A little over 2 years ago, at 38 weeks gestation with our 8th child, I sat down and started reading my brand new copy of Trim Healthy Mama. {affiliate link} I started implementing a few things in those last weeks, but once baby arrived, I jumped in full force and lost 75 pounds over the course of the following year. (You can read about much of my journey HERE and HERE.)
However, I had my struggles, and often found myself in a love/hate relationship with THM. I would get stuck in a rut – eating the same foods, fighting cravings, stalling out. Then, early this year, I found myself in the ER with heart issues. The issues were minor, and due mostly to stress, but one thing concerned the doctor, and that was my low potassium level. He asked me if I had lost my weight doing a low carb diet. Because I completely misunderstood the E meals in Trim Healthy Mama, I believed THM to be a low carb diet. I had always had trouble wrapping my brain around the carb count in THM, so I avoided it by eating almost entirely S meals.
After my ER visit, I backed off of THM, watched my weight begin to rise, and found myself pregnant a few weeks later.
All that being said, I have never found an eating plan that balanced my blood sugars as quickly as Trim Healthy Mama. I had never seen weight pour off my body the way it did with Trim Healthy Mama. Despite my lack of complete understanding of the program, I had found success with it, and wondered if it warranted another look.
And then my friend Lynne started THM. I would go to her house and she had all these amazing foods to share, sometimes S, sometimes E. I realized things I thought were “off plan” were fine in E meals/snacks. The organic blue corn chips from Aldi was one of the snacks we had one day. I had stayed far away from them, thinking they were not on plan, but they were!
So, while I have not had the wherewithal to really stick to THM during this pregnancy, I did find myself wanting to go back and reread the book, this time trying to wrap my brain around the entire plan, and not just the parts I understood from my days on the South Beach Diet.
Let me say, refreshing my brain on THM was so worth it! Initially, Trim Healthy Mama can be a bit like drinking from a fire hydrant. I never fully grasped the concept of E meals, so I just ignored them. This is where it would have been good for me to seek out the Facebook group and really take the time to learn, but because I was seeing results with just the S meals initially, I didn’t bother. Serene and Pearl even warn against this on pages 34 and 72! Again, reason why ONE reading of the book is NOT enough!
So, as I read through the book again this past week, I found myself making lots of notes in the margins, finding more pages to flag (see my Trim Healthy Mama book flagging post – new flags included!), and having a lot of “AHA” moments. I am finally getting a grasp on E meals. I also see where my Fuel Pull breakfasts were not the best for me, and I am committed to jumping back in with both feet and a whole lot more knowledge.
I’ve lost the weight once before. I know I can do it again, and this time, get even further along in the journey!
How about you? What aspects of Trim Healthy Mama do you have trouble wrapping your brain around? What are your goals for the upcoming year?
Karin Owens says
I have never read THM. However, I’ve heard quite a bit of talk about it from blogs I follow. I did a little research online and discovered there seem to be as many people in the anti-THM camp as in the for camp. I don’t like what appears to a non-read outsider to be an over emphasis on stevia or very processed stevia products. I also don’t like fad diets, which I can’t yet tell if THM is or not. All that said, I’m curious. I do need to lose some weight. I did lose weight probably twelve years ago on a low carb diet. Then I began to learn about real, traditional foods from Nourishing Traditions. I kept the weight off easily without any diet for years…until the last two years or so. I had gotten lazy about foods and slowly, almost imperceptively, added not good foods back in. I got weighed at the doctor Tuesday and I saw I now need to lose about 30 lbs to be back where I felt and looked my best. Other than telling me to read the book because honestly I’m not sure yet if I want to read it shell out that kind of money to buy it, what can you tell a person who’s curious, but skeptical and not sure if it’s actually long-term healthy? Thanks so much & sorry for the long comment.
Becky says
Karin ~ Like you, I’m newly checking this out after hearing much about it for awhile. I found the book at the library and have been reading it for free that way. I decided to read it with an open mind and much prayer that the Lord would show me His way for my health and that of my family. There is certainly a ‘learning curve’ in thinking about nutrition and (at this point in my reading) the biggest thing I’m learning is how to combine foods that my body can actually use them and not just store the extra as fat.
Amy ~ thanks for posting this today! I just remembered this morning that you had posts about THM and was planning to come find them when your post showed up in my inbox! Continuing to pray for your family settling in and preparations for your newest blessing! {hugs}
Amy says
Karin,
First of all, I do sort of snicker at the “not a fad diet” on the cover. I consider anything that isn’t “eat what you want” to be a fad diet. That said, the program is more what you would find as a low-glycemic diet…which is exactly what I need. I think a lot of people do get trapped in the over use of stevia – just like any sweetener. We Americans like our sweets! But, we can get stuck eating too many date/banana sweetened foods just as easily. I do like a whole foods approach, but it never gets my blood sugars back in order quick enough – probably because there are still a lot of sugars to deal with from the whole grains and things like honey. For me, THM was an answer. THE answer for everyone – I would not go that far. My husband lost his weight using just My Fitness Pal. For him, THAT was the answer. The goal is to treat your body as a temple as unto the Lord, and for me thus far, THM has made the most sense as something I can handle long term. All this to say, do what YOU need to do to get healthy. If you aren’t wanting to spend the money on the book, see if the library has it, but don’t feel guilty for NOT trying it! 🙂
Celina says
Thank you! Great article…I have a hard time with E meals also…I started THM almost 2 years ago and lost 30 lbs and just had/finished my first THM pregnancy(baby girl 3 mos old now). What an amazing pregnancy it was! I am so glad it is working for you again and that you understand it more. I have wanted to read it again and you have just encouraged me to actually do it 🙂 Blessing to you and on your upcoming lil one!
shannon fox says
I’ve been doing THM for almost 2 years and E meals gave me fits for a long time, too! But this past year, I’ve come to love – crave! – them. Our bodies definitely need those mid-level carbs to be healthy, energetic, and balanced. I am an Admin on the Beginner THM group and did a series of E meal posts last month, to help the ladies overcome the “fear of the E” 🙂 If you are a member on the Beginner THM FB group, you can find these posts by searching for the word “Installment” – there are 10 posts all about Es! Hope this helps you or one of your other readers. Blessings, Amy!
Amy says
Perfect, Shannon! Thank you for sharing!
Holly A says
I need to reread again as well. I have a very similar story as far as success/frustrations go. Guess I need to pull out the book. And get some those chips from Aldi! Thanks for sharing.
Rebecca says
Does your friend have a blog or a menu plan or anything for E only recipes/ideas? I have very few E ideas for snacks. I have a few for lunch and breakfast but I hate doing E suppers….I feel so hungry so fast! Thanks for any help and Merry Christmas!
Amy says
Here is her THM Pinterest board. Every time I ask her for a recipe, she says its on there! http://www.pinterest.com/boland9/thm/
Magan says
So are you doing THM now after Baby Aspen? I just ordered my book today and am excited!!!!!
Amy says
I use parts and pieces of it. I’ve been a little slower getting back into the swing of things since Aspen’s birth. 🙂
Magan says
I can relate!!! We had baby #5 at the end of November and she is exactly a year and 4 days younger than her “big” brother. So needless to say I just now feel like I’m getting back into the swing of things from those two back to back babies. 🙂 I