Slimming World?

Jewlz, can you use the 'olive oil' fry light?  (not familiar with the ins and outs of slimming world)

Good idea! I have 2 different ones. One is called Better then Butter Fry Light and one is Olive Oil Fry Light. I don't know what you have Jewlz but I find that the butter one doesn't seem to be as dry.

Still, it seems strange that you can have as much white rice or white pasta as you want, but you have to count Weetabix and Ryvitas.  It seems to me that the whole grains would be better for you, if anything.

I agree it all sounds a little off when you lay it out like that. The thing is it truly does work so I'm not going to think about it to much. 

Good idea! I have 2 different ones. One is called Better then Butter Fry Light and one is Olive Oil Fry Light. I don't know what you have Jewlz but I find that the butter one doesn't seem to be as dry.

I agree it all sounds a little off when you lay it out like that. The thing is it truly does work so I'm not going to think about it to much. 

Yes, I've heard it is best to just go with the flow. What do you think about the rice cakes, though? The Syn calculator thing on the site shows it up as free food since its only made from rice. Also, I made a spicy prawn salad, which was awesome, with a bit of light mayo and some fat free yogurt, but because its mostly prawns and they are a free food, the whole thing came up as free.  Granted, it was only one tablespoon of light mayo for 4 servings and everything else was free, so I guess it really might be free.

I went to KFC tonight because DH had to eat there for an interview he is doing with them, and I just got a dry grilled chicken sandwich with a side of baked beans, I have to syn the bread, but I'm not sure how many syns to count it as. Still, I was proud that I made a healthier choice while he ate his fried chicken... lol.  Hopefully I am doing ok with this. But I guess it may take some time to figure it all out.

Definitely check with your consultant about the rice cakes and any other questions you may have. I was looking it up in the syn book and it list them as 1.5 syns for plan or flavored and 3.0 for chocolate rice cakes. That is for red, green, or orange.  If mayo was the only non free food in that prawn salad then 1 tbsp has 2.5 syns. So for each serving you would have around 0.5 syn. I hardly ever use the syn calculator online and just go off my books so I guess if the website said it was free then go with it. It sounds as if you are doing pretty good Jewlz. When is your first weigh in?

Good job for not eating any greasy fried chicken!  I of course can't say the same for my self. DH and I have been feeling really rotten with colds and last night we ordered a pizza since non of us could muster up the energy to cook. 

Thanks, Sista Girl! First weigh-in is on Monday. Hopefully with results! My own scale weighs me as ten pounds less than the scale at our group though.  Weird. I will of course use their measurement, as our scale really is pants. 

I've become addicted to Muller Light with raspberries. I bought some Grape Nuts to toss in. Mmmm! I bought more pasta and things this time at the shop and plan to make some of the SW recipes for spag bol, shepherds pie, etc. They pretty much do it like I do it anyway, but without as much olive oil.. haha!  I made some tuna pasta salad, which is all free, except I still used 2 Tbsp of light mayo (and half FF Greek yogurt) so I guess it will have some Syns. A girl needs at least some mayo!  I plan to also make a herby veggie dip with FF Greek yogurt and a bit of light mayo. I'll have to Syn it, but it shouldn't be much and I guess you are allowed up to 15 Syns per day. What's a Flexi Syn day, anyway? 

I couldn't find any plain fromage frais and have no clue what quark is (FF cream cheese?) so I'm just using Laughing Cow Light Triangles, which I love anyway, and the Dairylea Bites which are ridiculously tasty.  I think I will get better with it in a few weeks time once I can think of what is kosher and what isn't, so to speak. I'm sure I can clear up a few questions in group next time. The website has a Syns calculator, and apparently there is a Free Food allowance, so items that are mostly the Free Food get an allowance? It's kind of weird.

The Fry Light is fine for some things, like scrambled eggs or whatever. It's just that my sauteed asparagus and roasted sweet potato wedges could have used a little more flavour. But I will try it this way for a while to see if I can get used to it.
The rice cakes I've been having (Kallo... mmmm!) are made with brown rice and salt, that's it. So, I don't know, but it seems they could possibly be a free food on the extra easy, since rice is free.  If you used the Syn calculator, they would come up free since they are all rice.
I have to admit, I am finding it a little complicated, though some aspects of it are really appealing. Still, it seems strange that you can have as much white rice or white pasta as you want, but you have to count Weetabix and Ryvitas.  It seems to me that the whole grains would be better for you, if anything.

