Tuesday, 30-09-25

 Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure which is now going to include the three different healthy extras - calcium, fibre and fats/oils.  I'm winging it a bit until the info about amounts is released - making sensible guesses based on prior knowledge!

I gather this is the new logo . . .

Today's meals;

I had some speed fruit for breakfast - pear, apple, orange.  No photo!

For lunch, I shredded some of the left over beef, mixed it with some chutney, spread it over some bread, added cheese topped it with the other slice of bread (synned) and toastiefied it.  Very delicious with salad on the side.

One calcium (cheese), one fibre (bread), six syns (the other slice of bread) and one and a half syns (for the chutney)

Dinner was supposed to be the rest of yesterday's one pot.

To the mix I added some shredded beef, a chopped mushroom, a few more kidney beans and some chilli spice and cooked some chips using one and a half tsps avocado oil (high smoke point) to go with the other oil in the chilli. 

So I had loaded chips rather than filled jacket potato.

I made a sort of salsa with tomato, cucumber, pepper and onion.  It looks murky brown because I added balsamic vinegar.  It looked urgh but tasted great!

However - because I had added meat, more beans and mushroom, it became two portions rather than one so I still have some to use up!

Almost one healthy oils/fats and one and a half syns for some salad cream.  You have to have salad cream to dunk the chips!

Afters was some fresh pineapple.

Summary:

pretty much one of each healthy extra

eight and a half syns

Tomorrow's plans:

B:  fruit

L:  hummus (if I can find it in the freezer), vegetable dips, melba toast; fruit

D:  chilli jacket potato, salad; fruit

Exercise:  personal training

Monday, 29-09-25

 Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

The long awaited info about changes in Slimming World is out and I did a post about them this morning.

As I said in that post, I'm going to change the way I summarise things to include healthy fats.  So I am aiming for one healthy calcium, one healthy fibre and one healthy fats/oils.  I don't know if that's how it will end up but it works for me for now.  Just remember, it's not canon - yet.  It's just me!

And I'm calling syns the same for now.  

What I ate today:

I had an apple and a pear through the morning.  Both speed.

Lunch was lovely, more a brunch than a lunch but it was good.  I spray fried my bread (one fibre) and some lean bacon, steamed an egg (something I wanted to try out), put them both on the bread before sprinkling a bit of hard Italian cheese over (three syns) and served it with some garden tomatoes and a drizzle of brown sauce.  One syn for brown sauce.  It was nice.

Afters was an orange.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tomato-pepper-bean-one-pot

This was delicious.  I made enough for two good portions and might have the other half tomorrow.  I used my own soup base mix and the pulses I had and added seeds and feta as well as the bulgur wheat.

Afters was some Greek yogurt.

Summary:

one healthy calcium extra

one healthy fibre extra
one healthy fats/oils extra

four syns

Tomorrow's plans:

B;  fruit

L:  cheesy beef chutney toastie, salad; fruit

(one calcium, one fibre and four syns)

D:  bean chilli, jacket potato, coleslaw, salad; fruit

(one oil - avo oil and seeds - and three-ish syns)

Exercise:  Groove if I feel better.

There's changes afoot!

 https://member.slimmingworld.co.uk/features/slimming-worlds-2026-updates

Slimming World has just posted its changes for 2026 - they are wide ranging and, I think, very positive.

The link above should be accessible for all but, just in case, in summary . . .

As and Bs are going - the terms are, I mean.  
We will still have healthy extra choices which will be

• calcium rich choices, e.g. milk and cheese
• fibre rich choices e.g. high fibre breads, etc
• and - something I am so pleased about - heart healthy fats and oils e.g. nut butters, seeds, avocado, olives and heart healthy oils

However, the devil's in the details and the actual amounts are not out yet.

The next change is that 'Syns' as a term is going - three cheers for that.
The alternative is a bit silly too - SWIPS - Slimming World's Individual Picks - but, hopefully, not as open to misinterpretation.  I wonder what YouTube captions will make of that.

What they actually are looks to remain the same apart from the healthy fats and oils.  

The third change is using a different language.

Food Optimising remains the same, as does SP (Speed/Protein) but Extra Easy is out as it's unnecessary.  So it will be Food Optimising or Food Optimising SP

Body Magic is going - thank goodness, such a silly term for exercise.  It's now becoming Slimming World's Active Lifestyle Programme.  A mouthful but avoids the dreaded E word that puts some people off.

