Slimming World - Extra Easy weight loss!!

zippychick

blackberry-rum wrote: »

As I said, it does say in the book to make superfree snacks your first choice, but it also says free foods can be eaten at any time. So if you are yearning for a slice of ham (or more likely for me some prawns!) rather than an apple, go for it. Just try to eat plenty of superfree. Personally, I love the crunchy peppery stalks on cauliflower and broccoli and eat that raw whenever I can get hold of it.

I read that

I just thought it would be fairer to balance that with a consultants point of view as well - purely because the whole "misuse" thing is an entirely new concept to me as well!:eek:

I put the links in to what consultant said, so I wasn't misquoting her or paraphrasing wrongly

blackberry-rum

Zippy, I was trying to watch Boy George on tv while this "conversation" was going on, I wasn't sure if what I'd written was clear that's why I said it again I think misuse is a different thing to eating free foods as food; misuse is turning something free into something else entirely, like a CAKE! especially if it is then gobbled up on the basis of being "free". I still frankly don't understand the chickpea thing, but then it sounds a lot of effort to roast chickpeas so I didn't honestly take much notice of the talk about it. Off to bed now, work in another 8 hours

zippychick

I would have thought the same thing. I would have said misuse (8egg cake/couscous cake) and free food as snacks (roasted chickpeas, chicken fillet, savoury rice etc) were different too until she said otherwise - much to my shagrin.:p

Basically I love roasted chickpeas and they are a very good substitute for nuts to munch on. I was checking if it was ok to eat "free" foods as snacks, which i think started the debate off (or added to an existing one)

Consultant herself said as a snack to syn them, but as part of a filling nutrituous meal it would be fine.

I do agree and am trying to abide by it, but had some today in a weekend frenzy snack ! Well, i was waiting on lunch so maybe i could stretch the truth and say they were part of lunch:o:rotfl:

Easy peasy to do - i have them bagged up in the freezer soaked and cooked ready to use. Spray with frylight or lightly coat with oil, i sprinkle on some smoked paprika, hot chilli powder and a dab of salt, mix, throw on a baking tray and roast for about 15 mins. When you get them right, they are crunchy nummy yummy! Alternatively, use straight from the tin.

Boy george instead of Desp housewives? What are you thinking

TakeItEazy

I for 1 don't always eat super free foods between meals, sometimes having crisps etc but it doesn't seem to affect my weight loss.

Food today

B - weetabix [b + 3.5 syns], milk [a], coffee

L - chicken, salad [lettuce,cue,tom,s/onion], new pots, b/egg, beans, hm garlic mayo [4 syns], babybel [2 syns].

T - slice of ham, left over salad, couple new pots, handful pasta, beans.

Snacks - not needed any today

Syns - 9.5

Had planned on pineapple & muller but don't fancy it now .

lynzpower

zippychick wrote: »

I would have thought the same thing. I would have said misuse (8egg cake/couscous cake) and free food as snacks (roasted chickpeas, chicken fillet, savoury rice etc) were different too until she said otherwise - much to my shagrin.:p

Basically I love roasted chickpeas and they are a very good substitute for nuts to munch on. I was checking if it was ok to eat "free" foods as snacks, which i think started the debate off (or added to an existing one)

Consultant herself said as a snack to syn them, but as part of a filling nutrituous meal it would be fine.

I do agree and am trying to abide by it, but had some today in a weekend frenzy snack ! Well, i was waiting on lunch so maybe i could stretch the truth and say they were part of lunch:o:rotfl:

Easy peasy to do - i have them bagged up in the freezer soaked and cooked ready to use. Spray with frylight or lightly coat with oil, i sprinkle on some smoked paprika, hot chilli powder and a dab of salt, mix, throw on a baking tray and roast for about 15 mins. When you get them right, they are crunchy nummy yummy! Alternatively, use straight from the tin.

Boy george instead of Desp housewives? What are you thinking

Ok heres my opinion into the mix I ran this by my sister and we seemed to be on the same page.

Misuse of free foods seems to be suggesting that making some sort of b*******disation out of free foods to make something else isnt ok and should be synned. The roasted chickpeas seem to be this category. I queried this as well, as I dont think this is "something most people wouldnt do" in some parts of the world roast chickpeas are a lot more prevelent than crisps or nut arnt they!

My sister seemed rather incredulous that they wouldnt be classed as free if you made them at home, obv some of the commercial ones are roasted in a lot of oil, but to manage them at home with frylite or synned oil- well she thinks its fine. Again the point ( like the tinned fruit ) is that they are heavy, hard going snack you probalby wouldnt be able to eat wuite as many CPs in a sitting as say normal crisps as they are so much more dense + have protein in.

Ps where do you get smoked parprika, have been looking for this for ages!!

There is also the issue about eating things "within a main meal".

