Members of Slimming World surely know about Syn and its role in a successful weight loss program. 'Syns' is a short form for synergy - an essential part of Slimming World's Food Optimising theory. In their opinion, the theory is effective in weight loss because of the synergy between the three elements of their plan - Free Foods, Healthy Extras, and Syns.
Food products that don't categorize as Free Foods have a Syn value. 1 Syn value is approximately 20 calories. Giving foods a Syn value means you can enjoy them in a safe quantity.
Syns are, simply put, treats that you usually avoid on a weight-loss diet. They are foods that don't fill you up or contribute to your well-being. On the contrary, they jeopardize your weight-loss efforts. These are largely foods which qualify as 'snacks' and are eaten in larger amounts without any feeling of satisfaction.
If you are following the Slimming World diet plan, you can eat your syn allowance every day as per their recommendations without any guilt.
Most followers of Slimming World have had success with weight loss by sacrificing Syns during the week and combining them to enjoy a weekend of indulgence. So that means you don't have to skip the ice cream party, a beer evening with friends, or a movie with popcorn, soda, and hotdogs. It’s up to you to plan on how to use your allowance.
Here is a short list of foods with high Syns:
| Biscuits (medium) | 212 calories 353 cals/100g |
| Cakes, with frosting (1 peice) | 543 calories 379 cals/100g |
| Doughnuts (medium) | 195 calories 452 cals/100g |
| Crisps (1 serving) | 155 calories 547 cals/100g |
| Dressings (1 tbsp) | 73 calories 457 cals/100g |
| Alcohol. wine (1 glass) | 125 calories 85 cals/100g |
| Preserves (1 tbsp) | 56 calories 278 cals/100g |
| Puddings (1 serving) | 170 calories 120 cals/100g |
| Pizzas (1 slice) | 285 calories 266 cals/100g |
| Instant mashed potatoes (1 cup) | 300 calories 385 cals/100g |
| Tinned pasta shapes in tomato sauce (1 can) | 109 calories 53 cals/100g |
| Hi-Fi Bars (1 serving) | 70 calories 350 cals/100g |
| Curly Wurly (1 bar) | 118 calories 453 cals/100g |
| Sodas (1 can) | 150 calories 51 cals/100g |
You are probably wondering what kind of diet allows you to enjoy unhealthy indulgences. Slimming World doesn't believe in completely restricting these food items. Instead, they can be consumed in limited quantities to fulfill temptations.
The Slimming World diet plan lets you have anything between 5 - 15 Syns per day. Instead of counting the calories in everything you eat, you can count the Syn values, which is much easier. The Syn value of food items is available only to members of the Slimming World.
Here is a list of Syn values of some foods.
Syns are crucial to weight loss, given the fact that highly 'synned' foods are often the reason for weight gain. If you intend to start off with Slimming World's diet plan, it is important to understand how Syn values work and what are the Syn values of different food items.
While fat-free yogurt is categorized as Free Foods, flavored fat-free yogurt is a Syn. You don't have to dismiss little pleasures of life from your diet as long as you have calculated the intake amount.