Donut Girl and Some Tips for Success in THM

Happy Sunday everyone! Yes...another blog. I didn't really plan another blog on Celery Girl, but I had a comment this morning that kinda made me want to.

First of all, today it has been one week since the Spring Fling Challenge started. I was faithful all week and stayed within plan. It paid off. I will not say how it paid off and I will not be posting any kind of numbers until June 30th at the end of the challenge. I will just say....it paid off. 

This brings me to the comment I received this morning on yesterday's blog. I am going to share it here:

Donut Girl May 22,2016 at 11:05 AM

"I loved this blog but I am so frustrated. I am trying to work my way through THM and I am try to eat like others in the different groups but they are losing a lot of weight and I don't seem to be doing anything. I want to cry. No one any to go eat donuts. Can you help me please? Tell me what I'm doing wrong and tell me how to fix it."

Let me first say Donut Girl....I feel your pain and I have been in your shoes. I think honestly, most of us can say this. Also, I am not an expert in anything except myself and my own body. That being said though, I do have a bit of experience with diets, dieting, losing and failing tremendously. I know the frustration, the anger and the ultimate disappointment of feeling as if once again I failed. I also know how it feels to look in the mirror and not like what I see and not like how I feel. Plain and simple.....IT SUCKS! 

This is why I am writing today's blog. No....I won't be boring you daily with this blog, mostly because I have two other blogs in which to bore people with. Today though, I want to reach out again, to those who feel as if they are the hamster in the wheel, doing all the work but getting no where.

To begin with, changing your life through food is much different than dieting. Trim Healthy Mama (THM) is truly a life change and up until now, most of us have been on diets. What's the difference? EVERYTHING.....from the way we think to the way we eat and how our bodies feel. With diets we have to measure, count calories or if it is done for us, then we have to eat small portions of food that we really have no idea what chemicals are in them or how they will affect our bodies. Diets can also leave our bodies missing nutrients and causing our hormones to get out of whack. This leaves us unsatisfied, in a bad mood and often times feeling worse than before we started. Mentally....the word "diet" is unpleasant and most usually, sets us up to fail, before we even get started.

Serene and Pearl went out of their way in making THM, to ensure we wouldn't have to deal with any of the "diet" unpleasantness. They have designed this plan so that while taking weight off, we learn to eat properly and fuel our bodies properly. The trade off is, we do our own cooking and we learn about the foods we put into our body and how our bodies work with those foods. There are none of the highs and lows of blood sugar issues, hormones going crazy or our bodies becoming malnourished because we aren't eating the right combinations of good fats and carbs. There are no extremes and done properly, there are no mid-day crashes, no middle of the night munchies and no feelings of anger from being hungry and not being able to eat.

This is however, a full body experience which means mind as well as body. In essence, the first step to success is not to let your negative brain override your positive new plan. The brain is powerful. It can tell us we are hungry when we really aren't and it can cause us to trip up and fail just because it is telling us we are on just another diet. Fortunately.....after about a week of realizing that your body is fully fed, not missing out on good treats like chocolate and desserts and that your hormones aren't running a muck, your brain starts to settle down and get with the program.

Now here are some tips to making THM a permanent lifestyle change and how not to derail yourself.

1) Get both of the THM books. The first one Trim Healthy Mama Plan is a little more challenging to understand right off the bat, but as you progress, you will find yourself coming back to it more and more. The second book Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook is the recipe book and it is my cooking bible. It is full of recipes and information to help make the plan easy to jump into. Both can be purchased from the THM website.

2) Get on FB and look up THM pages. There are many THM pages and I suggest you join several. You will find out that you are not alone in this journey and there are many who will help you and cheer you on. Eventually you will find the groups you are most comfortable with and that will become your THM home.

3) Ask questions. If you don't know by now.....no one started out on this journey having all the answers. It is always about asking questions and learning. No question is stupid if it helps you to better understand the plan.

4) Don't compare your journey to others. I see this every day on the THM pages. Mary followed Sally's menu for the week and she lost 8 lbs. Susie also followed Sally's menu for the week and she only lost 2 lbs and poor Amy followed it too and she gained 2 lbs. It's enough to make a person eat an off plan donut....or six.

