Thursday, March 13, 2014

Week Two On My Trim Healthy Mama Journey

So here I am drinking my Bulletproof Coffee diving head first into week two. This is still very much a learning process for me as I basically deconstruct my diet on this path toward wellness and hopefully lose some weight! If you missed my Week One post you can click below and read why I started this book and what I learned in Week One.

WEEK ONE


On to week two!

The things I'm learning this week have to do with how the food I eat breaks down at the cellular level. I noticed the first time I drank a full can of coconut milk as a shake (yes, I really drank the full can!) I started feeling tingly all over my body. It felt like I had just stepped into a warm milky bath, except on the inside. The can reads that it contains five servings at 22 Fat Grams per serving. Now obviously I need to drink this in a better moderation but my body actually is craving this healthy fat! In the first few chapters of THM the authors talk about how eating fat does NOT make you fat. Carbs and sugar make you fat! Our bodies need fat, therefore if we don't eat enough fat our bodies will convert our excess carbs and sugars INTO fat.  THM also addresses vitamins and supplements toward the end of the book. I'm not ready to dive into all that but I am gathering information while I still try to get a handle on "S" and "E" meals versus a Fuel Pull or a Crossover meal. PHEW!
I found this interesting article on Natural News about iodine.
Iodine is essential in producing thyroid hormones. Unbalanced thyroid hormones lead to weight gain, infertility, and many other issues. I have suffered many years with infertility even though I now have seven children!

I'm planning to add some Himilayan Salt to my next shopping trip! Now I'm not looking to necessarily improve my fertility (ha ha), but I am looking at how to heal my body so my hormones are more stable.

This week I am loving all the extra advice in following this diet I have found through Facebook. I've joined three different THM Facebook groups and my newsfeed is constantly buzzing with ladies asking questions very similar to what I am asking myself! The THM for beginners and the Nursing and Pregnant THM groups have been wonderful resources. They have places where people upload their own documents like menus or recipes. I've "met" some great women in these groups and been really encouraged by them and their testimonies of their own THM journey. Who knew buying a book would open so many doors to information of how to live this THM lifestyle?!

For week two however, I did go "off plan" twice. We had chinese food one night which was so nice so I didn't have to cook. A few days later, we celebrated my son's 16th birthday out to the movies with burgers and sweet potato fries! Other than those two meals however I have tried to stay "on plan" as far as I can tell. I tried to think of my two eating out meals as "crossovers" and not beat myself up too badly over them. I'm still nursing a baby so I don't want to lose weight too quickly and hurt my milk supply.

My favorite recipes I tried and loved this week were the Bread in a Mug recipe, Oven Flax crackers, Ultimate Chocolate Cake and chocolate frosting, Chocolate Cake in a Mug (that one is seriously amazing!), Lemon Fat Bombs, Berry Cottage Whip, and Berry Waffles with bacon! Am I on a diet? Seriously, look at this amazing breakfast I made this morning!


(This is an "S" meal, I think, still learning! ;)  Two slices of bacon, one bread in a mug recipe cooked in my waffle maker, cottage cheese, berries sweetened with Truvia, small dollop of Redi-Whip. I even get to put real butter on my waffle! Yum!)


 Overall I am feeling great and while I would love to say I lost 10 lbs on this diet in the first two weeks, I have not. I have lost about 2 lbs though. Chapter 12 in the THM book was a great reminder, slow and steady is a much healthier way to lose weight. I wish I had taken measurements though because I did notice a difference in how my clothes feel at the end of week two. My stomach feels less flabby and my pants fit better. Here are my two week changes, subtle, but changes to say the least. I noticed that my shirt hangs lower on me now there is less gut! I also noticed when I went to put my hand on my waist like I did in last week's photo, I actually had a waist!


On to Week Three!




Friday, March 7, 2014

Week One On My Trim Healthy Mama Journey

I have been reading too many success stories from women who are not just getting healthy from reading and applying THM but are losing weight, a lot of weight. After my pregnancy, this being my seventh little blessing, and getting ready to turn 40, I am determined to not just be healthier but to actually LOSE these stubborn baby pounds for good!



So I dove in and bought the book on kindle e-version last week for $19.95. It was cheaper than the hard copy version at $35 and I can carry this massive book (it's over 650 pages!) right on my windows tablet wherever I go. I really want this to be the beginning of my own THM success story but I have my doubts as to how dramatic my own weight loss journey will be. All I know is that we eat fairly healthy with occasional treats now and then. Even though I exercise and have used some wonderful DVD programs I never really seem to be able to blast away the fat I have carried for nearly 18 years! I have had success losing inches and pounds through running and a fitness program, but again, the really stubborn fat remains.


