Trim Healthy Mama: My One Month Update
So, I took a break from Em’s Notebook. My blog, my rules! Honestly, what happened was a combination of factors. First, I got super overwhelmed with kids’ appointments. We’re talking three per week for like, three weeks in a row. Which screws up the baby’s naps, and makes me all-around burnt-out. I need routine as much as my kids do!
In the midst of all this, I began my Costco monthly shopping trip post, and wouldn’t let myself start a new post until that one was finished. Silly Em!
Finally, I got super back into my Pride & Prejudice-set-in-college novel. I finished the draft a few years ago but just couldn’t bring myself to face the mess that was the second semester. I would tinker and tinker with the beginning and never make it to the second half. I decided I finally needed to just face it, and guys? I’m all in. After all, Elizabeth does need to fall in love with Darcy, right?
Anyway. All that aside, I’m back now. And boy, do I have a good one for you: a review of my first month on Trim Healthy Mama. As silly as it sounds, I’ve literally been waiting…three weeks or so to be able to write this post!
Gimme The TL;DR
So the short version is: it’s going great. THM (as the insiders say, heh) is incredible. I still think Pearl and Serene are completely nuts, but I write that with love. I got really into listening to the Poddy, and I feel like they’re my BFFs now.
But even more exciting is the fact that it works. I started THM a month ago hovering around 148 lbs. I’d kind of been stalled out on weight loss for at least a month or so. The first week, I finally busted that plateau. And then I kept losing. My goal is always to lose a pound a week (thank you Ted Haggard for that strategy) and I’ve steadily been hitting my goal numbers. I should be back down to pre-Liesl and Theda weight in another month. If I can keep up the progress, I’ll hit pre-child weight by the end of November (!)
Why Do You Love It So, Emily?
I’ll tell you why, in bulleted form. Or I guess numbered, because this theme doesn’t support bullets? Whatever.
- It’s not all or nothing. Whole30 has always kind of turned me off for this reason. “You have to do it perfectly, or start over from Day 1!” Melissa Hartwig says. But then, “You’ll never have a perfect Whole30!” Like. What? I feel like a failure before I even start! THM, on the other hand, is more of a meal-by-meal approach. For example, you go to a coffeeshop with your dear sweet husband and decide to have a delicious chocolate croissant and a flat white. And also a mimosa. Uh oh! That’s an XO, and also, sugar isn’t allowed! And eat more protein! And the juice, oh the juice! But you know what? Who cares. You reset the clock for three hours, and make sure your next meal is on plan. Your day isn’t destroyed, and neither is your diet.
- It’s not all or nothing (part 2). Because, on a similar note, if you’ve got family in town and find yourself eating a lot of crossover and not-on-plan meals, NBD. You don’t have to be The Crazy Dieter With Insane Food Needs. You can just…turn on the green light and go for it. (Thanks to Pearl for that analogy.) And know that when life gets back to normal, the red light goes back on.
- It caters to both my crunchy side AND my “Drive Through Sue” habits. On my counter right now is a sourdough culture activating after its latest feed, oolong leaves drying for future use, and both beet kvass and kefir in the process of fermenting. Y’all, I’m in deep. These ladies LOVE crunch — or at least, Serene does. Fermented foods, supplements galore…it’s all there. They even sell CBD in their online store. BUT ALSO. There’s space for thrown-together and on-the-go meals. And when you’re the mom of three kids aged four and under, that happens a lot more often than intended. But you know what’s a great S meal? Panera’s Green Goddess Salad. Tons of dressing and good fat with the avocado, protein with the chicken, and no starchy carbs that would make it a crossover.
- The plan is actually pretty common-sense. If you want to, you can go full-on beef and cheese casserole. But once you start digging deeper, you realize that you really should bulk up your meals with lots of vegetables. Which is generally accepted as a very healthy thing to do, no matter what diet plan you follow. They also advise you to give up refined sugar completely — another thing that all diets tend to have in common — and eat every three hours or so. Heck, I think the last two things are actually what’s been causing me to drop weight steadily. I have a massive sweet tooth, and I could graze all day long if I don’t consciously think about stopping.
- The recipes are sorcery. SORCERY, I say. I’ve been making a ton of recipes both from their cookbooks (primarily Trim Healthy Table) and from what’s available online. I never would have thought to put frozen okra in a smoothie, but you know what? It’s undetectable and delicious. Koach Kanada’s Real Deal Peanut Butter may be even better than actual peanut butter. I’m addicted to eating Pearl’s PPP Porridge for breakfast. And the No-Moo Cheesecake bites from Trim Healthy Table? I can’t even tell you what sort of magic transpires when you whiz together oolong, gelatin, coconut oil, baobab powder, and a few other random supplements. It’s like cheesecake, but without the heavy feeling in your mouth, and completely dairy- and egg-free (both of which I’ve had to drop officially now that Liesl’s allergy panel is back).
So, yes. I’m in love with this stupid lifestyle. I spent a good chunk of change on stuff like sunflower lecithin and psyllium flakes from their online store, and I’m most likely going to buy at least two of the cookbooks…maybe as a reward for another month spent on-plan.
I guess, to sum it up, the reason I love THM so much is because I finally feel like I’ve found a way of eating that’s sustainable for the long haul. I don’t want to go paleo, or keto, and even doing the Jerusalem Diet and having a Fat Day once a week is kinda suck city. But once I reach my goal weight, I feel like I can do THM Lite: still go easy on the sugar, space meals appropriately, and focus on protein intake, but incorporate more crossovers and not-on-plan meals (real pasta, I’m looking at you) as my weight allows.
In the meantime, a fellow THM’er put together a cool 14-week tracking worksheet that I started on Monday, so the end of that feels like a good milestone to give another update on here. I’m sure everyone is waiting with bated breath. I’ll be sure to take before and after photos.
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