Slimming World - II

tea_and_cake

ally_pally wrote: »

What do we all think about the changes announced today?

- An extra Healthy Extra A allowance
- Peas and beans no longer considered protein
- Light Philadelphia and other soft cheeses no longer being considered a Healthy Extra A
- No second Healthy Extra B if you're doing SP

I'll be honest, it's sort of annoyed me. (Probably because it's a Monday and I'm annoyed I'll have to syn my work-day light Philadelphia on toast for breakfast). The announcement talks about how it's due to new nutritional information. Really? Has the protein content of beans changed recently? I don't do SP but I'd say people who do it will really miss the second Healthy Extra B.

I'll be continuing on as I am. The plan as it stands has been working for me and this changing of Healthy Extras is a bit much.

Hi ally_pally, I do sw online, where are these details/updates do you know? Thanks

m'lady

tea_and_cake wrote: »

Hi ally_pally, I do sw online, where are these details/updates do you know? Thanks

Hi.. These changes aren’t being brought in until the new year, everyone will be getting a new book over the Christmas period (to encourage people to weigh in!) and there will be a downloadable part for people that do it online.
Slimming World released it now before it was leaked on one of the many Facebook pages -as consultants were informed about these changes in the last week or two.

ally_pally

tea_and_cake wrote: »

Hi ally_pally, I do sw online, where are these details/updates do you know? Thanks

I saw it on some Instagram pages I follow. These changes seem much bigger than the syn changes to muller lights a while back. There was uproar in my group over that. There’ll be a full blown riot now! 😂

Mkelly1989

ally_pally wrote: »

What do we all think about the changes announced today?

- An extra Healthy Extra A allowance
- Peas and beans no longer considered protein
- Light Philadelphia and other soft cheeses no longer being considered a Healthy Extra A
- No second Healthy Extra B if you're doing SP

I'll be honest, it's sort of annoyed me. (Probably because it's a Monday and I'm annoyed I'll have to syn my work-day light Philadelphia on toast for breakfast). The announcement talks about how it's due to new nutritional information. Really? Has the protein content of beans changed recently? I don't do SP but I'd say people who do it will really miss the second Healthy Extra B.

I'll be continuing on as I am. The plan as it stands has been working for me and this changing of Healthy Extras is a bit much.

I'm kinda annoyed. I used to love the 2 healthy extra b choices on an SP day. Generally would have 1 for brekkie and one later on at night, usually 2 alpen light bars with a cuppa. Don't eat a lot of dairy either so the second healthy extra a is no real benefit....

ally_pally

Only 10 syns on SP too. Can’t see how SP would be all that manageable now although I never managed it for more than a couple of days.

It also makes me wonder about being told to measure your milk for your tea and coffee as you could easily go over and it could threaten your weight loss. Good advice. But now you can actually have a whole other serving of milk and it’s suddenly fine?

It feels like a fairly big change to a plan that was working if followed. I don’t get it to be honest.

jaykhunter

ally_pally wrote: »

What do we all think about the changes announced today?

- An extra Healthy Extra A allowance
- Peas and beans no longer considered protein
- Light Philadelphia and other soft cheeses no longer being considered a Healthy Extra A
- No second Healthy Extra B if you're doing SP

Giving you more HeA but then removing HeA choices is a bit of a kick in the knackers. I generally syn my cheese and save my HeA for milk so it's not a huge impact but it's frustrating to take away things that people rely on. It was a bit annoying to have to syn flavoured yogurts but I'm sure we'll adapt and overcome!

I'm also annoyed about the peas/beans but hopefully it'll just become free, and not get synned.

SP seems quite complicated already and this ensures I won't give it a go until I've exhausted the regular plan & exercise! Going from 15 to 10 syns is quite drastic.

I'm surprised it got out with 6 weeks before Xmas (these are 2019 plans). So it's a bit it a holding pattern/impending doom until it 'goes live'.

However it's a good day for home-made pizzas - I no longer will have to choose between cheese topping and milk in my coffee!

