I'm Hooked

I have been busy. Not just a little busy, but crazy busy! It's a good thing though because I have actually had the energy to be busy and I feel really pretty good. Feeling good can make even the worst days much more agreeable. So let's talk.......

Remember that little life style change called Trim Healthy Mama (THM) that I have been going on about? Well.....there is more. A true life style change should consist of more than just weight loss. It should consist of changes throughout your life. THM is proving to do just that. Since I am feeling better, everything else seems to fall into place. Losing the soda (diet or otherwise) from my diet, along with the grains, gluten and sugar have proven to be more beneficial than I knew. My joints, stomach and even migraines are getting better. I don't wake up swollen from excess sugar (that is how sugar reacts in my body) and I no longer crave or even think about Diet Mt. Dew. The weight is leaving my body slowly....and my clothes are fitting better. I am actually not only seeing change in my daily life, but also feeling it. 

Aside from weight loss, THM is improving my organizational skills. I am not an organized girl usually. My kitchen cabinets especially, look like something out of a hoarder show. THM changed that though. You have to have specific items for this to work and they have to be at your fingertips. This got me into a whirlwind of cleaning and organizing. Out went the spices from 1978. Out went the the dried out food coloring and the partially opened boxes of pasta. They were all replaced with mason jars that I can easily mark and see through, and now when I go to make something, I know exactly where everything is.

Now for those of you who want instant gratification and big numbers on the scales each week, THM maybe a little disappointing for you at first. If you are looking for a sprint instead of a marathon....you aren't likely to get that with this plan. There was a time when I would have found this to be a major flaw in the program and I would have abandoned it and never looked back. It is also like I said, not the easiest plan I have ever been on because no one does it for you and you have to really use your brain and wrap your mind around this healthy way of both eating and thinking. In fact there are still days when I have to go to my "go to" person or hit up the Facebook THM pages and ask questions. Again.....in the past, I would never have gotten invested enough to have taken the time. Heck, I have even made my own THM binder of meals and recipes. So why this plan? Easy. Because it works, I like how I feel and most importantly.......I AM NEVER HUNGRY! Never...ever! 

THM is an amazing plan that lets you eat healthy fats and carbs. The recipes are amazing and my entire family loves the meals. They don't even miss the sugar, gluten or grains. Some of their favorites are the smoothies made with........wait for it.....wait for it...........COTTAGE CHEESE! My kids even like my Good Girl Moonshine (GGMS) made with apple cider vinegar. Yep, it sounds strange but these recipes are really good.

I am still learning the THM way and sometimes I get confused on what constitutes and "S" meal vs. an "E" meal, but the fact that you don't have to measure and weigh everything and that you can eat 6 times a day kind of makes up for the confusion. So if you are looking for a life style change, if you have health issues or you need to lose a few pounds, I encourage you to at least think about trying THM. Step one is to buy the book, check the book out or borrow the book. You can purchase either the actual book or the Ebook straight from the THM website. Read it, check out the FB THM pages and go on Pinterest and check out all the yummy recipes. I can pretty well guarantee you that you won't be sorry. I am always here too, to answer any questions that I can or help you find the answers if I don't have them. So check it out and give me some feedback on what you think.

Now......so as not to leave you empty handed, I will share with you one of my favorite drink recipes from THM. If you are a coffee drinker and especially a flavored coffee drinker, you are gonna love this. Forget paying $6-$10 for a pumpkin latte when you can make a Bullet Proof Pumpkin Coffee right at home for a fraction of that.

You will need:
Freshly brewed black coffee (a coffee cup full)
A blender (I use my Nutribullet)
Pumpkin puree (canned is fine and about 1-2 Tbsp)
1 tsp. butter (not margarine.....REAL butter)
1 tsp. coconut oil
caramel extract (about 1/2 tsp)
Truvia sweetener (1-4 packets depending on your personal sweetness level)
Pumpkin pie spice (about 1/4 tsp)
Ground Cloves (about an 1/8 tsp)
Cream (yep....the real stuff 1/4 cup)

Instructions:
Put hot coffee, pumpkin, butter, coconut oil, caramel extract, Truvia and spices in the blender and blend until thoroughly mixed.
In a large coffee cup, pour cream into the bottom and then pour the blended mixture over it. Stir to combine. Top with a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg or ground cloves.

Now that is a cup of coffee.

Bullet Proof Coffee's are an "S" because of the fat in them. You can have them as part of a complete "S" breakfast with eggs and bacon or you can simply have it on it's own say at 6 a.m. and then have your eggs and bacon three hours later.

Instead of adding pumpkin, you can add vanilla or you can add the caramel extract with a dash of salt to make a salted caramel BP Coffee.

BP Coffee's are not only delicious but they are good for your digestion and give you a nice helping of healthy fat. The one drawback to this amazing concoction is....they become addictive and you may want one everyday. It is suggested though, that you limit your BP Coffee to 3 times per week. It is my Sunday morning treat and any other day that I need a pick me up.

So there you have it. A little more about me and THM. I can't help it......I'm hooked!

A Whole New Person Begins

I am doing a great job!!!!

