Trim & Healthy-Week 3

Well, I made it through week 2! Baby stepping my way back to being a trim healthy mama! This week I tackled my morning meals/snacks!

So, now, I am fully on plan in:

-What I drink! No Dr. Pepper! No more sugary drinks! 

-From 12 am to 12 pm each day, eating only on plan foods. I ate mostly all S meals, with one crossover. I rarely ate anything but breakfast during that time, but there was a couple nights where I got the hankering for a midnight snack, and I ended up eating a handful of nuts or some yogurt. This was pretty easy for me, because I'm not really a big breakfast eater anyways.

Struggles I faced this week:

 I had really low energy all week. I mean, really low! It didn't necessarily make staying on plan during the morning hard, it was just discouraging, and difficult while I'm trying so hard to do better. I also did not lose any weight this week, and felt pretty bloated, and yucky most of the time. Detox maybe? I'm not sure, however, I do feel like I'm ready to tackle the next step!

My plan for this week:

This week, I'm going to focus on continuing to drink healthy, slimming drinks, and eating a good, filling breakfast, and adding to that, enjoying a trim and healthy lunch. Lunch time is hard for me, for a couple reasons. I have a hard time slowing down to eat, and when I do, I scarf my food down quickly! We're in the midst of finishing up chores for the day, getting school work done, and getting littles down ready to go down for a nap. My usual go to lunch is a quick sandwich on less than healthy bread or leftovers. My rule for this week, is that I'm going to stay on plan from 12 am to 3 pm the next day. We usually eat lunch right at noon, when my husband comes home for lunch. 

My favorite lunches:

Ok, so like I said, we are usually a sandwich or leftovers for lunch kind of family. This can still work, while staying on plan, using on plan breads and wraps. With the weather cooling down....well, here in Oklahoma, it's still in the upper 80's this week, but we're getting there....but we do a lot of soups at lunch, and I also enjoy a salad a couple times a week. I'd like to eat more salads, but I just don't love them enough yet ;) Here's a quick list of some of my favorite lunches:

-Lunch meat or leftover chicken, beef, or fish (also natural peanut butter, and sugar free Polaner jelly) sandwich fillings, with all the fixin's, and bread or wrap, based on whether I'm eating an S or E meal.

-Soup, sometimes served with a sandwich/wrap. I LOVE the Just like Campbell's Soup in the book with a grilled cheese on a half a Joseph's lavash bread!

-Salad. I'm a big fan of the salad's in a jar idea! Going to try to prep at least a few salads for the week to make easy, quick lunches. 

-Quick pizzas-One of my kids favorite things here lately is taking a piece of bread, toasting it, then topping it with pizza sauce, cottage cheese, and some mozzarella. i can do that with on plan bread or wraps. 

-Poached salmon, and a baked sweet potato

-Leftovers! Lately we haven't eaten many on plan meals in the evening, so that will depend on what we have the night before, if I'll have leftovers to eat. 

Some other things I'm doing this week:

-Continuing making recipe cards to add to my recipe box for quick meal references. 

-Staying off the scale. At this point, it's not helping me to feel better. I need to pack it away, and just measure success by how my clothes are fitting me for now. 

-Making it a point to slow down and sit down and enjoy lunch with the kids and stop rushing!

-I'd like to streamline my menu planning a bit more. I'm thinking about making a list of 10 things each for breakfast and lunch to choose from. Specific recipes. I can switch them out occasionally, but having just some set things to choose from would make my life a little easier for now. 

That's all for this week! I keep hoping to be blogging more, but right now, once or twice a week is working for me. Better than nothing, right? :) I hope everyone has an amazing week! Good luck on getting healthy! 

Sara

Trim & Healthy-Week 2

I don't have a lot of time to elaborate on this week's focus, but wanted to check in anyways...so this will be quick. 

