Syns

Beckyftwx

Silver Member
The fact the food we are not really allowed much of is called SYNS
Do you think this was a good choice by sw? I think it creates connotations that we are being naughty by having these syns and therefore makes me personally feel guilty if I ever have something with a high syn value.
 
I know what you mean. WW adverts used to say 'no food is a sin' which i thought was quite clever of them!
I think 'SYN' might be an acronym for something but i might have imagined it...
 
Well - they're called Syns now. Which as Jaylou says, is supposedly short for 'Synergy'. But way back when, Syns were indeed Sins (as in naughty things, LOL). The change in spelling is a relatively new thing.

The fact I can remember means I'm getting old, of course. But my Mum (again, way back when) used to be what would now be a Consultant for what is now known as Slimming World - back in the days when I believe it was known as J&M (I think the 'M' bit related to Margaret Miles Bramwell)...

That's going back some years, of course - 1970s, in fact. :)
 
The reasoning behind the spelling.....

Q: Why change the spelling of Sins to Syns?

A: Over the years the word ‘Sins’ has been much loved but greatly debated. We wanted a new word unique to Slimming World. The word ‘Syns’ is short for ‘synergy’ and reflects the many ‘synergystic’ effects of Slimming World’s unique methods. The definition of synergy is:

‘the working together of two or more parts to produce an effect greater than
the sum of their individual effects.’

Slimming World is full of synergies, such as the fantastic way that Food Optimising, Image Therapy and Body Magic work together to give members their very best chance of lifetime success. Another great example of Slimming World synergies is how the three elements of Food Optimising – Free Food, Healthy Extras and Syns – work together to create the perfect lifestyle system for weight loss.
 
I think they should have called them rewards or something similar - I was having a discussion about this last week actually & everyone who is doing SW is doing it because we have a problem controlling out eating so to me the word 'syns' is quite a negative word, if they had a more positive word then mentally yyou would think about the higher fat things a different way (if you know what I mean), whenever we have too many we all always say we have been bad, but I don't think that is right, we have not been bad we have just over-indulged for a day, bad to me is being mean, having an extra bar of chocolate or whatever it is is just having the extra treat and as long as it is recognised then it isn't bad, sorry you have set me off, my OH says I should be on Grumpy Old Women!!
 
I feel daft calling them syns when speaking to non-SlimlingWorlders - so I just refer to them as points. Despite the change in spelling and telling us about synergy, I still think the term has connotations of naughtiness, which is out of sync with the SW philosophy. What about an alternative name? "Treats" or "comforts" lol
 
It being short for synergy doesnt change the negative connotations..whenever I tell people not on SW I'm eating so many syns they always sene to mock it abit haha!
 
It really doesn't bother me, I have no problem with the word itself. Call it whatever you will, if I eat chocolate or sweets I will have a slight pang of guilt whether it's a syn, a treat, a comfort, or a point. It really doesn't matter.

As for people mocking, that's their problem!
 
I agree with you about the negative connotations - I always thought this and remember when classes were asked for their opinions about the name sins. To move to syns for synergy always seemed very tenuous but I'm not sure what you could call them instead. I'm anti the idea of rewards/comfort etc because that also has negative connotations of eating for reasons other than hunger and points wouldn't work because that is what WW use.
 
Aren't the negative connotations not brought on by the word but by our own associations with those types of foods though?
Getting a bit deep now but I feel less guilty using syns for bacon on a green day or potatoes on a red day than I do using them for chocolate.
I think the problem lies deeper that the use of the word!
 
Couldn't agree more.
 
I think the problem with calling them treats or rewards is that we would then feel as though we are rewarding ourselves with food which is not so good for us. I agree that the word association of syns is bad as we shouldnt feel as though we are being bad by having them but i think to make a bad food a reward is just the same.

xx
 
I think the problem with calling them treats or rewards is that we would then feel as though we are rewarding ourselves with food which is not so good for us. I agree that the word association of syns is bad as we shouldnt feel as though we are being bad by having them but i think to make a bad food a reward is just the same.

xx

AGREED!
 
So if we used syns or whatever for olive oil or avocado, both super good for you foods, would we feel guilty then?

*goes off to ponder the deepness of this thread*
 
they r sins there not healthythings as a full on everyday allday thing but its the alittle of what u fancy does u good so by calling them syns its reminding us that we r being naugthy (said loosely cause we aren't being naugthy really) but thats ok cause we everyone should be alittle naugthy everyday instead of the alot naugthy everyday which we might be if we don't refer to a food as a syn.
i hope that makes sense if someone can put it better please do cause i know what i want to say but explaining its another thing lol
 
But they can be healthy tinkerbells mum, that's what I'm trying to say. They don't have to be used for "bad" things. They can be used for potatoes, beans, bread, parsnips, cooked fruit, olive oil, avocado, the list is endless. They don't need to be bad!!
 
Ok so some syns are not 'bad' for you for example green day foods on a red day, but this is for the SW diet formation. When having a green day on SW it is a sin to have things from a red day.

But as with any healthy living lifestyle it is everything in moderation, although cooked fruit and olive oil may not be 'bad' for you they are not something you should have all day every day

xx
 
Back
Top