I have found myself of late running in what feels like a hamster wheel. It has been a bit crazy trying to accomplish, deal with and simply make it through a couple of really over-the-top weeks. I have held my own, but barely.

Today it has been four weeks since I began my final journey into taking care of me. I say final because for the first time in my entire life, I feel that I am going to stick with this and actually make the necessary changes. Why is this time so different from the last 5,692? Okay that is possibly a very defined exaggeration, but the reason is......how I feel!

Since I started Trim Healthy Mama (THM) four weeks ago, I can tell real change. The first and foremost change is that I don't crave sweets or diet Mt. Dew anymore. I am four weeks clean from the dreaded dew and I have not missed it once. My Good Girl Moonshine (GGMS) has easily replaced it and become my go-to drink of choice. I also am never hungry. In fact I have literally had to struggle at times to eat every 3 hours as I am simply not always hungry. The idea that you must eat in between meals as opposed to the idea drilled into our heads that we shouldn't is so foreign and yet so freeing that my body I think is confused.

Last week I didn't blog because life was too crazy to take the time. When I stepped on the scales, I had gained 2 lbs. I half way expected it as I was trying a special THM week where I ate three days of Deep S or satisfying meals and two days of Deep E or energizing meals.  The S meals are higher in good fats and the E are higher in carbs. I honestly think my body wasn't ready for this special week and because THM is mostly free styling meaning no measuring portions.....I may have over free styled. At any rate, there was a 2 lb gain. Honestly though, feeling so much better, feeling satisfied and kicking diet Dew completely outweighed any frustration at the gain. Also, in the book it stresses that everyone's body is different and gains or plateaus will come with the losses. The good news is....every three hours you have the opportunity to get back on track. 

Since last week, I have mostly stuck to S meals unless my body decides to crave an E. Then, instead of having an E day, I simply have an E meal. This seems to work better for me and if I eat an E breakfast, then that seems to give me some much needed energy for my current crazy days. It has paid off. I am down again...1.4 lbs. And because of it, I have hit my goal of 1-2 lbs/week. I have lost a total of 4 lbs and I am so happy. Those are 4 lbs I do not plan to ever see again.

By starting THM and basically gushing about it 24/7....that's right, I'm a gusher, I have garnered quite a bit of interest in the plan. I have even gushed a couple of people into buying the book and learning more. The other day, I had a lady ask me to give her the short description of THM. She thought she might want to try it, but she needed more info first and the facebook pages were too confusing without having some background. So here is the description I gave her:

THM is not low fat or no fat, but it is lower carb but not carb free. Good fats and carbs are both essential to weight loss and health.

You eat several types of meals but the ones you start out with and that are the mainstay of the plan are S meals (satisfying) and E meals (energizing).

S meals are higher in good fats such as Coconut oil, Extra virgin olive oil and butter. You eat protein at every meal and you can have great meals such as eggs fried in butter and bacon or sausage.

E meals are higher in good carbs such as sprouted breads and brown rice. When you are eating E's you add more protein and take away fat. My son's girl friend makes an amazing E soup that has brown rice, smoked turkey sausage, rotel tomatoes and three kinds of beans. It is to die for and I am never hungry.

The key to THM is to avoid combining carbs and fat which will feed fat cells in your body. You can have healthy forms of both....just not together.

And the answer to the big question: Do you feel deprived? I do not! I make homemade healthy flavored coffee's that could shut coffee houses down. I have decadent desserts like pumpkin pie, chocolate mousse and chocolate cake. I can even eat homemade chocolate candy and every recipe I make has gotten a thumbs up from my kids.

The no-no's of the plan are unhealthy fats such as vegetable, corn and canola oil. Sugar is also out as well as any sweetener that is not Stevia. Wheat flour is gone and next to bread, the hardest thing I can't eat are potatoes because they are a cheap and versatile staple. They also want you to limit or avoid high natural sugar fruits like grapes, bananas and pineapple although in small quantities they are okay. And finally....corn. Although most of us love a good corn on the cob or creamed corn casserole, corn has a very difficult time being processed in our bodies and has a lot of sugar. It is not good for us no matter how much we like it....so it too must hit the curb.

For every no-no though (except maybe corn), there is a healthy alternative that works and still lets you enjoy the foods you love and trust me when I say, after a week.....you won't miss any of it. Also, knowing that you aren't counting and measuring everything makes for quicker meal prep, teaches you to eye your food and know how much it takes to fill you up (and eating every three hours helps with smaller portions) and it just leaves you feeling much freer at meal time.

So there you have it. A basic tutorial of THM. However, if you want to know the details and have an understanding of why THM works, you need to buy the book. Order it online from THM or get the Ebook and start reading. Then hit the THM fb pages or hit me up with questions. I promise you that you won't be sorry and within a month you will feel like a whole new person.

Now....here is how this whole new person is starting to change!

The Numbers:
Weight:  190.6 (-4)
Height: 5'1"
Chest:  44" (-1)
Waist:  41"
Hips:  43" (-1)
Thighs:  23" (-1)
Calves:  15.5" (-.5)
Upper Arms: 12.5"
Wrists:  6.5"
A total of 4lbs and 3.5" lost! I will call that a win!