to be on the verge of tears because I don't understand the Slimming World rules?

[Mintyy]

Ffs! I am reasonable intelligent but come on!.

Am I ever going to understand it?

I can't say much about the coffee breakfast as that is exactly what I used to do! It was all I could stomach first thing.

I get what you are saying too and it definitely shouldn't be overly stressful.

I hope you get it sussed Mintyy!

What I have found works for me is making everything I eat myself, so I know exactly what's in it. It won't work if you guess and think 'oh that should do'. You need to check foods you're buying out and about in your book or the app before you eat or drink them. It's going to take a level of commitment from you to work. And coffee for breakfast isn't enough. If you really need the coffee, get a banana or some blueberries and 0% yoghurt too, they're your free foods to bulk it out.

Avoid bread like the plague, it has high syn value. Anything with sugar or oil in it is bad, but you can have a little and work out the syn value. Low fat yogurts with sweeteners, while not partic healthy are a good low syn dessert or snack. Couscous risotto rice, quinoa, pasta are good alternatives for bulking out your meat and veg.
Measure out your milk in the morning and see how many cups of tea/coffee you can make with it.
Im on it at the moment and with a 5mo baby really don't have a lot of time for cooking and my grey matter is somewhat reduced due to lack of sleep, but even so Im managing ok. Its the only diet other than weight watchers that I can do whilst bf and I'm losin weight ok. Slowly, 1lb/1/2lb per week but it's coming off and it's not so restrictive that I'm bored and discouraged by the effort/weight loss ratio.

I started last week, actually today is weigh in day!

I'm sticking to orange at the mo, the book tells you what are free foods and what are super free. Write them down, my sister has been going for a while now and is doing really well.

I'm breastfeeding though so get more A and B choices each day which is nice

Stick with it, it really does work. I'm back on it again x

Twatty me too, ds4 is nearly 5 months old. I've been adding sweetener to the fat free yogurt, it's foul without!

Crikey StuntGirl, I wonder if its possible for you to be more patronising?
When I said I was "on the verge of tears" that was a figure of speech, not meant literally!!

I'm really not going to start feeding myself an extra 200-300 calories per day when I'm not hungry (breakfast), for some people breakfast just isn't wanted or needed. And I'm one of them.

There is nothing I don't know about weight loss, btw, I just need some advice on this SW plan which is my chosen method for getting a couple of stone off right now.

I certainly shan't be eating any artificial sweeteners or low fat anything.

Thanks for all replies .

mintyy
seeing your post last night : could you try going teetotal for a month? if nothing else because snacking and takeaways are hardest to resist when half cut.....

Well I'm glad your diet isn't genuinely stressing you out, they frequently do really do that to people.

Talky, I have cut out all alcohol for more than a month before now (several times infact) and never dropped a lb! You know me, I have the most unforgiving metabolism on Mumsnet .

But, sure, I'll do it again until I go on me holidays at the end of July apart from the meetup on Sat night.

I do the nutracheck online diet. Can't be arsed with working out syns or free foods or whatever. It all has calories, so that what I'm counting. (no help sorry, but your post highlights the reason I'm sticking to the straightforward route. I need to keep it simples)

Mintyy, a proper breakfast rather than the Cappuccino would not be an extra 200-300 calories. Ditch the coffee and you'll get more energy from the breakfast.

Your title said you were on the verge of tears, figures of speech or irony don't come across well via internet. Lots of people have made helpful suggestions. I don't see the need for you to be rude and if your title says you don't understand SW, then clearly there is something you don't know about weight loss ...

There is a Slimming World section on Mumsnet, which you may find useful as a lot on there share their meal plans for the day.

I agree you could get a nutritious breakfast for the same value as the cappuccino.

I do also know what it's like to not be able to stomach food first thing in the morning. I found what helped me was having something I could pick at, such as fruit salad or muesli or something that didn't require wolfing down.

