I NEED SERIOUS HELP!!! Finding Extra Easy not so easy. Please help :(

[StickChildrenTwo]

Hi everyone,

I am so overwhelmed by this Slimming World malarkey. I joined 3 weeks ago weighing 16 stone 2 . I am 5 ft 8 and would like to lose 5 stone.

Anyway, first week I lost 6lbs,

This week I lost 3lbs. So I got my half stone award yesterday .

9lbs lighter in total which of course I am thrilled with.

BUT I am really struggling with cooking and meal planning. I am really overwhelmed trying to fit in all the healthy extras, and calculate the syns. I don't have a fancy iphone so can't use the app that everyone at group seem to have. I am therefore either eating all free and superfree foods or else I am massively falling off the wagon (like today) and just eating everything, (chippy tea anyone?!) I am so cross at myself but with 2 young children, poor cooking skills and a husband working long hours, I am really struggling to make this work as a long term way of life.

I know it sounds stupid because so far my losses have been good but it feels like I am 'faking' it because I am not following it as I should.

I know it works. There's people at the group who have lost 6+ stones and my friend who has lost 4 stone and maintained it for 2 years now. I need to understand how to make it work for me.

Basically I need hand holding and someone to help with meal ideas. I am so close to just giving in and going down the calorie counting route. Please save me!

Sorry for rambling!

It does get easier, do stay with it. Can you follow one of the 7 day menu s on the website? Join a Facebook group for inspiration, make sure you stay to group, read the magazine for ideas,

There's a magazine? I actually didn't know that. That might help! Thank you. I just feel like it's all a bit MUCH and a huge change. And yes I know I NEED to change or else my weight isn't going anywhere but up. I think I just didn't realise quite how daunting it would be. I am feeling really overwhelmed. Thank you for responding. I am going to group next week despite having a bad day today. I know I need to make the changes. Just scary when I'm not a great cook!

You will be able to get the magazine in group a lot cheaper than in the shops. Check out the website for the menu plans, they are great to follow till you get the hang of it.

You don't need to be able to cook. Have you got a slow cooker? I love mine.

Yes I have a slow cooker. What sort of things do you do in it? I'd ideally like to stick to plan without feeling like I am punishing the whole family so nice healthy family meal ideas would be much appreciated. Thank you again for your help! xxx

I had a lovely beef stew & mash for dinner tonight, tasted indulgent but totally syn free

I do beef stew with onions, carrots mushrooms passata and beef stock. also the Swartz slow cooker mixes are around 5 Syns a pack so between a whole family, the Syns go a long way. and you can pack in free beg as you want. the chicken curry mix is a favourite in this house. but Sainsbury 's BGTYS sausages (fresh) for half a syn each. great for sausages and (sw) chips, sausage casserole etc. it's a healthy lifestyle change for the whole family, not just you. extra lean mince with onion mushrooms chopped Tom's and passata mixed herbs and Worcestershire sauce makes a fab spag vol (and freezes) or the mince with onion passata and kidney beans with chilli powder to taste.

passata, chopped Tom's and frylight are your friends with sw

free veg even

you can tell I'm doing this on my phone. sorry.

Pulled pork in the sc is amazing. Recipe is on the website. I don't so it tn the oven like they say but just throw it in the sc for 8 hours . Yum

You can look up syns on the website btw...but I try and make all my meals free and use the syns on other stuff, I find that helps loads. I had eggs chips and beans for dinner tonight - all free and doesn't at all feel like diet food if you see what I mean. (ok not a fantastic dinner, but I've got a cold, can't be bothered and it's easy, lol)

Things like bolognaise, chilli and curries can be made free really easily, soups always go down well in my house, there's a dead quick carbonara recipe on the website that I like.