5) DON'T weigh yourself everyday. Our bodies, especially if you are a woman, can fluctuate from morning to night. We retain water, sometimes we have to poop and during our time of the month.....fuggitaboutit. A good rule of thumb is to not weigh more than once a week. Weigh the same time of day, (usually first thing in the morning after you have gone to the bathroom). Try also to weigh in the same clothes each time. Also....don't judge your success by the number on the scale. As you get more active and work out, you will begin to build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat and sometimes you will see a bit of an increase in numbers because of this. Also, with THM, the non scale victories (NSV) are every bit as important as the numbers on the scale. Maybe the scales didn't move this week, but you can now wear a smaller size, someone at work noticed that you are losing weight or your child notices that your lap is now bigger and they have more room to sit. What the scale says is only a small part of changing your lifestyle, so don't drive yourself crazy by weighing everyday. All you will do is get frustrated and derail yourself. Once a week and no more!

6) Each of us is different and we are going to lose weight differently, even if we follow the exact same menu. If you are bigger and start off weighing more, then chances are in the beginning you will lose weight faster. After a few weeks though, the quick weight loss will stall out and then you have to mix up your menus with S's and E's and FP's thrown in along the way. Exercise may also need to be amped up when you stall out and believe it or not.....sometimes a cheat day is necessary just to shake your body up and throw it out of stall mode. Yes, cheat days have their place, but only as a last resort.

7) Water. I know that with Good Girl Moonshine and Sippers that there is no issue of thirst going on in the plan, but water is still crucial. It is proven that those who manage to drink 48-62 ounces of water per day when trying to lose weight, have much better results. Now I just hear some of you out there saying....."But I can't stand water." I know that for some it is an acquired taste but it is necessary and trust me, you can learn to not only like water, but after a time, you will actually prefer it to other things. At any rate....it is key in weight loss so I encourage you to develop a long and lasting relationship with it.

8) Pinterest. It's not just for decorating your home and yard anymore. There are many THM recipes on Pinterest and most are labeled as S or E or FP. There are a lot of creative people out there who make it their mission to make every recipe a THM recipe and then to share it. Take advantage of their generosity and let them help you make weekly menus. Also....there are some amazing blogs that you can find through Pinterest and through the THM fb pages that will help to encourage you and keep you on the THM track.

9) Weekly menus. For some these are crucial to maintaining the plan. Some people are much more apt to stay on plan if it is mapped out for them in advance. Planning ahead and knowing what you will be preparing and having all your ingredients on hand ahead of time, is a great help for many and the key to success. It takes the guess work out of life and also takes last minute indecisiveness out of the picture.

10) I keep a journal. It is not a typical dieters food journal. It is more or less the recipes I use, where I found them and how we liked them. I also have notes about how I tweaked them to my families liking. This way I have a list of go-to recipes when I am planning my week out. I also keep track of my exercise and my water intake. This way if I have a week where I don't lose or I feel like I didn't do my best, I can look back and see what changes I need to make.

11) Finally, find some THMers close to you. Maybe you live in the same town and you can workout together. Maybe you can form a group and get together monthly and share recipes and talk about your ups and downs. If no one is close to you, then find yourself a fellow THMer online and keep in touch with them. Use each other to ask questions, throw out ideas and share the the highs and lows of changing your life. Don't feel alone and don't think you are the only one who deals with the lows. At the same time....share those highs. Each positive change in your life is going to bring you that much closer to a healthier you.

So yeah, a blog two days in a row. Mind blowing...right? Donut Girl....I hope this blog helped and I hope you realize that you can do this. I have faith in you! Really though, I'm not saying anything that most of you don't already know. I'm just putting it altogether as a reminder. Each and every one of us has the ability to achieve our goals whether they be health, fitness or weight loss. Some days are easier than others, but by making a few changes and following some basic rules....we've all got this.

Please feel free to comment. I look forward to hearing your stories, comments and questions. And as always....thank you for reading the Celery Girl blog.

My THM Story So Far........

So since I have been blogging here and there about Trim Healthy Mama (THM) and started a "local" THM for Us 2015 facebook page, I have gotten some questions. They are mostly the same questions that I asked as I started this journey. So for your reading pleasure on this wonderful Saturday, I thought I would answer some of those questions while telling you a little bit about what I have learned about myself, THM and my body...so far!

I am 50ish. Since I have been in my teens, I have probably lost and gained 500 lbs. No....I have never weighed 500 lbs BUT, the amounts of weight that I have lost and then regained and lost again over the years, would probably easily hit that number.

Truthfully, I have tried every "diet" out there and I have even tried some more dangerous avenues to weight loss such as diet pills (you know...the ones that actually killed people before the FDA stepped in). In my efforts of trying to make my young 115 lb body into perfection, I developed an eating disorder and for years was extremely unhealthy.

