Just joined Slimming World - anyone care to join me for chat?

[BuzzingNoise]

Is there anyone else around that has just joined, or perhaps some old hands to offer support? I have a long way to go, but you have to take a first step, I guess.

Hiya - I've lost 3 stone doing SW and have been a member for just over a year.

Is there anything specific you want to know?

Thanks for answering.

It just seems a bit overwhelming right now. I have done Weight Watchers before, which is simple to follow, but SW seems a bit more complicated. Does it become clearer as you get into it?

I was also wondering about milk. I know you are allowed a certain amount per day, but can you have more if you count it as Syns?

Yes, you can have more of anything if you count it as syns

I tend to pour my measured amount into a jug in the morning & use at it throughout the day. Though I don't have cereal, so I have a little more to play about with for tea & coffee.

What plan do you follow at the minute? Is it Extra Easy?

Do you want some menu ideas or what is it that's confusing you?

Yes, Extra Easy for now I think.

It's quite daunting. I usually have toast or cereal for breakfast, but both are a no-no now as I can happily live without toast and it's not worth the syns for it, and cereal would use up all my milk and I do drink a lot of tea in the day Is extra milk a lot of syns?

What do you do for breakfast? I don't have time to cook anything before work and have something quickly.

I've been thinking about packed lunch too. Cheese sandwiches are certainly not worth losing all my syns for!!

Oh, and should I switch from sugar to sweetener in tea?

Sorry for all the questions

If you want to use your syns for sugar then go ahead, but instead of sweetner (I don't like the stuff) I'd maybe try & ditch it.... change to sweetner as a half way measure maybe?

I'll tell you what I ate today if you want?

Breakfast: Grapes, orange, banana & an apple (I don't have muc time but had that between leaving house & at my desk)

Lunch: Bowl of Irish stew made from potatoes, beef, carrots & onion & a stock cube (all free on ee)

afternoon snack: 1 pear

Dinner: Scrambled eggs, bacon, tomatoes & 1 slice w/meal toast & flora light

DH was busy so I didn't need to make a full big dinner.... Have had a couple of sweets too as syns.

How about my dinner as a breakfast alternative if you have time at home? Or beans & toast?

As for milk, a rough guide is 1 syn per splash in your tea, and that's generous counting

I had 1oz of porridge with boiling water then zapped in microwave for 2 mins. added spponful of sugar (1 syn) and splash of milk from allowance. you could even add a chopped banana (free) if you wanted to flavour it?

I also gave up 2 sweetners in tea/coffee and now have nothing

it takes about a week of thinking 'yuck' then suddenly it seems normal.

If you then taste sweetened tea/coffee it tastes really bad and you wonder how you used to drink it

Furball, I;m the same.

I picked up my sister's cup by mistake on Saturday & almost spat it back into the cup again!

I don't think I could ever go back to sugar again.

I'm sitting here with a huge bowl of grapes, strawberries & oranges...but the grapes taste rank, doesn't make pleasant eating, so now I'm picking them out

I have been thinking this evening about sugar in tea, and I came to the same conclusion as you guys: I think I shall knock the sugar on the head completely. I do occassionally have it without anyway and I think I could qucikly get used to it. Thanks

I have been reading through all the bumph and I think I have breakfast sorted. Let me know what you think:

28g of sultana bran + 1 multigrain ryvita is the b healthy eating thingy.
I thought I would have the ryvita later in the day, but have the sultana bran for breakfast. I looked up the syns, and 28g of sultana bran can be 4.5 syns, so I thought I would have half of that added to my 28g from the b choice (does this make sense?) so I get a bigger portion for about 2 syns. I'll use that day's milk portion for the cereal (from the a choice thingy). Any milk from tea in the day I'll add as a syn per cup.

I'm sort of raring to go. Hopefully I'll have my head around it soon and race ahead

If you like weetabix there are two pf them for a HEb choice You can chop fruit into it or a handful of sultanas (synned).

I'm off to bed now - will pop on tomorrow for a catch up!

The only thing with weetabix is they use alot of milk.