This little sweetie pie is keeping me busy this week :)

First, though, I wanted to say, this week, just having to focus on one thing, one aspect of getting healthy has been amazing for me. It was SO easy! And already making sure I'm drinking healthy, life giving drinks instead of junk is becoming second nature for me. I know what to do when a craving hits. I know what I can get when I'm out and about, and want to stay on plan. I could have worked harder at staying on plan in other areas, but just didn't worry about it, and did what I could, and just kept focusing on doing the one thing, of drinking good healthy drinks, as my main focus. And now I can say with full confidence, that I'm ready to add another small area of eating healthy to my life. 

My plan for this week-

So, this week, my focus will be on breakfast. To make things a little easier for me, I'm setting a time limit for breakfast meals, and when I can go back to just eating whatever. My plan is to eat an on plan breakfast, either S, E, or FP, by around 9 am, our usual breakfast time, and then to not eat again until lunch time. This should give me about 2.5-3.5 hours between my morning meal and lunch. That way if I have a craving, all I have to do is tell myself that I can have it but not until after noon. Setting rules for myself is the easiest way to help me to guard against eating or drinking the wrong things or eating too often. 

This book is amazing! It's helping me so much with changing my mindset about food, and helping me to put my total focus on God! 

I'm pretty basic when it comes to breakfast. Here's a few of my favorite things (no time for links today):

-Eggs-fixed any way. I especially like frittatas and boiled or poached eggs. 
-Oatmeal-I like plain oatmeal with some stevia and cinnamon, but I also like the cold refrigerator oatmeal made with yogurt. I sometimes add berries or peaches as well. 
-Shakes or smoothies-any and all kinds
-Yogurt with slim belly jelly and sometimes some granola. 
-Muffin/cake/brownie in a mug

And I especially enjoy eating leftover (on-plan) desserts for breakfast if I have any leftover. :)

And of course, breakfast is always served with a big ole cup of coffee...iced or hot depending on the weather! 

I'm so thankful to be, ever so slowly, getting back to taking care of this God given body, and getting healthier! How are you doing with staying on plan? Any goals that you are working towards this week? 

Blessings, 
sara

Mid-Week Check In

I only have a few minutes, but I wanted to stop in and say that, so far, THIS has been, by and far, the easiest way to start a new lifestyle way of eating! 

Taking it literally one small part at a time is just so much easier than going all in at once for me. I've been able to focus on making sure I'm drinking what I should be, and not worrying about anything else, and knowing that for now, it doesn't matter what I eat, so long as I what I drink is on plan, and good for me! 

Some benefits I've already noticed is:

-I've already dropped a couple of pounds! And I really haven't eaten very well all week. 

-My tummy is much less bloated than it has been!

I'm figuring out what I can get to drink, that is on plan, when I am out running errands. Unsweetened tea from just about anywhere or coffee with a little stevia added to it. Vitamin Water Zero, or just plain old water. 

One thing that I've really been able to notice so far this week, is that often, when I'm really having a craving for what I *think* is a Dr. Pepper, I am really just thirsty for something cold, and a drink of some good girl moonshine gives that little bit of burn that soda gives and is nice and cold, and just what I need to get past that craving!

I'm looking forward to my next baby step, which will be breakfast!

Trim & Healthy-one step at a time-Week 1

So, here on my blog, there are a few different Trim Healthy Mama (THM) recipes and related posts. In July of last year I gave several good reports of what THM was doing in my life with pictures. I reached my lowest adult weight by the end of the summer last year......

Then something happened. I let stress take over my life. It started off with holiday stress, but that rolled into just life stress, and I felt like I couldn't get a leg up. I couldn't find my groove again. I would set a start back date, just to allow the daily stresses in my life derail me halfway through the first week or first day. I kept hearing things like, just start over in 3 hours, but I couldn't get rolling with it. I cooked a lot of THM meals, but these little off plan snacks and drinks would find their way home with me, and I would devour them. 

