The year was 2014. I had been married for two years, working full time as a nurse, and struggling to fix dinner most of the time. Those first years there was a lot of Subway and Chinese takeout.
I had a recipe collection of my mama’s staples: chicken and dumplings, Italian soup, biscuits, chicken casserole…ya’ know.
I always had a dream to grow a huge garden and harvest all our own vegetables. We did have a small garden, a chicken coop, and even backyard pigs! We were starting our dream of self-sustainable farming…and I’m happy to say all my dreams are coming true seven years later.
Anyways, in my heart, as a young wife, I dreamed of home cooked delicious meals fresh from the farm. I longed for healthy, whole, foods, but I honestly didn’t know where to start.
I think around this time, I decided to become healthier from watching the Dr. Oz show. I had never been overweight…I’ve always been thin. But that doesn’t mean I was healthy. I ate a lot of junk. I have a terrible sweet tooth. All that aside, I wanted to eat right and exercise, so I started doing my own research.
I started my efforts off with the Dr. Oz Three Day Cleanse. It’s basically smoothies full of really good stuff. But that was just for three days and I’m not saying you need to do this. It just introduced me to coconut oil and kale, so I do credit it as kind of a kick-off to healthier things.
Around this time is when my parents started eating healthier, too. My daddy especially lost a lot of weight, and has looked great ever since!! (He shaved the mustache, too, and looked like a whole different person!) So they are definitely a testimony to how changing your lifestyle and way of thinking WORKS. And it’s not a chore to keep the weight off, either. My parents are Trim Healthy and happy and can work circles around me probably. 😊
I weaned myself off of Dr. Pepper, and started trying different recipes that were “more” healthy. I worked at a doctor’s office that preached “low-carb”, so I gathered all the recipes and info that I could, and tried it out. The first time I made cauliflower “mashed potatoes” my husband felt deceived…and then retaliated with his own version of “High Carb Taters” that I have saved in his own handwriting.
Fast forward a few years and our lives changed forever…
Just kidding, but it did change how I cook forever.
My good friend, Elizabeth Blake, my mother, and I were talking about food, and Elizabeth said, “Have you ever heard of Trim Healthy Mama?”
“Trim a-whoo-a what-a?”
Elizabeth then told us all about this really cool book and the THM plan that she was following.
And then she let my mother borrow her book. Then I borrowed her book! I took pictures of the recipes so I could try them! My aunt Rochele also had “the book”, and I specifically remember copying the Trim Healthy Pancake recipe because she had liked it so much. I tried it too, and we really loved it!
I started buying flaxseed meal and almond flour and making little recipes here and there.
I got pregnant in June, and my Christmas present was…the original Trim Healthy Mama book!! Along with a huge cast iron skillet and a blender. My husband is pretty much perfect!
So, I delved in big time. I was on the couch a lot studying this book…I was in my third trimester when I really hit THM hard. I went 100% in the last two months of my pregnancy. A lot of salmon, a lot of coconut oil…and new things like quinoa and stevia!
I remember making Creamed Spinach for the first time, and my husband shaking his head in disbelief; that this was actually healthy. Yep!
I could fix fried eggs in butter…and it was healthy? Yes! A big steaming bowl of oatmeal made with almond milk and blueberries? Almost every morning.
I’ve went through three pregnancies. The second pregnancy I was bound and determined to do THM all the way through, while still exercising and feeling good. I actually succeeded for the most part! #2 was my easiest. #3…I went off the wagon a little…and then a lot…and I regret it because even though I’m losing the weight, I see the difference in my skin.
THM nourishes a pregnant and nursing mama so much better than anything else. I’ve experienced both ways. (I will say…I cannot repeat CANNOT separate fuels while I’m nursing or my supply will tank. I have to have hefty carbs. I have to make everything a hefty heavy crossover. And I’ve went off plan many times for fear my milk supply would get too low. So I honestly just put weight loss on the backburner until my baby starts eating solids.)
Trim Healthy Mama taught me how to cook. It taught me about nutrition and health. It taught me how to listen to my body, and what I need. I know how to fuel myself for an energizing day. I know when I do not eat the right things, I will usually pay for it.
So how much am I –are you—willing to pay for another unhealthy meal?
I love the philosophy behind Trim Healthy Mama. The grace that you have to show yourself when you mess up. This saying is repeated over and over, “your next meal is 3 hours away. Start over then! Start fresh! You haven’t ruined yourself with one bad meal! Give yourself grace and the next healthy meal will be three hours away.”
I love this. This works for someone like me.
Check this out for more info, and if you are interested at all in the plan, order the books! I recommend highly starting with The Trim Healthy Mama Plan. (This is an affiliate link.) If you don’t want to purchase the cookbooks, just do a Pinterest search for THM recipes, and a million things will pop up. I agree with the philosophies of Pearl and Serene, where you don’t have to buy their books or their products to be successful. But if you want to, it’s tons of fun!
Questions about THM? Email me now!
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