Monday 23 February 2015

Slimming World: Is it for me?

Yes, another diet post. I’ve tried and failed numerous times since giving birth to Millie nearly 2 years ago and I just can’t stay to a regular ‘diet’. I’ve figured out that I need structure, motivation and a chance to eat whatever I want to eat but within reason and the only thing I have discovered that lets you do just this is Slimming World. I’ve known of so many people that have been with Slimming World and heard great things from everyone but you never quite know whether it’s going to work for you until you try it and so, last week, I decided I would join my local group and see if it would help me out and encourage me to loose the weight I put on whilst at Uni and when I was pregnant. 

It’s a little bit complex to start with but here’s a quick and easy run down of how it works... You’re allowed as many ‘free’ foods as you like, all day, whatever time it is and these free foods consist of Fruit, Veg, Meat, Fish, Dairy (within reason), Eggs, Rice, Pasta, Grains and Pulses. You’re then permitted a Healthy Extra A (measured portion of milks and cheeses) and a Healthy Extra B (measured portion of bread, cereals or dried/cooked fruit) per day which I tend to use up as cereal in the morning. And then, you have your ‘syns’ i.e., the GOOD stuff. Think of your syns as all the stuff a ‘regular’ diet wouldn’t let you have, things like chocolate, sweets, desserts, fizzy drinks etc. Each one of these has a syn value and you’re allowed between 5-15 syns per day, these are used up on chocolate for me as I can’t resist but they can also be used on pre-made sauces, dips and additions to your meals. 
Top left - 0.5 Syn Fry-up, Top right - Hex. B Weetabix muffins with Banana & Strawberry
Bottom - 2 Syn Chicken Kebabs with Rice & Salad 

Taking into consideration the 3 things that foods are grouped into with Slimming World, it’s important that you control what you’re eating which means cooking from scratch as much as you can and planning, prepping and portioning your foods. It’s hard to do if you’re busy and working a lot but it’s still achievable! The ways to over-come it is to batch cook foods i.e. bolognese, chilli, shepherds pie can all be cooked on the same night as they use similar ingredients and you can make 3/4 portions with 1 pack of mince or to make more than you need and box the rest up to freeze for another day! You can buy a set of 17 containers from eBay for £6.90 which are brilliant for meals and lunches along with snacks for the day too! 

I managed to get my head around the plan in the first week by experimenting with foods, cooking up some meals from scratch and varying snacks and I actually really like it. I’m enjoying the food, I’m never hungry and it’s so easy to stick to! There are so many instagram accounts that feature slimming world friendly meals too so you’re never eating the same thing, just search #slimmingworld or #synfree and you’ll find endless pictures of yummy foods to try yourself! I definitely have a few things on the list that I want to try such as Satay Chicken, Diet Coke Chicken and slow cooked Lamb Doner meat, yes, DONER MEAT! Like I said, you’re still entitled to eat treats but make sure you’re not over your 15 syns allowance for the day! 

My weigh in day is Monday (i.e. Today!) and in the first week, I lost 3.5lbs! I hope to loose 1 stone lbs by summer and want to up my exercise too but for now, I’m concentrating on getting my diet plan structured and then will focus on my exercise routine. If you’re looking for a diet plan but have failed on everything else then I really recommend searching for your nearest Slimming World group and seeing whether it’s for you! Check back this evening to find out how much I lost in my second week and let me know if you’d like to see some recipes of the things that I make in the week!

Week 1 -3.5lbs
Week 2 -0.5lbs
Week 3 -4lbs
Week 4 -0.5lbs
Week 5 +2lbs (weekend in Paris didn’t help)
Week 6 -0.5lbs
Week 7

2 comments :

  1. Well done on your weight loss!
    A few of my family members have done brilliantly on Slimming World and I'm sure you will too :)

    Catherine / caffrinc.blogspot.co.uk xxx

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