I’m Tracey! I am a Slimming World Consultant in Tallaght but most importantly I am a Slimming World member. I have lost five stone following the plan and words cannot convey just how much it has changed my life in every single way. I was a comfort eater, a secret eater and miserably unhappy for all of my teenage life. Since becoming a parent something clicked for me. I want to be around for my son for as long as I can be. I don’t want him to grow up seeing food as the enemy and as a reason to hide his emotions. Slimming World has changed everything for me and I want to help others do the same.

One of the best elements of the Slimming World plan is Free Food. I remember the first time I was introduced to free food I just couldn’t believe just how much you could eat on this plan. I had previously tried so many different weight loss plans and every single one of them involved a lot of adding and subtracting. It was usually the reason that I got fed up and quit after a week or two. It felt like a chore and as though I was being punished. Slimming World had all of this amazing free food and I didn’t have to weigh or measure any of it. It really was the secret to my success.

I often tell my members that free food will set them free and it really couldn’t be a truer sentence. Having a huge variety of free foods to enjoy at any time of the day gives you so much freedom around food. It means that no matter where you are you will have choices. Eating out, visiting a friend and even ordering a takeaway are all completely normal on this plan because free food is always there to be enjoyed and to fill up on.

The best thing about free food is the fact that it really is appetite appropriate. The reality is that everyone has a different appetite and enjoys a different amount of food to feel full and satisfied. Free food is available in unlimited amounts and the idea is to enjoy a variety of free foods until you are full up. I feel like there is so much emotional strength in that element of the plan. Knowing that I can eat until I am full and that I will never have to under-eat or go to bed with a rumbling tummy is a great feeling. It only highlights how unhealthy my previous attempts at weight loss were.

Free foods are foods that are rich in energy but low in calories. When we cook free foods in the right way and just eat until we are full the weight losses speak for themselves. They are incredible. I lost five stone eating spaghetti bolognaise, burgers and chips, chicken curry and tasty stews and casseroles. The best part is that these meals were primarily made with free foods and I always had leftovers for lunches the next day or a freezer portion for another day.

When you are focusing on free foods and food optimising correctly you will never be hungry. Your plate with will packed with delicious satisfying ingredients that have huge filling power as well as tonnes of satiety. Because free foods are low in calories but high in energy density you get all the benefits of the energy and filling power but without the huge amount of calories found in processed foods and convenience foods.

Syns are a brilliant tool on the Slimming World plan because they allow you some wiggle room to enjoy treats, sauces and little “extras” that make this plan liveable long term. But it is important to always turn to free foods when you are hungry rather than syns.

It’s true – free foods really do set you free.