I've not tried the ready meals but hear reasonably positive things about them and they're certainly useful to have in. They go back up to £3 each shortly- can't remember the date, end March I think. The best thing about them is that they have the full recipe on the side of the pack so if you like it you can make it in bulk and freeze yourself.
I make a bulk meal at least once each week and freeze 4 x 2person portions each time. This means i have a freezer now stuffed with a wide range of ready meals all syn free. Its taken time to get to that point though and in the early days I did stock up on the easy light options like muller lights.
I also buy a big pack of chicken, cut into little fillets and marinade in cajun or tikka and yogurt. Cook it cool it, bag as little potions and freeze. They take 30 secs in the microwave or defrost in a couple of hours if out the freezer in a bag out and about.
An alternative to freezing a pot of muller is to get a baking tray that fits into your freezer, cover with baking parchment and put small blobs of muller all over it. They freeze quite quickly and are a lovely syn free icecream/ choc button like snack. Once frozen the buttons can be tipped into a pot in the freezer so don't take up mush space.
For chocolate fixes frozen curly whirlys hit the spot. At 6 syns they're one of the lowest feel like a proper bar sized chocolates. Freezing them makes the toffee harder and they last longer so a better chance of satisfying the urge. I have an outside in a shed freezer so keeping them out there deters me when its dark and wet. I have to really want one to go out and get it. I also like the little green and blacks bars for 4 syn but they are small and even if you nibble they go to quickly. I have an inside freezer now filled with my free foods but the frozen nonsense i keep in for the children and fattening stuff is all outside.
Wine is an interesting one. I used to drink and eat chocolate at a weekend. Now most weekends i go for a small chocolate treat plus some sort of other treat rather than wine. Sometimes both but chocolate won in the priority stakes game.
Our consultant says you have 105syns a week. Ideally you spread them over the week but if you want to save a few up to have a bottle of wine on a Friday go for it. 24syns a bottle roughly. The emphasis is on saving up. Theres no borrowing from the remainder of the week! My problem with wine is being a light weight. Once i've had two glasses (1/3 bottle) all resolve goes out the window and I snack on crisps and chocolate.
Colette are there other groups you could visit? Sort of try before you commit. I swapped groups after a while. I developed a dislike for my consultant. It was all a bit eating 10 mullers and a banana for breakfast is fine. As a one off, each to their own and all that but I wanted to relearn how to eat and live not just crash diet. 4st11 down 25BMI and I can honestly say I have done that.
Regarding carbs i found the plan carb heavy to start with. I lost a couple of stone a few years ago, and essentially kept it off, with BIWI's low carb threads. Carbs had been fairly off the menu for a few years. It took time to trust that the plan could work whilst eating so many carbs. It does. I have healthy big portions every day. Jacket potato often for lunch, maybe actifry chips/ wedges/ spicy potatoes for tea or rice or pasta.
The plan works if you fill up on the right stuff, control the non essential but nice to have stuff and don't emotionally eat. Just right off any bad meals/ days and move back on. Don't try to compensate or punish yourself and make your life hard.
DHloves the chip shop curry. It looks like the pavements outside a student pub on a Saturday morning. I prefer a properly made curry with fresh ground spices but sometimes time is pressing and you never know till you've tried it!
i always end up writing essays 
i'm just so pleased to be able to feel full and eat so many nice things and have lost weight thats been hanging around for 20 years.