Avocados are 9.5 syns!

[KatharineClifton]

Second day, went to enter avocado and was gutted to find it's not free. Was under syns but now on 20 for the day.

Anyway, onwards and upwards - are there any other sneaky buggers like avocados which are surprising syns? Or do I have to double check everything and anything first?

as it's only your second day I would check absolutely everything, but it won't be long until you are in the swing of things. good luck with SW, it's brilliant. I have lost nearly 5 stone and have just reached target

oh and check before you eat it as then you can decide if it's worth it!

Yes, it's a pity avocados are synned, as I would eat loads of them otherwise, which is probably why they are synned. Haha!

Claudius, nothing is demonised as 'bad food' on SW. Some foods are higher in energy density and this and you need to eat less of them and more of other foods if you want to lose weight. It doesn't mean you shouldn't eat them or they won't have health benefits if you don't. You could still eat an avocado every day on SW if you wanted, just not several a day.

And I'm laughing at 'sneaky buggers'.

Olives are synned too, 1 syn for ten lives in brine. So not bad and you can have loads if you like.

I would just eat it and not worry. It's not like it's full of sugar.

Thank you. 5 stone is brilliant! I did do SW a couple of years ago but stopped a stone before target and I've let almost all I lost creep back on so time to make a stand.

I guess avocados don't have enough fibre, but my stomach is telling me I've had more than enough fibre!

I just checked Galaxy Cake bars, and they don't feature in the Syns online. So obviously free The online diary has gone a bit rubbish - used to be really good.

Aha. I don't think I even like olives, but I know now in case I develop a liking.

While I think SW is a good plan overall, one of the things I don't like is how it limits healthy food like avocados but allows unlimited sugar filled crap like Muller lights.

Could you count some avocado as a HE as it is a healthy fat? If they don't I would see it as a legitimate 'cheat', especially as a one off.

It's certainly very brand orientated, rather than shop own brands which could make things pricey. Just chalking the avocado down to experience - it could well count as a HEA though.

I follow SW and clean eating. I think tweaking is fine as long as you carry in losing! So I eat avocado instead of bread as a HeB and I use coconut and olive oil but avoid pasta. I don't eat any muller lights but I eat full fat natural yoghurt and find it still works.

Do you limit your full fat yogurt at all Yule or do you count it as a HEA?

I've done SW in the past and am rejoining tomorrow. I can't stand fat free products like yogurt, cottage cheese or products with artificial sweeteners in so won't be using them, but was thinking if I have a smaller amount of full fat cottage cheese/yogurt etc, try and eat plenty of veg and lean protein and not going mad on the fruit (my colleagues eat it by the tonne and I think there is possibly such a thing as too much fruit due to the sugar content) and was hoping that would be OK.

Obviously I just have to try and see how it works for me. I only want to lose a stone or so and am in no particular rush, but surely if I eat one carton of normal cottage cheese instead of potentially an unlimited number of fat free cartons, it would be OK? I don't plan to stuff myself like some do. I just want to cook food from meat and veg without endless counting and measuring.

SW does work and I've used it myself, but I hate that they peddle diet coke and other shit full of chemicals that rot your insides and won't let you have an avocado! They're high fat, yes, but they're healthy fat and I don't think unless you planned to make them into guacamole and have them on extra cheesy nachos they'd sabotage your weightloss...

I'm sure an avocado is far healthier than a plate full of pasta with three whole chicken breasts (genuinely seen this on food diary posts on the FB group before) despite the latter being 'free.'

I find I don't need much, because they fill you up - tablespoon of yoghurt with some berries really is enough. I try to eat mindfully and with common sense, which I think SW make possible with a few tweaks. I used to do low carb bootcamp but found it too restrictive, and this works as a good compromise for me.

Do it however you find it works OnIlkley I'm not a fan of non-fat either, as the brain needs fat, and last time didn't. I'm a vegy so won't get it from other sources than dairy. But this time I've sold all my fat clothes so am trying non-fat products in the hopes of getting back into my shorts quickly for the week of Summer, whenever that may appear hopefully September the way the shorts fit right now

I agree with those who are about the amounts of sugary junk that's allowed on SW.
The diet does work for me. But I don't use artificial sweeteners - they are not good for you and encourage poor eating habits by making you think that you can't live without sweet things.

I still eat avocados and nuts on SW and lose on average 2lb a week.

Claudius, it's syn, not sin. The way SW describe the plan is 'synergy' and the whole point of the palm, IMO and it's certainly how they market it is that food is to be enjoyed, not something to feel guilty about, whatever it is you are eating. In fact, they even have 'flexible syns' for days when you don't stay on plan really or want to be more flexible. I certainly don't feel like any food is demonised on SW.

I do agree that SW allows lots of junk/convenience food, but I don't see the problem with that? It also encourages eating more fruit and veg. It's got to be realistic and not everyone wants to cut all unhealthy foods out of their diet or avoid sweeteners. It is still healthier for most people to lose a large amount of weight whilst eating that stuff than to stay very overweight or obese. It's is a weight loss plan, not a healthy eating plan really, although it obviously can be.

I have a number of complicated health problems and one of them requires a specific diet. Saw is the only plan the hospital were happy for me to follow. It's not really much different for me to what I would normally eat anyway, just some tweaks to recipes and a lot less junk food. (I rarely eat cakes, biscuits, crisps etc now) I do eat the occasional mullerlight, but I don't think eating anything occasionally is a bad thing, regardless of what it is.

Avacados are food of the Gods but I wouldn't eat a whole one. I do often eat 1/2 of one with some grilled prawns for my dinner though. It's my favourite meal.

My iPhone can't spell.

an avocado has about 400 calories. Just because its a vegetable doesnt mean its slimline. Its full of healthy stuff but maybe half of one chopped into salad or mashed on to a slice of toast is ok now and again, as a actual meal, but not as just a snack

Would anyone mind sharing their meal plan or what you eat in a day on SW minus the crap?

I'd like to cut out sweetener, low fat yogurt/Mayo, etc.

I also need to get my peanut butter chocolate habit under control.

It used to be a sin didn't it? Then it was changed to syn to get away from the image of good/bad foods, but it's still the same thing.

There are loads of recipes and sample meal planners on the website Pete

As an example, my plan today is overnight oats with half a big tub of greek yog and blueberries. Middle Eastern lentil soup for lunch, and vegy lasagne for tea with salad. Interspersed with fruit and frittata. Trying not to use syns this week at all as away at the weekend. But a no-syn week is unlikely tbh