Green Days portion size

mel1

Full Member
Hello people please will someone answer a question for me

In recipe books a recipe gives a free syn Reading but then the put down how many servings it should serve... But they obviously don't cater for my appetite because I can eat and eat and mostly eat the whole dish rather than little piddly servings.... now am I wrong to think if something is free it shouldn't matter what size portion you have free food is free foodand you can have unlimited amounts ( slimming worlds rules not mine) or else it should have a syn value to control consumption more ? Confused oh yes I am ... Please ease my simple mind and tell me why
( I am not totally thick I know you are supposed to burn off more cals than we consume to loose weight but slimming world doesn't really seem to follow this rule that is why I love it so)
 
The SW rule is not that you can have unlimited free foods. The rule is that you can have as much free food as you need to feel full. Subtle but important difference.

So, often i will make a recipe and split 4 portions between 3 (one each plus one for the freezer) but i can't imagine eating 4 portions to myself! However, as long as you are eating til you're full & then stop, you can eat as much as you need to. I'd probably replace some of the free food with veg as it will fill you up for less calories though.
 
It does say on the website somewhere that if one if their recipes is free and for 4 people you can eat it all to yourself if you have a big appetite, as long as you stop when youre full :) I'll try and find the page for you
 
I always eat big portions, so when I make things from scratch the portions me and hubby eat are probably a 'serves 4' size.. Ie: We have 2 portions each. It has never hindered my losses at all. Just be sure to stop when you're full and not just eat becasue you CAN.
 
I think the key is not eating it all just because it's there... Have you thought about serving up a smaller portion, eating it, and then only going back for seconds if you genuinely want it? I have a really bad habit of eating everything on my plate, even if that leaves me really stuffed by the end of the meal, so serving up a smaller portion - and knowing that there's extra if I need it - works well for me.

As for the SW portion sizes, I find them quite variable! Some of the 'serves four' produce a good-sized meal for me and my partner, but usually they produce enough for three people. Rarely four! I always serve my meals with veg and usually a side salad as well though, which helps fill me up.
 
I may get shot down for saying this but you do need to exercise some portion control on SW. If your doing EE for example, having a third superfree veg limits your portion of free food. Also you need to eat until your comfortably full not feeling stuffed. You can't always eat as much as you like, just enough to satisy your hunger. I know if I could eat as much as I like I wouldn't stop eating all day! At present I just eat when I'm actually physically hungry.
 
Just remember that sometimes a recipe is free but includes enough healthy extras for 4 people so may not be totally free if you eat it all yourself as you could be eating too many healthy extras.
 
Thanks everyone all totally valid points I'm gonna take on board , I was just having one of those days when nothing will fill you and keep you satisfied I think :s
 
mel1 said:
Thanks everyone all totally valid points I'm gonna take on board , I was just having one of those days when nothing will fill you and keep you satisfied I think :s

I have those days occassionally too. I just eat as much as i need & have learnt to listen to my body now. I always drink a glass of water if i think i shouldn't be hungry, and then if still hungry, will eat some superfree (carrot sticks usually)

If you are craving something in particular i do think you need to eat a bit of it. I was craving chocolate this weekend. Tried to fend it off with ryvita & dairylea light. No good. So had some fruit. No good! Finally went & bought a curly wurly & after half of it was fine. Should have just had half in the first place!
 
I have those days occassionally too. I just eat as much as i need & have learnt to listen to my body now. I always drink a glass of water if i think i shouldn't be hungry, and then if still hungry, will eat some superfree (carrot sticks usually)

If you are craving something in particular i do think you need to eat a bit of it. I was craving chocolate this weekend. Tried to fend it off with ryvita & dairylea light. No good. So had some fruit. No good! Finally went & bought a curly wurly & after half of it was fine. Should have just had half in the first place!

My doctor God love him, says if you fancy something have it in the smallest portion it comes in. He says having a banana when you fancy a Kit Kat doesn't always work.
Fortunately I rarely get a fancy for sweet things.
 
to be honest I often make a recipe from the mag that says it serves 4 and eat half of it.

Obviously I account for syns and HX accordingly, for example I made the cannelloni from the recent mag between me and my brother which meant me using 2 healthy extra's for cheese.

I don't keep eating once I'm satisfied though and I think that is the key. It took me a long time to learn that it was okay not to eat everything on my plate and that I could put it in the fridge or (shock horror) throw some away if I wasn't hungry anymore. A valuable lesson to learn though I feel.
 
Clareel said:
to be honest I often make a recipe from the mag that says it serves 4 and eat half of it.

Obviously I account for syns and HX accordingly, for example I made the cannelloni from the recent mag between me and my brother which meant me using 2 healthy extra's for cheese.

I don't keep eating once I'm satisfied though and I think that is the key. It took me a long time to learn that it was okay not to eat everything on my plate and that I could put it in the fridge or (shock horror) throw some away if I wasn't hungry anymore. A valuable lesson to learn though I feel.

I agree that this is probably half the problem most of the time I can't abide waste and will finish everything because we worked so hard to afford to buy it in the first place .. It's old habits that I have to learn to break
 
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