Syns Managing Syns in a 'healthier' way...

orangesuitcase

Full Member
Hey everyone,

Firstly, that title sounds like a bit of an oxymoron - syns by their definition are synful and something we shouldn't over indulge in. But over the past week - ten days I have been thinking a lot about syns and in particular, the HiFi/Benefit/Alpen bars.

When I first started out on SW six weeks ago I was struggling to come to terms with my hex choices - some day I wasn't having any of either, but I mainly struggled with the hexB allowance and couldn't fulfil it maybe two or three days out of the seven each week. My consultant and group gave me ideas, and I found most of my group use the HiFi bars, so I purchased two boxes and incorporated them into my daily routine.

4 weeks on, and I am buying two boxes a week and having two per day. Whilst I appreciate that these are within plan and there's nothing wrong within SW with having them, I have spent the last week worrying about where it will lead. I have been finding it easier to stick to plan throughout the week knowing I can have two HiFi or Alpen bars to go home too, as well as my normal (within syns) 'treats' - normally a small KitKat and on occasion a packet of crisps, typically between 4 and 5 syns.

Before SW, there were days when I didn't have any kind of confectionery. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed lots of bad things - lots of butter and milk in my mash, cream in my sauces etc... but I didn't need to have a 'treat' every night.

Now, I find myself doing it just to use up the syns or hexB allowance.

This week, I've tried to make a conscious effort to cut back on the bars/treats and realign my syns elsewhere. For now, I am having x2 400g bread for lunch with butter, cooked ham, a tomato and x2 slices of 25g edam cheese, allowing 35g for my hexA and counting 2 syns for the remaining 15g edam. I find this so far has filled me up more, so hopefully staves off the hunger until I get home.

I've also swapped Mullerlights for synned yogurt I actually like - the Fage 0% with raspberry and pomegranate.

When I go home, I'm going to try and redirect my syns to my evening meal.

I guess I just want to prove to myself that I don't need to have a typical treat each night to stay on plan and achieve my goals.

Has anyone successfully navigated away from chocolate/sweets on a regular basis and found other ways to use syns? Or do you think they are all bad for us in a way, so just use them on the things you normally enjoy?

I think my biggest fear is falling into a trap where I 'need' something sweet in the evening or to keep my on plan during the day. I don't want that to go further - maybe the HiFi bars don't suffice and I want something more which could be dangerous. I haven't got to that stage, I'm not craving more at this moment but I'm just aware that maybe I am relying more on 'junk' food than I used to.

But then I am losing, so maybe I should stick with what I am doing and not worry about it? :/

Does anyone else have any similar fears, or have you put anything in place to stop this happening?
 
It's a really interesting argument: some people say that a calorie is a calorie (therefore, a syn is a syn), so it doesn't matter what you use them on. Personally, I find I feel much better (and generally lose better) if I have 'healthier' syns, as they're often more filling.

I've stopped using Fry Light, and now syn olive oil: you need to little anyway, that most meals are only between 0.5-1 syn for oil. I find a lot of recipes taste better for it too! I also try and have nuts or avocado or cooked fruit for my syns a lot of the time. I generally have scan-bran as my B choice, but if I fancy something else, I will have that any maybe syn some scan-bran cake or bread.

I think it's very much each to their own. I don't want, or like, to eat chocolate every day. But if I want something sweet, I'll often have a low syn packet of popcorn. And I know what you mean about the fear! For me, I suppose the chocolate and crisps were the things I binged on when I was really bad, so I do have to be careful. But nearly two years into my journey, I do feel a lot more balanced now.
 
Hiya!

That's a really good idea with swapping the frylight with the olive oil! I don't actually mind the frylight but I think you are right when you say some foods do taste better - and it would probably work out cheaper too.

Avocado isn't something I thought about - I completely cut it out because it was so high in syns, so thank you - another excellent idea. I have rice instead of wraps when we have faijitas or burritos and really missed guacamole, so I will definitely incorporate this into my meals.

Do you ever use up your syns on cooking aids during the day/evening and then at night panic if you have no syns left? I kind of find myself leaving 'treats' until the very end of the day. I think that is because I'm afraid I would want something but couldn't have it, which is why I save some for the evening with a cup of tea.

You have done incredibly well looking at your stats and timeline - very inspirational!
 
Hi

I think I very much agree with you. I seem to find it hard to get in my Hex A & B's as don't want to drink milk or eat 3 baybels or eat Alpen bars for the sake of eating them. I will however save my HexA if we're having burgers just so that I can have some grated cheese with them. Also save syns for things like getting to have a bit of Chorizo in my Paella or some ketchup or sun dried tomato paste for making houmous etc.

I find that by having a jar of Overnight Oats is a good way to eat my HexB. I eat it about 10am and I find that with enough fruit and fat free yoghurt on top I stay full until at least 1pm when I can eat dinner. Feel better than eating the Alpens.

Also if it gets to the end of the day and I've only used a couple syns then I don't worry about not using them up. Personally I don't trust myself to have just one chocolate bar. It'd be a slippery slope back into old habits.
 
Hi
Unfortunately I don't have your problem i could quite happily eat 3 hexb every day! But just thought i'd share my consultants opinion......a man and personal trainer, he really doesn't like any of the cereal bars and says he would rather we didn't buy hifi bars from him! And very much encourages us to use our syns on "healthier" treats such as nuts, avocado (he is obsessed with avocados:D) and full fat yogurts, people in my group that have had the will power to cut out some of the crisps,choc etc and swap them have had some fantastic results (sadly not me i still feel like i need my chocolate!! But hopefully soon:confused:)
You look like you're doing sooo well though it obviously works well for you :)
 
This is a really interesting discussion and something I've thought about a lot too.

When I first started back (post baby) I'd been doing clean eating/bodycoach/Harcombe and was virtually sugar free! I was very cautious about re-introducing sugar, especially in things like cereal bars and I avoided Hi-Fi for a couple of months and then gradually I found myself eating them more and more, but not feeling it was a healthy way to eat the Bs. I also miss out my HEx a few times a week - I am usually happy to put cheese on food, but find it harder to incorporate my B choices.

I've started having weetabix or porridge for supper if I've not had overnight oats for breakfast. Or nuts as a snack. I also use olive oil and syn it instead of fry-light, and proper yoghurt instead of muller light. But I have decided that it's not the end of the world if I miss one of them occasionally. I shouldn't feel the need to add them into my day if I don't want them - eating for eating's sake.
 
Very interesting thread.

I wasn't losing a lot of weight at the beginning and I genuinely believe it's because I was using my syns for 'bad' stuff. I'd have 2 curly wurlys per day because at 6 syns each, they still kept me under my allowance.

Now, using them for more foody things (oil, mayo etc), I'm finding I'm losing more.

I do have alpen light bars as my HexB, but only one per day as then it's classed as Speed (which I find odd but...). I struggle with my HexA though. I don't like cheese so I'm left with milk, and that's always hard to drink or use if only having 1 coffee a day!
 
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