The one thing I struggled with when I was on Slimming World was going out and socialising. I’ve always been a social person, I’m usually out more than I’m at home! But when I was on Slimming World I didn’t really go out much, the pressure of eating out and getting on the scales was too much for me. I had a goal and wanted to reach it.
I don’t think this was the most sensible way to loose weight, you still need to live your life. The main thing is surrounding yourself with people who want to support you. Don’t get me wrong I still struggle now with going out so much and trying to find time to be healthy and not go overboard, it’s a constant balancing act.
Before Slimming World I used to eat out a ridiculous amount! I would most likely eat at home twice a week if that! When I was on Slimming World I went completely cold turkey, I went out occasionally but I would usually use my syns on alcohol rather than eating out.
Nowadays eating out is a lot easier than it used to be. I’ve put together some recommendations of where you should try if you’re trying to stick on plan…
Nandos
If you’re on Slimming World you’ve probably eaten out here more times than you can count. It’s great though and easy! You do have to watch out for the salads because they’re not as good as you might think. My Nandos meal would be: Half chicken with skin off (2.5), spicy rice (2.5) and corn on cob (free), I worked this roughly out as 5 syns. I would highly recommend making your own Nandos like I do. I buy the medium nandos spice mix which is 2 syns for half the pack, I make my own chips which is free, then use a brown pitta as hexb. If I fancy it I make perinaise sauce which would be extra light mayo (1.5 syns for 2 tablespoons and add in a table spoon of nandos sauce (1 syn).
Italian
Prezzo is a great choice for Italian as they have a healthy section on their menu which is below 500 calories. I know that Pizza Express also have the same but I’ve not eaten there recently. Most restaurants nowadays are putting the low cal options on their menu’s which is great! I have the king prawn pasta with a tomato sauce, I would work this roughly out as 3 syns for the oil, but I could be wrong, either way it’s low syn. Going with a pasta dish is usually your best bet, spaghetti bolognese and meatballs would be a good choice just make sure you syn for the beef as it’s likely not to be less than 5% fat. Stay away from the cheesy and bread based choices.
Wetherspoons
This is one of my favs as it’s so easy and there’s a lot of choice. I would recommend:
- Salmon salad – this is amazing and syn free if you don’t use the dressing
- Chicken skewers with salad – again don’t use the dressing and it’s syn free
- Jacket pot with beans no butter – syn free
- Jackie pot with 5 bean chilli – 5 syns
Salmon salad at Wetherspoons
Kebab
I know this sounds a strange one to mention but it is low syn if you get the right thing, I always have large chicken shish with lots of salad, I use the pitta as a hexb as our local place give you a wholemeal pitta but you could syn the pitta if needed (6 syns).
Thai
I really love Thai food, plus it’s a lot better than Chinese, but I’m not a fan of Chinese anyway so I don’t feel I’m missing out. I don’t know the specific syns for Thai but I would say the options below are low syns:
- Beef with oyster sauce
- Chicken and cashew
- Chicken satay (I don’t have the sauce)
- Prawn and broccoli
- Steamed jasmine rice
- Brown rice
These are the main places I will go if I need to stick to plan, I stay away from pizza and burger places as it’s too much of a temptation. I’ve been for a curry before and had Tandoori chicken which came on a sizzling plate which had no sauce, I ordered lentils instead of rice and thought it was the tastiest dinner I’ve had! You could always go for plain rice instead.
Let me know what things you eat when you go out to stick on plan!
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Curly Locks 