Also gone is IMAGE Therapy, the name for the second half of each meeting.   It's now Slimming World's Support System.

I am sure all these will be abbreviated in time - I have no idea to what.

And there's a new logo . . . no idea what.

Everyone is getting a new Members' Book and magazine, website and App will start updating in December, ready for a January start.

I don't envy them that one little bit!!

So there we are.  Mostly very sensible, positive, and closer to current scientific understanding.  And the way I have been planning my meals for quite a while now.

(am I smug?)

But, as I said, the devil's in the detail and I'm looking forward to getting info about the detail.  

For now, I might change my planning to one A, one B and, for now, one C (the healthy fats) which I am assuming will be 120 calories' worth, like the As and Bs

And time will tell.

Monday morning, 29-09-25

 Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Sorry about last night.  I'm not well and went to bed early!  Just one of those viruses that leave you feeling like a piece of soggy kitchen towel - you know!

Yesterday's food:

I just had a lunch plus some fruity bits and bobs.

I made this using the stock and veg that I cooked the beef in, adding green lentils, corn, peas and orzo plus some of the beef, shredded.
I couldn't eat all this so a pretty good portion is now in the freezer for an easy and hearty meal this week sometime.

With it I made cheesy marmite toast - I needed something very savoury.

One and a half As, one B and four syns (I always weigh my home made bread and score it according to weight, allowing 60g for a B.  It may not be totally accurate but it's close.

No point summarising, it wasn't a proper day's eating.

Today's plans:

Still feeling rough so I need to be very disciplined, I think.

B:  fruit, if anything

L:  an open toastie - cheese, bacon, egg and tomatoes on the side.  At the Thermomix demo I went to, they showed how to do steamed eggs so I want to try it for myself.  Then fruit.

D:  tomato, pepper and bean one pot, bulgur wheat; fruit
I found this on the BBC Good Food site.  It's for six but looks easy to reduce down and it uses a mix of beans so I can use what I have.  I can also use my soup base mix from the freezer.

Exercise:  None.  I won't be going to Circuits today.

Saturday, 27-09-25

 Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

What I ate today:

Underneath the kiwi, apple and orange is some baked apple skyr yogurt with some chia seeds mixed in.  One syn for the yogurt and the seeds are part of a healthy extra.

I had some home popped corn for four syns.

Unfortunately, the avocado was a bit over.  I weighed what I could salvage and it came to four syns

The tuna was protein and I added super low mayo for one syn plus half a syn for ketchup and half a syn for mustard ketchup plus soy sauce and Henderson's.

I added half a syn's worth of salad cream.

Dinner was at a cookery demo, A Taste of Romania at the Thermomix centre in town.  I am now officially stuffed and reek of garlic.  Probably over syns but maybe not - plenty of plant based stuff and all cooked from scratch.  I am definitely going to make some of the dishes again - polenta, for starters, as soon as I can find some in the shops.

Tomorrow's plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

L:  soup with croutons; fruit

D:  slow cooked beef, roasties, veg; fruit

Exercise:  gardening

Saturday morning and back to normal - nearly :-)

 Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

So much for the resuming evening posts!!  Huh!  To be honest, I was just shattered yesterday evening and decided to leave it until the morning - but I WILL post again this evening.

Yesterday was the last day off SW - I'm proper back on it from now on.  It wasn't the best meals yesterday; in fact they were not meals, they were nibbles and naughties but that's yesterday - today is another new start.

What I ate Thursday/Friday

Breakfast was the rest of the beans with a cut up sausage on toast.  It was really very tasty!  

Then I finished off the sausages in a toastie with slow softened onion and cheese.  So good.

And at Belle Italia I had their Marco Polo - lamb and roasted mushrooms in a plum sauce with pasta - it was delicious.
And I went even more rogue afterwards with two scoops of gelato.

That was a nice meal out!

It looks like I didn't take any photos yesterday.  I thought I had photo-ed breakfast but it seems not.  Never mind.

Breakfast was toast with nut butter.

Lunch and dinner were both rubbish stuff.  I'm saying no more!

Today's plans.

Moving on and back into Slimming World the Mediterranean way . . .

B:  fruit and yogurt

I'm having a light breakfast for a few days while I decide whether I want to resume three meals a day as the weather gets colder.  It's a very useful way to get my chia seeds, soaked in the yogurt.

L:  I didn't have the avocado yesterday so I must have it today.  I will have it filled with a tuna mayo topping. I think, and a side salad.

