Free foods used in cakes etc

BritMumInCanada

BritMumInCanada

Gold Member
Every website I go onto now that is slimming world related, I am seeing debates about using free foods in cakes and whether they can be counted as free.

I really think slimming world need to confirm this one way of the other, instead of mixed information from different sources.

The way I look at is, as long as when making these things you have them in moderation (and not a whole cake, tray of muffins etc in one sitting). Then it shouldnt be a problem.

We could start debating all things, like scan bran and weetabix etc used in cakes, which are all highly advertised by slimming world.

So the foods are either free or they aren't? Slimming world is allowing us lots of free foods so that we don't feel deprived. I think the idea is just to not eat those things too excessively. But's that is common sense isnt it?

What do you think?

Do you count them as syns or not and has it affected your weight loss?
 
I count them as a free food, but I dont make them that often anyway.

I agree, as long as things are done in moderation and you still loose weight..whats the problem??
I know a man that goes to a SW class, has been a member on and off for years and still makes the corned beef quiche and hash and counts it as free..he looses loads of weight, but doesnt tell his consultant in case she tells him off!! Lol
 
My veiw is, if its free,... then there for i'd be eating as much as humanly possible if i pleased, so if you can only eat in moderation, then its not free.. is it?


Plus, hun, i think thise whole polenta thing would be free but we cant get the same stuff you can over there! xxx
 
I think in moderation it's fine but I do agree that head office need to clarify one way or another. I know the diet changes over the years and there is reasoning behind it but if you used to do something and it worked for you, and it still does, then I say what harm is it?
 
I agree that it needs to be clarified however I do think one can of chickpeas (for example) in a cake that makes at least six portions isn't catastrophic. Fern, I don't agree with your interpretation at all. Batchelors Savoury rice is free on green but I could only ever eat one packet at a time therefore I would count that as 'moderation'!
 
bloo, yep I agree. Potatoes are free, as is pasta etc if doing EE, but I can't see anyone pouring a huge bag into a saucepan and eating the whole lot. It just wouldnt be possible, you would be so bloated and uncomfortable.

I think all free foods are eating in moderation, but you just don't realise, as you don't feel deprived because they are counted as free foods.
 
I've sent an email to SW. Not sure if it will be answered, there wasn't a "contact us" link so I just found an info email address and asked there!!
 
I've always thought 'free food' is used to encourage people to eat a varied and healthy diet but only to be eaten to satisy the appetite, not for gorging on. I do think this is one way in which SW falls down as it doesn't take into account that people eat for reasons other than hunger (WW and Scottish Slimmers give you a daily calorie amount albeit they use points and checks) and I remember the first time I followed SW sitting listening to someone moaning that she had followed the plan 100% but had gained and then she went on to say that she had eaten six mullerlights one day :eek:
 
hi Jaylou!

Just noticed your stats are almost identical to mine- starting weight, goal weight etc. Can I be nosey and ask how long it took you to reach target?
 
babybloo said:
I agree that it needs to be clarified however I do think one can of chickpeas (for example) in a cake that makes at least six portions isn't catastrophic. Fern, I don't agree with your interpretation at all. Batchelors Savoury rice is free on green but I could only ever eat one packet at a time therefore I would count that as 'moderation'!
Click to expand...

I too think clarification is needed, we should all be singing (or slimming) from the same hym sheet so to speak.

I do think there needs to be some personal restraint with certain things eg the chickpea cake that serves 6. Its all to easy to convince yourself that its ok to eat the whole thing, and thats not what developing a new way of eating is about surley. It maybe ok when you first start SW but as the weight comes off and you have less and less to loose, I cann't see how it it possible for someone for example who is 9 stone and looking to loose 2lb to target to still be eating the same amount as a 20 stone woman with a way to go. Am I right in thinking that the closer to goal you get the less syns you have? Does that not count as change and moderation then? And does SW say to eat untill satisfied, not bursting at the seams? Again isn't that a form of restraint, cos we aren't on this diet because we were satisfied before are we. Its something we learn as we go along.
As for the rice, good on you for only haveing one packet, but it wouldn't satisfy I'm affraid, not at the moment anyway. Hopefully one day it will.
 
