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Any time of year is a great time to start getting healthy, but the start of a new year seems to attract a lot of wannabe dieters. While I’m not too terribly keen on this approach, I’m writing a mini-series of hopefully-helpful blog posts about Trim Healthy Mama to kick off 2016. You can see these posts linked up right here. Over on my “Starting THM” page you can find a quick synopsis of the Trim Healthy Mama plan as well as a bunch of helpful links and info!
You can subscribe to my blog via email to make sure you never miss a post (do so in the sidebar to your right if you’re on a computer, or scroll down to the bottom of the page if you’re on mobile)!
Do:
- Exercise, at least a little bit, 4-5 times a week. You’d be amazed at how much just 100 reps (total) of various exercises a couple times a week can do for toning. For example: 50 squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 pushups (ladies’ pushups or regular – make this work for you)
- Eat lots of coconut oil. You’d be amazed at how much that stuff will rev up your metabolism!
- Drink Oolong tea! It’s another great metabolism-booster. For simplicity’s sake, I usually just drink mine hot and plain, but if you want to make the Shrinker with it, you can definitely do that.
- Get plenty of E meals. I shoot for one or two a day. Every once in awhile, I like to do two E meals back-to-back. This really shakes up the metabolism! If I do this, sometimes I eat S the whole next day if I feel like it, but not always.
- Break up your meal routine. Don’t get into the oatmeal-for-breakfast-every-day rut. This one is super important. I eat oatmeal quite a few mornings for breakfast, but I try to throw in an S breakfast every couple days. As I said in the previous point, I also try to throw in some back-to-back E meals. Do the unexpected for your body! It keeps your metabolism guessing.
- Embrace those healthy fats! Don’t skimp! However, embrace quality over quantity. Sometimes people are scared of healthy fats because “fat” sounds like “fattening”. Fats aren’t fattening – unless you just plain over eat! That’s one of my biggest pitfalls. There’s nothing wrong with fats, but double dessert every day will add up, trim and healthy or not!
- Along the same lines, learn to be content with normal portion sizes, and don’t let the fact that your food is healthy be an excuse for gluttony. Use discipline in your portions, and don’t just eat for a hobby. Don’t get me wrong – there are lots of people out there who need to learn that they can eat more, but some of us overly zealous foodies hear that and think it applies to us too. And then we wonder why we can’t lose weight. Yes, on Trim Healthy Mama I can get away with eating more because my metabolism is alive and well, but there is still a limit to how much I can eat and still lose weight! (For more on this topic, you can check out my post about food freedom versus gluttony here.)
Don’t:
- Eat much late at night. For me, evening snacking and weight loss are inversely proportional. Therefore, I try to keep any evening snacks either very small or very light.
- Eat lots of peanut butter every day. This is my downfall. Nuts are really calorie-dense (but they’re so good…), and nut butters just don’t process quite as efficiently as foundation fats like coconut oil and butter. I eat my fair share of peanut butter, but I try to keep my consumption of it to a moderate level.
- Eat so much! Unless, of course, you’re one of those people that needs to eat more. I, however, am one of those people that enjoys snacking all day, every day. I eat big meals (I like to joke that breakfast is the reason I get up in the morning). I love my afternoon snacks! I love dessert! I love ice cream! I love chocolate! I just love food in general.
- Obsess about the scales. They don’t make sense sometimes. There are times when I just feel skinny, but I step on the scales and find that I actually gained weight. Don’t believe those scales. They vary according to the time of day, hormones, fluid fluctuations, carb intake, salt intake, exercise, whether you dreamt about donuts last night…everything. I recommend weighing once a week or so and tracking a general trend in your weight instead of weighing in every day.
- Sweat the small stuff. This is a lifestyle. It’s a journey. If you cheat, big deal. Yeah, you read that right. Now don’t do it again. If you accidentally ate a crossover, big deal. Now you know for next time (and crossovers are still healthy, so congratulations!). Whatever you do, don’t delay starting your healthy journey because a) you don’t quite understand everything or b) you don’t have all the ingredients yet. Any step is progress, so start now.
- Binge cheat. So you snuck a chocolate truffle from a Christmas candy platter. That’s actually not a whole lot of damage done. Go brush your teeth, go to bed, wake up, and eat something healthy in the morning. Do NOT say, “I’ve blown it already so I might as well have a huge bowl of ice cream slathered in peanut butter and chocolate syrup.” That’s a LOT of damage. If you’ve been eating healthy for awhile, chances are you’ll feel physically sick afterwards. Even if your tummy feels perfectly fine, you’ll probably be mad at yourself for giving in. It’s not worth it. Don’t do it. Have some self-discipline. Saying no to something physically can actually be a good spiritual exercise!
