Unfortunately, unless you are a paid Slimming World member, there is no access to a syn calculator. Some bloggers estimate that 1 syn is approximately 20 calories – however this is wildly inaccurate as it doesn’t take into consideration the makeup of the food item eg fats, sugars and so on. It is however somewhere to start if you really can’t afford to join up as a paid member at the moment.

When you join Slimming World, you are given a booklet (or access to all the online resources) which contains a long list of syn values of some of the most common products that you might find on your grocery shop. The app or website also allows you to look up values of other foods.

My top tip to get around the lack of a Slimming World syn calculator unless you are a paid member is to join, even if just for a week or two, and look up a whole load of your favourite foods and keep a note of them all. If you really can’t afford it, ask around in your social circle, more and more people have a Slimming World membership than you will realise, and you are bound to know someone who can look up the odd value for you! Some workplaces are prioritising health and wellbeing and may be able to subsidise or pay for membership for a fixed period of time.

Should I eat all my Syns?

Yes! Eating all your syns is key to the success of the programme. If you deprive yourself of the items which have the fats etc in it, your body may go into starvation mode and your weight loss may slow down or even stop. You are allowed 15 – 20 syns depending on your starting weight and BMI and it is estimated you eat them every day. You can in theory save them up (for example if you know you are eating out at the weekend) but Slimming World don’t encourage that as it’s believed you are more likely to binge and go over your weekly allowance if you do this.

Plus, depriving yourself of nice treats and good food everyday will make sticking to the plan that bit harder and again, mean you are more likely to binge when you do go off plan – so enjoy your syns!