I'm finding the meals quite easy to be honest, a slow cooker is a bonus, just chuck in mince, blitzed up tin of toms (my dc don't like lumps of tomato...) herbs, garlic, seasoning, onions and any other veg you want. Fir chilli just add in a tin of kidney beans and some chilli. I then freeze it in portions and make up batches of rice too which I freeze in portions too. Then I can just grab a bag if chilli and one if rice to take to work for lunch. Making roast beef for dinner tonight, the meat we'll gave again tomorrow with veg and potatoes then any leftovers I'll have with pasta, noodles or rice, usually in a tomato based sauce with loads of herbs, garlic, whatever. Stews are great too and soups. We've been having a lot of meat n 2 veg, pork chops, nice ham joints etc - usually buy nice meat when it's reduced and freeze it. Having bacon and eggs every morning - can add beans and mushrooms bad that's all free. Then save my syns for the (inevitable) wine at the weekend!

Would it help to have a few people's food for a few days? I'm happy to tell you what I eat for a few days...

Breakfast: Shape 0% fat yogurt, melon, blueberries and raspberries (thank you Aldi!). All Free.

Lunch: Leftover chilli, frozen in Tupperware (recipes for 4 on sw site and magazine always leave me with spare, and there are 4 of us). Apple, satsuma and an Alpen Lite. All free except Alpen Lite which was half my healthy extra b.

Dinner: Chicken breast, wedges made by slicing potato, spraying with fry lite and baking for 40 minutes or so (shake and respray half way through), mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and baked beans. All free.

Evening snack: Another Alpen Lite (other half of heb). Tunnocks Teacake (5.5 syns).

Healthy Extra A was milk in tea and coffee today. If I want cheese on bolognese or jacket spud, I have mint tea instead.

Have you looked at the recipe for lemony pork tray bake in the website? No cooking required as such, just chopping and roasting all of the ingredients in a big tray. All you actually cook is the pork steaks, they're part fried. It was gorgeous! Well done with your loss so far and best if luck with the rest x

You can do this. You sound so determined so you just need a bit of help, don't give up!

here are my two go-to SW meals when I'm late in and the kids are starving!

Tesco tinned kidney beans in chili sauce are free. Fry off some mince, add a tin or two and a bit of passata if you have it. Heat the sauce through, done. I eat mine with lettuce and tomato and a small bit of rice, but you can add whatever you want to the pan. The only cooking is the mince cos the beans have the sauce!

prawn risotto is my other one. Fry off some veg, add 300g of risotto rice, 600ml of stock, lid on. Keep an eye on it, when the liquid is almost absorbed stir in some prawns or left over chicken. That amount feeds 2 adults and 2 children but you can play around with amounts.

the best advice I can give you is to plan ahead. I know I don't stay on plan the weeks I wing it. If I know its a busy day I put something in the slow cooker, or make in advance.

you have done brilliantly!

First off, well done on your weightloss so far that's fantastic!

I can barely cook either so would suggest sticking to the simpler meals first until you can get your head around the plan, I do lots of spag bols, chilli and cottage pies (that's about as far as my comfort zone goes!) All the family can eat it and I dont feel like i'm making them diet.

I definitely suggest meal plans-even just a loose dinner time only one and batch cooking for the freezer is helpful too when you are short on time in the evenings!

How have u been getting on these last few days? X

I go onto the SW website and print off the recipes that I think the family will like (+ one or two for me only ). Then I put them all in an A4 binder so I can meal plan for the week.

I rarely use Syns (no sweet tooth!), and my HE is milk in my tea. I am losing quite well, slowly but steadily.

I don't use the app either.

I do use some recipes from the website. But by far the best thing I've found is the '100 Extra Easy Days' book.

It gives 100 breakfasts, lunches and dinner suggestions, with syn values, how to's and recipes. Absolutely BRILLIANT when you have no idea what to have. 3.95 in meeting.

Can't recommend it enough.

The vast majority are syn free though.

I'm having cinnamon French toast with banana for breakfast - from the book and free with a Healthy Extra B for the bread.

hi SW is great OH has lost 4 stone,, try Sin free pancakes -175g yogurt (mullerlight is perfect) 35 g of porridge oats, mix and leave over night in fridge , you can eat this hot or cold as it is

• mix in 3 eggs and cook in a fry pan on a medium heat ,a tablespoon is about the right amount of mix for one pancake, i can get 3 in a pan at once , turn them over keep warm in the oven as you do the next batch - serve with whatever you fancy mixed berry's is great - i like with griled bacon !