Wednesday evening, 11-09-24 - what CAN I have on maintenance?

Good evening, everyone!  

What I ate today

A slightly odd mix of fruit today.  When I checked, some of the strawberries had gone mushy so I sorted them out, chopped off the bad bits, added the good bits to my yogurt with one tsp chia seeds (yes, a whole tsp - my body has obviously decided they are a keeper) and then chopped one plum and one pear.  Yogurt mixture on the bottom, then the pear and fruit, then the rest of the yogurt mix and a tsp pumpkin seeds on top.

One syn for the pumpkin seeds and half a syn for the chia seeds.

This was so, so good.

To make the hummus, I used:

about a third of a can of chickpeas, drained; two tsps extra virgin olive oil; a good squidge of garlic puree; lemon juice and zest; 1 tsp tahini; salt to taste; and a splash of water.

Plus another tsp evoo to drizzle over.

It made two portions.

I added a bit of chutney because I saw that done on the telly (was it Jamie?) and it definitely worked.

One healthy extra B for the focaccia, four syns for the hummus (oil and tahini, halved) and one syn for the chutney

Later on I had  a grilled chicken and vegetable orzo salad and it was lush.  I used runners instead of green beans and reduced the amount of olive oil (still had plenty) and enjoyed it so very much.

It was fresh and Mediterranean and yet satisfying and filling in the best way.

No room for any dessert.

One and a half healthy extra As and five syns (oil)

Summary:

one and a half healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

twelve and a half syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit, yogurt and seeds

L:  pumpernickel toast with smashed avo, smoked salmon and tomato and onion salad

I'd rather have a poached egg instead but I have smoked salmon to use up. 

D:  chicken, tomato, feta and lemon salad

Exercise:  probably just walking - it's quite a full day.

The Extra Bit

Never let anyone tell you that, with Slimming World, once you hit target the support stops.  It doesn't but you do have to put a bit of effort in, it doesn't get handed to you on a syn free platter!

I got out my Slim For Life book, the one you are given when you get to target.  It guides you through the first twelve weeks/three months of maintaining covering such subjects as your individual pathway (how many syns, how many As/Bs), etc, a planning section, savvy syns, eating out, body magic, habits, staying a lifetime member with ongoing access to the app/site . . .  oh, loads of stuff.

I particularly checked out the 'pathways' which are based on how quickly you lost weight in the last eight weeks before target.  You don't HAVE to stick to it, it's guidance but very helpful guidance and worth knowing.

I'm on route B and I had rather forgotten the details which are:

1.  Food Optimise as normal, making free food and speed free food your priority

2.  Then allow yourself up to two additional healthy extra choices each day (As or Bs, it's up to you)

3.  And, if you wish, on two or three days of the week, up to fifteen extra syns, choosing 'savvy syns' where possible

I'm glad I checked this out . . .

Savvy syns are foods which aren't classed as free foods because they could cause you to gain weight if eaten freely but which:

provide beneficial nutrients

or

are more satisfying than other syns and

tend to be safer choices for most people - they're less likely to catapult you back into old ways of eating that caused the weight gain in the first place

Sounds awfully like eating the Mediterranean way to me . . . or, at least, the Med way is very doable within these guidelines.

What do you think?