But then, i've managed to eat 2 whole rotisserie chickens (this was in my 20 stone plus days) with the skin off with 3 slices of ww bread and 227g of slimming world HEXB chips in one sitting and STILL lose. But then the more weight you have to lose, the more you can eat and STILL lose, and whilst you're on the plan, your appetite changes as your shape changes and gradually the vast amounts you used to eat start to become too much and you start automatically moderating them.

I used to be a fully fledged 23 stoner, trust me, you can eat and eat and eat on Slimming World and if you have that inital weight to lose and you follow the plan as it says (i.e, if a food is free, do what Fern says and eat until you are stuffed) it will work.
 
Hi Bloo,
I tried to pm you but I can't, think you need more posts so apologies to the others!!

It took me 14 months to lose 3 stone, but I did get within one pound of my target and then went on holiday, put 5lb on and it then took me another 6 months to lose that last 6lb. It was tough!
So, if I hadn't have had that holiday I would have done it in just over 8 months.
I've been at Target now for just over a year.
Jay xx
 
Hey Jaylou, your target is my target and my start weight (this time) is about 30lbs above yours. I'm hoping that I get there by next March, but that's dependant on no slip ups and lots of support. Definitely definitely joining this forum is helping me. Now when I go home i'm not all raidery by the cookie jar and trying to squeeze an extra 2 syns into my day so I can have a full kitkat, I am so far feeling full, feeling fine and really really enjoying it.

I know the final furlong will be tough. My friend Lou comes to SW with me and she has about 6lbs to go, she is teeeeny tiny at the moment and gets glares sometimes from women in group, but they don't know she's lost 2 stone, they weren't there at the beginning, she's done it gradually over 2 years and she works really hard. But it WILL come off, I know it will, if i'm good.

Congrats on maintaining target hun! I hope to be there one day!
 
and going back to the Great Cake debate, using things like polenta, chickpeas and cous cous to make cakes is a really good idea, that stuff fills you up really quickly.

I defy anyone to be able to eat a full tray of 12 polenta muffins in one go without feeling really really sick, or a whole chickpea cake after what should have been a filling veg-filled healthy SW on-plan dinner.

I had one slice of cake and one polenta muffin when I made these recipes the other day and I was sooooo full. They fill you up, you don't need to worry.

And that's why it works so well.

Oh dear I am on my SW soapbox this aft... but it's helping me!! Sorry if i'm rambling on now.

xxx
 
okay just been looking on the bodyoptimise site and these foods when ground or used a flour have a syn value:

Buckwheat*
Bulgur wheat*
Couscous*
Dried pasta (all types,
eg tagliatelle, spaghetti,
lasagne and cannelloni tubes)
Millet*
Noodles, plain, dried
Pearl barley*
Polenta*
Quinoa*
Rice*

how there is no mention about chickpeas being syns when ground or used as flour and as they are ground and used in hummous and still free, I would imagine they are free used in a cake too.

Also the question is, when using things like cous cous in cakes, you are not grounding it. But would it be classed as using it as a flour?
 
also what about the crisps made from lasagne and crisps made from potatoes in the microwave. How do we syn these. As I also keep seeing a big debate about those.

I wish slimming world would confirm, as although I rarely eat these type foods, it is really doing my head in the misinformation that is being pass round.
 
Last edited:
Tis used as a flour substitute but.... In the last big cookbook there is a recipe for corn bread which used polenta and is free. Hmm....

SW's reply email says it may take up to 2 weeks to get a reply so we shall see but I think anything like this is "officially" food abuse but like we've always said, "If it doesn't affect your weight loss then there's no problem. If it does, then stop"
 
Britmum, I don't think the syn free pancakes are misuse of food as they're really just the same as omlette but sweet and made differently. I think eating ten of them at a time would be but one or two should be fine. I've posted a thread about one of the recipe's in the magazine as it uses blended (?), cooked mango and it isn't synned either.
 
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