shocked at slimming world meals!!!!
leahcollett1
Posts: 807 Member
hi all,
ive been doing slimming world now for over a year lost 2.5 stone which was great however im now at a brick wall - so last week did my first week calories counting and being mindful of the slimming world ways lost 2.5lbs, so its definately how much "free food" i was consuming.
whats really gotten to me is the amount of calories actually in some of the slimming world recipes, take for instance, the new all the rage nacho style feast which is basically homemade wedges with chilli, the chilli alone comes to 592 calories without the wedges!!! syn free
how are people eating such high calorific foods and still losing weight - this has really opened my eyes because before i woudl have dessert after ( syn free) and that bugger is 213 calories and that was syn free!! so a complete syn free meal and syn free dessert is actually over 1000 calories!!!!!
absolutely mind boggling
ive been doing slimming world now for over a year lost 2.5 stone which was great however im now at a brick wall - so last week did my first week calories counting and being mindful of the slimming world ways lost 2.5lbs, so its definately how much "free food" i was consuming.
whats really gotten to me is the amount of calories actually in some of the slimming world recipes, take for instance, the new all the rage nacho style feast which is basically homemade wedges with chilli, the chilli alone comes to 592 calories without the wedges!!! syn free
how are people eating such high calorific foods and still losing weight - this has really opened my eyes because before i woudl have dessert after ( syn free) and that bugger is 213 calories and that was syn free!! so a complete syn free meal and syn free dessert is actually over 1000 calories!!!!!absolutely mind boggling
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Replies
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not sure what syn free is...but I eat 1800 a day and lose weight...0
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Does 'syn free' = guilt free or something?
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syn free means eat as much of it as you like - your allowed 15 syns a day so having syn free meals is good as it saves your syns for other naughties0
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Yeah... All food has calories. It would be impossible to eat as much of something for as long as you'd like and not gain weight. I'm pretty sure that's what got me overweight in the first place, haha.0
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yes i know, i cant eat 1700 and still lose, however my point is that slimming world explains that you can eat as much free food as you like and the meal im talking about incorporates all free food - so ive just put the recipe into recipe builder and its worked out about 850 calories... now if your having dessert too thats another 200,brekfast, thats another 300?, lunch? another 400-500 lets not forget free food snacking in between which could be about 400 depending on what you choose 2150, so maybe this works for those given a higher calorie allowance but me? i need to eat 1200 to lose 2lbs....0 -
oh and dont forget them 15 syns a day !!! 20 calories per 1 syn so thats another 300, so all in all your daily intake could be anywhere from 2450 calories 0
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ljones22903 wrote: »
That is not THAT unusual, My dinner is usually 600-700 calories and I have gone over 1000 at times. Days when I do that, I just make sure I eat a little lighter for my other meals so I end up around 2000 for the entire day.
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ljones22903 wrote: »syn free means eat as much of it as you like - your allowed 15 syns a day so having syn free meals is good as it saves your syns for other naughties
but what are syns????????
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ljones22903 wrote: »syn free means eat as much of it as you like - your allowed 15 syns a day so having syn free meals is good as it saves your syns for other naughties
but what are syns????????
syns are for times when you need that little bar of chocolate - its around 20 cals per 1 syn. example a average chocolate bar is 12 syns0 -
LOL! This is why these types of diets don't work. There is no such thing as a "free" food. With the exception of water and mustard every food has calories that must be accounted for. I think weight watchers has some "free" foods that you can eat as many as you want.
Your best bet is to save your money and make your own food and accurately calculate the calories rather than buying some overpriced, high calorie, diet plan food.
Most of these plans also tout the fact that you don't have to count calories if you use them but you are still counting points or "syns" or something so why not cut out the middle man and just count calories?0 -
ljones22903 wrote: »ljones22903 wrote: »syn free means eat as much of it as you like - your allowed 15 syns a day so having syn free meals is good as it saves your syns for other naughties
but what are syns????????
syns are for times when you need that little bar of chocolate - its around 20 cals per 1 syn. example a average chocolate bar is 12 syns
Sorry, but that sounds rather lame. And confusing. Why not just call a calorie a calorie?0 -
its completely mind boggling, i now know why i was maintaining0
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Oh wait, if they did that, everyone would figure out that the meals they're paying so much for are actually calorically-laden.snickerscharlie wrote: »Sorry, but that sounds rather lame. And confusing. Why not just call a calorie a calorie?
