Where did i go wrong this week?
There are lots of reasons why you might not have lost weight in a particular week. Each of these common reasons is unlikely to ruin your weight loss on their own - but one or two together on a regular basis would.
Using heaped instead of level spoonfuls. Believe it or not, flour is 3½ per 20g level tablespoon - a heaped tablespoon is double!
Not trimming/draining off the fat from meat, or taking the skin off chicken - it adds Syns to what could be completely Free and unlimited food!
Pre-frying vegetables for omelettes, chillies or curries etc. Remember, 1 level tablespoon of fat or oil is 6 Syns!
Yorkshire puddings - 3 Syns per ounce! Most are 2 ounces, and remember to include the fat in the roasting pan - this can bump it up to 8 Syns per pud!
Pasta on an Original day - 5 Syns per ounce before cooking, 1½ Syns per ounce after cooking. Beware! Fresh pasta (as opposed to dry) on a Green day may need to be counted as Syns. Check it out!
"Forgotten" regulars, eg a small glass (142ml) of orange juice for breakfast (2½ Syns). Do you write it down?
Sugar or milk in tea or coffee - it really adds up! Beware, vending machine drinks have Syns and takeaway hot drinks are even higher! Eg a skimmed milk Latte can add up to 8 Syns or more!
Buying your sandwiches? Hidden mayo, coleslaw and cream cheese fillings could add as much as 12 Syns!
Using full cream or semi-skimmed milk? Remember, per pint the Syn values are: full cream = 18½ Syns, semi-skimmed = 13 Syns, skimmed = 9½ Syns, and for a dash of milk in a cuppa: 1½ Syns, 1 Syn or ½ Syn respectively.
Eating out? Check for butter on the vegetables or hiding in sauces. If you don't want to count it, just ask for your meal without.
Guessing weights of Healthy Extras or Syns. (An extra ½oz of bran flakes each morning can add an extra 3 Syns each day!)
Thinking that breakfast cereals like Rice Krispies are Healthy Extras – they don’t have enough fibre to be a Healthy Extra, and they’ll add 5½ Syns per 1oz/28g!
Swapping granary or white bread as a Healthy Extra. Just one thin slice can be 4½ Syns – and if you slice your own, that can increase to a whopping 8-10 Syns!
Guessing your milk allowance. A splash of milk in each cup of tea or coffee – ½ Syns each – and on your breakfast cereal – without measuring - could see you adding an extra 3 or more Syns.
Pubs that don't bother to give you diet drinks when you specifically asked for one. A standard can of coke – as opposed to diet coke – is 7½ Syns!
Like your tipple? Are your home measures really as mean as a pub measure? Or are they more like a double? (That’s 5 Syns instead of 2½!)
Mistaking pureed or canned fruit for Free Food. Just 1 apple pureed into apple sauce counts as 2½ Syns!
Picking up low-fat (as opposed to virtually fat free) yogurts, fromage frais or cottage cheese thinking it’s Free! Double-check first – it might not be!
Products labelled "no added sugar" or "low fat" may have high Syn values - remember to check.
Eating the children's leftovers - "shame to throw it away!"
Licking the lids from the kids yogurt pots/licking the cake bowl or spoon.
Pinching little comfort treats e.g. one of the children's sweets, a bite of your partners Mars bar - they all add up!
Not checking Syns before you eat them (don't mentally reduce that portion so that it conveniently adds up to 10!)
Allow yourself to get hungry so that you grab high Syn snacks whilst preparing your meal