Welcome to my Slimming World SP Week. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with the SP days on Slimming World and have decided to dedicate five days to it.
At the time of writing this and trying and testing the SP part of Slimming World it was exactly 2 weeks before Easter and I wanted a kick start that would help me lose some weight before I hit the beach.
You see I live in Portugal and it is all about the beach!
Anyway I have been on the Paleo diet in the past and its all about the healthy vegetables and the protein. And that’s what the SP days remind me of.
You see SP is short for Speed Protein when you mix your plate with a mixture of speed foods (select fruit and vegetables) then the other part of your plate is protein.
It gives your body a fantastic boost so that you can feel incredibly healthy and at the same time lose some weight along the way.
If you have not heard of the SP foods list then here it is:
It is basically made up of all the speed foods from your Slimming World book as well as the proteins from there.
Slimming World advises that for a successful SP day (or days like in my case) that you have at least half of your plate with Slimming World free speed foods.
Then as much as you can on your plate with protein rich free foods. As outlined on the graphic above.
Then you would have your usual free foods as and when you want them and of course choose to snack on these speed foods first.
As well as this to have your usual 5-15 Syns per day as well as one healthy extra A and two healthy extra Bs.
Plus the more of the speed foods that you eat, the more weight you will lose….
Table of Contents
Eating What YOU Want When You Want
My issue for my first 2 weeks back on Slimming World is having things because it is suggested, not because I actually like them or want them.
Take the healthy extras, I have no real interest in them, yet here I am having them just because it is included.
This week and beyond I will be going after foods that I truly want and enjoying the balance of protein vs free speed foods until I am happy!
Also if you get hungry between meals make sure you have a big fruit bowl and lots of other go to snacks that are Syn Free and perfect for if you are busy.
After all I am a mum of 3 and finding spare time is harder than you think.
Slimming World SP Week
The next 5 days are going to be dedicated to SP meals. I will eat three times a day and every meal will be about vegetables first, protein second.
I live in Portugal and the Mediterranean diet rules and there is an obsession with vegetables.
Every local I know will have soup at least 2 times a day. As a starter for dinner and as the main deal for lunch.
Lucky for us that vegetables carry such a low price and we can enjoy them whenever we like without having to turn to the frozen variety.
My main principles for the next 5 days will be:
- Speed foods as often as I can
- Protein second but still an important part of the meal
- No Syns
- 10,000 steps
- 3 Litres of water per day
- No processed foods
I am also in training to run my first ever 10km run at the beginning of November. I am already running over 4km each time I have a run and I want to increase on this more and more.
Because of this there will always be an element of building muscle vs actual weight loss. But I am prepared for that!
I also know that processed foods are very bad for my health so I wont be having any this week.
I am a huge fan of the eating clean and love to eat how nature intended us to eat, rather than eating loads of processed foods that is really not good for us.
Day 1
I am saying hello to a brand new week. A new week of Slimming World food and an exciting week to see what it is like having Slimming World SP days.
For breakfast I have an egg salad. It comprises of loads of Slimming World Speed Vegetables along with a hard boiled egg.
Then for lunch I have vegetable soup via the soup maker and to get my protein kick I add a sprinkling of tuna on top.
Then for dinner it is slow cooked Chinese chicken. Loads of vegetables, some chicken breast and then a sauce made up with soy sauce, ginger, 5 spice and a few other of my favourite flavours.
Then for exercise today I do a 30 minute step aerobic workout on You Tube before breakfast and then another one in the evening and just manage by 10,000 steps.
I am feeling really tired at the moment and I must admit it is a struggle to do it.
Day 2
Hello day 2 and yesterday must have been first day without chocolate for a long, long time.
My guess is when I was following a 100% Paleo diet last October, so that really is a while for me. Plus I did over do the sweet stuff on Sunday so a break would do me good.
For breakfast today I have a tuna salad. Loads of salad items to a bit of tuna. Though if my daughter had her way, she would have the tuna and then leave me the peppers.
For lunch it is a delicious homemade vegetable ragu and meatballs. It is heaven and the tomato sauce is made with baked tomatoes and absolutely no oil or cheese.
But it is still very nice indeed.
Then for dinner we have a slow cooked casserole with lots of vegetables, chickpeas and a chicken thigh each. Just like the perfect dieter I gave my skin away…..
For exercise today I manage absolutely nothing….Well no actual planned exercise but housework and looking after 3 kids means that I clock up 10,000 steps without even trying.
Day 3
OMG I have gone 2 full days without chocolate. There has been a miracle!
For breakfast I have broccoli soup. I am so proud of the fact that I have had a nice bowl of broccoli before it has gone off and making use out of old vegetables.
Then an hour later I realise there has been no protein at all.
Then for lunch we have a huge one pot dish of Bolognese. It is loaded up with seasonal vegetables and has absolutely no fat whatsoever. It tastes good and its hard to believe that it is low calorie.