I (this sounds horrible, but again like 'no sugar' now is normal) wet mine first with boiling water before adding the milk.

Try it.....

With the sultana bran - you could add a chopped banana for no syns which would 'pad' it out bit?

You will find that an 1oz of cereal is actually all you need rather than randomly tipping as much as possible into a bowl. (or is that just me? )

I started SW back in 1994 & was a consultant too in the 90's - so not sure how much use I'll be as I know its changed a lot. However I do still buy the magazine.

A suggestion for tea tho - how about herbal teas? In the last two years I've gone from "normal tea" to green tea - then white tea - & now only drink herbal tea - such as dandelion, nettle, fennel. The idea now of putting milk in tea makes me think urgh. I think that could save you a good few sins worth of milk & means you could put them towards anything you like (for me choc or alcohol). lol. It's bizarre how your tastte can change - if you had told me 2 years ago I would only drink herbal teas I would have laughed in your face

Well I found that the milk portion for the day uing syns was too much milk for the amount of sultana bran, so I might try Weetabix. I have to have sweetener on Weetabix though

I have thought about herbal teas. Mayb I shall have a browse next time I go shopping and see what takes my fancy. What do you recommend?

My faves are dandelion, nettle (made by Clipper you can get them made by other companies but they can be quite strong.
There are also fruit teas - but I'm not into those.

I have tried fruit tea in the past and not been too keen. I have never tried dandelion or nettle. Do you sweeten them?

I'm at a complete loss as to what to take to work for lunch if sandwiches are out. There is a microwave, but no fridge. I was thinking cup-a-soup, as we only have a half-hour lunch so I only want something small and quick, but I am not wasting 3 syns on a cup-a-soup!!!!

I have been at SW for a few weeks. Can I ask how you find your consultant? Ours was tutting and tsking last week as she had a new member and need to put out an extra desk and chairs for joining her up. She also parades about with that credit card thing and shouts out everyone's weight loss, which I find kind of embarassing (I have lost a bit but my friend is not doing so well). Another lady was a bit upset as she is following the plan to the letter and is gaining weight every week, she has been a member for a long time and has already lost a lot of weight. The consultant said to make an appointment with her gp but that she could phone her anytime to talk as long as it wasn't a Friday as she was busy! She kept emphasising that and the poor woman was close to tears as she was thinking with the weight gain that she had something seriously wrong with her. I think she just want the consultant to shut up.

My consultant seemed nice. I had already met her when they had a stand at an event I went to, and I chose her group over a nearer one. She did go around everyone's weight loss, which was rather tedious.

On the website it has some snack ideas (like Sainsbury's pasta pot thingy) which is 1.5 syns on red, 9 or something on green. What is it on EE then?

With Extra Easy you use the lowest syn value of the two.

Thank you

lunchs - you could take cold pasta tuna/ham/chicken salad - use extra low mayo for not many syns and the rest is free. - pasta, sweetcorn, tuna, tomato, cucumber, spring onion, peppers and anything else salady you fancy

potato salad same as above

rice salad

cous cous (really easy, just add hot water for a few mins) with roasted mediterean veg - chop aubergine, cougette, red onion, peppers (again anything else you fancy) you could put a few small chunks of feta cheese in as well (healthy extra a if using green day)

ok so it's all sounding salady but hey it's nice!

or you could make your own soups syn free - very easy to do

boil a litre of water with chopped onion and some stock (thats your base) then you can add a couple of ounces of lentils and garlic then boil for 40 mins, cool then re heat at work

you could add tomatoes, vegs, pasta to it and generally have a play

have a look here for ideas

also google 'slimming world quiche' - loads of varients of that - mostly all free which you could have for lunch

Is that all you do to make cous cous? [stupid emoticon] I love cous cous! Is it syn free?

YOu're a star, Furball!

cous cous is easier than pot noodle!

Plain cous cous is completely free on green and EE

Check the syns of flavoured ones

instructions for cous cous

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil, Add couscous, stir round once or twice and remove from heat and allow to sit for about 5 minutes.