On the days I work from home and can eat breakfast later I make something a bit more filling and just take my time eating it (but then I don't mind barely lukewarm food, which helps )

Also, with you mentioning your metabolism, I'd be interested to see what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is. It may be that you need to eat more to lose more. Sounds counter-intuitive but often works.

I'm another one who absolutely cannot eat first thing in the morning. It takes me a couple of hours to be able to function at all (fibromyalgia, innit). I am also doing Slimming World so I have a cup of tea first thing with milk from my HEA allowance and the dreaded artificial sweetener. That keeps me going until I get back from the school run where I'll either have a banana and a Muller Light (both free food) or a bowl of porridge (35g is my HEB allowance) with more sweetener and a heap of strawberries and raspberries. Good and filling but without delving into my syns (which I save for naice biscuits or gin mainly!).

If you don't want to use artificial sweetener - which is fair enough, seeing as there's a lot of controversy around aspartame etc. - could you cut down on sugar? At the very least remember to count it as one syn per tsp. Swap a cappuccino for Americano or filter coffee to save syns too.

Steer clear of ready made salads with sauces because they'll be oil-based and synful. I also didn't realise until last week that fresh noodles and pasta are preserved in oil, so aren't free.

The big thing with SW is that it really pushes you to prepare your own meals rather than relying on pre-packed or ready meals. Provided you have the time and will to make things, it works brilliantly and you CAN eat gorgeous food without feeling like you're on a diet.

Did you know a tablespoon of olive oil can be your healthy extra B choice? That made me very happy!

Why is a cappuccino less healthy for breakfast than a glass of milk? I have counted the tsp of sugar in my syns. I need one coffee per day otherwise I simply don't function.

I looked up the calorie content and a regular cappuccino made with full fat milk - the one I had might have been semi skimmed for all I know - is between 102 and 160 calories depending on where you buy it from.

It's not that it's unhealthy per se, but it's not a very substantial breakfast. For that many calories/syns you could have something that would fill you up for longer than a drink will.

Minty - I don't eat meat/fish/eggs and I don't add fat to every meal :) I've still lost 35lbs since the end of Jan.

Anyway - I'll stop banging on about low carbing, but you know where I am if you decide to give it another go - I couldn't be done with all of this faffing you have with Slimming World!

Good luck!

But, Smite, I don't need filling up in the morning! I don't really get hungry before lunch time, so its not as though I do all this mythical snacking through the morning that the pro-breakfast people warn you about.

I had my first food at 2pm today.

Well done Chipping!! That Biwi, and Custy before her, have done absolute wonders for so many people on this site has she not?

Aha,
Mintyy, are you making the cappucino or are you buying it : because the calorie stats for lots of takeaway food that they talk about is often way, way off the mark. They do not use milk, they use half and half with sugar whipped into it etc etc.
I'm like you, no food in the morning but by golly I need my caffeine.
Try having the coffee at home so you know whats in it!

Well if you find it too complicated in the coming weeks, I'd recommend Rosemary Conley (I know everyone has something different they'd recommend!)
It's just that it's so simply, you stick to your calorie allowance (mine's 1400) and everything other than oily fish and oats needs to be under 5% fat - the percentage of which is listed on every food product you buy. It's a doddle. And I'm losing lots of weight on it.
Good luck with the weight loss

It sounds complicated to start with, and it isn't really, particularly if you stick to Extra easy. You just need to base your meals on the free foods. I found the magazines really helpful as they have lots of recipes and food plans to get you started.
I think you'll struggle with processed foods, the reason they are bad for you and expensive in terms of syns is even the "healthy" foods are stuffed with sugar and fat.
A eat-out pizza is going to be masses of syns - dough and cheese, oil, potentially unhealthy toppings.... You can save up your syns over the week and have 105 to 'spend' on a blow out if you want to.
Someone mentioned shepherd's pie - not a problem if you make it yourself. I'd probably do cottage pie with lean beef as lamb is quite fatty, lots of veg, mash potato - the only thing that would count is any oil/butter/milk used in the mash or for frying the meat.

i have a who is a dietician- proper nhs one.
she says that the fattest people she meets all skip breakfast. true.