I will needs to weigh the avocado and work pout the syns which will be high but I'm not fussed - it's heart healthy oils and that's important.

D:  This is where good intentions fall flat - I am going to a Thermomix demo in town entitled 'Discover the Flavours of Romania with Thermomix'.  I have no idea whether Romanian cookery is SW friendly but I don't have to eat too much after the demo and I will need to leave pretty promptly to get the bus back.

Exercise:  walking

See you tonight!

Thursday morning, 25-09-25

 Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Just for this week, I'm not sticking to Slimming World structure.

What I ate yesterday:

Left over pasta and half a can of baked beans on toast - filling and really tasty!!

Salad for lunch - chicken, feta and olives plus the usual culprits.

I treated myself to some sausage - lovely, high meat, spicy sausages.  This tray bake had all sorts of things in it - carrot, baby corn, onion, apple, olives, seeds - it was so good.

Moving on to today and the last full day so use-it-up day.  I have to provide two breakfasts and one lunch as I'm eating at Belle Italia tonight.

I have:

bread

four sausages

half a can of beans

eggs

cheese

salady stuff

onion

an avocado

plenty of fruit

apple, carrot and sultana loaf

I think I can manage some nice meals with all that, don't you?  I will take the avocado home with me and the eggs.

So:

 

B:  beans on toast, I will probably chop an egg into the beans and might have an egg on top although I'm not particularly hungry yet.  I'm OK with the eggs coming home with me anyway; fruit

L:  a sausage salad sandwich with nibbly bits on the side; fruit and yogurt

B tomorrow:  probably scrambled eggs on toast; fruit

Exercise:  I will try to access Lindsey's SET class this morning before my swim.  Then lots of walking!

I won't post tomorrow morning but will be back tomorrow evening when things will be getting back to what passes for normal.

Wednesday morning, 24-09-25

 Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Just for this week, I'm not sticking to Slimming World structure.

What I ate yesterday:

Scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast.

This was lovely - avocado on rye sourdough with tomatoes and olives on the side.  The drink is elderflower presse.

Then some fruit.

Dinner was a pasta thingy just using what I had - spring onion, pepper, mange tout and baby corn, chopped tomatoes, seasonings, chicken, olives, mixed seeds and grated cheese on top.

And bubbly because - holiday!

There's a bit of the pasta dish left over and I will probably have it on toast for breakfast because why not!

So I have to work out how to use the microwave - the oven is a grill, oven, microwave thingy, depending on how you set it.  Thankfully, there are instructions!

Today's plans are:

B:  the tomatoey thing on toast

L:  chicken, feta and olive salad; fruit

D:  not sure, probably some sort of tray bake with eggs on top.

Exercise:  a swim and a walk

Tuesday morning, 23-09-25

Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Just for this week, I'm not sticking to Slimming World structure.
Also, I'll probably post in the mornings as that will work better for me than the evenings.

What I ate yesterday:
No photos - I'm away and it just didn't work out easily, one way or another.  I had some toast and fruit for breakfast, a very naughty hot sausage roll from the Parc Market for lunch (it was really nice though) and dinner was a chicken fajitas platter at Huck's.  
Oh, how I enjoyed it but we won't talk about the calories.  Loads of vegetables and lean chicken but also guacamole, cheese and sour cream so ooops!  I tried to take a photos but the lighting meant that you can hardly see so I've deleted them.

Today's plans:
OK, so I need to go healthy today or my digestion will suffer.  And I will definitely take photos!

B:  fruit and yogurt, toast and scrambled egg, probably

L:  I have an avocado so I think I will mash that, add some lemon juice and some avocado topping and have it on sourdough with a salad on the side.

D:  I've bought bits and bobs from home so I think I will make a pasta bake with more salad.

Exercise:  probably two swims and two walks (which will help a bit!)

Sunday, 21-09-25

Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Just to let you know that the next five days will be a bit different.  I won't be following Slimming World as I'm away, but I will still photos my meals as much as I can and try to eat well and healthily although I know that a few naughties will creep in.

Fingers crossed.

What I ate today:

The rest of yesterday's smoothie with added fruit and seeds - delish and filling!

 Inside the wrap there is roasted sweet potato, roasted onion, chicken leftover from Friday, grated cheese and yesterday's bean pate.    Lovely and, again, filling. 

Just simple and tasty cheese on toasted sourdough rye with a slice of apple, carrot and cinnamon loaf for afters.