Now, I know my story is similar to many peoples. When I was growing up in the 70's and 80's, curves were not "respected" as they are today. If your bones didn't protrude from your skin and you weren't rocking a size 0, then you were considered FAT! I was 5'1", I weighed between 110 and 115 lbs and I wore a size 7. Looking back, I was small.....very small, but society told me a different story. Society told me that I was overweight and I felt ashamed. Keep in mind too, that back then, even the medical community was more concerned about "how" you looked and what the scale said, than how healthy you actually were.

After I started having children, I would never quite get all the baby weight off before I had another one. By the time my youngest was born when I was only 27 weeks pregnant and yet bigger than I had been with my other pregnancies, I knew there was a problem. It was at this time that I began to stress eat. My son was in the NICU for 5 months and diagnosed with a myriad of health issues. My husband died unexpectedly just months after my son came home from the hospital and within months of that, my mother died from cancer. Food was about the only thing that I could control and that made me feel temporarily better and over the years my weight continued to climb.

As the weight packed on, I tried Adkins, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, just to name a few. They all worked temporarily, until my mind rebelled against the word "diet" and my finances rebelled against expensive meal plans and weekly dues that I had to pay. I would lose, 15-20 lbs and then gain it all back and more because I was learning nothing about myself or the food that I was putting into my body. I expected these plans to do all the work for me while I ate my way back to 110 lbs. I had no concept of how food, calories, fats, sugar or carbohydrates worked in my body and more over.....I had no real idea of why I stress ate. It was a losing battle and the biggest loser was starting to become my health.

Since my youngest is special needs and will likely need me for most....if not all of his life, I feared that the cancer that runs rampant in my family would one day attack me and take me away from him. I was also terrified of all the auto-immune diseases that my family seems to be overrun with. I had already developed Hashimotos Diease which is a thyroid disease and I had nightmares about Lupus, rheynods and RA taking over my life. I had all this fear and felt totally out of control and had no idea that I could take control.

Along with all of this and the stress of having a special needs son whose condition could go from fine to devastating in the blink of an eye, I felt physically bad most of the time. My body ached, I had constant migraines and I was developing horrible stomach issues. I felt as if my body was falling apart and all this made me want to do was EAT more!

Then....a friend started talking to me about this eating plan she had heard about and was trying. She knew me well and knew that I was a stubborn creature, so she gradually introduced the fact that she was trying it and how it was going for her....into our conversations. Ever so often I would hear words like "Good Girl Moonshine", "Sipper" and "Bread in a Mug" come into play as we were talking. Then one time she came to visit and her travel bag was loaded with apple cider vinegar, flavoring extracts and stevia. I would have thought her crazy except for the fact that this woman, whom I had never thought was overweight, suddenly looked amazing and about 20 years younger. That is when she sat me down and talked about THM. I listened, but my negativity got in the way and I heard, "THM, blah blah blah, apple cider vinegar, blah blah blah, lifestyle change, blah blah blah.....lost 60 pounds." Now honestly, while the rest did not resonate much with me, the lost 60 pounds, kinda did.

Still I did nothing, until one day I looked in the mirror and literally hated what I saw. It was a reflection of how I felt on the inside and my insides felt like crap. So that very day, I downloaded the THM ebook online. I began to read it. By that evening, I had a headache as I ate a piece of cheesecake and tried to decipher what Serene and Pearl (the original THM's and the writers of the book), were trying to tell me.

It was as if everything I had ever been taught about food and eating were being crumpled up and thrown in the trash. They were telling me that butter was good for me. Fats were good for me and not all fruits and veggies were good for your body. They said that eggs were good and meats were good and that "diet" foods and chemically altered "low fat" foods were.....dare I say.....evil....or at the very least, working against weight loss and my body. I was trying to unlearn everything I had learned over the course of a lifetime about food and it was confusing and frustrating. My mind immediately said, "NO! This is too hard." So I bought a bag of gummy bears and drowned my sorrows in a 2 liter of Diet Mt. Dew.

Finally, I called my friend and told her that I simply didn't understand the plan and I was throwing in the towel. She suggested instead of giving up, just to slowly start working some THM into my diet here and there. She told me to start with GGMS (Good Girl Moonshine) as she knew I drank entirely too much diet soda. She also suggested that I just try a THM recipe here and there and see if I liked it. So begrudgingly....I tried.