I found myself dealing with a "last meal" mentality regularly: "I'm going to pig out today, and then I'm back on plan starting tomorrow." THM offers wonderful satisfying meals and desserts. When I was faithful to it, I never felt deprived, but for some reason, I couldn't get the sugar/bad carb taste out of my mouth, and the mountain I have been trying to climb to get back to following the THM plan has been like trying to get to the top of MT. Everest. 

Meanwhile...my weight has steadily climbed, and now I have to lose the weight I lost before, all over again. I'm sad about that, but not about ready to give up! I've spent the last several months, finding myself, so to speak. We drastically reduced our belongings, relieving, I would say, about half of my stress. I've simplified my life and confirmed what my priorities are in life. I've come to the realization that I am not meant to conform in ways I thought I once had to. I'm finding my joy, and my style again. While I wear modest clothes and mostly dresses for a reason, that does not define my style. I'm not a penny loafer, dress suit wearing, church lady, not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not me. I'm a boots and converse wearing, denim skirt and t-shirt wearing gal. That's how God made me, and I'm giving Him my best, when I'm being the person He created me to be. Unique....I'm letting go of all these ideals I thought I had to conform to, and getting a hold of a few main principles....Love Jesus and others with my whole heart....Be who God made me to be, and do my best at it, and live a simple and Jesus focused life! 

With all that dealt with, my stress is almost gone....I'm a mom, so a stress free life is not always a possibility, but with these things dealt with I can now handle the little stresses SO.MUCH.BETTER!

So that brings me to now. I need to take a slow-one step at a time-approach to getting back to this sugar free, low carb, lifestyle way of eating. Going whole hog, does not work for me. It overwhelms me. So I decided to break things down a bit, and take some baby steps. Removing one bad habit at a time, and replacing it with a good habit. Facing one small part of this plan, one meal, one snack, one drink, at a time. Even dealing with exercising eventually. I'm praying that this will help me to detox a lot slower, to not be overwhelmed by all the different meals/snacks I need to plan for, and make the cravings a lot easier to deal with. 

Here's my plan for this week-

For for my first week, I'm going to focus on drinks. Drinks, can be a big source of empty calories, if you are drinking the wrong things. I am a serious Dr. Pepper addict. Major empty calories. I have and can live without it, but getting over the initial cravings is tough for me. So, this week, I am eliminating all sugar laden drinks from my life, and drinking only yummy and healthy THM drinks and other healthy drink choices. While I don't plan on focusing on other aspects of THM right now, we often eat meals that are on plan. But I won't be stressing if that off plan peanut butter cup sneaks into my shopping cart at the store, for now :)

Here's how I'm preparing for my first week-

-Making sure there are no off plan drinks in the house. My husband still likes his tea sweetened with regular sugar, but that is not a temptation for me. 
-Making recipe cards for all my favorite drinks to have on hand. 
-Going shopping and making sure I have all the ingredients for my favorite drinks. 
-Buying some carbonated water for fizzy drinks, for when those soda pop cravings hit. 
-Putting some stevia in my purse for when I'm out and about and want something to drink, like unsweetened tea or coffee.
-Knitting or crocheting a quart jar cozy for my drinking jars.
-Buying a new coffee mug 

All of these things aren't absolutely necessary, but they will certainly make the transition easier for me. 

Here is a list of some of my favorite drinks-

-Good girl moonshine-The original, as well as most of the variations. My favorites are caramel apple, fruit punch, and cider pop. 

-The Shrinker- Original and the shrinker latte that I created. 

-Singing Canary-This one always gives me a ton of energy!

-Trimmaccino-I love all these variations! Including using the recipe with tea or making hot chocolate. I'm also really looking forward to making the healthy version of the pumpkin spice latte . Coffee in general is my favorite thing to drink, after Dr. Pepper. 

-Sips-The pumpkin and apple pie sips are delicious! 