Tomorrow's plans:

L:  Not sure - I might make a packed lunch.

D:  chicken fajita platter, maybe a side salad, no dessert (eating out) but There Will Be Wine!

Exercise:  a walk and a swim

Saturday, 20-09-25

Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

(from today and through this coming week, I won't be counting As, Bs and syns)

Oh dear, late again.  Let's pretend it is still Saturday evening, please . . .

First of all, I want to show you this.

Before you shout 'CAKE', take a look at the recipe.

 https://www.cinnamonandkale.co.uk/carrot-apple-and-sultana-loaf-sugar-free/

Fat free, no added sugar and packed with good stuff - and delicious.

I'm self catering from Monday to Friday and wanted just a little 'treat'-type thing.  It's sliced, individually wrapped and in the freezer now but, obviously, I had to try just one end.

Definitely making this again.

What I ate today:
    

As a start to the 'reset my insides' day, this was a goodie.   It was pineapple, kiwi, pear, raspberries, blueberries, yogurt, mixed seeds, oats, a bit of water and just a little pinch of sweetener, thoroughly blended together with some chia seeds added after the blending.

A lovely lunch.  I made the 'pate' by blitzing some butter beans and chickpeas (both from the freezer0 with some roasted red pepper (from a jar), a bit of tahini, a bit of half fat soft cheese, some garlic and onin granules, a bit of salt and some black pepper.   It was really delicious.

Afters was an orange.

Dinner - a salad in a bowl.  It was OK but I didn't really enjoy it all that much.  I think some salad cream would have been nice but I was trying to be 'good'.

Never mind!  I ate it, it was good, healthy stuff.

I had some grapes for afters.

No summary until next weekend!!!

Tomorrow's plans:

It's use-up-leftovers day.  I will go through the fridge and see what I can concoct!

B:  I have some of the smoothie left so I'm just going to add fruit to it and make a sort of fruit smoothie soup type thingy.  I'll probably add some more chia seeds for extra goodness.

L:  I also have some of the pate left (it was lovely, definitely making that again!) and I also have a couple of small sweet potatoes and some chicken so I'm going to roast sweet potato and onion, spread the pate over a wrap, add the veg and the chicken plus some grated cheese and wrap it up.  I may toast the outside, I'll see how I feel.  That will probably be enough but I can always have some salad

D:  I'm not sure but it might be a vegetable and bean casserole or maybe chilli with a jacket potato.  We will see.

Exercise:  Plenty of up and down stairs, etc.

x

Friday, 19-09-25 (written and posted Saturday morning) - changing things for a week

Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

. . . and it was a maintain.  Woo hoo!!!!!

I was happy with that.

However . . .  
I really wasn't feeling that well yesterday.  I think it was the result of living on ready meals for a week(ish) with a bit of added fruit, bit of A, bit of B . . .

Despite the chia seeds and the fruit, by yesterday I was very bunged up, very uncomfortable
(apologies if this is TMI) and a bit sore all over.

So the planning went out of the window.  I had some fruit in the morning and did a bit of stretching, etc, and things did loosen up a bit, thankfully (although still not right), but come the evening all I wanted was some simple, honest, uncomplicated food so I just had my As and B in the form of marmite and cheese on toast, whole grain sourdough toast.  It tasted so good . . .

This is not saying anything against those SW at Iceland frozen meals.  They are good, they are tasty, but they do, I think, lack fibre - for me, anyway.  The vegetables tend to be speed veg, the sauces tend to be artificially sweetened and any carbs tend to be white and refined carbs.  

I've had enough of them for now.

I'm going to be away from Monday and it seems to be the ideal opportunity to change things round for a week.  This is what I'm thinking . . .

I'm going to move away from Slimming World structure for a short time (just the week) and focus more on just healthy and whole food.  I won't be counting calories or anything, just trying to be balanced.
Having said that, I'm eating out a couple of evenings and want to make the other evenings really simple.  I had planned to buy ready meals from the Parc Market but now I am not so sure.  I might just take some wholewheat pasta and a few cans - tomatoes, pulses, a potato, onion, salad veg, mixed seeds and chia seeds - and knock up really simple evening meals. Then fruit and yogurt in the morning and something like avo and egg on sourdough toast (I'm taking some with me) with salad for lunches.  

That, with all the swimming and walking, should sort my system out nicely.

No As, no Bs, no syns and certainly no calories, just go with my instincts and enjoy it.

