do you syn all healthy foods that SW say to syn

[justonesherryformedicinalpurpo]

This month I'm going without junk. I'm just trying to get better control of it so I've been using my syns more healthily.

But I want to know, do you have your own syn rules? Like I don't mind synning houmous but do I want to syn a few walnuts? Not really. I want to make a chia pudding (chia seeds, ripe banana and milk). I will syn the banana as it will be pureed and I think fruit has a higher sugar content when cooked/blended.. right? But do I really want to syn a couple of tbsps of chia seeds which are so good for you..

Do you have your own syn methods?

[emwithme]

Raasay I'm now on my fourth time of doing SW. The first time I did it was so long ago, Syns were spelled SINS (this was pre-2003). I still have some pages of the magazine from back then with recipes spelling it with an I. The "syns is for synergy" is a backronym (or whatever it is when it's not an acronym but it's nearly bedtime and I am a Bear of Very Little Brain).

I don't count mashed banana - unless I'm having more than one. If I'm having banana on toast, what the fuck is the difference between mashing it and slicing it. NONE. It doesn't magically grow calories in the way that rice grows bacillus cereus (sorry, DH is a biochemist with an MSc in Meat Science and we have such interesting conversations over dinner sometimes).

I don't (properly) count gravy on a Sunday roast (I make proper gravy from the meat juice) or the fact that my roasties are cooked with the joint - firstly, that's double counting the syns, and secondly, FUCK THAT. A proper roast with proper roasties and proper gravy is worth it for my sanity. I count 7 syns for the gravy.

However, I do try to stay between 5 - 10 syns the rest of the week to make up for this.

[Raasay]

Justone if they are losing, I would suspect that it's because even though they don't count their cooked fruit, they are underspending on the Syns they do count.

So for example 100g of baked pear is 2 Syns. If you'd only used up 9 Syns on other things you could have 300g of baked pear and still lose weight.

If you used all 15 Syns on chocolate or alcohol and then had the baked fruit the results might be different.

Unless you are seeing their detailed food diaries you won't be able to tell.

Apart from anything else people's bodies react in different ways.

[justonesherryformedicinalpurpo]

Thanks both for your really helpful responses.

Wow raasay 8 syns for 4 walnuts! Crikey! And yes that's a good point you've made. We do need our syns, so why not syn them! If I didn't syn just because I thought "well this is healthy" it would look as though I hadn't eaten many syns at all! Plus if I didn't count things like nuts and houmous I wouldn't lose as much probably because they are high in fat.

Yea itmustbemyage I am following "ish" as well atm. I found the muller lights and alpen bars a little too artificial for free foods/healthy extras and would rather avoid that and then syn a proper bar of chocolate when I'm really fancying it. I do tend to have small amounts of nuts etc. so sometimes I think what's the point. Atm I've been craving a lot of healthy fats so I have been counting everything because it does all add up. I guess we have to find what works for us, I know some ladies don't syn cooked fruit and are losing wonderfully. SW is a good base to work from.

[itmustbemyage]

I have posted similar answer on another thread but I accept that I may be unusual in that I don't count my syns.
I am following SW plan (ish) but trying to eat clean so I would eat healthy food rather than HiFi bars etc I don't drink alcohol (doesn't agree with me) so if I want the occasional slice of pizza , cake or handful of nuts I just have them on the other hand I haven't had any cheese since I started the plan cause I can't just have a small piece - I wouldn't be able to stop.
So know yourself is the key, if you can stop at 4 walnuts you can probably get away without counting them but if 4 nuts becomes a dozen then maybe you should count them or if you don't count up your syns and then don't lose the weight you want to lose then definitely start counting them. Folks do SW in different ways it's very flexible.

[Raasay]

Out of interest I checked the app. One half walnut is 1 syn, so 4 walnuts are 8 syns.

[Raasay]

Original my class leader said that they were called Syns as these work in synthesis with your free food and Healthy As and Bs.

You actually need to eat Syns, they aren't extras.

So on that basis Justone is much better using her Syns for walnuts than for wine or biscuits because they are a healthy way of fulfilling your bodies need for that dietary element. Just keep track.

If 4 walnuts say, is a regular element in a particular receipe just take the time to work out the syn value and then keep a note of it for next time.

[justonesherryformedicinalpurpo]

Yes that's true. I think part of it comes down to the fact I can't be bothered to work out how many syns there are in 4 walnuts!

But yes I guess a lot of foods are high in fat, albeit healthy fats, and need to be eaten within limit for weight loss.

Thanks for your replies.

[originalusernamefail]

I would syn everything. Avocado / Walnuts / Chia seeds etc are really good for you, but at the same time fairly energy dense. So if you left them out and still used all your syns you would be quite far over your daily limit iyswim. I personally don't like slimming world calling them 'syns'as it makes thing sound bad rather than a supplement / treat as part of a healthy diet.

[Raasay]

Syns aren't about how healthily or not something is though. They are calculated on the impact it will be make to your weight loss. So chia seeds or nuts are healthy but if you don't monitor how much you are having you may not see the desired results on the scales.