Areas

Last night I was down 4 pounds!!! I'm delighted. And....I got Ms Slinky in my group for 2018. I was so shocked!!!! Like actually shocked.
It's given me such a boost to keep myself going for Christmas and for 2019 as well to get my target!

Penn

Fantastic work, Areas!

ally_pally

Well done Areas, very well deserved!

jaykhunter

Congrats Areas, that's fantastic! Wonderful to be recognised by your peers like that. Hooray!!

jaykhunter

Was in class this morning! Just to clarify a couple of points from the news leak:

- the revamped plan will take effect in January
- "regular" aka Extra Easy Slimming World will be 2 x HeA and 1 x HeB! (i.e. double your HeA)
- the trade off is that some soft cheeses will not be HeA anymore (definitely Philly Light; laughing cow and others have not been specified yet)
- Unroasted, unsweetened almond milk used to be 1L for HeA; now is 400ml for HeA
- Baked Beans and most peas will no longer be "P" protein, but they'll still be free foods
- SP Days are really getting the shaft: 2 x HeA and 1 x HeB (so same as regular SW) but reducing 15 syns to 10.
With the above, Baked beans and most peas are now out during SP days.

Personally, it sucks that it leaked to the newspapers as they focused on the worst aspects with hyperbolic and somewhat untrue headlines (eg "syns slashed" as a headline, but sure, "double your dairy!" isn't clickbaity.) I'm sure SW counselors would've LOVED to break the news about a second HEA themselves and focus on what we *can* have, which is the point of SW!

Even though I hate having to adapt to change (I just got into Slow Cooker rice pudding using Almond milk!) 2 HeA's mean that I can have TWO SW Pizzas and not have to forgo coffee! Double the cheese/milk will be amazing.

We survived having our muller lights synned, we'll adapt and thrive!

Scribbler100

Congrats to Jaykhunter on his Mr Sleek and to Areas on 4lbs down and Ms Slinky for your group for 2018!! All the triumphs on here keep me going! I have reined in my sins but was only down one pound last week and half a pound the week before. It does get a bit wearing when you feel that virtue isn't being rewarded, but I guess it's just the syns of Halloween and the odd extra glass of wine in the previous weeks catching up with me.

I'm still barely a month into the plan so I hadn't really worked out all the food values, proteins etc for a weekly routine. To be honest I always thought that SP looked very daunting, even with the old allowances, I wasn't brave enough to try it.

Am still picking up great tips from reading this thread, pre-planning food at home so the lazy option is the healthy one, checking out the menu before eating out so that you won't be caught on the hop, leaving the cards at home and/or taking the car so that the extra glass of wine isn't an option, eating something healthy before indulging in syns or before going out for a meal, all great ideas, thanks.

With Christmas looming, I'll bear in mind that the odd bit of excess won't undo the good work from all the other days and I'll try and take each day as it comes. Staying on plan “just for today” is less overwhelming than thinking about all the challenges over the Christmas period.

jaykhunter

Aw thanks Scribbler! are there many guys in your group? I'm the only one in mine, there's two more in the evening group.

hey 1 lb is still a fantastic loss. That's 3500 calories burned. that's as if the week was 9 days long and you didn't eat for TWO OF EM!
Our bodies will do what they want, we just gotta stay on plan and now it's Slimming World's fault

I haven't ever done an SP day, it seems super fiddly so unless your losses stalls for a few weeks, i wouldn't bother. seems extremely prohibative and is set to get even tighter.

Glad you were able to get some use out of me blathering on! It's these little tips that really help, and u won't find in the handbook but with other members. How's this week looking for you?

also i dunno if you've tried, but pan boxty (McNiffe's) is really great - satisfies my carb lust at 1.5 syns for half the packet. it's potato, salt and flour but it's quite healthy and fried, is wonderful. next time you're in the butchers have a look! (Dublin Meat Co stock it too)

linpoo

Hi,

Joined back last week. Any ideas on vegy/ chicken/ turkey dinners please? Also, do you use all your syns every day?

Thanks

Lashes28

Had that pinch of nom lasagne tonight, with the white sauce made from yogurt egg and mustard powder..was so delicious and such comfort food in this crappy weather.