I began by finding a GGMS recipe on Pinterest that had many of the healthy components of Diet Mt. Dew. I played with the flavorings and tweaked them until I found something very comparable. It took me very little time and I was able to give up soda and drink only GGMS. I didn't see much weight loss with only this change though, but I did see some other things that I found quite interesting. I had been suffering with leg and feet pain. It was especially bad if I had to get up during the night and first thing in the morning. Suddenly, I realized that was gone. I also noticed that my migraines had been reduced significantly. I went from about 20/per month to about 5-8 and most of those seemed to be weather or atmospherically related. Finally, I noticed that I was just generally feeling better. Hmmmm......

Being me though, I fell off the GGMS wagon and began drinking the Dew again. Within a week, the feet/leg pain and the migraines were back. I started feeling like crap again and started self medicating with food again. It took me awhile to admit that it was my diet Dew, but eventually, the headaches and leg pain simply weren't worth drinking diet soda or any soda for that matter.

Once I was back on the GGMS, I decided to start trying some of the THM recipes as my friend suggested. While I did need to buy some ingredients that I didn't normally have around the house, I was also able to STOP buying some of the stuff I normally bought. I went out and purchased almond flour, coconut flour and ground flaxseed, coconut oil, butter, radishes, strawberries, blueberries and sprouted bread. I quit buying AP flour, milk, sugar and anything low fat, fat free or diet. The grocery bill was actually less because I wasn't wasting money on soda, candy, processed foods such as chips, cookies and boxed meals. I was shopping the perimeters of the store and 90% of the groceries I bought were fresh meats, veggies and fruits. The THM recipes that I was making were both healthy and family pleasing, which meant I didn't have to fix something for them and THEN fix my food.

As time went on, I was about a 50/50 THMer, meaning I was eating about 50% healthy and still 50% not so much. Then some things happened all at once that turned my world around and truly changed my way of thinking and my entire families way of eating. The first thing was that I changed doctors and had to have a full medical workup. While I really hadn't lost a lot of weight because I wasn't eating THM fully, my doctor was amazed at my blood work and over all general health as compared to the notes he had gotten from my previous doctor from a year ago. My blood pressure had gone from 140/95 to 117/60. My cholesterol had been high and now it was very good my thyroid was being well controlled. He asked me what I had done to make these changes and I told him about THM. He had never heard of it, but he said it was obvious that what I was doing was working, so to keep it up. That right there made me realize that it was time to get off the 50/50 fence and start working towards weight loss and a permanent lifestyle change.

Following that, I learned that my youngest son was getting alarmingly underweight. This often happens to kids with cerebral palsy and when it does, this affects how their already low tone muscles work. I made up my mind then and there that he would become a full fledged THMer. I started giving him S (satisfying smoothies first thing in the morning full of coconut oil, protein powder, avocado, banana and almond milk) and I started making sure that he ate every 3 hours.....just like me. From February to May he went from 74 pounds to 87 pounds and he is much more able to use his muscles, ride his bike and use his walker. Now granted, for him to gain weight, he eats double the good fats and I am not stingy on anything "healthy" he wants to eat.

Finally, in that same time period, we found out that my older son had celiac disease. He was gluten intolerant and it was making his life absolutely miserable and almost unlivable. Being as miserable as he was, he was willing to do anything to feel better, including to start eating the THM way. Within a month of faithfully adhering to THM recipes and eating every 3 hours, his symptoms had completely subsided. He had lost about 8 lbs and all the inflammation in his abdomen. He had regained his life.

THM is not a miracle, fast cure for all that ails you. What THM is.....is a lifestyle change that cuts out the chemicals, additives and things that your body can't process and actually can cause harm to your body. It puts into your body healthy oils, fruits and veggies that help your body to burn fat and lose inflammation. It kills sugar cravings and gives healthy alternatives to foods and recipes that you already love. In fact, done correctly, you will never feel hungry, your blood sugar spikes will be at a minimum, your fat burning ability will be at its maximum, you will find joint pain and inflammation to be almost non-existent, your energy level will be at an all time high and your hair, skin and nails will look amazing. In fact, you will find yourself transforming not only your looks but your health and you will be fighting heart disease, cancer, diabetes and all forms of auto-immune diseases. So yes Virgina......you can once again take control of your life and your health.

