The Basics of Slimming World - three steps

Sometimes, after you've been on the road for a while, it is easy to move quite far away and wander down side tracks.  Some tracks go the same way, some can be misleading.  So, for everyone, including me - let's go back to basics.

So for all of us who are on this journey, new and not so new, here we go!

Three steps

There are three steps to the SW structure.  They are:
1.  unlimited Free Food
2.  Healthy extras A (calcium) and B (fibre)
3.  5 - 15 carefully counted Syns

1.  Unlimited Free Food.

These are:

lean meat and poultry

fish (if it swims, it slims)

eggs and dairy products
plant based proteins
rice, pasta, noodles and grains
vegetables
beans, peas and lentils

fruit

store cupboard staples such as herbs, spices, fat free dressings, etc (see the book, web site or app for specifics)

some drinks

You don't have to weigh or measure these foods (unless cooked with fat or synned food, in which case the fat/oil/synned food has to be measured)

The guidance is to have roughly a third of your plate as Protein, a third Free (more starchy) and a third Speed  with the aim of eating to satisfaction, not to bursting 

Some Free Food is marked as Protein, some as Fibre, some as Speed to help you balance your plate.  

2.  Healthy Extras

Healthy Extra As provide calcium and include milk (dairy and non dairy options) and cheese
Healthy Extra Bs provide fibre, minerals, nutrients, etc, and include some cereals, some bread, some crispbread, nuts and seeds, some dried, canned and cooked fruit

You are allowed two As and one B each day.  These must be carefully measured.

There is a very comprehensive list in The Book and there are monthly updates on the site/app

3.  Syns

Nothing to do with being sinful or bad.   Syns (short for Synergy) allow you to have a bit of what you fancy (if you want) in measured amounts.  They can be snacks or enhance a recipe/meal.

Again, there are complete lists on site/app and the app has a scan thingy so you can scan and discover the syns.  One syn is worth roughly 20 calories.

Finally, it is hard to follow SW completely without access to the website/app/book and to have them, you need to be a member.
You can be a group member and attend a live SW Group each week - that's what I do.  Once you are at target, you can attend free.

Or you can be an online member - I don't have any experience of online membership, sorry, but I gather there's loads of online support.

Once a member, you can access a whole world of tools, information, recipes, podcasts - oh, so much helpful stuff.