Week Two of the Scan Bran Challenge Day 1

So I'm now into my second week of the Scan Bran Challenge... the idea being to add more fibre and less useless calories into your diet on the Slimming World plan and kick start your metabolism... I had my weigh-in last night and had lost 2lbs... I am very happy with that, would have been better if I had gotten 3lbs off, but 2lbs if definitely better than nothing, or worse - a gain!

I'm sticking with the Challenge this week too, I've enjoyed getting so much from my Healthy Extras... in fact I don't know how I would manage to stay on plan without them!

I love the Good Life veggie sausages (the vegan ones without cheese) but can only ever find the syns online for the cheese filled ones. I'm going to do a little bit of top up shopping (yoghurts, jellies, veggies etc) so I'll buy a box and run them through the syn calculator online. They are delicious, and should be pretty low in syns, so fingers crossed!

Scan Bran Challenge Day 2

Okay, so it's day two... and I've switched from the cardboard-like Scan Bran to the Finn Crisp Original Thins. I was surprised to find out that I could have 6 of these as my HEb as they are very high in fibre! I loved these before I started Slimming World... but I used to eat them with peanut butter and cheese... yummy, but not too good for the waistline! I had a look in my local Tesco's last night for the Laughing Cow Extra Light (6 for a HEa) but I couldn't find it... so I stocked up on the Laughing Cow Light (5 for a HEa).

I had four of the Finn Crisp for my breakfast with three Laughing Cow Light cheese triangles...

Rather than use milk as my HEa, I'm just syning it... 15ml of skimmed milk is only 0.5 syns, and since I've cut down to two cups a day, I think I can spare a syn for milk and save my HEa for some tasty cheese!

Night times are usually my downfall... I get home and I'll be so hungry that I will snack while I wait for my dinner, so last night I made sure that I had some fat free Spelga yoghurts in the fridge (the fruit flavours are all syn free) and I had a strawberry one as soon as I got in... that staved off the hunger until dinner was ready so no snacking! For dinner last night I made slimming world chips, boiled rice and oh so lean curry sauce for over the top... all free on green. I had a chat with a lady from my Slimming World group who said that Extra Easy didn't work for her either... glad to know I'm not the only one who can't lose weight on Extra Easy!

Some things I also stocked up on this week are -

The Slimming World hi-fi light Rocky road bars are delicious! Problem is they just aren't big enough. They are very tasty though and so satisfy the chocolate cravings. They are 3 syns each or you can have 2 bars as 1 HEb

 The Alpen Light Double Chocolate bars are new o the range and absolutely delicious! The are much bigger then the hi-fi bars but still the same syns - 1 bar is 3 syns or you can have two bars for a HEb

 The Pink N' Whites are a new thing to me, but at only 2.5 syns per slider (and they are pretty big) I'll munch them down to kill the sugar cravings! And they are pretty tasty... two of these and a cup of tea and you feel like you've really had some serious naughtiness... but you haven't!

I have always like Spelga yoghurts so I was pretty pleased to see these in the refrigerator aisle! I found the Muller Light's were a bit too watery for my taste, but these Spelga ones are just perfect! All the fruit flavours are free and the vanilla with choc sprinkles is 1 syn for the pot... I wouldn't recommend it though as the chocolate pieces in it have much the same taste as the ones in the Muller Lights vanilla and choc... which I didn't really like... they leave a strange taste in the mouth. I'd rather save my syns for something else

These little sugar free jellies are only 0.5 syns per pot and are a fab snack or after tea treat.

I also stocked up on Galaxy Chocolate fingers - a long finger of galaxy chocolate, only 6.5 syns each. I bought them in Home Bargains in Newtownards beside the Tescos. I couldn't find an image online to show you what they look like. Crunchies are another one of my favourites - they come in at 9.5 syns, but for a whole chocolate bar that is not bad at all. Cadbury flakes are only 6.5 syns too... so I popped some of them in the trolley. I can't not keep chocolate in the house because J loves it, and is always rifling through the cupboards for bars, but if I only buy chocolate that is low in syn then even if I am tempted I can stay within my syns for the day - good idea I thought!

So in an earlier post I was telling you that we were going to go for dinner and see The Host in the cinema on Wednesday night... I had a gain in weigh in before we went so I went off the idea of going out to eat and instead had a Slimming World friendly tea in the house. I have read The Host a couple of times now (the phrase 'dog-eared' is apt since Turf chews the corners of the books as I read them!), but to be honest was a bit worried about seeing the movie as the trailers made it look BAD! But the film was not at all like the trailers, in fact it was brilliant! I would thoroughly recommend it. You don't have to have read the book to enjoy it. 

I'm an avid reader - and I've been very (very, very, very, very, very) slowly (for me) making my way through the  Call the Midwife trilogy - I stopped reading them so I could watch the series, but now I'm back reading the last book - Farewell to the East End. They are excellent. I had a massive collection of books which I recently sent to the charity shop... I now only download books onto my ipad - keeps them all in one place and it's highly portable. Anyone else reading any good books at the minute?

Scan Bran Challenge Day 1

This week I am doing the Scan Bran Challenge... or going to try to! I've just had my first bite of the scan bran (of which you are allowed 5 as your HEb) coated in Laughing Cow Light (of which you are also allowed 5 as your HEa)... I forgot how just how much like cardboard these things taste.

I use small bites and plenty of chewing to get them down...

You get 10 Scan Bran in each pack, and I am glad that I only bought the one to try first... I think I might substitute the Scan Bran for the Finn Crisp Original Thins (6 count as 1 HEb) and if I can get my hands on some Laughing Cow Extra Light (6 count as a HEa) that would be perfect!

I think the idea for the Scan Bran Challenge is to get plenty of fibre into your diet, so swapping the Scan Bran for something equally high in fibre should help the weight-loss just the same.

I had two of the Scan Bran with Laughing Cow Light for my breakfast with a glass of water and a cup of coffee - using milk as syns (15ml of semi skim is 0.5 syns). I am pretty full now so we will see how long that lasts! I have a 0% fat Spelga yoghurt, syn free noodles, 0.5 syn jelly pot and 3 more Scan Bran and Laughing cow Light to get me through til tea time!