May 15th, I started the THM Spring Fling 42 day challenge in the THM Challenge Group on Facebook. I am 100% all in and even in this short week, I can tell a huge difference in how I feel. I am still learning and still reminding myself that how I used to think of food didn't make it correct and just because it was a habit didn't make it right. I am learning that mashed cauliflower is even better than mashed potatoes, that radishes are an excellent replacement for little red potatoes in a roast and that this peanut butter and jelly junkie can still have her peanut butter and jelly, just made healthy. All the recipes are delicious and as I said in another blog, there are those ladies, God bless their souls, who spend their days making just about any recipe into a THM recipe....and sharing it in blogs and on Pinterest. Thank you ladies from the bottom of my heart.

As you do THM, it gets easier and soon, like me, you will realize that it is the greatest gift you can give yourself and your family. So, don't be like stubborn me, get the book, get on Pinterest and get on Facebook and learn. Ask questions, try recipes and soon words like "on plan","E, S and FP" and "Singing Canary" will be a part of your vocabulary too. Best of all, you will see yourself becoming the best version of "you" that you can be.

I hope this helps some of you who either didn't know about THM or who were riding the fence about it....to get out there and try it. Again....remember, it is not a fast fix, it is a lifestyle fix. You didn't gain the weight overnight and you won't lose it overnight, but with THM.....you might never see those pounds again!

This Girl Loves Her Moonshine!

So if you are on Facebook, then I am sure you have at least seen one of the many, many, many Trim Healthy Mama (THM) pages. There are beginner pages, over fifty pages and budget friendly THM pages, just to name a few. In the last two years, the THM phenomenon has grown beyond belief. In fact, some of the items that most of us had previously never heard of before THM, are now normal local fare at our grocery stores. I mean come on...if someone had ever told me that I would get to the point that I couldn't drink a drink without apple cider vinegar(ACV) in it, I would have laughed in their face.

Pinterest is another site that has literally blossomed with THM products, idea and recipes. Bloggers too, have gotten on the band wagon. There are several amazing blogs out there where domestic goddesses with many more skills than I have, spend their days taking recipes and making them THM on plan friendly. Then they blog and put them out there so those of us less culinarily fortunate can gain from their wisdom. God bless them as they have literally expanded my weekly menus a thousand fold. My family thanks you too.

And speaking of THM Facebook pages, I'll admit that I too got on the bandwagon and started one. It was a while back when I was just beginning to scratch the surface of the benefits of a THM life. Even then with my minuscule bit of knowledge, I knew that this food style could and would change a lot of lives, so I started THM for US 2015. It was basically for those close to me personally and geographically. I felt that by keeping it small and framilial (get it...friend and familial....yeah I'm good with words like that) that those of us involved might have each other to learn from and stay on this plan with. It has stayed fairly small, growing with just a few people here and there and even a bit outside my friends and family since I started it back in Jan. of 2015. It is a cozy, comfortable place to share recipes, ideas, goals, victories and yes.....questions. It has also become a bigger part of my life in 2016 than I ever dreamed it would be. In the last few months, two of my children have developed food related health issues. It just so happens that THM is the answer to their issues with high protein, good fats and gluten free foods. You can say that in my house....THM is now a family affair.

I think the biggest and scariest (yes....scariest) thing about THM is that everything you thought you knew about weight loss, food and health are pretty much thrown out the window. You have to learn a whole new set of rules, which come to find out, aren't so new. Many of the THM precepts are things our parents, grandparents and great grandparents lived by. Unfortunately, society has taught us that fat free is healthier than butter, coconut oil or olive oil, that fake sweeteners are healthy and that prepackaged is better than home made. Trust me, I could go on for days about all of this, and at some point I probably will.

Today though, I want to get back to the Facebook page and questions. The question that people ask not only me, but I see it on other pages too, is about Good Girl Moonshine (GGMS). What a name....right?! I know the first time I heard it, I couldn't imagine what it might be and then, after I heard what was in it.....my first thought, which I may or may not have said out loud was"Oh HELL NO!"

The issue was that I was drinking way too much diet soda and I and everyone else knew it. A friend approached me and told me I really needed to stop drinking so much and then she talked about GGMS. She was lucky we were really good friends, because with anyone else, a conversation like that could have ended badly. However, I did start reading up on this apple cider vinegar (ACV) based concoction and what I was reading was that people that were making no other change than just drinking GGMS, were losing weight and feeling better.

So.....I knew I needed to cut back and actually cut out the diet soda, but I didn't want to! I continued to fight the change, until I ran across a GGMS recipe that said it tasted just like Mt. Dew. I tried it and you know what.....it did! I had a soda replacement that had no chemicals, no chemically enhanced artificial sweeteners and was healthy. Okay....maybe I would cut back after all. I found that the more I drank of this ACV laced faux-soda, the more ACV I wanted to add.

