Hi YumyMumy,
Don't panic! It takes a while to get your head around sw plan but it will sink in as you go along. If you are really worried, email or phone your consultant. They are there for you all week...not just on weigh in days. I've been doing extra easy now for 4 weeks and I think I'm just getting the hang of it!
The 'old' plans were 'original (red)' & 'green' days, where you EITHER had lots of meat/poultry/fish etc OR pasta/potatoes. So that's why you have the red and green pages in your book. The new plan, Extra Easy, combines the 2 other plans...meaning you can have both meat AND pasta or potatoes freely. It's very simple once you grasp the basics. Each day you should try to:-
1, choose 1 healthy A from page 21
2, choose 1 health B from pages 23-25
3, fill at least 1/3 of your plate with 'Superfree' food on pages 11-12
4, choose freely from all the 'free green food' on pages 14-15, AND choose freely from all the 'free original (red) food' on pages 16-18. (remembering to still make sure 1/3 of your meal consists of the 'Superfree' food)
5, treat yourself by choosing to use 5-15 'syns' on food/drink such as ketchup/low fat butter/wine/takeaway....etc. These can be found on pages 35-70, although that is just a small selection. You will find a syns calculator on the sw website which will work out the syn values of almost any food!
I don't know if you have had a chance to register on the sw website yet but I found the following really helpful when I started...it basically says what I've tried to say, but better!!!
Follow the 3 easy steps to success each day to see a fabulous weight loss next week – and every week.
If at any point you have a query about Extra Easy or any of our amazing Food Optimising plans, please talk to your Consultant in group. They have all the know-how to help you succeed, and with the help and shared ideas from your group, you’ll soon be soaring towards your dream weight.
Free Food is the masterstroke that makes Food Optimising, so effective and so very easy.
Free Food is how you satisfy your appetite even on the hungriest of days.
Free Food is how you learn to lose weight and keep it off for good.
Enjoy with absolutely no limits: no weighing, no calculating, no estimating, no counting, no kidding!
Fill 1/3 of your plate with Superfree Food and make them your first choice between meals. You’ll naturally limit your energy intake without counting a single calorie and you’ll be enjoying a really healthy diet, making your weight loss extra easy!
Q. What are Superfree Foods?
A. Superfree Foods are super-satisfying for the appetite and very, very low in calories (or energy density). Fill one third of your plate with Superfree Foods and make them your first choice between meals. You’ll naturally limit your energy intake without counting a single calorie, and you’ll be enjoying a really healthy diet, making your weight loss success extra easy!
Q. Can I eat proteins and carbohydrates at the same meal?
A. Yes, yes, yes! Food Optimising is quite unlike food combining, where you have to avoid eating different food groups together. Food Optimising encourages you to have balanced meals. For example, with a juicy steak you could have a jacket potato with a large side-salad or vegetables all Free with our Extra Easy plan!
Q. Can I make my meals without using Healthy Extras or Syns?
A. Absolutely! Once you begin Food Optimising you'll find all kinds of great ideas for tasty meals and recipes along with nifty ways to enjoy your Healthy Extras as part of your meal, or between meals. And every week, our supportive features will help you discover the freedom that is Food Optimising and answer the questions that every fascinated Food Optimiser has!
Each day choose once from the Healthy Extra ‘a’ list and once from the healthy Extra ‘b’ list.
If you don’t like weighing and measuring, look out for the grab&go sections!
Syns are the way that Food Optimising gives you a wonderful safety net, to ensure you lose weight with a mixture of plenty of freewheeling, plus just enough structure and control. All foods that aren’t Free have a Syn value. Counting the Syns you use each day helps you balance your diet for optimum weight loss, and maximum enjoyment.
Your Food Optimising book includes the average Syn values for hundreds of everyday favourites. Alternatively, you can use the Syns tools:
Syns Online – when you know the manufacturer’s name
Syns Calculator – when you have the packaging to hand
Snackulator – for easy snack calculations!
Good luck hon, I promise it will sink in and in a couple of weeks you will be an old hand at it!
My tips would be to get some frylight (brilliant for making sw chips), buy 1/2 fat grated cheese (looks more!), stock up on low fat yogurts (muller light and activia are yummy), get LOADS of fruit and veg in, and I also love the Alpen light bars (only 3 syns each or 2 bars = 1 healthy B choice)
Let me know how you are doing. You will find lots of people on here who are only too willing to help if they can. You don't have to feel that you are struggling on your own