Do you have any dos or don’ts to add to my list? Comment below!
Click here to check out my Starting THM page. It has a lot of helpful tips and links to get you started or help you continue your journey!
Click here to see all my recipes in a cool NEW pictorial recipe index!
YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:
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STARTING THM
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MY RECIPE INDEX
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RECIPE INDEX BY FUEL TYPE/ALLERGY/THEME
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Dos and Don’ts from a THM Veteran
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5 Tips for Starting THM
Sarah says
I can’t find how to make THM powdered sugar. My migraines don’t care for Truvia. ect.
Can I make it with just with Gentle Sweet or Super sweet?
If so, does it need arrowroot or baking powder too?
I’m trying to switch my waffles out & don’t care for syrup. I like dusting (ok dumping! Lol) PS on top.
Can you help me please???
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
I’m sorry – I’ve never made powdered sugar so I’m not sure if you’d just grind it up in a coffee grinder or high powered blender or if you’d need to add something to it. I wouldn’t recommend adding baking powder; that probably wouldn’t taste pleasant. I’m not sure if arrowroot is on plan or not.
I would think that you’d probably want to use the least concentrated sweetener possible – something that measures like sugar instead of something concentrated like Super Sweet or Gentle Sweet. If you can handle xylitol or erythritol you could try grinding that to powder.
Gentle Sweet is already a powder, is it not? Maybe you could just use some of that dusted across the top?
Kathy says
I love your dos and donts. However, my cholesterol level has gone up and up since I started THM. Any suggestions for keeping my metabolism revved as I really have to watch my fats now? i’ve been on THM for 2 1/2 years.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
I feel a little out of my depth answering that question, but maybe if you ask over on the main THM Facebook group you could get some tips from people who have experienced the same thing?
Nadine says
Thank you for the post. I want to do THM. I am the caregiver for my 88 yo dad and I think thm would work for him too. At least some of the recipes. I need to lose 80 lbs. I’m hoping somehow I can figure this out this system and do it. Definitely want to join your site. 😊
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Welcome! Feel free to follow along via email! This is a great page with getting started info. 🙂 https://www.briana-thomas.com/starting-trim-healthy-mama/
Lisa says
Hi Briana! Thank you for this wonderful post! I’m sharing links to this and your Starting THM post in a roundup to help others get started on THM.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Thanks so much, Lisa! I appreciate it!
Tammy P. says
Briana,
My husband and I are missionaries on deputation. We are traveling and staying in hotels as well as in home of church families. I had just started trim healthy mama, (and was doing quite well), now I feel overwhelmed and frustrated by my inability to simply prepare my own food. If I could figure out a way to “cook” for my self in a hotel that would be great!!! Any suggestions?
Briana Thomas says
Well, you’d be surprised what can be made in a coffee maker… 😛 I’m sure you could make oatmeal or even heat up soups if you’re careful. I use these overnight oatmeal packets for traveling a lot: https://www.briana-thomas.com/overnight-oatmeal-survival-packets/
You could also buy sprouted bread and a toaster (or use a hotel toaster). Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and berries make a great breakfast addition or snack. This: https://www.briana-thomas.com/chocolate-covered-pbj-protein-mess/
Celery and peanut butter, rice cakes with all fruit jam, hummus with baby carrots, lots of Walmart salads, rotisserie chicken, Joseph’s pitas with meat and cheese and sandwich fixings, fruit and yogurt…I’d just keep it really simple and do as little cooking as possible if I were in your shoes. 😉
Mabel says
Hi Briana! I’m new to this whole THM thing and I’m very excited though pretty much clueless!! I’m a little scared of the huge learning curve and my question is: could I do it wrong if I cook the recipes “by the book”?
Thank you:)
Briana Thomas says
Hi Mabel! Could you clarify what you mean? I definitely recommend reading the THM plan book to get a basic handle on the plan. 🙂 Cooking recipes from the THM cookbooks should be pretty straightforward if you keep your S and E meals separated, but the plan book will help you with the nuances.