Okay, so if you are not a THM convert, possible convert or if you have been in a social media blackout, then you maybe wondering.....just what is GGMS? Well let me tell you.

GGMS starts with ACV. I suggest if you are just trying it out, only add about a tsp. Ginger is also an ingredient in most GGMS as well as your favorite on plan sweetener. My favorite is Skinny Girl Stevia. It is liquid and you can squirt to your desired taste. Here is where I suggest you go slow. Use a few squirts and test it. Not sweet enough? Then add a little more. You don't want to over power your drink and make it too sweet. After that,  you can add any flavor you like.

Now when I say "flavor" I mean extracts that you buy in the baking section of your grocery store. Add caramel and you have a more coke/pepsi like flavor, lemon and lime juice give you you a Mt. Dew flavor and ginger powder or root, gives you a ginger ale type drink. You can also add orange, strawberry, raspberry or a mixture of flavors. Pinterest is full of GGMS recipes and I eventually plan to try them all.

After you have flavored it to your liking, then you add your water. Now you can add just plain flat or tap water and ice and it tastes just fine. In fact some people prefer it that way. However......in order for me to kick soda......I had to have something that was more than just fine, so I started out adding calorie free bottled carbonated water. It had zero everything...BUT, it was also anywhere from $1-$2 for a 24 oz bottle. As much of this stuff as a I drink, I was going broke. Luckily, I found a Soda Stream at a garage sale for $5 and I never looked back. Yes, the carbonation refill is $30, but it lasts about 6 weeks. It is well worth the money. It is truly one of my favorite kitchen  devices.

So GGMS? Does it work? Well you decide. If you are a reg. soda drinker and it helps you kick that habit, then think of all the sugar and additives that you are cleansing your body of....not to mention calories. In a 12 oz can of soda you are drinking 140 empty calories and ingesting 39 g of carbs, 39 g of sugar, high fructose corn syrup and "natural flavors" which is code for more crap your body doesn't need and likely shouldn't have. Now that is just one can. Who stops at one 12 oz can per day?

If you are trading say a Diet Mt. Dew for GGMS, then no, there are no calories, but there is 50 mg of sodium along with things like: Aspartame, Potassium Benzoate, Potassium Citrate, Sucralose and Bromated Vegetable Oil. Vegetable oil? Really? Also you have more of those hidden "natural flavors" too. Diet sodas have also been proven to cause sugar cravings instead of curb them and Aspartame is known to cause headaches and other physical reactions because it is a chemically enhanced sweetener. 

Now GGMS. It has no calories, no carbs, it has natural stevia which has no chemical fillers and won't mess with blood sugar and best of all.....you know exactly what "natural flavors" are in it because you add them yourself. So....losing at least 140 empty sugary calories per day, unhealthy chemicals and sugar cravings, all while you are adding good and healthful things to your body such as  ACV and ginger? You tell me....does it work? It does. 

So I challenge you soda drinkers who just can't quite kick the habit. For one week, try adding one GGMS to your day and getting rid of one soda/diet soda. Play around with different flavors and find a flavor you can make your own. I bet that by the end of the week, you will start wanting to drink more GGMS and a whole lot less soda. What's the worst that can happen? Your jeans fit a little looser? You feel a little better? Maybe you have less headaches? Trust me, you will see a difference. 

Again....I could go on and on, but instead....I think I will leave you with my current favorite GGMS recipe. Til next time.....Happy Drinking!

GGMS Lemon Ginger Ale

2 inch piece of Ginger Root (grated)
1-2 cups water
2 T ACV (use less until you get used to it)
2 T lemon juice
Skinny Girl Stevia to your taste
Carbonated water

Take your grated ginger root and add it to the 1-2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil and then turn it down to simmer for 3-5 min. Let it cool. Once cool use a fine mesh strainer and strain the liquid into a mason jar with a lid and keep it in the fridge. This is your "ginger juice" concentrate. When you are ready to make your GGMS: 

Pour 1/4 to 1/2 c of ginger juice into a glass 32 oz mason jar. The ginger has a spicey bite so you may want to start out with 1/4 c. Add everything but the carbonated water and stir. Then fill to the top with the carbonated water and ice! Mmmmm....Enjoy!

Trim Healthy Mama.....Perhaps!

