A couple of years ago I was looking for healthy eating plans for my family, and also looking for a good way to lose some weight due to having four babies and dealing with seemingly endless depression and anxiety. I saw a friend post some outstanding results she had found by following the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan but what really caught me was that she used the word “healing” when talking about her results. She talked about “healing” her relationship and emotional dependency on food.
This is when I became very curious and started researching Trim Healthy Mama. I quickly became intrigued and then as I implemented the principles into our lives, I quickly began to be obsessed. One of the reasons I love Trim Healthy Mama is that it truly is a lifestyle change. It’s a way of eating that is not a fad diet. You don’t have to cut out copious amounts of food or food groups. You may need to do some shifting on how or when you eat these foods, but most things can stay.
It’s also a healthy plan for the whole family to be on. It’s so easy to tailor a meal to help some members lose weight, help others who need to gain weight, and to ensure children get proper nutrition. And truthfully, when you start eating this way, you just feel good. You feel like you have food freedom, and you feel grateful to be armed with the tools to nourish your body and your family properly.
This is not a direct sales company. There is no sales pitch. You buy yourselves a couple of cookbooks, you study the plan a little, join a Facebook group and ask a lot of questions, go grocery shopping and stock your shelves with good food. That is it. There may be a learning curve, but it is very much worth it and soon it will become second nature and you will wonder why it ever seemed overwhelming at first.
Also just another note, I know the plan is called Trim Healthy Mama, but plenty of men participate and love it as well. At first, my husband was skeptical but as I started making the food and seeing results- he got on board too. At first, I would cook and he would say over and over: Are you sure this is a diet? It’s just too good!
Table of contents
Trim Healthy Mama Overview
So how does Trim Healthy Mama work? This is not a low carb plan. The beauty is you can have delicious good for you grains, sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, beans, brown rice, etc. and you can have all the fatty steaks, cheeses, avocados, and olives that you want. You just don’t combine them together.
Your body burns healthy carbs as fuel and your body burns fat as fuel. If you combine two different types of fuel then your body will burn one and store the other. So you are going to separate these different types of fuels into what are known as an “S” (satisfying or fat) meal or “E” (energizing or healthy carb) meals. It’s up to you how often you eat “S” meals or “E” meals but you need to allow your body three hours in between fuels to ensure you aren’t double fueling. When you combine the fuels it’s known as an “XO” (crossover) meal.
My children should not be losing weight so I often modify meals to make them XO for the kids by cooking up an S meal and adding some brown rice for them. Fuel pull “FP” just means there aren’t a significant amount of carbs or fats in the meal to go either way so it just becomes neutral. These are often lean meat and veggie meals. There is no rhyme or reasonor schedule of when you eat an “E” “S” or “FP” meal. That is completely up to you. It’s best to switch it up and keep your metabolism guessing, as it will gear it up into overdrive.
We tend to eat more “S” meals in our home because they are more… well satisfying and keep us full longer. But we love a good bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and an occasional sandwich and apples for lunch. My children’s favorite “E” meal is chili with a big scoop of non-fat cottage cheese in it. You also want to make sure every meal is anchored in a healthy form of protein.
Why not just eat all low carb?
There are many reasons why a low carb diet is proven to show weight loss. But being on a low-carb diet for an extended period of time is actually not all that great for your adrenals and can cause adrenal fatigue. Our bodies need healthy carbs on Trim Healthy Mama we like sprouted wheat bread, real sourdough bread, brown rice, and oatmeal. They provide energy but they also provide nutrients. The best news is you can still get all the weight loss benefits as long as you don’t eat them with fats.
Personally, while I know many people have found amazing results doing Atkins and Keto, I have a really hard time getting behind a diet plan where an apple is a never.
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
I highly suggest that anyone who is interested in getting started with this lifestyle plan invests in the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook, well cookbooks. Both cookbooks will become your lifeblood and you will love skimming through the beautiful books, bookmarking favorites, admiring the glossy pictures and making notes of new recipes to try. I do highly suggest you purchase both Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook and Trim Healthy Table. There are great keystone recipes in both, but Trim Healthy Table has a more in-depth overview of the plan.
We have found so many recipes from these books that have become staples in our home. My kids ask and beg for these recipes more than they ever did for corndogs or macaroni and cheese.
Almost every recipe that you already love can also be altered into a THM version. You can find many THM friendly versions on Pinterest. Even though this definitely is not the KETO diet, when searching on Pinterest any KETO recipe will work for an S meal.
For a limited time, you can also purchase the Trim Healthy Mama Plan book. This was the first book ever published by the sisters who master crafted the plan. Truthfully it’s a little daunting but I found it oh so worth it when I was just starting out.
The information I give in this article is brief and contains a basic overview of Trim Healthy Mama, but to really dive in- it’s best to learn as much as you can. The book talks about what foods you can eat, and what foods you should avoid and when. There are also some optional special ingredient foods that can help boost weight loss that may be confusing if you don’t read up on why.
Like I mentioned earlier, the THM eating plan is summed up perfectly in the Trim Healthy Table book. I’m glad I own a copy, but if you don’t feel like buying it check out your local library. They may have a copy on hand.
