Can SW work for me?

[LuckyAugust]

Hello to any readers of this and apologies in advance for the long story............

I have about 4 stone to loose and despite trying many diets I am still overweight (and hungry!!!). I did try SW about 4 years ago and it did work for me although at the time I was on maternity leave with my first DS and super organised. As soon as I went back to work I gained what I had lost plus more. I had another child in May of last year and since then have tried calorie counting, 5:2 and weightwatchers; all of which I've failed at because I pretty much end up starving myself (not deliberately - just cos the foods I like tend to be high calories / points) or substituting meals with chocolate. From my previous SW days I know I enjoyed my food and treats and lost weight. Its just the organisation bit that's the problems and the fact I'm quite picky with my food........... I have 2 boys at home, a DH who works long hours and I myself am due back at work in 2 weeks. I don't enjoy cooking and to be honest don't want or have the time to spend hours preparing meals that only I will eat. My DH is a more fussy eater than me (hates mash, veg, pasta - basically would live off chips with egg, sausages etc...). So before I bite the bullet and find a group to join again I wonder if anyone can help me with some questions based around the foods I do like?

1. Syn free potato wedges?????

One of my favourite meals is salmon with vegetable savoury rice (yay low syn!!) served with potato wedges. The potato wedges are from Asda and its all pretty much easy to cook. I suspect the wedges are high in syns to would be more beneficial to cook my own. This may sound like a stupid question but can you par-boil potatoes and then freeze so I can literally just grab what I need when I need it? By the time the kids are in bed after a working day I often don't start preparing meals until after 9pm and don't want to spend ages doing prep especially when I know my lovely hubby won't eat what I'll eat.

1. Harrys Ramsdens chunky fish steaks

Again another easy convenience food which I love with potato wedges and mushy peas. Are these really high in syns? Its just so easy to put the one tray in the oven for us both...... (chips, wedges and fish, a nice easy meal)

1. Gravy

Something I do make from scratch which we'll all eat is a casserole in the slow cooker. But from my SW days last time round I vaguely remember gravy often being quite high in syns???? I am desperate to avoid counting anything un-necessary again and wondered of any other substitute for gravy that could be used that's syn free or very low syn.

1. Saturday night takeaway!

My absolute most favourite time of the week - sitting down for a treat with the family and knowing someone else has prepared everything! I love an Indian Saag Aloo with boiled rice. Saag Aloo is a very dry spinach and potato dish but is it high in syns????? (please say no....)

1. Savings syns

Last time about 10 syns a day were recommended. Is this still the same and can syns be carried over if you don't use them or can you just say you have 70 syns a week to use? If you had a night out you then might use half of your weekly allowance in one night; can you still lose weight if you do this?

1. Easy low syn ready meals

Any recommendations just for those super busy days.

1. Syn free lasagne sheet crisps

Again a memory from my last time at SW. I used to par boil these and then cook in the oven to make a crisp substitute. Very yummy but not sure if really allowed to call these syn free even though lasagne sheets are probably still a free food????

I'm desperate to find something that works but at the same time a plan that means I don't have to spend hours preparing meals in advance. If we all ate the same it would easier but we don't and we don't have much freezer space even for me to freeze portions.

Any other tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm very nervous about going back to work (and going back bigger than when I actually left!!) and fretting how I'm going to fit everything in whilst still being a good mammy, having some control of my weight and keeping the house running. We'll also probably start trying for DC3 before the end of the year so want a plan that is safe to follow for that reason too. Thanks in advance x

1 - I can't see any reason why you couldn't freeze them parboiled...but I don't parboil them, I can't be bothered - I just cut up potatoes and spray them and bung them in the oven it works fine.

1. The only ones I can find online are 12 syns...but you could wrap some fish in foil with lemon juice and it would take about the same time to cook and be free.

1. I don't eat meat, but gravy granules are fairly high, but you can add a bit and syn them, stock is free though and things like tomatoes if any of that helps?

1. Saag aloo is 11 syns, bombay potatoes are 7 if 11 is too high for you.

1. it's between 5 and 15, most people tend to use 10 and yep absolutely fine to save them for something...I find I don't get quite as good a loss, but I still lose - other people don't see any difference and do it all the time.

1. I don't have them, I resent using syns on ready meals, lol. I freeze portions of dinners ready to microwave, have something like wedges beans and omelette or use super rice with veg or ainsley harriet's lentil dahl with rice which is free as well or a microwaved baked potato with beans...or occasionally super noodles . If I'm feeding everybody and I'm pushed for time I make carbonara with quark - there's a recipe on the website and it only takes about 15 minutes.

1. Haven't a clue about them, but I know you can make supposedly syn free crisps with potato slices and fry light...but they're not really, you have to syn them as if it's a red day unless you're having superfree food with them as they're not being used in something that will fill you up and it's too easy to eat too many. But if you make them with a bowl of salsa it'd be fine.

The DC eat the same as me - except they get cheese to put on pasta and things like that.

If my DP doesn't want what I'm making, well he's an adult and he can make himself something different...I'm not running a cafe.