extras. You need to make sure you're having one Healthy Extra A (dairy choice so milk or cheese) and one Healthy Extra B (fibre choice so wholemeal bread/cereal/cereal bars etc) a day. Again, full lists of Healthy Extras can be found in your book (starting on p 25) or are online at the SW website.

3) You also need to have between 5 and 15 a day. Syns are an important part of the SW plan as they stop us feeling deprived which help keep us on track in the long term. There is some anecdotal evidence on Mini Mins that using more syns helps with weight loss as well. I use most of my syns every day and I've lost 2.5 stone so don't be afraid of them! You can use them for treats (e.g., chocolate or biscuits) or to add extras to meals (mayo, sauces, gravy) - whatever you want really! Completely up to you. Just make sure you're having at least 5 every day. The SW online syn database has syn values for thousands of everyday and branded foods. So if you want to know the syn value of (say) a packet of Walkers crisps or something then just seach for it on the database. I find that most items i wish to syn are there. For snacks like crisps and biscuits, the general rule is that 20 calories = 1 syn. So a 100 calorie chocolate bar would = 5 syns. This works for treats, however, not for items that contain free food.

4) Please eat something now. There is NO need to be hungry on SW - not with all that lovely free food to be enjoyed! I had porridge this morning (using oats as my HEB and skim milk as my HEA) with a banana and I am full. But if I get hungry later, I won't hesitate to snack on more fruit before lunch. Lunch for me today will be homemade vegetable soup, probably with a packet of Ainsley harriot couscous (2 syns). And dinner will be either chilli with rice and salad or salmon with a jacket potato and veggies depending on whether hubs is working late! See, 'normal' food, and plenty of it! Once you get your head around ut, SW is very easy I promise Good luck!

Does that help?

 

[LoveEmAndLeaveEm]

Yes!!!

Thank you so much and congrats on the loss so far!!

I understand the basics of the superfree and free, but I get confused when it comes to putting it into a 'meal' so I know I can have dried pasta or dried rice but then say I was going to put a jar of sauce on it, how would I go about finding out the syn values for that as it would only be half of the jar etc....do I halve what the syn calculator says?

 

[alwayssunshine]

Hey,


I really need to plan meals to get myself knowing what the values of things are but how do I work out what the syns are?

Eg I like chicken fajitas, so peppers, chicken, onion (they're all free right?) but how much for a wrap? Does the bbq seasoning need syning??

You can find out the syns of things by using the online SW database. Or, if you don't have acess to that, look in the 'syn values' sub forum on here. The syn values for many common items are listed there.

Looking online, fajita seasoning seems to be around 4 syns a packet. But of course, you would only need to count 2 syns for that if you were sharing with your husband. Wraps are unfortunately quite high in syns I'm afraid - the WW ones are 5.5 syns each but most other brands are 8 or 9 syns each. But you could do what I do and have the free chicken and vegetables mixed with the fajita seasoning and have it with rice (which is free) instead of a tortilla wrap. That makes a yummy low syn meal. You'll find that most meals can be converted to something that is SW freindly. You just need to be a bit creative!

 

[alwayssunshine]

Yes!!!


I understand the basics of the superfree and free, but I get confused when it comes to putting it into a 'meal' so I know I can have dried pasta or dried rice but then say I was going to put a jar of sauce on it, how would I go about finding out the syn values for that as it would only be half of the jar etc....do I halve what the syn calculator says?

Yes So, if I search for Dolmio original pasta sauce in the database, it tells me that there are 8 syns is a 320g jar. So if I was sharing that with hubs, it would be 4 syns for my portion. But personally, I make my own pasta sauce now. Loads of lovely and tasty recipes on the SW website that are free which means I can use my syns for other things!

 

[LoveEmAndLeaveEm]

Thank you so much!!!

I was just told on the FB group for our area that a wrap is 15!!! But fingers crossed it'll be less, am going to check now but having it with rice sounds amazing!!

 

[bilsat]

Welcome to SW & this forum, remember we are all here to help you.
I read the "book" & then typed out a list of free foods & another of super free foods, these are pinned up in the kitchen where you can see what to have & what not to.
On SW you will find that you can eat a lot more than you think, most people who start, cut back on their foods then have a "syn" item, choc bar, drink etc to make up the syn values.
As an example a typical day for me is :
Breakfast: baked beans, egg, 1 slice bacon or 1/2 syn sausage, mushrooms, tomato with 2 slices of wholemeal toast, apple to finish.
Dinner: Peanut curry (4.5 syns), rice, salad, fruit .
Supper:Salmon with couscous, salad, fruit.
As you can see from my results, it does work!
Make yourself a menu for the week, only buy the ingredients for this, no "rubbish", keep a food diary for your information or to show your consultant.
Good luck.
Pete

 

[zi-ann]

I start SW today, after beeing on WW for 2 years and loseing just over 4 stone, i still have 2.5 to go, but decided i needed a change, i "think" i have got my head around it all, and am pretty excited but nervous at the same time lol ... good luck x

 

[faye cheshire]

Well diz I am no expert but to begin with you need to plan. Get some recipes and make soup or a salad with fruit to follow for lunch then make up a few evening meals. This way you are ahead of the game.

Get the food directory at class or off ebay. That has all food values in. So what I do is keep to the straight and narrow most of the time and then look up the syns as you go along you will soon get a feel for it.

I think of it as in three parts ...free food. Healthy extras and syns. I am sure you will get the hang of it. The cookery books help at the start or you can get free recipes online. ...whatever you do you will be eating more healthily and it will become second nature. I am a hairdresser and one of my customers told me today that her friend has age related diabetes. The diet she is now on is more or less the same as sw so it is good from a health perspective too.;

Good luck

Faye Cheshire

 

[*EB*]

A lot of threads on here are full of ideas for lunches, breakfasts and evening meals.....have a look through these and then plan the day ahead. You can then get your day sorted and not end up going without. Xxx

 

[madmumof3]

I start SW today, after beeing on WW for 2 years and loseing just over 4 stone, i still have 2.5 to go, but decided i needed a change, i "think" i have got my head around it all, and am pretty excited but nervous at the same time lol ... good luck x

Totally off topic but how do you get that chart under your ticker?

I have the ticker, and followed your link to the same site but I can't find the chart, only the ticker! x

 

[madmumof3]

Hmm does this work?

 

[ceebeee]

Certainly does!

 

[TheOnlyPink]

Just wanted to add in to all the great advice, that planning is the key. I find the days I dont have a plan are the days I'm staring into the fridge wondering what to eat, not seeing anything and then eating junk or not eating at all! Plan your syns too, that way you never get caught out. Theres a thread in the syn forum about what people are spending their syns on today. I found that a goldmine of good tips when I was starting out. Things like flumps for 1.5 syns, multipacks of pom bears for 3.5, small kinders for 3.5. Makes it so much easier to follow!

Good luck!