Want to try out a recipe and see if you can win over your family? Try out the cheeseburger pie from The Trim Healthy Mama cookbook. You will quickly see how delicious and doable this eating plan is. Many a husband was convinced with that one (it won me over too!).
Trim Healthy Mama, Foods to Avoid
Nobody wants to be told they have to avoid foods. But not many diets that I know of just let you go hog wild and eat all that you want. For the most part, THM does with a few exceptions. For example, potatoes (except for sweet potatoes) are a no-no for the weight-loss stage but are a welcome addition to the maintenance stage and for healthy cross overs. So while you may be saying adios to those for a while it’s not a good-bye forever.
Most normal breads, crackers, pretzels, chips, candy, sugar, vegetable oil, artificially sweetened foods/drinks(yes even diet soda- it’s ok I cried too and it was the last one for me to let go of) are going to be out of your life. Not many other diets or healthy eating plans I know let these hang around anyways.
Instead, you will say hello to coconut oil, heavy whipping cream, stevia, brown rice, greek yogurt (love me some Oikos Triple Zero), 85% dark chocolate, coconut flour, almond flour, cauliflower, okra, sprouted wheat bread, sourdough bread, WASA crackers, Light Laughing Cow Cheese (LCC), and many other things that you will learn to spot quickly on the shelves.
Almost all of these can be found at your normal grocery store. A few special ingredients you may need to order online like THM baking blend (coconut flour, almond flour, oat flour), baobab powder, integral collagen, Zevia, Pyure, Swerve, and Lily’s brand foods.
How Long Did it Take to Lose Weight on THM
I noticed results within the first month. It’s not unheard of for people to lose 10-20 pounds a month, especially their first month. During this time people’s bodies are rearing up at the amazing food changes they are making. You will want to search the THM Facebook group or Trim Healthy Mama on Instagram as they have often shared people’s amazing transformations. My favorite is not so much the outer transformations (although they are usually mind-blowing) but the inner transformation. The healing of heart, mind, body, and spirit that can happen when you find inner-peace and self-love is intangible and priceless.
For those that lose weight slower, called “turtle losers”, there are ways for you to troubleshoot your weight loss and get a kickstart back to losing weight. You can quickly turn your body into a fat-burning machine. Again this is why you may want to consider joining the Facebook group. I do not run or have any affiliation with this group- or the Trim Healthy Mama beginner’s group, I just found it very helpful. They have proven helpful to get your inevitable questions answered.
THM What I Eat in a Day
Starting out t’s helpful to see what a typical day’s meals may be like for someone eating THM style, so here is a short Trim Healthy Mama meal plan with ideas for both types of fuels that I cook on the daily.
Breakfast:
“E” meal consisting of Oatmeal made with almond milk, a packet of stevia, and a heaping spoonful of cocoa powder. Once cooked and mixed I enjoy it with a spoonful of Oikos triple zero vanilla yogurt on top.
or
“S” meal consisting of eggs with bacon or avocados and a cup of herbal tea.
Lunch:
“E” meal consisting of two pieces of sprouted wheat bread, light laughing cow cheese, lean turkey deli meat, half a can of Light Progresso Soup, and half an apple cut up.
or
“S” meal taco salad using low carb taco seasoning, cooked ground beef, mixed lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese and a big scoop of guacamole.
Dinner:
“E” meal of chili made with lean ground turkey and topped with a big scoop of nonfat cottage cheese.
or
“S” meal with chicken fajitas using mission low carb tortillas topped with full-fat sour cream, cheese, and guacamole.
Trim Healthy Mama Quickstart
Remember these terms:
NSI – when looking at THM recipes this means no special ingredients needed.
E – Energizing meal, these are your carb meals
S – Satisfying meal, these are your delicious and healthy fat meals
FP – Fuel Pull – Does not have enough carbs to be an E meal or enough fats to be an S meal
LCC– light laughing cow cheese. This is very helpful for E meals to make sure you don’t use too much fat to make it a crossover. Think wraps and sandwiches.
DF– dairy free
Heavy S– Satisfying meals that use lots of fatty dairy like cream, mayonnaise, cheeses. These are often delicious but shouldn’t be used as a crutch.
XO– this is when you combine the two fuels for a healthy crossover meal. These are usually for men, children and when you reach goal weight.
Some of my favorite THM tools, treats, and ingredients:
Lily’s chocolate chips
My favorite on-plan chocolate chips. I love to add them to yogurt, low carb pancakes or just eat a handful with a couple of almonds. When I don’t feel like shelling out for them, I buy 85% dark chocolate from Aldis.
Swerve and Pyure
After trying many sugar replacements using stevia and others- these two are my favorite brands. They are also affordable and fairly easy to find.
THM Baking Blend
It’s easy to make your owns by adding equal parts coconut flour, almond flour, and golden flax meal. For those who don’t want to mess around with it, there is THM Baking Blend. I love using it because I know it’s very high quality.
Vegetable spiralizer
It’s super easy to make zucchini noodles with this in minutes. Save yourself tons of money from buying the frozen ones.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this THM Quick Start Guide. I wish you luck on your Trim Healthy Mama journey!
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