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ljones22903 wrote: »oh and dont forget them 15 syns a day !!! 20 calories per 1 syn so thats another 300, so all in all your daily intake could be anywhere from 2450 calories
Yup..I would maintain on that right now...I am 149lbs and could eat all that and not gain.
But that being said...I suspect that will change as you lose weight...not a big fan of "food plans" for weight loss as you eventually have to get off them...then what?
As for the calories as well did you weigh them out on a food scale?0 -
Sounds lame. There are no "free" foods and this "syn" business sounds wonky. Great thing you discovered MFP!0
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yes i weighed all the raw ingredients - dont get me wrong slimming world worked for me for a while, look at my profile pic, the plan has taught me to cook from scratch, no processed foods, cook my own chips, wedges, no oven chips etc. so in that way its helped me become healthier, however!!! it does not teach portion control and completely doesnt have restrictions on "free food"0
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I don't know anything about Slimming World, I think it's a UK thing? Is it like Weight Watchers where they just give you the plan and the guidelines and you track everything, or do they give you the actual meals, like I think Nutrisystem does?
Regardless OP, I think what you are trying to say is that you were following a prescribed program that didn't divulge how many calories were in the foods, and probably tries to convince users if they just eat x+y+z they will lose weight without having to bother learning those pesky calories. It worked for you for a while, probably because you had a lot to lose and therefore you were creating a calorie deficit with their program. After you lost some though, and got closer to your goal weight, your TDEE goes down so in order to keep losing you may need to work harder to create the deficit.
Sounds like you had a wake up call when you actually plugged things into the database here, which is good! If you choose to continue using MFP, I would suggest reading the stickied posts at the top of the getting started forum as they will have some good info about how to set your calorie deficit, how to accurately count, etc.
But yes, many people, myself included, lose weight eating a meal that's 1000 cals or more, or by eating close to 2000 cals a day. What matters is that you track ALL the foods, there are no free "syns" as you've described, because everything adds up and if you exceed your maintenance level, you will gain!0 -
I don't know anything about Slimming World, I think it's a UK thing? Is it like Weight Watchers where they just give you the plan and the guidelines and you track everything, or do they give you the actual meals, like I think Nutrisystem does?
Regardless OP, I think what you are trying to say is that you were following a prescribed program that didn't divulge how many calories were in the foods, and probably tries to convince users if they just eat x+y+z they will lose weight without having to bother learning those pesky calories. It worked for you for a while, probably because you had a lot to lose and therefore you were creating a calorie deficit with their program. After you lost some though, and got closer to your goal weight, your TDEE goes down so in order to keep losing you may need to work harder to create the deficit.
Sounds like you had a wake up call when you actually plugged things into the database here, which is good! If you choose to continue using MFP, I would suggest reading the stickied posts at the top of the getting started forum as they will have some good info about how to set your calorie deficit, how to accurately count, etc.
But yes, many people, myself included, lose weight eating a meal that's 1000 cals or more, or by eating close to 2000 cals a day. What matters is that you track ALL the foods, there are no free "syns" as you've described, because everything adds up and if you exceed your maintenance level, you will gain!
hi, and yea spot on, i was maintaining for a long time, up a pound, down a pound, never moved really, followed the plan to the letter, its very similar to ww and the points system, 2 weeks ago i logged onto here, and was just mindful of the calories, still followed the plan but was learning very quickly that guilt free desserts and syn free meals that were meant to be unlimited really wasnt, that saying last week i lost 2.5lbs sticking to cals! very very happy
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I know SW does work for some people but I also couldn't get my head round the fact that you could supposedly eat something like a stirfry as much as you wanted and still lose weight. It just didn't make any sense. Now for all the people it does work for - good for them that's brilliant. And I do know people it has worked for. One such person though, two years on and she's put it all back on (and possibly then some). Now I've been losing much slower (over the past 18 months so far) but it's staying off, I'm not cutting any food groups out, I don't feel like I'm missing out, and I won't have to change anything when it comes to maintaining. It may be slow, but it should be lasting. My mum is on "LCHF" and lectures me about how counting calories is useless and I need to cut out carbs and eat lots more fat. Thanks, but I'll stick to what I'm doing that's working well and keeping me healthy.
