When you joined Slimming World we asked you to make some simple changes to the way you cook, shop and eat (any diet that promises weight loss without making any changes is lying to you!!!!). I was chatting to one of our top target chicks in Morrisons today, who has been away on holiday for the past two weeks. When I asked how she’d been doing, her reply was dead simple - she says that food optimising really is for life now so she doesn’t think twice about it!!!! She should know - she lost over 6 stones to reach target!!!! I told her that this really is the key to long-term successful weight loss - ie to make these changes become so ingrained that they become habits for life, just like brushing your teeth! Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned Slimming World member, learning those little Food Optimising swaps, healthy habits and clever conversions is the key to losing weight beautifully!
So - how do YOU Food Optimise? Could you boost your weight loss by making a few small – and easy changes – this week? How many Syns could you save? Check your healthy habits with some of my reminders below…
Mealtime swaps
· Save 6 Syns per tbsp by swapping oil for Free low calorie cooking spray (eg Fry Light)!
· Save 1 Syn per tsp by sprinkling artificial sweetener on your cereal, rather than sugar. Sugar in tea/coffee also amounts to lots of Syns – five hot drinks a day with a spoon of sugar means 5 Syns a day! Swapping to sweetener would save a whopping 35 Syns a week!
· Enjoy diet cola, lemonade and sugar-free squash completely for Free – a can of ordinary cola is a huge 7 Syns!
· Ready-made sauces add lots of unexpected Syns, eg a 500g jar of Dolmio sauce is a whopping 12½ Syns! Using canned tomatoes/passata, garlic and herbs as a basis for dishes means a tasty sauce without the Syns!
If you’re enjoying a meaty meal, meat and poultry is only Free when you trim all visible fat from meat, remove the skin from chicken and drain off excess fat when cooking extra lean mince.
THOSE DREADED "HIDDEN" Syns!!!
‘Dashes’ of milk in tea and coffee really add up! Watch out for takeaway hot drinks too (a skimmed milk latte can add up to 8 Syns or more!) Some members have found a great method for staying within their Healthy Extra ‘a’ measurement - pouring their day’s milk allowance into a measuring jug or plastic bottle, and using this every time they use milk – that way milk in tea and coffee doesn’t add extra Syns!
· Be Honest with yourself - Do you always count those sneaky Syns?! Eg, licking the cake bowl or spoon, a bite of your partner’s Mars bar, eating the children’s leftovers (‘shame to throw it away!’). It’s amazing how these little titbits can add up to lots of unaccounted-for Syns.
· Using heaped instead of level spoonfuls can also add hidden Syns. Believe it or not, flour is 3 ½ per level tablespoon - a rounded tablespoon is double, a heaped tablespoon triple!
· Are you supermarket savvy? Is your yogurt/cottage cheese really fat free rather than ‘low-fat’? It makes all the difference in Syns! A low fat fruit yogurt is 1½ Syns per pot – which really adds up if you have one daily. Swapping low fat for fat free yogurt saves 10½ Syns a week!
· Did you know that fruit that’s pureed, made into smoothies or canned isn’t Free? This is because pureed/liquidised fruit is easy to consume and add lots of extra energy (calories) and it doesn’t even fill you up! It takes 8 oranges to make a small glass of orange juice. We count juiced and cooked fruit as Syns to protect your weight losses - a small glass (142ml) of orange juice for breakfast is 2½ Syns.
GUESSTIMATING!!
· An extra 28g of Bran flakes each morning can add an extra 3 Syns each day! Do you weigh your Healthy Extras?
· Check whether your cereal is actually a Healthy Extra – some favourites like Special K, and Rice Krispies don’t contain enough fibre to count as a Healthy Extra.
· Don’t be tempted to class granary or white bread as a Healthy Extra. Just one thin slice can be 4½ Syns – and if you slice your own, that can increase to a whopping 8-10 Syns! A Healthy Extra is 57g wholemeal bread.
· Like your tipple? Are your home measures really as mean as a pub measure? Or are they more like a double? (That’s 5 Syns instead of 2½!)
· How about Syns – how often do you check after you’ve eaten them – or mentally reduce that portion so that it conveniently adds up to 10!
Food Optimising really is the most flexible, generous and healthy eating plan and by enjoying lots of delicious Free and Superfree foods, you WILL lose weight! Enjoy your meals packed with Free Foods and choose Free and Superfree foods first and between meals and you won’t need to worry about measuring/underestimating Syns as you’ll be superbly satisfied!
And finally, just remember that success really is a journey - not a destination!!!
Sandra :)
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