I've had small losses the last couple of weeks but I'm at the gym most days and can feel it more in my clothes so not too worried about numbers as such.

Got out the winter coat and last year I had to wear a scarf as it wouldnt zip up on me and this year it zips up comfortably.. absolutely delighted with myself.

Total loss is 1stone 2lbs

OH has 2st 5 lb off him.. so proud of him he usually sticks at nothing!

jaykhunter

Lashes28 congrats on the non-scale victory! Must be so satisfying as you know EXACTLY how those clothes used to fit

linpoo wrote: »

Hi, Joined back last week. Any ideas on vegy/ chicken/ turkey dinners please? Also, do you use all your syns every day? Thanks

Welcome back! Claire's chicken 'kiev' I'm loving at the moment: chicken breast fillet, 1 laughing cow extra light triangle. Mush up spinach with some water and add in some garlic and the cheese, stuff it into the chicken, and cover with 2-3 medallions (with the fat cut off ofc). Tastes amazing! 1 syn too Serve with free food eg rice or SW chips and veg.

I use about 10 syns per day. I'm a guy so I get 25, but I keep it under 15 to be fair to the girls, lol. I highly recommend aiming for 10, because 15 is a hard limit -- a max allowance, rather than a goal. Also a lot of girls in my class sometimes don't count or don't know how to syn certain things, so inevitably they go over their 15. I use my syns at breakkie or dessert, lunch and dinner meals are generally close to free.

linpoo

jaykhunter wrote: »

Lashes28 congrats on the non-scale victory! Must be so satisfying as you know EXACTLY how those clothes used to fit



Welcome back! Claire's chicken 'kiev' I'm loving at the moment: chicken breast fillet, 1 laughing cow extra light triangle. Mush up spinach with some water and add in some garlic and the cheese, stuff it into the chicken, and cover with 2-3 medallions (with the fat cut off ofc). Tastes amazing! 1 syn too Serve with free food eg rice or SW chips and veg.

I use about 10 syns per day. I'm a guy so I get 25, but I keep it under 15 to be fair to the girls, lol. I highly recommend aiming for 10, because 15 is a hard limit -- a max allowance, rather than a goal. Also a lot of girls in my class sometimes don't count or don't know how to syn certain things, so inevitably they go over their 15. I use my syns at breakkie or dessert, lunch and dinner meals are generally close to free.

That kiev sounds lovely il defo try that. Il have to get a few recipes together and get organised.

Shelli2

Had a long hard think about my habits lately, and I'm going to try going back to basics, to what worked on my first cycle of SW when things were going really well.

I used to keep my Hex A & B and syns for the evening - savoury snacking is my weakness, so ryvita and cheese triangles and a bag of popcorn gets me through the munchies, and having no sysns during the day ensured I finished each day well under syn limit.

Going back to eggs muffins loaded with speed for breakfast with a spoon of beans, satisfies my winter hot breakfast craving.
Lunch - back to basics of left overs from dinner the night before - simple and less time consuming
Dinners - simple hassle free, speed loaded recipies - spah bol, stir fries, taco fries, chilli, curries etc.

Not having temptations in the house, walking to the shop for my popcorn, and will try to start squeezing in the couchto5k programme again.

I'd love a stone off by Xmas. and then we've booked a little trip away to Germany for February, without the kids, a couple of nights alone and then meeting up with friends. It's the first trip away alone in a very long time. I'd love to be able to feel good about myself again, wear something nice out and not hide from the camera. It's something good to focus on and aim for.

Lashes28

Sheli..me too. I was using my syns,one or two here and there and some evening when I actually add them up I'm going way over. So as you said back to basics.

Just see meat company have skinny sauces that are zero calories.. anyone know the syns?

Lashes28

Lashes28 wrote: »

Sheli..me too. I was using my syns,one or two here and there and some evening when I actually add them up I'm going way over. So as you said back to basics.

Just see meat company have skinny sauces that are zero calories.. anyone know the syns?