My understanding is that rice and pasta are free as long as you have 1/3rd of your plate with vegetables. It's the veg. and lean meat that fills you up and keeps you full. A bit of rice or pasta keeps you satisfied. It didn't make sense to me at first either. But it's working.

Ok, I'm having trouble with Slimming World. I normally eat pretty healthy, to be honest, just need a way to keep track of calories without exactly tracking calories, if that makes sense.  I don't know. I'm not sure why it isn't doing it for me, but it's just not. Partly, I haven't been getting as much guidance from the consultant or group discussions, it seems we aren't really discussing much or exchanging recipes or tips like I expected. I like a few things about it like eating more fruit and I really am getting used to the cooking spray instead of olive oil.

I'm thinking of switching to Weight Watchers, as maybe the points system would make tracking my diet easier than having to log it all into Spark People (I really love Spark People, just don't want to spend so much time logging everything in like I used to - it's the only thing that has ever really helped me lose weight, though.)

I guess my main problem with SW is that I don't really like a lot of the recipes that I have seen there, I can't get Quark or plain fromage frais and other stuff like that in my tiny village, so that excludes most of the creamy or nice looking things and if I substitute things or just make something up, calculating the Syns in them is kind of hard. I don't want to discourage anyone from doing SW and it certainly works for so many of my work colleagues, but I guess it just isn't for everyone, and I'm just not feeling it, really. I think I was doing just as well on my own by just making healthier choices and trying not to overeat.  I guess it seems silly to have to count rice cakes and tomato juice as Syns, when both are healthy low calorie choices, just not on the approved list or whatever. 

I guess tomorrow night I will just go in and tell her that I want to drop out. Or do I just stop going? Should I call her instead of showing up? She says they charge you for every meeting you miss, so I don't want to end up in a situation like that where someone thinks I owe them money. I hope this is easy to get out of. 

Jewlz if you don't ever go back to Slimming World don't worry about not paying for the meetings you miss you wont be the first person & you certainly wont the last person to do it either. I was going to Slimming World a few years back but I didn't get along with it either so I just stopped going an no one hounded me for money for missed meetings. I actually got along better with Weight Watchers myself like you said either of them don't always work for everyone just do what works for you.    I dont even do WW these days I just watch my sugar intake do a LO GI diet, drink plenty of water & plenty of excercise works for me.    

Thanks, shugga. I did email the consultant and told her I wouldn't be coming back. I told a half truth (well, it's true) that my husband lost his job and I couldn't afford to go. He is unemployed at the moment and if I'm not enjoying SW then I would be better off saving the money.

I'm just going to go back to Spark People for a while. I logged in a plan for the next 3 days, so that is a good start.  At least I know what I am missing now with SW so I don't have to wonder, plus I have all of the books and tools and everything so I can look at those again if I ever want to. I may try WW sometime, but Spark People is free and it has worked so well for me in the past. The only trouble is that once I stop logging things, I start gaining weight again. I'll have to find a happy medium somewhere so I can still enjoy myself but not put the pounds back on once I get down to the size I like. I hoped Slimming World would do that for me, but really it's always up to me to keep the healthy eating going no matter what plan I go with. 

Jewlz, at least you have all the information and you can always pick it up if you like it again. Afterall, you need to do a plan you like, otherwise, it won't do you any good!

Since you like sparkpeople, you could try something like nutracheck? 
http://www.nutracheck.co.uk/HowItWorks

They're offering a free 5 day trial to get you started... 

Damn, why can't there just be a magic eat & drink what you want and it never piles on button! 

I guess it seems silly to have to count rice cakes and tomato juice as Syns, when both are healthy low calorie choices, just not on the approved list or whatever. 

It's because they don't fill you up.  SW prioritises food that is high in energy density, which on the whole also means low in calories.  Similarly, Diet Coke is free but OJ has syns.  It seems odd, but it is scientifically sound.

I joined today...Nervous as hell walking into a room of strangers but it was only 4 people as I chose a daytime meeting YAY!

I think I can rock this out no problems except an avocado is MASSIVE syns!

wish me luck

Good luck CW!!!

good luck!

I joined today...Nervous as hell walking into a room of strangers but it was only 4 people as I chose a daytime meeting YAY!

I think I can rock this out no problems except an avocado is MASSIVE syns!

wish me luck

Good luck with it, CW! Let us know how you get on. 

I am actually finding this alright...I did 5 days EE and 2 days Red. Lost 2 pounds ;-)
Now munching on leftover chicken vindaloo as my mouth is on fire b/c it is always hotter the day!