I asked my sister about the "main meal" bit and she basically said ignore IT AS A FREE FOOD it doesnt matter when you eat it and there are many synned items that you would never have "in a main meal" like crisps, scratchings, chocolate etc. If you were going to syn a cream cake you wouldnt have it after a large free meal ( eg chili and jacket pots) as youd be stuffing yourself and that is NOT the idea!

The problem with the "snacking arena" in SW is that
a) no food is off limits
b)you can eat as much free food as you want UNTIL YOU ARE SATISFIED

and that c)most people who are overweight in her SW class and probably all of us indeed, have a problem with snacking in general and
d) have a problem with feeling satisfied in general and do keep eating well after the "satiated" trigger should go off.

She feels that in many "normal" people, they "hear" the bell that tells them they are full and leaves the food on thier plate they dont need. Overeaters either hear this and ignore it a other messages are more important ( ie dont waste food) or dont hear it at all.

She says the problem is as a consultant, how can you truly educate people about when they are truly hungry and when they are just bored/empty snacking/fancying that thing and that their bellys are full and they ARE NOT HUNGRY. All you can do is to teach people how to listen out for the sign of "fullness" and hope that they get it.

Re: the portion sizes of free food, she said if its free it doesnt matter she made a soup that was meant to serve 6 and she took it to work in a flask and had the lot over the day- she sees no prob with this even for the people with the most to lose,"better to fill with free food than synned food- thats the point of free food". . Shrugging as she knows there was no syns, just veg/stock/ spices so 'no biggie'.

*confused*

Anyway:
Talking of which I oversynned on the weekend adn basically assaulted a large packet of jaffa cakes and scoffed the lot along with a mini twix. Managed to generally pull it back yesterday and am counting syns over the week Sat-Sat.

Today, again have lots to do at home, so am here:
Brek will be a large fruit salad as lots of the fruit Ive bought is going off so must eat the berries today with yog of some sort.
Lunch will prob be the cous cous salad, chicken grilled courgettes
Tea is a chinese stirfry with egg *fried* rice with peas and other veg in I think Ill use that easy recipe from a few pages back.

Hope everyone has a great day. xxxxx

nic2075

Thanks Lynzpower, I totally agree with everything you( your sister) said about free foods and snacking etc.
Ive been doing SW on and off for 2 years now, been almost at target once and am now almost there again, Thats over a 3 stone loss each times.
It was easy at first as I was keen and very strict. I followed green days with the very odd red day, I eat free foods whenever I feel like it. Ill try and make it superfree as I can see how an apple would be an healthier snack before a tin of beans, but if I have leftover pasta from last nights dinner in the fridge then I would eat that as a snack if it was free and I fancied it.
I lost a consistant 2-3lbs a week never gaining (until I fell off the wagon completely lol), so the plan worked back then for me.

Its been harder this time around as Im not as focussed but when I stick to the plan, I have lost 2-3lbs per week again and am now half a stone away from target. I mainly have green days with the odd EE at the weekends. I try the 1/3rd superfree foods on my plate but I dont stress over it as I eat loads of fruit at other times in the day.
On green days I also snack on mug shots, pasta quiche and SW chips, even after my dinner at night. it keeps me away from the biscuit tin which is a far unhealthier place to go.
On EE days I snack on chicken drumsticks, ham slices, SW quiche, pick on leftovers etc. Again they are all free and thats SW's mantra. On WW id be starving.

The only thing I have never done is make a cake out of free foods or lasagne doritos, id rather syn the real thing.

I find I do better on the plan when im still strict but dont stress too much when I go over slightly, the more I stress the naughtier I get.
As Ive said in a previous post, I dont look at SW on a weekly basis, i still get weighed weekly but look at my progress over 4 weeks. I find my overall eating for a month is really balanced compared to weekly. If you find you have overeaten one week the following could be less

Rotherham_Lass

Lost 1.5lbs this week so that makes 5lbs in 3 weeks. Slowly but surely getting there!

whoopidoo

Morning everyone

Wonder if you can help. You know how I started on EE and am now trying Green? Well I've still been doing the 3rd (well half if I'm honest) of my plate with SF foods as I thought you still had to do that. Also I thought the syns a day was 15 and now a friend told me last night it's actually 10. This week I've been near the 13 syns a day mark every day (I usually end up around 9 but been a bit naughty this week) and have also been filling my chops up with a piled high plate of salad or veggies with my dinner and lunches. Have I messed this week up? Seem to have confuddled myself along the way after starting off so confidently

got-it-spend-it

Hi whoopido! I think the more superfree foods you are eating, the better. No-one ever put on weight because they ate too much salad. I generally have at least a third of my meal as superfree, whatever plan I'm on.

Syns is definitely between 5-15 a day, so your 13 sounds fine to me.

gocat

Morning all.
Thinking out loud here but I've had a terrible weekend eating all kind of synful foods e.g.:o:beer:, :bdaycake::EasterBunbut the scales this morning show a reduction. Wondering if maybe not having enough syns during the week and unconsciously syn bingeing like that at the weekend got the scales moving?
Have I answered my own question :question:

Back on track today though :A