Oh they are free.. might try the garlic one out tomorrow

Areas

Hope everyone is having a good week! I'm trying to do what jakhunter was saying and not seeing 15 syns a day as something I should be aiming for as in waking up in the morning and calculating how I was going to use up every last syn!
Going through my food diary for last week I mainly used my syns on ketchup in the morning, sweet chilli sauce for my salad at lunch and a sw bar and a coffee on my tea break. I've beeing coming in at about 10/11 syns a day.
I'm never hungry and since I've became focused again I'm thinking less about food, I'm not being POOR ME AND MY DIET WAAAAH.
I had a while there where I was feeling sorry for myself. So this week, I started to wear my nice dresses in to work which didn't fit me before to remind myself of how amazing I'm looking and to feel better about myself and it worked!
I've started another pile of clothes that are too big for me which is also making me feel great! over the past 18 months I've spent a fortune on replacing my wardrobe completely, twice! But you know what, I'm worth it!

Scribbler100

Am down 1.5 lbs this week, really happy with that! 3,500 calories per pound is good to know, it gives a positive perspective for when the weight loss slows down. Like others here I find it so encouraging when clothes start fitting better. A jacket I bought for "when I lose a few pounds" now fits comfortably.

Hats off to Lashes and your other half on your total weight loss, you have certainly found your mojo again in the last week! You and Shelli have posted some excellent suggestions there. My husband is unwilling to commit to following the plan, but is benefitting from the healthier regime in the house and losing some weight. We only have 3 guys in our group and only one regularly stays for the meeting.

Tried Claire's Kievs last night, jaykhunter, absolutely delicious. As a poultry suggestion, Linpoo, I would strongly recommend SW Turkey burgers, will try to link to the recipe below. It includes grated courgettes to keep the burgers moist, which sounded odd to me but works really well. My very fussy son loved the burgers and didn't even notice the smuggled veggies!

Edit: Not sure that the link works, but search the Slimming World website recipes for Turkey Burgers and it's the first on the list.

https://group.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/low-fat-turkey-burgers.aspx?loggedin=true

jaykhunter

Great to hear you're flying it Areas! My consultant suggests counting syns down from 15 rather than up as a new perspective! i thought it was really clever. just as a small thing, have u tried fat/sugar free chef ketchup? it's 0.25 syns per tbsp (!!) amd tastes great. seriously game changer for me. i get it in tesco https://tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=300793644 . That's wonderful about your wardrobe and wearing your nice new dresses at work. keep kicking ass!

lovely loss there Scribbler, well done Glad you enjoyed Claire's Kiev! i've just texted her about it, she'll be chuffed. That must be so satisfying fitting into a jacket much more comfortably now. Thanks for the link to the turkey burgers! and hilarious you sneaked in those veggies proving he's just a fussy fusspot! I've been trying turkey burgers recently and they're much lighter than beef, which is weird, but also a lot easier to deal with walking around afterwards.

just a reminder to always check your labels! found out this morning the bagels i bought last week werent my regular slims (HeB) but an 11.5 syn behemoth!
check it out: https://i.imgur.com/gBxNrdWh.jpg
So last week i consumed like, 30 more syns than usual (if i can count half a slice as HeB!). The regret is real! oh well. Automation/routine is the key but fluffed it last week! This ever happen to you guys?

Lashes28

Yes!! Was so unprepared for lunch yesterday so grabbed slimsters thinking they were HEB..
They were 5 syns so I had to forfeit my crunchie treat last night...boo!!

Another alternative for ketchup...I pop passata into the pot and a couple of teaspoons of Cajun seasoning and leave it on really low for a while.. let it cool and stick it in the fridge. I put it on everything salads, chips etc
There's a bit of a kick to it and it's actually speed!

