Honeyoc
Is a crunchy mama!
My consultant emailed me this wonderful article on how we sometimes sabotage our weight loss efforts.
Are you sabotaging your own weight loss without realising?
Figuring out what could be going wrong quickly so you can address any issues and get the needle on the scales moving again is the key to your success. With support and encouragement of the group you can take action and move forward feeling strong and confident about your daily Food Optimising and a slim and healthy future!
What to do if you stop losing weight
Firstly, never doubt that Food Optimising 100% (whether that’s using Extra Easy, Green or Original) will result in a weight loss. When you:
stops counting altogether
under-estimates Syn values when guessing
believes something is Free when it’s not
stops measuring everything (everything!) that should be measured
you’re most likely to stop losing weight, or even put it on.
Ensure you aren’t making common mistakes
See attached – Where could I have gone wrong.
Are you changing the plan?
Members can be quite creative when it comes to finding “healthier” substitutes for their favourite meals and snacks, yet this can spell disaster for their weight loss!
Tweaking the plan changes the spirit of Food Optimising and could result in members adding lots more Syns to their day without even realising! This is how members could be changing the plan and getting it wrong…
Making snacks like “Slimming World Doritos” from lasagne sheets, quiche using pasta in sauce, and cake from couscous or chickpeas: Although the main ingredients for these recipes are a Free Food they have to be counted as Syns because they’re easy to overeat without realising. When these foods are used in their intended form they’re bulky and usually the main ingredient of a meal along with other satisfying Free or Superfree Foods. This is when you would gain the greatest satiety from these foods. In essence eating them in this ‘snack’ form encourages members to eat more calories without the satisfaction of a filling, healthy meal and this could be jeopardising their weight losses. It’s an effective way of adding a lot of extra calories in a non-bulky, non-satisfying way. To protect members’ weight loss we would always recommend when using these products in this way to count them as Syns
Liquidising Free Foods: Pureeing rice and other Free Food to make sauces could really harm members’ weight losses. When bulky foods such as rice, macaroni and semolina are used in their original form they are usually the main ingredient in a meal. If liquidised and used as a sauce in addition to a main meal they must be counted as Syns as they are adding lots of extra calories to your meal. Eating in this way reverts to a style of eating like the one that helped us gain weight in the first place – choosing a relatively large amount of calories/energy in a non-filling form. Fascinatingly, the less you have to chew food, the easier it is to eat more of it too, because you’re missing out on one of the first stages of feeling full and satisfied – chewing!
NB: The only exception to this rule is liquidising vegetables when they’re used to make soup. Homemade soup can be made for Free because it maintains its bulky and filling qualities for very few calories. It’s generally made by blending the vegetables into the water or stock they’ve been cooked in (which keeps the energy density very low) and therefore is very satisfying as a main meal.
Delicious, nutritious food is at the heart of Slimming World’s Food Optimising and we wholeheartedly encourage members to experiment with recipes, be creative in the kitchen and most of all – enjoy eating healthy, balanced, homecooked meals. If members are doing any of the above and they aren’t getting the weight losses they would like then let them know that this could be why. On the other hand, if they’re still having good losses then there’s no problem – for now! Just let them know that in the long term, these are the kinds of things that could jeopardise your weight losses.
Action: Remember that staying to group is absolutely vital for your success. Image Therapy is where this kind of information is shared; it’s where you and the group can help struggling members figure out where things could be growing wrong and share Free and low-Syn snack and meal ideas to get them back on track. Above all it’s where members are guaranteed to receive the strength, support, motivation and encouragement they so desperately need to continue on their slimming journey
Are you sabotaging your own weight loss without realising?
Figuring out what could be going wrong quickly so you can address any issues and get the needle on the scales moving again is the key to your success. With support and encouragement of the group you can take action and move forward feeling strong and confident about your daily Food Optimising and a slim and healthy future!
What to do if you stop losing weight
Firstly, never doubt that Food Optimising 100% (whether that’s using Extra Easy, Green or Original) will result in a weight loss. When you:
stops counting altogether
under-estimates Syn values when guessing
believes something is Free when it’s not
stops measuring everything (everything!) that should be measured
you’re most likely to stop losing weight, or even put it on.
Ensure you aren’t making common mistakes
See attached – Where could I have gone wrong.
Are you changing the plan?
Members can be quite creative when it comes to finding “healthier” substitutes for their favourite meals and snacks, yet this can spell disaster for their weight loss!
Tweaking the plan changes the spirit of Food Optimising and could result in members adding lots more Syns to their day without even realising! This is how members could be changing the plan and getting it wrong…
Making snacks like “Slimming World Doritos” from lasagne sheets, quiche using pasta in sauce, and cake from couscous or chickpeas: Although the main ingredients for these recipes are a Free Food they have to be counted as Syns because they’re easy to overeat without realising. When these foods are used in their intended form they’re bulky and usually the main ingredient of a meal along with other satisfying Free or Superfree Foods. This is when you would gain the greatest satiety from these foods. In essence eating them in this ‘snack’ form encourages members to eat more calories without the satisfaction of a filling, healthy meal and this could be jeopardising their weight losses. It’s an effective way of adding a lot of extra calories in a non-bulky, non-satisfying way. To protect members’ weight loss we would always recommend when using these products in this way to count them as Syns
Liquidising Free Foods: Pureeing rice and other Free Food to make sauces could really harm members’ weight losses. When bulky foods such as rice, macaroni and semolina are used in their original form they are usually the main ingredient in a meal. If liquidised and used as a sauce in addition to a main meal they must be counted as Syns as they are adding lots of extra calories to your meal. Eating in this way reverts to a style of eating like the one that helped us gain weight in the first place – choosing a relatively large amount of calories/energy in a non-filling form. Fascinatingly, the less you have to chew food, the easier it is to eat more of it too, because you’re missing out on one of the first stages of feeling full and satisfied – chewing!
NB: The only exception to this rule is liquidising vegetables when they’re used to make soup. Homemade soup can be made for Free because it maintains its bulky and filling qualities for very few calories. It’s generally made by blending the vegetables into the water or stock they’ve been cooked in (which keeps the energy density very low) and therefore is very satisfying as a main meal.
Delicious, nutritious food is at the heart of Slimming World’s Food Optimising and we wholeheartedly encourage members to experiment with recipes, be creative in the kitchen and most of all – enjoy eating healthy, balanced, homecooked meals. If members are doing any of the above and they aren’t getting the weight losses they would like then let them know that this could be why. On the other hand, if they’re still having good losses then there’s no problem – for now! Just let them know that in the long term, these are the kinds of things that could jeopardise your weight losses.
Action: Remember that staying to group is absolutely vital for your success. Image Therapy is where this kind of information is shared; it’s where you and the group can help struggling members figure out where things could be growing wrong and share Free and low-Syn snack and meal ideas to get them back on track. Above all it’s where members are guaranteed to receive the strength, support, motivation and encouragement they so desperately need to continue on their slimming journey
