If you don't know how the Slimming World diet works, the diet is all about having foods in moderation, and synned foods allow you to eat all your favourite foods (even the naughty ones) within allowance which is up to 15 syns for most people.
But working out the slimming world syn values in food is not always easy, especially if you don't have access to the paid slimming plan and slimming world syns calculator.
So for people who don't have the paid version of the diet plan, you can go off the calculation of 20 calories being equal to one syn, or use our more accurate Slimming World syns calculator on our website here.
In our guide, we have discussed in brief how the SW diet works, how syns work and are calculated as well as our easiest way to work out syn value for food below without a syn calculator.
You might already have an idea of how the SW diet works, but if you are a beginner we will briefly go over the ins and outs of the diet to make sure you know what you are doing before we get into working out syn values.
The slimming world diet is made up of different rules and categories, you are allowed to eat syn foods, healthy extra A, Healthy extra B, speed foods and syn foods on the diet, we will go over each food type below.
As we mentioned above, your syns are your treats and can be eating daily within your syn allowance each day, not just as a weekend treat that stops you from feeling deprived.
Syns are assigned to foods on the SW plan which are higher in calories and less satisfying, so all your foods such as oil and sugar would be higher in syns than other foods. For example, oil is higher in syns per tablespoon than milk as it has fewer nutrients and is more calories dense.
Assigning a certain number of syns to each food type like this allows you to have your favourites foods without ruining your diet with a sweet treat now and then, some people save their syns up for big treat days, but we would recommend only doing this for a meal out now and then, not a weekly routine as this can encourage binge eating.
Now as we mentioned above, if you have the SW plan membership then you will get a book and app which gives you the syn value for each food, but if you don't have this, then not all is lost, you can either look it up on forums or follow online slimming worlds calculators such as the one on our website.
If you want to work out the syn value for food quickly then simply use the 20 calories to one syn rule, this would mean that if a chocolate bar has 150 calories, you would need to track the bar as having 7.5 syns in total.
Some people try to work out the syn value for food component by adding the fat content and carbohydrate content of the food the dividing by 5 to get a value, but this doesn't work great for food such as bananas for example as they are low glycaemic foods so are classed as free on the slimming world diet unless mashed.
Following an online calculator with the 20 calories to one syn rule is the best way to keep track of your syns on the SW plan, as well as keeping a food diary to make sure you are within your allowance.
Why does a banana have a syn value once mashed?
Slimming world has assigned a syn value of 5 syns to mashed banana as they say it is easier to overeat once mashed, this value is designed to make sure you are eating the banana in moderation.
How many syns does sugar have?
Sugar has a syn value of 3 syns per tablespoon.
Are bananas, pasta, rice & potatoes syn free?
Yes, all of these are syn free with a serving of 1/3 speed foods, the banana should not be mashed, however,
How many syns should I have per day?
This will change according to your weight and gender, as men get more syns than women, but for most people, you are allowed 5-15 syns a day in total.
Overall, syn value can be worked out in most food by following the 20 calories to one syn rule, so if a food contains 100 calories, you would need to track it in your food diary as having 5 syns in total.
You can also use an online syn calculator to do this, always ensure you are not going over your daily syn allowance of 15 syn to get the best results in terms of weight loss.
Related Articles
This plan sounds like it's a European plan. Would it still work for someone living in the USA?