-As well as the too many to mention drinks and shakes you can find on pinterest....and not forgetting just plain water and tea. 

I LOVE that most of these drinks are made with just basic ingredients. Stuff that I already have mostly on hand or can get easily here in town. Just some ACV, a few different tea variations, some spices and extracts, butter/oil, almond milk, cottage cheese, cream, some stevia, and a couple of less common items (that always last forever, and well worth the money-gelatin, mct oil, etc). 

So, what works for you? Baby steps or all or nothing? Are you having trouble getting back to healthy eating? I'd love to hear how others deal with getting back at it! 

Have a blessed week!
sara

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

My mom used to make these cookies when I was a kid that we all loved, and they were super easy with only three ingredients. The only thing was the ingredients weren't exactly what you would call healthy :) 

The three ingredients were peanut butter, eggs, and splenda....now I'm not the kind of kid to contradict my mother, but since I'm fairly certain she doesn't read my blog..(if you do, I love you mama)....she thought they were healthy because she used splenda, while at the same time using sweetened peanut butter. Neither of which are exactly the best thing for you, so I decided to try to THM-ify them, and the results are delicioso! 

So, here's my Trim Healthy Mama version of these yummy, and super easy cookies!

Ingredients-

-1 cup of all natural sugar free peanut butter

-5 teaspoons of  Truvia (plus a little dash of nunaturals stevia if you want them extra sweet...I liked them with just the Truvia.)

-2 eggs

You can also add a splash of vanilla if you want, but that would make them no longer 3 ingredient cookies, and 4 ingredient cookies sounds so much more complicated :P

Mix all your ingredients up in a bowl...I used my electric mixer to make it go a little quicker. Spoon them out onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. I have a little cookie scoop that makes them just the right size, and easier to spoon out, but a couple of regular ole' spoons works great too. With a wet finger or a wet fork, or if you want a fork dipped in some truvia for a little extra sweetness, pat your cookies down. Bake in the oven at 350* for about 10-12 minutes, and voila...super easy, super tasty cookies! 

Blessings,

sara

Linking up with: 

The Shrinker Latte

So, I'm in love with the new Trim Healthy Mama drink, The Shrinker. I drink it at least once a day, so I decided to see what else I could do with this delicious chai like drink. And I made a frozen latte with it, and it is YUM! 

All the power of Oolong tea in a icy cold drink....starbucks...Move over!!!

Here's the recipe....

-Steep 2 tea bags of oolong tea in 8 oz of boiling water until it's a comfortable enough temperature to handle....about 20-30 minutes. 

-Put it in your blender and add about 2-3 shakes of cinnamon and 1-2 shakes of cayenne pepper, or more to your taste

-Add 8 oz of unsweetened almond milk, one scoop of whey protein powder, a dash of vanilla, a couple dashes of sea salt. 

-Add sweetener. I used 3 tsp of truvia and a couple dashes of nunaturals stevia. 

-Add one to one and a half trays of ice, and turn the blender on. 

-With the blender running, add 1/4 tsp of glucomannan. Run for about 30 seconds, turn off for about 30 seconds and then run again for another 30 seconds to a minute. 

-Pour into a big ole quart jar, top with some fat free Reddi Whip, and sprinkle some cinnamon on top, and enjoy the awesomeness!

This would be a FP, but alternately you could add cream if you wanted it as an S. 

Ten Reasons to Love Trim Healthy Mama

I've been trying to put into words to friends and family why it is that I love this new lifestyle change that I've made for my family and I. Trim Healthy Mama, as the books says, is not just a fad, it is a way of life! 

So here are my top ten reasons to love Trim Healthy Mama:

1. Chocolate

Never have I seen a diet (for lack of a better word) where you are allowed to eat chocolate in greater amounts than that of a chocolate kiss without being made to feel guilty. I get to enjoy things like skinny chocolate, chocolate nut slab, and (oh my word!) chocolate volcano mudslide muffin in a mug....all without a tinge of guilt!

