Trim Healthy Mama Doesn't Have to be Hard

Really, it doesn't have to be hard. Let's just take two main principles and break them down a little.

The principle that has made the most impact on my health is this: do not eat sugar. Now before you scream "WHAT? No sweets?", stay with me. I didn't say no sweets, I said no sugar. 

We use alternative sweeteners and get rid of the processed sugar that sends our blood sugar soaring and turns good foods into fat.



In my drinks I prefer to use Truvia and in my baked goods I prefer Xylitol. (I gave you a link but I purchase mine through a local Mennonite store for less than that.) I also keep Stevia on hand to make my own Truvia or to use in certain recipes. I love my sweets, so don't for a minute think I go without them! I have just found healthy alternatives to sugar to use in my chocolate peanut butter cups or chocolate cake - yum! I also am a recovering sweet tea addict, but now my tea is sweetened with Truvia. I feel so much better just following this principle that if I learned nothing else from Trim Healthy Mama, just this would make it all worth it. But there is more....

The next principle is the one that the authors have said is the main one to get, if you learn nothing else, learn this: keep your fats separate from your carbohydrates. Yes, that is it. It is that simple. 

If you are not real sure what is considered a fat or a carbohydrate, just do a quick internet search and you will quickly learn. It really isn't that complicated, honestly, it's not. If I can do it, so can you! Pearl and Serene do a fantastic job of explaining the "why" of this principle in the book so I highly encourage you to read that to learn more, I won't take the time to explain it here. They also recommend that each meal or snack include a protein source to keep your blood sugar stable. Once again if you aren't sure of all the great sources of protein, just do a quick search. 

Does that sound doable to you? I think it is. Would you like some examples of our family's dinners?

We enjoy tacos or burritos quite often, so while the family has regular tortillas or taco shells (they don't follow THM) I have low carb tortillas or I enjoy a taco salad minus the tortilla chips. I'll just pile high the lettuce, taco meat, salsa, sour cream, cheese and onions and I'm good to go.

Or maybe it is cold outside and I'm in the mood for chili. There are two ways I do this, one is I leave out the beans altogether or two, I just pick out my beans or have just a few in my bowl. My family actually likes it if I leave out the beans and instead slice up all beef hot dogs and put in the chili. I can top my chili with cheese, onions and sour cream if I choose.

If it is chicken we are craving, I will fix a big pan of my Pan Lickin' Chicken, add a salad and maybe some mashed cauliflower bake on the side (fixed like mashed potatoes with cream cheese and shredded cheese).

Do you prefer steak? Grill a steak, have a nice salad and some roasted vegetables. Yum!

There are tons of ideas but I recommend you look at your family's favorite meals and see how you can adapt them to the THM lifestyle. Are there substitutions you can make to keep your fats and carbs separate?  Instead of getting caught up in all the new recipes, start off by adapting your own. Your family will appreciate it more, rather than being guinea pigs with all those strange dishes you want to try out. Okay, maybe that is just my family but surely I'm not alone in this.

Take it one step at a time, don't go overboard and think you have to change every single thing you eat. You don't. The plan works great by just following these two rules. Now, I must say that there are many more things the sisters teach us in the book and I really do encourage you to learn them as well. My goal in this post though is just to encourage you not to get overwhelmed by it all, find what works for you. Then when you are comfortable, learn another principle from the book and apply it to your life. It will soon be your normal way of eating and you won't even have to think about it. 

Blessings,

Rashel