How healthy is a healthy extra?

[starbug]

To be honest, this is the one thing that's slightly putting me off joining SW. Even Rosemary Conley agrees that you need healthy fats like nuts and seeds, so surely they could be incorporated into the plan as healthy extras. And I really don't understand how blending fruit could alter the calorie content. Does the consultant check your food diary every week? If not, I'd be tempted to tweak the plan a little bit and relace mug shots etc eith something more natural.

 

[Brightonrosie]

To be honest, this is the one thing that's slightly putting me off joining SW. Even Rosemary Conley agrees that you need healthy fats like nuts and seeds, so surely they could be incorporated into the plan as healthy extras. And I really don't understand how blending fruit could alter the calorie content. Does the consultant check your food diary every week? If not, I'd be tempted to tweak the plan a little bit and relace mug shots etc eith something more natural.

Tweaking the plan can be the slippery slope downwards. You add one or two things here but don't reduce others etc Nuts and seeds are a healthy B certainly on green days not so sure about on EE x

 

[Circes]

they don't encourage eating healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, avocados, etc. but they DO plug mug-shots etc all the time!

Olive oil and nuts are healthy extras so they do encourage eating them but you can't get past the fact that they, and the avocado, are high in fat and are not as filling in relation to their calorie content as pasta.

 

[Circes]

To be honest, this is the one thing that's slightly putting me off joining SW. Even Rosemary Conley agrees that you need healthy fats like nuts and seeds, so surely they could be incorporated into the plan as healthy extras. And I really don't understand how blending fruit could alter the calorie content. Does the consultant check your food diary every week? If not, I'd be tempted to tweak the plan a little bit and relace mug shots etc eith something more natural.

Nuts and seeds ARE a healthy extra on the green plan

And as for the blended food it is about satiety and ease of over consumption. Blended fruits do not fill you up for as long as fruit in its natural state. And when blended it is far easier to consume large amounts eg a glass of fruit smoothie could have the juice of six or more pieces of fruit and would be gone in 5 minutes. You would never eat that much fruit in one go but if you did it would take longer to eat and fill you up for a significant length of time.

 

[Circes]

This is so totally true! Something else that confuses me is that 4 ryvita are a HEXB obviously for fibre, but 1 Dr krag (sp) cracker is also a HEXB now you can't tell me they have the same fibre content as 4 ryvita! There is lots of little things like that!

Is this the one?
Classic 3-Seed crisp breads

Fibre content = 3.7g per slice
Calories = 109!

Ryvita fibre content = 1.5g to 2.0g per slice
Calories - 27 to 60 depending on variety

So yes, 1 slice of Dr Karg would have about the same as 2 slices of ryvita

 

[MJCD]

i'd never looked at the green plan info until reading the above posts - nuts and seeds are there! i wish they were included in EE.

why not??

 

[Circes]

So why can I have two of these but not a half of an avocado which has none of this rubbish in. It can't be because of the fibre content because you can have cheese and olive oil as a HEXB

Alpen Lights are high in fibre in relation to their calorie content.

Avocado is high in fat (14%), low in protein and low in carbs therefore not as filling in relation to its calorie content.

Cheese is a HEB due to it's protein content not fibre.

Not really on the subject of healthy extra's

But I do wonder why SW have mugshots, pasta n sauces and savoury rices etc as free.

But the majority of the calories come from the pasta or rice, which as we know fills you up for longer.

Ive always thought alpen light bars are far too suspicious to be any good for me, and i know its only 3% fruit puree but im pretty sure a smoothie with fruit and yogurt would fill me up alot more than 2 rubbish little bars and yet i have to syn the fruit? baffled :/

SW are protecting your calorie intake because of the ease of over consuming blended fruits and the fact that they not fill you up for as long as fruit in its natural state


So where do you draw the line?
Do you ban frylight because of the additives?
Or what about yoghurts or diet drinks with aspartame?
Quorn?
Chicken breasts or bacon pumped with additives?

The reality is that these foods are out there and lots of people find them helpful in their battle to lose weight. They can sometimes make the difference between staying on plan or falling off, perhaps permanently. So if someone chooses to use them I am certainly not going to villify them for it. That is their choice, and if nothing else SW is about freedom of choice and flexibility.

SW do not advocate using products like these at every meal and quite rightly promote good old-fashioned home cooking.

If SW was a plan where you could eat only foods with no additives or preservatives , where every meal had to be cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients then no-one would join!

 

[Circes]

i'd never looked at the green plan info until reading the above posts - nuts and seeds are there! i wish they were included in EE.

why not??

They are there for their protein content, along with cheese. On red and EE it is assumed that you get your protein from lean meat and fish as free foods. So to encourage a balanced diet they are not HEBs on these plans. Instead to have to use your HEBs for fibre rather than potentially more protein.

