Good evening, everyone. Weigh day tomorrow morning. As almost always, I've resisted standing on my own scales so have absolutely no idea of how it's going to go (although my nice pjs fit comfortably again) but it is what it is . . . (or will be).
Now and again, I do a bit of pondering about this whole Slimming World game. As you know, because I have said often (boringly often), some of the seeming inconsistencies and quirks can get up my nose somewhat.
One of those minor irritations is the relatively blunt weapon nature of 'syns' - and don't get me started on the actual name itself. Basically, one syn = 20 calories and there's a certain amount of rounding up/down involved to work out syns for any product that isn't speed or free.
I know no food is calorie free and that some 'free' foods really do need to be limited sensibly, whatever SW says about 'eating freely'. White carbs, for instance - it makes a lot of sense to weigh those and to work out for yourself the sort of portion size that's going to work for you, individually. For me, it is between 40 and 40g dry weight, around half of what SW recommended recipes seem to use per portion.
That's all fine, it is just part of a mindful, think-it-through approach to make it individualised. It doesn't bother me.
But syns? I'm not sure why they irritate me really because, except for the times I knowingly and deliberately go off plan, it is very rare for me to go over ten syns a day, let along fifteen, the top recommended amount for me.
Oh, and the actual name itself is 😬
On the other hand, the great majority of stuff you need to syn is over/ultra processed stuff that started as something else rather than actual food with notable exceptions, such as avocado, olive oil or mixed seeds. So, maybe, the older term 'sins' is the more accurate in many cases. - rubbish might be the better term!
And I don't always want to eat a specific amount to work with syns values. For example, avocado chunks - I weigh them out, then go into Nutracheck to get the calories for that particular weight and convert it to syns. That's two steps instead of one. Ditto for salad dressing, etc - I've got to weigh it anyway.
So, I was pondering. I love the balance of the SW plan - the emphasis on fresh stuff, fruit and veg, limited unhealthy fats, healthy extras for fibre and calcium, etc, and it works really well for someone who pretty much cooks or prepares every meal from scratch with great enjoyment and who doesn't blindly accept but works out her own way.
I don't want to weigh everything I have, nor should I feel I have to.
But syns, maybe . . . hmmmmm, I'm thinking . . .
This really is just pondering but - once I get back into my target range, I think what I might do is calorie count just the things that are not free/speed foods. Fifteen syns is three hundred calories and, given I'm weighing them anyway and using Nutracheck to find the calories, why not count the calories and convert at the end - or just forget about syns and just have a maximum of 300 for non-free food? I'll think about that . . .
And thank you for bearing with me while I ramble.
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What I ate today.
Syn free.
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It's Friday and usually I buy a couple of healthy 'treats - nuts or good chocolate, for example - but I've realised it is becoming something of a habit and I don't want that so I've planned particularly favourite food today instead of 'treats'.
Send me strength. 😇
You've been doing this long enough to know what works for you, Joy - and changing things up a bit in a sensible way is a good strategy to keep you interested and on track. So you do you!! xx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sooze. I'm just pondering on it at the moment but it's nice to see the next potential bend in the road of the journey to achieve and maintain a healthy way of living. xx
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