So it has been awhile. Someone mentioned this blog to me the other day and asked if I were going to ever blog on it again. I said, perhaps! That is me speak for....perhaps! Then I went on with my life.

Today, I sit contemplating health. My fathers, my children and my own. We only get one body and anymore, it is becoming evident that we can't just put anything into our bodies. My father is living proof of this at 86. He hasn't taken care of his body and now his body is starting to fail him.There are just too many chemicals and food related illness and allergies out there, so we MUST treat our bodies as the temples they are, and not just a dumping ground for CRAP! (Pardon my French)

Last time I blogged here, I was talking about Trim Healthy Mama or THM. I was a fan because a friend of mine was a devoted follower and because of her devotion and hard work had lost about 60 pounds, looked about 20 years younger and was astronomically healthier. She was a poster child for how to do it right.

I actually got on board and had success, until I didn't. The success didn't end because of a faulty plan, but because of a faulty me. Yeah, that is usually why plans don't work for me. I get distracted, lazy or....and this is a huge one.....I tell myself that I am healthy enough! Healthy enough. Is that even a real thing? Can you just be healthy enough? And what happens when your body disagrees? My body in the last year was disagreeing loudly as I had developed other health issues that diet could easily help IF I would just admit that I had them. I am a stubborn old broad!

Then a couple of months ago, I learned that my youngest son who is special needs was growing severely underweight. It was preventing him from having good muscle growth and was thus impeding almost everything about his health. It wasn't that he wasn't eating, it was simply that he wasn't eating the right things. I was putting way too many processed and fast food items into our diet. He was getting the wrong kind of fats, too many chemicals and with his metabolism, he was burning what little muscle he had. It terrified me. That was when I realized that if I didn't care enough about my own body to feed it right, then I MUST care about my child. And trust me.....I do!

I began looking at the THM plan closer. I went back to THM because the foods on the plan are healthy fats, no grains, no sugar and lots of fruits, veggies and mostly lean meats. Processed and packaged foods are a big NO NO! One of my favorite things is their smoothies. All begin with a cottage cheese base (don't make that face), natural flavors or fruits, almond milk and per doctors instructions for David.....Muscle Milk protein powder. I began starting Davids days with a smoothie with added ingredients of bananas, peanut butter or avocado. I also began making sure that instead of three large daily meals, he was having 5-6 smaller daily meals. His meals had healthy proteins such a eggs, peanut butter and lean meats, healthy fats such as coconut oil, butter and avocado and lots and lots of healthy fruits and veggies. Within a month he was almost to normal weight and his activity level had tripled. He was also building and using his muscles much better. It was like night and day difference.

If all that weren't enough to make me a lifetime member of THM, my middle son was diagnosed with celiac disease. It is an intestinal/stomach disease which is brought on by an allergy to gluten. Sadly, gluten is in many processed foods and in Z's case. even small amounts of gluten were making him terribly sick.

Celiac is a nasty condition which makes it so you can never be far from a bathroom. You are constantly having stomach issues and some days you feel so horrible that you have no real quality of life. It is exhausting and truly takes a toll on a person. It also opens them up to other issues such as rheumatoid arthritis, rheynods and ulcers leading to cancers. It is under the auto-immune umbrella of diseases which run rampant in our family.

Once we had a firm diagnosis, I then began researching the disease and looking at the foods that he could and couldn't eat. Funny thing.....my research brought me right back to THM. While THM is a great plan for an all around healthier life style and awesome for those who have diabetic issues, it also happens to be right on target for those with gluten allergies and/or celiac disease.

THM works very well for those with gluten issues as there are almost no grains used on the plan. The flours used are mostly almond, coconut and flax. There are some oatmeal flour recipes but those can be replaced with the other flours or with gluten free oatmeal flour. Since there are almost no processed foods and an emphasis on fruits, veggies and lean meats....it is a dream for those suffering with gluten issues. Within a week of eating THM, Z could already see a huge difference in how he felt and how his body was reacting to food. While not a complete convert to this new way of eating, he is much more open to trying new THM foods, especially when he is finding that gluten free packaged foods are not all that tasty.

Well...now I'm back. Actually.....now I can never turn back. My kids will forever have to eat the THM way for their health and I am quickly learning what my friend tried to teach me with her success. It's not really about the weight loss, although feeling comfortable in your own skin is definitely a plus. No....it is more about feeling comfortable in your own body. There is something very gratifying about knowing that your body is taking in and processing food properly and that the foods you are putting in your body are not only nourishing it, but also making it function to its full potential in every way, from how you sleep at night to the energy you have day to day. You also learn to listen to your body. Trust me, it will tell you when things aren't right.