 

[rumbletummy]

Hi Circles, are you a consultant? You certainly know your stuff! xx

 

[-Tally-]

I love mugshots, they're a life saver for me and I have one most lunchtimes with a coffee and some fruit. I cannot cook lunches and dinners from scratch...couldn't be bothered and don't have the time, so something quick and filling for lunch like a mugshot does me great. I was a fan of pasta n sauce too until I saw the calorie content so won't be eating them again unless the cupboards are bare.

 

[Brightonrosie]

Alpen Lights are high in fibre in relation to their calorie content.

Avocado is high in fat (14%), low in protein and low in carbs therefore not as filling in relation to its calorie content.

Many people who are over weight risk both high cholesterol levels and type two diabetes. Avocados has been shown to lower the "bad" cholesterol levels and they are a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids, including oleic acid, which offers significant protection against breast cancer.(this is the fat content you were talking about) Avocados have more protein than Alpen bars and are in fact high in carbohydrates also. They are known as an appetite supressant and would therfor be more filling than a couple of bites of sugary food which will leave you craving something again later once the sugar levels have crashed
The potassium content in avocados regulates blood pressure and helps guard against heart disease and strokes, as well as aiding digestion and helping the body flush out toxins. The monounsaturated fats and the wholesome nutrition helps the basal metabolic rate, and reduce overeating.
As for the Alpen bars, any food which has nearly a fifth of its calories coming from sugar,which is where the higher levels of carbohydrate are coming from, should not be classed as a healthy food. By all means bring it to people's awareness that it is a better option than say a bar of chocolate and have it as a "healthier" syn. If you are following the EE plan the third of your plate being taken up with vegetables which would afford you adequate levles of fibre in the diet.

 

[gobolino]

I regularly use my syns for more healthy extras, so I dont think 6 syns worth of avocado is too much to pay for a meal, to be honest. As long as you enjoy it, your syns are to be enjoyed after all

 

[*Emsie*]

Again not a he but I don't really like using frylight though I do of course to save me the syns of oils etc but it doesn't seem right to me really

 

[Stefanie]

I do EE, so that then means I have to syn necessary healthy fats in my diet....doesn't seem right, but I will use up syns if I have to as I do feel I'm missing out

 

[jaylou]

It's all about choice - we choose to do SW and on SW so many foods are free (as we know) but certain things are restricted either by A and B choices or syns. We can't have it all ways. We don't have to eat mugshots or pasta and sauce, we don't have to eat alpen lights. We can choose to use our B choice as EV olive oil - which to me is a waste, I'd rather have porridge - where's the satisfying value of olive oil? The choice is there.
For those who want these things as part of their diet, without having to use syns, why not do WW or RC or whatever other diet suits?

We can't have it all ways.

 

[Stefanie]

Just because Some of us have queries about the plan doesn't mean we want to defect! I personally love sw, but do think I miss my good fats as It's something I do believe is essential to good health. Using "treat" syns for this just doesn't seem right to me. Either way, it's not going to stop me enjoying sw xx

 

[jaylou]

Quite true - but whoever said syns have to be "treats"? That's what the majority of us think they are for - I tend to use mine for bisucits/choc/hot choc etc but, to be honest, really I should have these things as a treat eg once or twice a week, and focus more on using them for healthy things like nuts, olive oil dressing, avocado etc.
To me, it's not a waste of syns if it's on something you like surely?

 

[-Tally-]

I don't think half the stuff I have as "free" foods are particularly healthy. I have a lot of spuds, a mugshot probably every day. I also eat a lot of quorn and veg too. I don't think I'm too worried about the food I do eat at the moment as long as I'm not putting on weight. I'm having 2-3 meals a day and they're satisfying my hunger whilst being mostly free food or HE's and a few syns for stuff like sauces, gravy or the odd hot chocolate.

I'm not using my syns for treats as I want to get out of the mind set of food being a treat or reward. I'm finding if I don't think of food as a treat or reward and treat myself in other ways then I don't feel like I'm missing out and feel resentful, which, in the past has led to me slowly introducing my "bad" foods back into my diet, which is ultimately the slippery slope back to binging every evening.

 

[Stefanie]

I think sw see it as treats which is why I used that term. I can syn EV olive oil of course, but my point was I feel it's unfair that I have to - if I could have one wish on sw, it's that I can have a tbsp of EV olive oil everyday to break down all this fat lol!! But like you say we can't have it all xx

Q: What are Syns?

A: Syns are Slimming World's effective alternative to calorie or fat counting, designed to make sure you can enjoy your favourite treats every day, from chocolate and cake to ice cream and alcohol. All food that isn't Free has a Syn value - you simply choose how to spend your Syn allowance each day.

 

[-Tally-]

The thing with EV Olive oil being free is that some people would see that as a green light for frying everything in olive oil, where as there are ways to cook using lower fat options but you can have it as a HExB and if you're on Green or Red you get two of those per day.

I love the slimming world plan but I think in most cases it's too idealistic to think that everything should be prepared from scratch and non processed. For example, reading the latest SW magazine...the shopping list for the 7 day plan comes to approx £150 (Could be £120 with some careful budgeting) for one person for one week. Who has that kind of money?!