Then for dinner it is another one pot dish. This time a chilli. Again loaded with vegetables and a bit of heat. Perfect for kickstarting the metabolism.
Then for exercise today I start the day with an hour on You Tube doing a step aerobics class aimed at beginners. I then do loads of housework and end up finishing on over 12,000 steps.
Day 4
For breakfast today I have some egg salad. Then head out on a power walk with my baby in the baby carrier, knowing that his weight helps me burn more calories.
He is 6 months old and weighs about 7 kilos. Add this to my weight and it would be like me being obese. We do a 6km walk in lovely Portuguese sunshine and it is great fun.
Then for lunch we have some Moroccan cauliflower rice. It is a case of throwing everything in. It has cauliflower rice, chickpeas, tomatoes, courgette, tuna and loads of Moroccan seasoning.
Then for dinner we have carrot fritters with some cream of broccoli soup. It is delicious and I can’t believe something with such simple ingredients could taste so good.
Day 5
I start the day with a lovely run and walk. I manage 4.4km run with a 800m power walk. It is in the beautiful morning sunshine here in Portugal and it feels so good to run.
Then for breakfast I have some veggie soup. Though note to self – you must remember when you add spinach that it dissolves to nothing and you now have 1/3 of a bowl of soup and will be starving again very soon!
Then for lunch it is a dishful of frittata that is loaded with healthy vegetables and egg for the protein and is completely Syn Free.
Though the hubby is not impressed at all that he is going cheese free and olive oil free.
Then for dinner we have pork and vegetables. A delicious couple of slices of pork steak (called Bifanas here in Portugal) and it is absolutely delicious.
Though come evening I have the munchies and have a banana to keep me going. As its always night time when I get hungry.
I breastfeed my son for about 4 hours on a night and it means that I always feel hungry at midnight.
Talking Numbers
So here I am at the end of week 3 and my Slimming World SP week. I have put my body into over drive getting it even healthier.
I had zero chocolate this week and only a small amount of healthy extras when I felt I needed it.
I had hardly any free food at all aiming for SP foods whenever I could. There was 2-3 bananas to give my body a boost when I was feeling unwell and a couple of potatoes but that was it.
There were no Syns whatsoever and a small amount of healthy extras. Healthy Extras were used via a little bit of cheese for one of my soups, a small amount of yoghurt in cooking and a tiny bit of cereal.
I wake up in the morning with super heavy breastfeeding boobs that look like I have had a huge boob job.
This of course is really no good for getting weighed. And no matter how I try to get my boy to breastfeed more than normal, he is not having any of it.
I end up stood naked on my Wii Fit Board with my fingers crossed just hoping for a weight loss. And there it is….2.3 kilos off…which is 5 pounds.
And this works out at an amazing pound a day. What else could you ask for?
Well without further introduction it is as follows:
- Starting Weight = 13st4/84.5 Kilos
- Last Weeks Weight = 13st2/83.6 Kilos
- Current Weight = 12st11/81.3 Kilos
- Jeans Size = size 16
After this week that means that since I got back into losing weight about 5 weeks ago I have lost about 7 kilos. I need to now do that another 2 times to get back down to my ideal weight.
14 kilos when I say it out loud doesn’t sound a lot, but make it into pounds and 30 pounds does.
My target is to get there for Halloween and then it will be exactly 2 years since I last weighed that amount.
So watch this blog to see how I get on. And of course I will be back with another challenge next week.
Now Take Action
Now it is your turn. Jump onboard and create your own SP day or even week. It is great food and it is amazing the food combinations you can recreate with the huge SP food options.
And check below for the recipes that we featured this week:
5 Slimming World SP Recipes
#1 – Slimming World Chinese Chicken In The Slow Cooker
How about making yourself a delicious Chinese that is free of olive oil or fat free spray? Well this is what you have with this recipe.
It is full to bursting with seasonal vegetables along with some chicken breast. This is my kind of lunch!
#2 – Slimming World Slow Cooked Mediterranean Bake
For something easy in the slow cooker and so flavoursome then try this. Loaded with vegetables, chickpeas and chicken thighs it is a perfect lunch or dinner.
#3 – Slimming World One Pot Bolognese
Now this is just so fun to make. Loads of tomatoes, loads of vegetables, minced beef and some good old seasoning.
It is one of those loaded up dishes when you wont miss the pasta and is perfect for an SP day.
#4 – Slimming World One Pot Chilli
I did this just for a quick dinner and it was delicious. Loaded with beans, tomatoes and vegetables it makes a great dinner treat without actually using any Syns at all.
It also serves four so you could use it over several days of SP or serve it for your family.
#5 – Slimming World Carrot Fritters
How about grating some carrot, adding some breakfast cereal (healthy extras of course) and mixing it together with some egg and seasoning?
Well this is exactly what we have here and it is truly amazing.
Or you can check this link for a whole range of Slimming World Books.