So yeah....THM! It is a workable plan regardless of why you work it. It is ever evolving and since my last post, the THM ladies have put out a new cookbook with easy to follow recipes that will please the palette of even the pickiest members of your family. A bonus is that there are those food bloggers out there who have made converting regular recipes to THM recipes their main goal in life. This means there are no end of delicious meals, desserts and snacks right at your fingertips.

I hope with my entire family now on the THM train, to post a few more blogs about our progress, the pros and cons (if any) to our new lifestyle change. Does this mean, that I'm back and this blog will be getting some love again? Perhaps!

Non-Scale Victories vs. The Numbers

My life is getting exciting! Yes, I have lapsed from blogging and yes......that usually means that the bottom has fallen out of my life or especially on this blog.....it means that my newest "lifestyle change" has completely derailed. This time though, it means just the opposite. This time my absence is two fold. First of all, for the last week or so, my router has been messing up and my computer access was gone, but even before that, I had fallen off the blogs because I had fallen head first into life. That's right......I am LIVING!

So what has brought about all the excitement and this LIVING stuff? Okay.....I have to say it....TRIM HEALTHY MAMA!!!! Yes, I know. I tried really hard not to talk about the whole THM thing, but what can I say? It is actually changing me. I feel better than I have felt since before I got pregnant with my son David....dare I say.....15 years ago. I have energy! I have motivation.....and I am not ashamed to look at myself in the mirror anymore!!!!! I even took a "selfie" of a makeover (makeup makeover that is) that I had last night....AND I shared it on Facebook! If you know me at all.....you know that is huge in Lisaland! I also put on a pair of jeans yesterday, totally thinking they would not fit.......and they did. Last time I had them on was in September and even trying to button them caused my muffin top to spill over and caused me to feel anything but attractive. Yesterday though, they fit nicely and buttoned with ease. I was beyond happy. I could even wear them and sit down for a meal and not feel as if I was going to bust out of them. It was glorious. These things were my first major NSV (non-scale victories) since making these changes and they have motivated me like I have never been motivated before. Feeling good, clothes fitting, never being hungry and wanting to do something other than be sitting on my butt attached to the computer.....those are really BIG wins in my world.

If you are a numbers person though, and many of us are, then you believe that the numbers are the big determiner of success in weight loss. Well, true. While numbers don't tell the complete story, they do have merit and my numbers are agreeing with all my NSV's. Since starting this program 11 weeks ago, I have lost about 11" and 11 pounds. It is slow but steady and successful loss. And on a little side note, there has been a bit of a worry in my head about whether I was kidding myself on this program. I mean after all, I am eating butter, cooking with coconut oil and having the occasional full-on, full-fat cream in my diet, not to mention cream cheese, ranch dressing and lots and lots of delicious food. Was this the "cookie diet" all over again? Yeah....don't ask! So 11 weeks ago I took my blood pressure. It was 130/91. It wasn't horrible if I was in the process of bringing it down, but if my lifestyle was going to cause it to climb, then I might be heading into dangerous waters. I was going to give THM a chance though. Today I took it and my BP was.....................107/77!!!! Now THAT is a pretty number and it gives me even more incentive to keep going.

I have much more weight to take off and yes, the holidays are just around the corner. How is this going to work? The same way it did through my son's birthday and Candyfest 2014, better known as Halloween. If I fall off and have a piece of cake or eat 42 pieces of licorice (approximately), then in three hours, I jump right back on THM and forgive myself.

I have already decided that Thanksgiving day and Christmas Day will be cheat days. I plan on fixing all my regular fair with the addition of a couple of new and wonderful THM dishes. Then, at the end of the day as my kids walk out the door, they will be taking leftovers home with them and I will be back on track. It is as simple as that. One day will not derail me, however in the past, the guilt and resulting giving up from that guilt, did. This year, cheating is built-in to my lifestyle, and so is jumping right back on track after the cheat. Funny thing too, after eating on THM for a period of time, when you do have a cheat day, your body craves getting back on track and therefore, that makes it a hundred times easier to stay on track.

Okay, so there you have it. Whether I am looking at my NSV or going by the numbers, the fact is......this change is working! It is working in ways I never dreamed possible and it is making me a better parent, a better cook and a much happier person in the process. For more information on THM, contact me here or on fb. Happy Thursday everyone....now I gotta run!!!!!!

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!