2. Family friendly

I'm a mom of many, and the one thing I did not want was a diet that made me have to make my family and I separate meals every day. Creating twice the work making my family a delicious meal while I have to sit and eat rabbit food or cardboard is not my idea of enjoyable. And while I generally eat something different for breakfast, lunch, and snacks than my family, (because usually those meals are pretty quick and easy to fix for both of us), I'm able to make one simple meal for dinner, with just an extra side dish of homemade bread, rice, pasta, or potatoes for the ones who are not wanting or needing to lose weight. 

3. Homemade

This may not be a favorite of everyone, but one thing I love about this way of eating is it still feeds my need to make all things homemade. And yet if I really need to I can buy things ready made. But I can still make things like homemade dressings, bread, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, etc. As well as delicious homemade meals for everyone. 

4. Tweak-ability

I have never used the word tweak more than when I started THM. You tweak things to the taste you want, and you can tweak meals to make them THM friendly. You can take a basic recipe such as the chocolate nut slab (pg 372), and add different ingredients for a different flavor, such as almonds and coconut for an almond joy treat, or peanut butter for a Reese's peanut butter treat, etc. While I've made several of the THM recipes in the book, I've managed to take many of our family favorite meals and adjust them in different ways to make them on plan. 

5. Chocolate

Oh, wait, I already mentioned this one :p It bears repeating though. How many of us have gone on diets, starving ourselves and feeling miserable, only to hit a certain time of the month or a stressful moment, and crash and burn....and what is the first thing we usually turn to...chocolate. With THM, that's not a problem. 

6. Results

I first learned about THM in the weeks just before I had my little one over 2 months ago. After having her, I purchased the book, and started just trying a few things out, while still mostly eating our regular diet, and I still saw amazing results in those 7 weeks. And since really getting on board a few weeks ago, it's even more amazing. It feels almost effortless! Another result is for my nursing baby, I have had an overabundance of good healthy milk for her! 

7. Energy

Since starting THM, I can truly say I have never had more energy. In fact I'm struggling with getting enough sleep, not because I have a 2 month old baby, but because I have so much excess energy! In the weeks since starting this plan, I have walked miles without tiring, ran with my kids, and my house has never looked cleaner.  (although I do have 5 children, and it regularly turns in to a disaster area) but I have the strength and energy to get up and deal with it, and see to it that I stay on top of the kids for keeping up with their chores. 

8. Ease of Use

I won't deny that there is a definite learning curve here. That's why it took me a good solid 7 weeks postpartum to decide to fully devote myself to this way of eating. You have to learn the lingo and all the particulars of the plan, and you have to find your own way with it. What works for one family may not work for yours. But once you find your way, it's extremely simple and doable. And this is coming from a woman who gets extremely overwhelmed when things get complicated. 

9. Community

I think one of the biggest helps in the adventure for me, has been the whole THM community. You can join the boards either at their forum or on facebook, and you can get answers, encouragement, and lots of tips and recipes, even from the authors themselves. You can go on there and share a struggle and within moments have a barrage of  encouraging words from women who know what you're going through! Not to mention all the great recipes that you can find on pinterest!

10. Did I mention chocolate?

So ya'll can see, I'm a fan. I'm loving this whole new way of life for myself and my family! I hope you can be encouraged to look into it if you are looking for some positive changes! 

Blessings, 

sara

Trim Healthy Mama-2 Weeks In

Well, I am now officially 2 weeks in to this trim healthy mama adventure, (see my getting started post here) and I gotta say, it's definitely getting easier. I have had my moments, a few cheats here and there, but nothing major. The big news is that I am down a total of 13 pounds in two weeks of doing this! I couldn't be happier! I feel great! I have more energy than I've ever had, and I'm getting so many compliments and comments on how noticeable my weight loss is! 

