Slimming world without processed stuff?

[Riversleep]

Hi, I've been referred to SW by the doctor, and am aiming to start this evening, so have been doing a bit of research. I quite like the idea of it, but it does seem to contain a lot of processed stuff. I really don't fancy going back to margarine and fat free yoghurts. I started eating butter and full fat yoghurts because of all the rubbish in the fat free ones in the first place (and they taste horrible!) I have a yoghurt maker and make my own yoghurt with full fat organic milk. Also, Slimming world sausages? Again, I buy high meat content sausages from the butchers. Is it possible to do it without the processed stuff? I know I could ask the consultant tonight, but wasn't sure if they would have to toe the party line, and sell SW products.

[Boatsnack]

I don't eat any slimming world foods. I eat the occasional fat free yoghurt because I like them. You can eat butter, full fat milk and full fat yoghurt in measured amounts if you prefer. For example you could have 150ml of full fat milk or 250ml semi skimmed or 500ml almond milk. The whole point in slimming world is to cook from scratch using lean protein and plenty of vegetables.

[Riversleep]

Oh that's good. I do eat a bit too much butter and full fat cheese tbh, so could do with eating it in a more measured way and i like almond milk.

[CaptWentworth]

I've just started again after having a few years off...

I have never eaten the processed stuff, and always had good results. I eat butter, butcher's meat and I really don't like artificial sweeteners. Wouldn't thank you for a Muller Light. What I have done differently is eat so much more fruit and veg. It's impossible not to, and I often find myself trying to stuff extra veggies into recipes. I syn real butter and olive oil.

[JennyOnAPlate]

I'm watching this with interest. I've lost a couple of stone with slimming world before now but really felt uncomfortable about the amount of seeeteners and other processed crap I was eating.

Yes you can eat full fat yoghurt and proper sausages, but they're not "free" like the low fat ones and have to be counted as syns. Personally I wanted to use my syns for wine or a take away.

[Groovee]

I eat some fat free yoghurts but never the muller lights as they are too runny.

I cook from scratch, syn my sausages ( I'm not a huge fan of sausages but I like the heck chicken ones).

I rarely have butter. But you just syn it.

[Riversleep]

Yes I'm surprised they had an overhaul so recently but haven't taken out the processed stuff. I did it before many years ago on the red/green days and didn't lose much weight if I remember correctly, but Im definitely going tonight so I'll have a good read.

[Groovee]

I used to do green/red days but have lost well on extra easy.

[tabulahrasa]

Sausages are a tricky one because they either need fat or something in them to replace the fat to make them taste like sausages, but you can syn them.

Yoghurt, plain fat free Yoghurt doesn't have anything in it other than yoghurt...there's absolutely no need to ever buy flavoured ones if you don't want to.

It's totally up to each person how they use their syns, some people prefer to swap to processed stuff to allow syns for other things because they're what they want to use them on and some prefer to use them on reduced amounts of not so processed things instead.

[OwlinaTree]

There are pages of free foods which are unprocessed in the book. As a pp said, it's about cooking healthy foods from scratch. Realistically, if you are a ready meal type of eater, you are going to struggle to jump straight to preparing everything from scratch. The ready meals, pasta and sauce type things are going to be a godsend.

If you are already cooking from scratch, you will probably find you are tweaking what you already cook, adding extra veg etc. My dh is the cook here, and we still eat the same meals we did pre sw, but with a few tweaks, and as time has gone on we've added some sw meals to the menu.

If I was cooking everyday, there would be a lot more ready meal type stuff I expect because I hate cooking!

[InfiniteSheldon]

There are about 600 Free Foods in the book all unprocessed

[B1rdonawire]

I don't like processed stuff either but have found I do even more cooking from scratch with SW than I did before! I also eat a lot more fresh fruit than before (and always ate a lot of fresh veg, which hasn't changed). As others have said, plain fat free natural yoghurt/fromage frais/quark are all unadulterated. Lean meat (fat trimmed off) and lean fish are all free and there are loads of tasty ways to cook them. Sausages are a challenge for flavour AND low fat AND no nasties . We don't have them often, but like the Heck Chicken sausages occasionally. Also turkey mince meatballs (home-made) can be a good substitute. There was a lemon baked chicken recipe on the pinch of nom website I cooked recently and it was gorgeous, the whole family wolfed it down: pinchofnom.com/recipes/syn-free-lemon-garlic-chicken-tray-bake-slimming-world/

[Riversleep]

Hmm ok sounds positive. As I said I haven't been yet. I googled a bit but didn't get loads of info about it.

[ibuiltahomeforyou]

I don't eat many processed foods @Riversleep, I use my syns for avocado, oil, butter etc.

