Healthy Extra A and B: The Complete Guide

When I started Slimming World, I was so focused on learning what was Free and what had Syns that I almost completely ignored Healthy Extras. I figured they were just a minor admin detail. Then my consultant pointed out that I hadn’t been using them properly for two weeks, and suddenly a lot of things made sense about why I was hungrier than I should have been.

Healthy Extras are not optional background noise. They’re a daily requirement, built into the plan because they cover two things that the rest of Food Optimising doesn’t reliably deliver on its own: calcium and fibre. Miss them regularly, and you’re leaving nutritional gaps — and probably struggling more than you need to.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What Is Healthy Extra A?

Your Healthy Extra A — often called HExA — is your daily calcium allowance. You choose one option from the approved list each day, and you eat or drink that measured amount.

The reason it’s structured as a fixed allowance (rather than Free) is that the foods on the list, while brilliant for you, are also calorie-dense enough that they’d add up quickly if you just ate them without thinking. A chunk of cheddar is not the same as a bowlful of cucumber — the calories are concentrated in a much smaller volume.

The Best HExA Choices

Milk options:

• 350ml semi-skimmed milk — this is one of the most popular choices because it goes in your tea and coffee throughout the day without feeling like you’re using a “treat”
• 250ml whole milk — slightly less volume because of the higher fat content
• 500ml skimmed milk — the higher volume makes it feel more generous, but skimmed milk in tea is an acquired taste

Cheese options:

• 30g full-fat cheddar — grated over pasta or a jacket potato, this is surprisingly satisfying for the amount
• 45g reduced-fat cheddar — you get a bit more because the fat content is lower
• 30g Edam or Gouda — milder flavour but the same calcium punch

Plant milks:

• Calcium-fortified unsweetened soya, almond, or oat milk — check the current plan materials for exact amounts, as these have been updated over the years. The key word is calcium-fortified — plain plant milks don’t count because they don’t have the calcium you need.

Soft cheese:

• 30g Philadelphia Extra Light — goes well spread on your HExB toast, which makes it feel like an actual meal rather than two separate allowances

The Most Common HExA Mistake

The single most frequent error I see from newer members: forgetting that milk in hot drinks comes out of your HExA allowance. If you have three cups of tea a day with a decent splash of semi-skimmed in each, that could easily be 150-200ml before you’ve thought about it. Track what goes in the cup.

Some people find it easier to measure their 350ml into a small jug at the start of the day and pour from that. Once the jug is empty, that’s your lot. A bit fussy, but it genuinely helps if you’re the kind of person who pours on autopilot.

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What Is Healthy Extra B?

Your Healthy Extra B — HExB — is your fibre allowance. Again, one choice per day from the approved list, in the stated amount.

The fibre in your HExB keeps your digestion moving, keeps you fuller for longer, and helps stabilise your energy levels. When people tell me they’re hungry in the mornings despite eating plenty the night before, one of my first questions is whether they’re using their HExB at breakfast.

The Best HExB Choices

Cereals:

• 2 Weetabix — the classic. Add your HExA milk and you’ve got a proper breakfast using both allowances in one go. Quick, filling, and cheap.
• 40g porridge oats (dry weight) — brilliant for satiety. Make it with water and use your HExA milk stirred through at the end, or cook it entirely in your milk allowance for a creamier result.
• 2 Alpen Light bars — these are popular because they feel like a snack rather than a meal. The original Alpen Light bars (the standard flavours) are 2 for one HExB. Check the specific flavour though — some limited editions have different values.

Bread:

• 2 x 400g-loaf medium slices of wholemeal bread — the actual amount depends on the density of the loaf. As a practical guide, two medium slices from a standard 400g wholemeal loaf will usually be within the allowance. Weigh the first time to calibrate your eye.
• One large 800g-loaf slice — denser bread means less volume for the same fibre content.

What to watch with bread: the type of bread matters a lot. White bread is not a HExB choice — it lacks the fibre content that earns it the allowance. It’s not a Free Food either, so white bread has Syn values. Wholemeal, granary, or seeded loaves are your options for HExB.

Using Both Allowances Together

The smartest move, especially if you’re trying to stay full all morning, is to use your HExA and HExB together at breakfast:

• Porridge oats made with your HExA milk
• Two Weetabix with your HExA milk poured over
• Two slices of wholemeal toast (HExB) with 30g Philadelphia Extra Light (HExA)

Each of these creates a proper, filling meal that covers both daily allowances in one sitting. Your subsequent meals are then all from the Free Food list, with Syns saved for later.

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Why You Should Never Skip Healthy Extras

I’ve heard people in group say they skip their Healthy Extras because they “don’t feel hungry enough” for them, or because they’re trying to lose faster by eating less. This logic is backwards, and here’s why.

On the hunger front: if you’re not hungry enough for your Healthy Extras, you’re almost certainly undereating elsewhere in the day and will overcorrect later. The plan works because it keeps you satisfied — skipping allowances often leads to picking at things you haven’t accounted for by mid-afternoon.

On the weight loss front: the plan is designed as a complete nutritional package. The calcium and fibre from your Healthy Extras support your metabolism and digestion. People who use their Healthy Extras consistently tend to have steadier, more reliable losses than those who skip them.

On the calcium front specifically: if you’re a woman in your thirties or beyond, your bone health matters. The HExA exists partly to ensure you’re getting adequate calcium on a plan that doesn’t include unlimited dairy. Take it seriously.

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Quick Reference: Using Your Healthy Extras Strategically

A few practical tips from doing this for a while:

Plan your HExA into your hot drinks first. Work out how much milk your tea and coffee habit uses, and decide at the start of the day whether you’re using your allowance that way or saving it for cheese on something later. Don’t leave it to chance.

Use your HExB at breakfast, not later. It works hardest when it anchors your morning. Saving your HExB for a couple of slices of toast at 9pm — while it’s technically fine — doesn’t do the hunger-management job it’s designed to do.

Combine them when possible. As above — Weetabix with milk, toast with a soft cheese spread — this makes both allowances feel like a proper meal rather than two separate admin items.

Check your amounts regularly. Slimming World does update their Healthy Extra quantities from time to time. What was correct in a guide from 2021 may not be the current allowance. Always cross-reference with the current official app or materials when in doubt. The values I’ve listed here reflect the current plan, but do check.

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Healthy Extras are one of those parts of Slimming World that feel like a minor detail at first and turn out to be a cornerstone of whether the plan actually works for you. Use both of them, every day. Not because you’ll be told off if you don’t — but because you’ll feel it in your energy levels, your hunger, and eventually your weekly weigh-in.