What do you think?

Tomorrow's (today's) plans:

B:  oat and seed smoothie

L:  smashed beans on sourdough rye, tomatoes and peppers on the side; fruit

D:   salmon poke bowl with sesame and soy dressing

Sounds posh but basically it's a salad!!  In a bowl!

I'm using this as a base idea.  https://www.justspices.co.uk/recipes/tuna-poke-bowl.html

Exercise:  A Lindsey video and some stretching.

Thursday, 18-09-25

Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Seven days down now.

Two out of plan.

Five in plan.

Weigh in tomorrow morning.  Fingers crossed for a maintain - I am still not stepping on my own scales so I have no idea.

However, whatever the scales do or do not say, I have a non-scale victory and that is that I am back into my size 10 jeans without feeling like a trussed up turkey!  That has to be worth being happy about.  xx

What I ate today:

I had a peach and an apple during the morning.

Lunch was the leftovers of the Thai green curry with rice (all speed/free) and a salad with some salad cream (one syn).
Afters was some chopped kiwi, free (I don't think kiwi is a speed)

The chicken in a black bean sauce was - OK.  Nothing special.  The sugar snaps were fine this time though.

I finished off some chargrilled veg from the freezer and served it, as you can see, in a wrap that I pushed into a brioche mould and popped in the oven to go crispy.

One healthy extra B and the rest was free,

Then I had yogurt with chia seeds (one and a half syns) and some berry coulis (one and a half syns)

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

four syns

Tomorrow's plans:

L:  leftovers for me and I might turn them into a cheesy wrap again but I'm doing a mini roast for Alex as he wants to make roast potatoes - the lovely. crunchy kind.

D:  oriental duck noodles, the sixth ready meal from SW at Iceland .  I kept this one for Friday because it feels like a fakeaway.

Exercise:  A walk and a video

Wednesday, 17-09-25

Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Six days down this week. 

Two out of plan

Four within plan

One to go

I don't expect much in the way of lost poundage this week but I'm hoping for a maintain - I will be relieved with that.

What I ate today:

During the morning, I had a peach.

I know it sounded odd, turning Korean chicken and rice into a wrap with cheese but it worked really well.

One A and one B

For the soup, I just boiled up a can of tomatoes, a couple of small roasted red peppers, some lentils, some chicken stock, some soup mix (carrot, onion and celery), chopped and frozen, some tomato puree and seasonings.

Then I blended it all smooth.

All speed or free.

It might look a bit sludgy, but this Thai green curry was really nice - aromatic and flavoursome but not hot at all..  It didn't come with rice so I cooked some.

Afters was yogurt and chia seeds for one syn.

Summary:

One healthy extra A

One healthy extra B

One syn

Tomorrow's plans:

L:  leftovers  of Thai green curry and rice, followed by cheese on toast - don't judge me, I want to get the healthy extras in!

D:  chicken in black bean sauce; fruit

Exercise:  a walkl

Tuesday, 16-09-25 (written and posted Wednesday morning)

Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys. I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Five days down now in this SW week.

two off plan

three totally within plan

two days to go.  

What I ate today:

I had some fruit before and after Groove class.

Leftovers lunch - yesterday's dinner and Sunday's roast chicken with some mixed seeds and a bit of salad and some grated cheese (added after the photos was taken).

One healthy extra A and one and a half syns.

Later on I had some Greek yogurt with some chia seeds - one syn.

The Korean style chicken and rice was very spicy and really delicious.  I must say that these SW meals do not stint on good quality protein or on vegetables while the carbs are there but not overloading the dishes.  I am enjoying these meals very much.

I had a wee bowl of fresh tomatoes on the side - my tomatoes and pretty much all finished now and I have cucumber and tomatoes on my shopping list for the first time in ages.   Very sad.

I realised that I forgot to have the planned garlic toast with my lunch so, as I had another A, I made a cheese sandwich later and it was lovely.  A shame about the G+Ts - well, not tonic, elderflower presse (free on SW) - because one led to another as they can do and I blew my syns out of the water.  Oh, dear.  When will I learn!

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

syns unknown  

Tomorrow's plans:

L:  I have a little bit of the Korean chicken left which I can have in a wrap and it's a wet and dismal day so I am making some of my tomato, red pepper and lentil soup to have with it.

D:  Thai green curry, side veg; fruit

Exercise:  personal training is cancelled as Lindsey is unwell, poor love.