Some other milestones other than the 13 pound weight loss are:

-I am now in the 170's! I haven't seen that number since I was a junior in high school!

-I can now almost fit into a size 14. It's still a little snug, but it won't be long! 

-I can also comfortably wear a medium shirt now, down from an extra large!

-I ran with my kids without the usual horrible knee pain following today!

Here's a picture of me and my little lady taken before church the other day. 

Some things I'm noticing, good and bad, about my eating habits, are:

-I'm learning to listen to my body, and eat the right fuel at the right times. I can tell when I'm really needing an E meal, as I will suddenly have that "just hit a brick wall" feeling. 

-I've learned that I can not skip a meal, because I will end up crashing and eating whatever I can get to first, healthy or not. 

-I've also learned to keep easy snacks around, even if it's just veggies, cheese, or nuts. When hunger strikes, if I'm not able to make something right then, little things like that help hold me off until I get back to the kitchen. 

-I need to keep snacky things around at meal times also, because I've found that I tend to graze too much while I'm cooking. So having little bits of on plan foods sitting out while I'm fixing dinner, keeps me from going for the bad stuff. 

-And lastly I've learned, it is actually possible to use your blender more than 4 times a day :)

Here are some of my favorite THM meals, snacks, or drinks that I enjoyed this week:

Cookie dough greek yogurt

1 tbsp all natural peanut butter, Stevia to taste, 1 tbsp mini dark chocolate chips, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 single serving plain Greek Yogurt (about a cup)

Mix everything but the chocolate chips up. I found the blender did a better job at this than I could. Add the chocolate chips, (I did use sugar free chocolate chips from the store, until I can find or make a better THM alternative), and then put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes, and it's delicious! This was a pinterest recipe that did not have a link to share, but thank you to whoever created this yummy dish! 

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Mint Green Tea Latte'

From the THM files

Steep green tea or mint green tea in 8-10 oz of boiled water for 3 minutes. Cover the mug with a small plate to hold in the heat. 

1 Tbs coconut oil (extra virgin recommended)

1 Tbs butter (unsalted, grass fed recommended)

1-2 Tbs of cream

Stevia to taste

Dash of vanilla

3-5 drops of peppermint essential oil or 1/2 tsp peppermint extract if using plain green tea

Dash of salt (optional

8 oz hot green tea or mint green tea

3-4 oz unsweetened almond milk

Blend for 90 seconds. 

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Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Shake

Go over to Kristy's for this wonderful recipe and lots of others that she has come up with for THM. It really does taste like Reese's Peanut Butter Cup! Yum!

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Zucchini Pizza Sticks

These are super easy! All you have to do is slice your zucchinis in half , scoop out a little bit of the inside to make a little well for your toppings, top with sauce, cheese, and whatever else you like. We just did turkey pepperoni, and some seasonings. Throw it in the oven at 350* for about 40 minutes. It literally takes me like 10 minutes to put this together. This is another pinterest recipe that had no link, but it's super easy!

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Earth Milk

Pg 425 of THM

I don't have a picture of this, because to be honest it looks just plain gross. But I decided to brave it this week, and as I prepared myself for the worst, because even though I'm not a picky person, the combination of ingredients in this very different drink, I just could not imagine it being palatable. But, no joke, it's not that bad at all! The name earth milk definitely suits it. It has a very earthy taste, (never knew what "earthy" tasted like until I tried this recipe :) and the addition of the chocolate makes it taste pretty good. Either way, it's drinkable and worth a try for the extreme nutrients in this healthy drink. I keep mine in the fridge, and a few times a day get a good swig of it to help boost my green power, and give me energy. 

That's all for this THM update. Can't wait to share more with you in the coming weeks! I've even been working on tweaking a few of our family favorites to be THM friendly! 

