Overwhelmed?!

YumyMumy

Crawling to the finish!
Hi there, I joined slimming world today on a whim and I must say I'm feeling completely overwhelmed and confused. Did anybody else feel this way? The leader explained extra easy to me but I'm just completely lost for things to eat so all I've had all day is a jacket potato and tuna. Am I supposed to be eating mostly superfree food? Or is just free food ok?! X
 
Silvermaneuk said:
Hi hun, I assume you have the books?

Yes I do. I'm reading them but I think the idea of having to pick superfood for a third of my plate makes it seem so effortful. I have a very busy lifestyle and I think I'm just anxious I won't have time to prepare so much x
 
It takes a bit of reading for it all to sink in. Maybe try the set days menus and swap bits around to suit you

Stick at it though - its so worth it and will soon become 2nd nature
 
I assume you were given the book in the pack?

It is worth reading a few times and make notes if you have to - remember it is yours to do as you please include scribbling in it etc.

try the 1/3 superfree on your plate (fruit/veg/salad etc.) then any free foods, then your healthy extras (known as HEXA and HEAXB) and finally your syns - for those little treats or extras.

You never go hungry on SW and the weight will simply drop off - so long as you follow plan.

Write down all the healthy extras that you like to separate them from the ones you don't.

Good luck!

Steve
 
Its superfree that should make up a third which is nearly all of your fruit and veg. Just make sure you have some salad in the fridge and some bags of steam fresh m/wave veg in the freezer, makes it much easier
 
Its also worth going into the food diary's sections for idea's, as people put a lot fo their recipes in there, and also it might give you some ideas. With a bit of forward thinking there is no reason for meals to take you that long to prepare. I cook everything from scratch, and there's definitely an art to it. Organisation is the key.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm hoping slimming world is the diet for me. I look forward to knowing the plan as much as you all do :0) xx
 
You also don't have to follow the Extra Easy plan, you can follow the Green and Red too, it's whatever suits you and your life style best that you're going to stick to the easiest. Green is good if you love vegetables, pasta, rice and quorn, where as the Red plan is good for those who prefer more meat in their diets, both the red and green plans have two of each healthy extra too.
EE kinda combines the two, introducing the 1/3rd superfree plus 1 of each healthy extra.
 
You don't have to have 1/3 your plate superfree, as long as throught the day 1/3 of your food is superfree.

It's a good idea to take a look at the food diaries. Did you pick up a magazine, they also have some very nice recipies in there.

Or as already mentioned you can have red or green days. Do whatever fits in with you as this is a plan for life.;)
 
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 :)
 
Thank you very much for your detailed response. I'm gonna stock up on veggies and fruit today and take it from there!! Hopefully I'll feel more confident by the end of the day, if not I'll contact my consultant! X
 
No problem :) please give it a go, u won't regret it. Write yr food down every day so u know exactly what u have had and show it to yr consultant, or post it on minimins! The old hands on here will soon put u right if somethings not quite right! Hope u get on ok xx
 
Back
Top