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ljones22903 wrote: »yes i weighed all the raw ingredients - dont get me wrong slimming world worked for me for a while, look at my profile pic, the plan has taught me to cook from scratch, no processed foods, cook my own chips, wedges, no oven chips etc. so in that way its helped me become healthier, however!!! it does not teach portion control and completely doesnt have restrictions on "free food"
health is subjective...I do not believe that processed food is unhealthy...for example home made apple sauce is processed...is that unhealthy?
The funny thing is this..portion control is the crux of weight loss...it really is. Regardless of how you do it (counting calories, intuitive eating etc) it's all about portion control and if SW isn't teaching that...I wouldn't do it.0 -
Weightwatchers is the same! Fruit is zero points but it is not zero calories, so the only way to have a true reflection is to count calories consumed, I have given up on gimmicks!0
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I know a lot of people who do SW and some lost a lot and some gained. I love some of the slimming world recipes and have them as meals.
I got a nasty surprise on one though as bbq pulled beef recipe a friend had it said it was for 4 people but used 2kg of beef technically the meal was all "free" food but the calories pet serving was over 1500 that's more than my daily allowance with no exercise and was only the meat part off a meal.
Having said that I still made it, split it into 8 portions which were still pretty big and had it with jacket potato and veg. It was very nice but if I'd just followed the "serves 4" idea it's potentially a 2000+ calorie meal which isn't going to help teach portion control.
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I actually found that I couldn't eat enough calories on SW. My activity level was pretty high (I'm currently recovering from an injury so it's less at the moment) and when I started tracking calories I realised I was eating half of what I should be. I found the free foods too filling, so I couldn't eat too many of them without feeling full and sick, and since more high calorie/low satiety foods (ie: chocolate, Nakd bars, nuts, etc.) are limited, I was typically consuming a lot less calories than I should have been. I think it is great if you have common sense about it, but it isn't going to help you if you constantly gorge on free foods.
I do love the chips, and some other recipes from them though and still use them.0 -
So what are the "free" foods on slimming world? I think on WW it is fruits and maybe veggies, but it sounds like Slimming World has broader categories.0
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Is a syn like a sin?0
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I disagree with anything that tells me wine/vodka/chocolate are syns or naughty in any way!0
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I must admit, slimming world baffles me. I do know a few people that have done really well losing weight on it. Thing is, when they have a "day off" here and there, I have noticed the weight piles on quick. It doesn't teach portion control or healthy eating so when they go and eat their usual amounts in higher calorie foods, add a cake or so - you're into mega calories a day. It seems a great way of getting started though - particularly to encourage home cooking and having the support of the groups. It's a shame there isn't some sort of a staged programme with it, starting off as it is but as you go progressing to introduce things like portion control and mindful eating. With all it's flaws though, i still think its a good program - it does seem to motivate people to lose weight with a decent amount of support.0
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A few years ago when I started to look at losing weight (it all went back on again though *sigh*) I did slimming world, and lost a fair bit using it....and j reeeeally put it to the test. I was eating pasta like nobody's business, but i still managed to lose a good amount of weight doing it. It makes you consider your food choices. And also is meant to work by food optimizing (as in certain foods cannot be digested well together) so you have a red day (where you can eat meat, as long as it's very lean and all fat cut off etc, but hardly any carbs...no potatoes, pasta etc) or you have a green day (eat much brown pasta rice etc but hardly any meat) and of course lots of veggies, and most fruits.
And the syns, you get 15 per day, which you can use towards "bad"
Foods like chocolate or ice cream or crisps etc.
I don't get how it works, but it does if you have a lot of weight to lose for sure!!0
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