The answer has to be in the way I am eating. Duh!


                                      

I know I need to drink WATER, LOTS OF WATER! Especially since I am a nursing mama.



I think I'm ready to shake things up a bit. Stop feeding my body what I've been feeding it and give this THM diet a try! I've already been adding Stevia to many things thanks to a NuNaturals product review I was fortunate to be a part of with Christian Women Affiliate.


Here is one of my reasons to get healthy, little Julia is four months old and I still look four months pregnant!


I am loving this book so far. I love that the authors actually WANT me to eat butter!


But we also have to incorporate healthy foods too of course!


But I get to eat CHOCOLATE!!! Yes, it's part of this "diet" too!




You see, because this really isn't a diet. It's a way of reshaping the way you eat and consuming it in the way our bodies can process it!


So if I am feeling like bacon and eggs for breakfast, great!, I can have bacon and eggs then! I can even add veggies and cheese to those eggs and I have myself what THM calls an "S" meal. "S" is for Satisfying and boy are they ever satisfying!
You know what? If I'm feeling like toast for breakfast but I still want eggs, I can do that. I just need to not go crazy on the carbs in my toast by choosing a lower carb version or make my own and forget about the bacon and only use 1-2 tsp of butter on that toast to keep the fat content down. This would be an "E" meal. 
I am not going to even try to touch "FP" (Fuel Pull) meals/snacks or crossovers until I feel confident in the "S" and "E" meals. More on these at later time.


But this is only my first week and I've made a ton of mistakes, but I'm learning!
I've learned that I don't eat enough protein. I've also learned I need to eat more frequently to keep my body fueled. I also eat way too many carbs and sugar, well, that's just a given. I have a sweet tooth!

I've even learned about these really cool noodles made from the konjac root called Miracle noodles.

They are calorie free, gluten free and make a wonderful substitution as pasta or rice so you feel full but not all loaded up on all those carbs from pasta and rice!

I've also learned how to make bread in a mug! Yes, you read that right, Bread in A Mug!
The basic recipe is found on page 265;:
These are the basic ingredients

Ingredients: an egg or egg whites * golden flax meal and optional almond flour * baking powder * coconut oil or butter * sea salt and other optional seasonings

I even let the kids make their own bread in a mug muffins yesterday. These low carb babies literally cook up in one minute in the microwave! I'm not kidding, try it! You can google Bread in a Mug recipes and find all sorts of great blogs out there of ladies doing this THM diet and find TONS of free ideas and recipes and even printables to actually make the leap into this Trim Healthy Mama way.
I started at this lovely lady's site; Gwen's Nest.
I also found these and I plan to add more so I can remember where they are.
Heavenly Homemakers-Ranch dressing recipe
Pinterest has tons of sources for inspiration too!

This mornings' favorite change I made thanks to THM is switching out my coffee and vanilla flavored non-dairy creamer (yes, I know they are not good for me but I can't resist them...until now :) ) I found a recipe thanks to my FB THM Beginners group called "Bulletproof" coffee. Now I haven't read this far in the book yet to really research "Bulletproof" coffee but let me tell you, it is AMAZING!
I made mine with vanilla stevia and it was just so good!




Here I am 16 months ago after my 6th baby. Still carrying a gut and heavy in the thighs. Feeling happy but, oh the fat in the thighs, it's just got to go! THM has taught me that I am basically eating myself into this fuller figure by all the carbs and sugars I consume.



Now here I am at the end of week one with THM after my 7th baby. The scale says I lost a pound or so, but mostly I am happy I can fit back into my favorite black pants. I really hope this THM diet will finally be something that will work for me!


TRIM HEALTHY MAMA WEEK ONE

(Four Months Post Partum Baby Number Seven)

Changes and purchases I hope to make next week:

Grass-fed butter for my "Bulletproof" Coffee
Protein powder to start FP meals/snacks
Peanut flour
Glucomannan powder
Almond flour
More Miracle Noodles
Naturally sweetened jam
More eggs, my chickens aren't laying well right now and I went through all my eggs I just purchased!


Are you ready to get healthy and try the THM lifestyle too?
Get your book today and get started!