Areas

I'll have to either get that chef ketchup or the passata idea. Save myself a few syns.
I came home last night and my mom had prepared a burger for me. She thought she was doing so good because they were steak burgers, but they were frozen ones from Aldi and they came out at 5 syns each. I know it doesn't sound like much but it's pretty high when I usually eat the SW burgers from Iceland. I just ate one and left the other one, the doggies will probably get to eat it today.
I'll have to do an Iceland run this weekend and just stock up on a pack or 2 of burgers and the microwavable rice. I find the rice very handy to have in the freezer.

ally_pally

I made slow cooker pulled pork burgers a while ago. Everyone else had brioche buns, I had what I thought was a HeB wholemeal bun. Checked the syns afterwards (great timing), the brioche would have been one syn less!! It's so easy to do.

Areas

Ally pally, have you ever made yourself a burger in a bowl? My god it's delicious and so so filling!
Basically a salad with with a burger but you feel like you're being so bold with it!
In mine I have lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, gherkins, grated cheese (hexA) and I syn my sweet chilli sauce and mayo. I cut up 2 free SW burgers from Iceland and have it with a coke zero or club orange zero.
I swear it's nicer than any take away ever.
If it's on a Saturday night I might make some air fryer chips as well.
I'll be so full after it but without the sickness if I had gone and ate the same quantity of food from a chipper.
Tomorrow nigh I'm making the Asian barbecue chiken from the book that i got when I bought the 12 week countdown. Again, I'll have it with air fryer chips.
Another new thing we tried out in our house was the "irish slow cooked hoisin pork fillet" from Aldi (blue packaging). 5 syns for the whole lot and there are 4 portions. My sister and mom have made the decision to have it as part of our weekly dinner list now. There's also a "slow cooked bbq pork fillet" (blue and red label) which is 4.5 syns for the whole lot.
Both are in the chilled meat sections.
My consultant said that she makes them, has whatever for dinner and the rest she puts in her salad the next day.
Honestly the hoisin pork was exactly the taste of ribs. So so juicy!!!

ally_pally

Sounds lovely Areas, must try it.

I’ve had a few weeks of maintaining or being up a half pound, then down a half pound. 2.5 loss today though which I’m delighted with. 2.5 pounds to target now which I’d love to get in the next two weeks.

Scribbler100

It's good to hear that I am not the only one who makes the mistake of eating something thinking it is plan-friendly and realise too late that it was a disaster. My worst one so far was not finding B Free Sweet Potato or Quinoa and Chia Seed Wraps (4.5 – 5 syns) in the supermarket and just grabbing Fitzgeralds Multigrain instead, 10 syns before you even fill them! Jaykhunter, you can take solace from the fact that 30 extra syns in the week isn't bad at all if you normally consume 10 syns per day, way less than the allowance for men.

I will definitely be buying in the sugar and fat free Chef Ketchup, or trying Lashes' Passata and Cajun substitute, not only syn free but speed sounds like a real boost to the burgers.

Areas suggestion of the Aldi Hoisin Pork Fillet is a winner! Went down a storm here. I would occasionally buy the BBQ Spare Ribs from the chill cabinet in Aldi or Lidl and my son and husband absolutely love it. The Hoisin Slow Cooked Pork Fillet is a fraction of the syns and they both agreed that it was better than the ribs. I'm not a huge pork fan but I enjoyed every morsel of this.

Congrats, Ally Pally on your 2.5lbs weight loss! That shows such self-discipline, especially after hovering around the same weight for a few weeks. With that kind of resolve, your target is very close!

Areas

Weigh in this evening!
Delighted with how I went over the weekend. I got a long walk with the dogs in on Saturday and did some cleaning to get some body magic in.
Yesterday (Sunday) I was at a fundraiser. I ate a big dinner before I went at 11am! I made the Asian chicken from the new one pot recipes book that i got with my 12 week countdown. It was soooo tasty and only 1 syn per portion.
At the fundraiser I was surrounded by sweets and cheese and salami and crisps and pizza but I didn't put one single thing in my mouth!
I stopped off at Iceland on the way home to do some shopping and I bought a packet of ham and a curly wurly and ate those on the way home.
When I got home I had the rest of the Asian chicken I had made. For dessert I had natural yoghurt with some frozen pineapple chunks.
The day could have been a complete write off with all the food that was in front of me but instead I ended the day on 14 syns!