Blessings, 

sara

My New Trim Healthy Adventure

It seems to be the big thing sweeping the internet. Have you heard of it? Trim Healthy Mama. I was doubtful when my friend shared it with me, but decided to look a little more in to it. I had to admit with all the glowing testimonies that I was seeing, it was hard not to want to give it a try. But I was just really grasping a hold of the whole Nourishing Traditions way of eating, so did I really want to switch things up already? 

But as I read, I found that eating the THM way was pretty closely related. I was reading things about fermenting foods, eating sourdough, and using stevia to sweeten things, things I was already starting to do....I wasn't so sure about eating things like fat free yogurt or no longer drinking whole milk, but I decided to dive in and give it a try, and bought the less expensive e-book version. 

Now to back up a little bit, I want to share a little bit about my weighty history. I was an average sized child, never had to deal with weight issues until I got into high school. I started high school weighing around 140. An average weight for someone my size and build. But after meeting my now husband, he quickly changed the way I ate. I would try to order just one soft taco, and he would tell me I needed to eat more and order me two. I joke with him that my weight is all his fault :) but truthfully I enjoyed eating more. Slowly, but surely, however, the weight started to pile on. By the time I was a senior in high school, I was up to almost 200 lbs. I got married in high school during my senior year, and like most brides tried to lose the weight for my wedding day, but I never seemed to succeed. 

Thus began my dieting ups and downs. With my first pregnancy, about a year after we were married, I found something unusual happen. Instead of further gaining weight, I lost weight to the point that I was 20-30 lbs lighter after having the baby than I was when I got pregnant. But soon after, the weight slowly crept back up again. And with each succeeding pregnancy, the same thing would happen. I would lose weight during pregnancy, and gain it all back afterwards. 

After my fourth baby, I started having health problems. I was always very tired. I was always eating and snacking, and I was quickly packing on the pounds with my weight topping out at around 240 lbs. I found out I had an enlarged thyroid, and went through some tests to find out why, but nothing turned up too serious. I did find out it would make weight loss nearly impossible, and settled into a depression over it all. 

This is me last year at my girl's birthday party. My son thought it was funny to drench me with water after the water game we had played :)

But then a wonderful thing happened, I got pregnant with baby number five last August/September. I was so happy! And the other great news, my thyroid was back to normal! And as in past pregnancies, I started to slowly lose weight during my pregnancy. By the end of my pregnancy I weighed in at 220 lbs. 

Here I am at 39 weeks pregnant with my fifth little one. 

It was then I was introduced to THM. I got the book a week or so after the baby was born, and started reading through it. I decided to play around with a few of the recipes, and give it a try...nothing serious, just as I had the time and energy. By the time I was 2 weeks postpartum, I was already at 200 lbs. I continued to try new recipes, and at 6 weeks postpartum, I weighed in at 190. That's 50 lbs less than what I weighed when I got pregnant ya'll! 

And here I am last week at the zoo with all my kiddos, 50 lbs lighter! 

So starting this last Sunday, I decided to fully devote myself to this new way of eating. I still am not sure what to think about all the fat free options, but I'm willing to give it a try. After all, I feel it's more important for me to get to a healthy weight, more than it is to worry so much about a few changes in the types of foods I'm eating. I'm still eating good, healthy whole foods, some are just with the extra fat removed. 

I struggled at first in how to eat this way and include my family, but I'm quickly finding my way through it, and feel the Lord is really blessing my efforts. I also found that having store bought pizza in my house is a recipe for disaster, and will fully admit, I had 2 cheats during this week during dinner time....lesson learned :) 

I'll be 33 in about 6 weeks, and my goal is to be at or around 170 lbs by then. I'm nursing a little one though and am not going to sacrifice my milk supply in an effort to drop the pounds too quickly, but it's nice to have a goal set, and I will be fully happy with whatever successes I have. 

What I'm hoping to do here is share with you as I go along each week my successes and my failures, as well as recipes that I've THM-ified to fit our family, along with some tips and helps that are working for me. I'm really looking forward to the changes that are in store! 

Blessings, 

Sara