'Fat free = crammed with sugar and additives' does apply to most things but not to dairy, the fat is just skimmed off. So I have fatfree yoghurt and skimmed milk and add fresh fruit for flavour.

I ignore all that random sugarfree jelly, sweetener, mullerlight, hifi bar, adults-eating-Freddoes type chat at my group. My one SW concession is that I use Frylight.

I've been slimmer of the week three times in the 11 weeks I've been going, so ironically often the basket I get has things like mullerlights that i don't eat, and my weightloss is obviously outstripping people who are making microwave cakes with sweetener and egg. That is not to be negative, but to me that would just be swapping one lot of junk for another.

[Riversleep]

Yes it was the mullerlights I was surprised were still on there. Last time I want, I was mainlining them, but it did nothing to get rid of my sweet tooth. I have plain youghurt now with a spoon of granola on top so I'll just continue with that. I do like a bit of olive oil and butter so I might use my syns for that. So if I use my yoghurt maker to make yoghurt from skimmed milk, would it be free, or would I count it?

[MinniesAndMickeysNeedCounting]

I've found that I eat hardly any processed food doing sw. Natural fromage fraise if you dont like sweetened yogurts. You don't have to have the mugshots etc just because they say you can have them.

I don't buy any of the ready meals or sausages/burgers. I make my own burgers

Use your syns for butter and full fat yogurt oil etc.

I struggled with the low fat idea to begin with but it's working for me and I'm losing weight

[MinniesAndMickeysNeedCounting]

You get a daily allowance healthy a which you can use for a measured amount of milk or cheese etc so you could use that milk and it be free of just syn it if you've used the healthy a on cheese for example

[Gorgosparta]

Another here who does slimming world and doesnt eat the processes stuff. No muller lights, no mugshots, slimming world meals etc.

I have lost 10.5lb in 3 weeks. So its obviously working. I use my syns for olive oil, butter, full fat yoghurt etc.

[ibuiltahomeforyou]

@Riversleep yes, using skimmed milk for yoghurt is fine - fatfree yoghurt is free anyway.

Good luck!

I do feel like a spare part at group when everyone is sharing food ideas!

[IvorHughJarrs]

I have discovered Skyr which is lovely and free

[Riversleep]

Well I've just come back from the group. I think it's going to take me a bit of time to get the hang of it. I'm thinking I might struggle with the low fat idea too, but I like the idea of filling 1/3 of your plate with the veggies and then putting a small amount of protein and carbs on. I'll have to do a bit of reading tonight, I think! Everyone was really lovely at the group and friendly, but the clapping weight loss thing did remind me of the Little Britain sketch, so Ill have to stop thinking about it like that!!

[ibuiltahomeforyou]

@Riversleep it does take a few weeks to get into the zone and work out what is going on!

I made lots of mistakes in the early weeks so don't worry too much.

[Riversleep]

Yes even this morning I was trying to work out what I could have, and I only had bacon and egg. The healthy extras I think will catch me out, thinking if I have toast I can't have something else. Luckily I don't really like toast! I haven't got cooking spray so used 2 syns on oil. I might move over to the support thread now I'm on board

[delftblue]

Glad to find this thread. I'm starting at Slimming world but I don't want to cut fat both because it's good for you and it's slimming. Really curious to see what weight i lose but hopefully I will because I'm using my syns for the fat I'm eating.

Good luck op

[shortsaint]

I agree with you. Only needed to lose a stone but managed it without the processed stuff. Good quality meat & veg. I did avoid bread and butter.

I used low fat cheese in cooking, spray olive oil (not frylight) and made myself get to like lemon tea etc with no milk (which I do now), natural yoghurt for breakfast instead of cereal.

I think if you had a bad, takeaway- heavy diet anyway, SW will always win out and make you lose weight. It made me laugh how they'd try and recreate Heinz Tomato Soup or burgers. Why? Just make lovely home made tomato soup instead. Or have steak and salad?! Not smug, but stay for the talk not just the weigh in. It definitely helps you understand your psychological relationship with food.

[Riversleep]

Yes, I read the book about the science behind it, and it said that according to their research, fat was the least satisfying food, but that flies in the face of tons of more recent research which says it does satiate you, and that it's the mixing with carbs and sugar that is the problem, not the fat itself. I've started and it is taking me a while to get into the groove, but Im counting some fats into my syns. So I had 100g full fat plain yoghurt with fruit which was 2 with breakfast, and I fried onions and eggs in 1 tsp of olive oil which is 2 syns for eg. I think I'll continue doing that, as it means I can't have as much chocolate! I'm using quite a lot up on wine though