Quote Originally Posted by Pretty Boy View Post
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I listen to some of the conversations 2 women in my work have about Slimming World and I'm genuinely a bit shocked at how complicated they both seem to want to make losing weight. Now I know SW can work, certainly in the short term, for a lot of people if you stick to it but some of the stuff is just bizarre. Apparently eating a banana whole is no 'syns' but if you mash it up then it incurs said 'syns'. They have tried to explain that logic to me but even though I understand what they are saying, it's fundamentally nonsense. It's just stupid stuff, I have a bowl of homemade soup and a piece of fruit every lunchtime and they dissect it and pass comment. They will sit with plates piled with a bizarre collection of foods; grapes, pickled onions, boiled eggs, ham, beetroot, slices of apple, mushy peas occasionally make an appearance and God knows what else and apparently that pile of incoherent nonsense is better than soup with 4 or 5 veggies in it and an orange.

The biggest thing I find is all they talk about as food. First thing in the morning it's 'what did you have for breakfast' then 10 minutes later it's 'what have you got for lunch' then it's 'oh I was bad last night, had a Wispa, 12 syns'. No wonder they are always hungry, foods is just an obsession.
I was curious about the mashed banana thing so googled it. I came across this from a Scottish blogger as to why a banana changes "syns" when mashed:

Why Should You Syn Mashed Bananas?
Concentrated Calories: Mashing bananas releases the natural sugars within them, making the fruit more calorie-dense. This concentration of calories can lead to higher energy intake, potentially hindering your weight loss efforts if consumed in excess.

Loss of Fullness: The process of mashing bananas also breaks down their fiber content, which is crucial for promoting feelings of fullness and satisfaction. A mashed banana may not keep you as satiated as a whole one would, making it easier to overeat.

Faster Consumption: It’s much easier to consume mashed bananas quickly compared to eating a whole banana. This can lead to mindless eating and increased calorie intake, as you might not register how much you’ve consumed until it’s too late.

Recipe Implications: Mashed bananas are often used in baking and cooking, but when incorporated into recipes, their Syn value may change. The added ingredients and cooking process can alter the overall Syn value of the dish.
What a load of nonsense.

Concentrated calories - yep, I get the releasing sugars bit BUT what do they think is happening when you chew on a banana? Or are they thinking you are swallowing it whole?

Loss of fullness - again, what do they think chewing does? I get that there might be a loss of fullness due to the next point.

Faster consumption - yep I get that BUT if you eat an unmashed banana, take your time chewing it, etc. you have consumed one banana. If you eat a mashed banana quickly, you have still consumed one banana. Eating it faster might delay the feeling of fullness and you might be inclined to eat another - but the values are for one banana. One banana whole, or one banana mashed is still the same calorie intake.

Recipe implications - the worst of the lot. Mashed banana is more likely to go into a recipe with other ingredients so it has worse syns. Well of course, if you add extra ingredients to something, you will be consuming more but presumably you are "syning" the extra ingredients too so what does it matter? What a load of rubbish!