Monica Fermoyle says
Hi Briana,
I am new to THM and I have this nagging question. How do you figure out if a product is on plan? I’m figuring it has something to do with the carbs minus the fiber? I don’t want to have to post the labels on the FB page and wait for a response to find out if it’s on plan. This is highly inconvenient when you’re in the store. And besides, I don’t have FB on my phone. How do they figure it out if it’s on plan? I appreciate your help if you know …or if you can point me somewhere. I’ve posted the question to the FB page , but so far only one reply, but not the answer.
Thanks in advance,
Monica
Briana Thomas says
Hi Monica! THM actually has more to do with ingredients than numbers. 🙂 Something is off plan because it contains off plan ingredients – sugar or other high glycemic sweeteners, flour that isn’t sprouted or fermented, white rice, potatoes…basically ingredients that are highly processed or really high on the glycemic index (THM focuses on ingredients that won’t spike your blood sugar). Have you read the THM plan book? That’s the best way to get a handle on what is acceptable and what is not, and reading it two or three times to solidify the info is always a good idea!
Nancy says
Thank you so much for these tips!
Rebecca Keep says
I am loving this blog! So helpful. Does the Necessary Food cookbook categorize recipes by meal types, S, E, FP? Looks like a great cookbook. Thank you.
Briana Thomas says
I wasn’t able to use THM fuel types due to copyrights, but I came up with my own categories and all recipes are clearly marked. 🙂 Thanks for your interest!
Healthy Fats = S
Foundation Fats = Deep S
Healthy Carbs = E
Low Carb/Low Fat = FP
Healthy Carbs & Healthy Fats = XO
Rebecca says
What’s the best way to eat peanut butter on the THM plan? I love it, but have basically given it up since I’m scared to over-do it and can’t pair it with bread.
Briana Thomas says
In moderate amounts in an S setting. 🙂 I love eating it with celery sticks as a side dish to an S lunch!
Rachel Dickson says
Great advice! Thank you
Janice Wolters says
I love your cookbook and tips! You are a blessing!!! Thank you.
Brenda Carroll says
Enjoyed your THM tips . I’m signing up to receive your posts.
Ruth Lanteigne says
I’ve been diabetic for 45 years. Last fall I was in a lot of pain and my sugars were running in the 3- and 400s all the time, no matter what I did with medication and insulin. After knee surgery in December, I caught a bug and was sick for several weeks. Pounds were coming off just from being sick. At that point, I decided once and for all to get rid of the weight that had contributed to my knees being in bad shape. I was already within 40 lbs of my desired weight, the closest I had been in years to where I wanted to be. I started THM in March. At first, I lost more weight, but have not lost much recently. However, the big payoff to eating the THM way has been the improvement in my blood sugars. I still take long-acting insulin morning and night, but have not needed any short-acting insulin in months. The sugars have been 80-100 almost all the time, very consistent and NORMAL. And I feel stronger, sharper, healthier. Even if I never lose another pound, this improvement alone is worth every bit of work it takes to remain on plan.
Briana Thomas says
That’s wonderful, Ruth! Thank you for sharing!
Kay says
Remember what the sugar detox felt like. That keeps me from even taking one bit of sugar. I just do NOT want to do that detox again!
Priscilla says
I’ve been on trim healthy mama for a month and a half now and have not lost a pound I’m very discouraged
Briana Thomas says
Don’t give up! It often takes time for your body to heal before it can let go of the weight. I just saw an update from someone yesterday who said she had been on plan for 3 months but finally started dropping pounds now. If you have any suspicions of any under-lying health issues, I would go get that checked out as imbalances in your body can stall weight loss. You might also want to have a seasoned THMer/admin look over your menu to see if you could do anything differently. Hang in there!
Amy says
Briana thank you so much for this work. Your ice cream recipes have saved my diet! God bless you!
Margaret says
Thank you , Briana, for all your help! I have a Brianne. : )
Juliet says
Don’t get discouraged at temporary stalls (especially right around the 20 pounds loss point). The scale will move again.
Cindy Litchfield says
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes…and your words of wisdom. You are certainly making this journey easier.
Jean says
Great article
Kitty says
I found this very encouraging! I started THM back in August, and did OK. Fell off at Thanksgiving, and decided not to start again until after Christmas (my favorite holiday/season of the entire year, with lots of non-THM approved, southern family traditions that go along with it!) now, I’m regretting it, since getting back into it and getting off the sugar (especially the sweet tea) is a lot harder than I thought it’d be! This post was just what I needed to refocus. Thank you so much!
Julie Scott says
DO find some trusted THM-approved websites from THM veterans (like Briana!) and have fun exploring new recipes. (Can I also say Gwen’s Nest and WorkingAtHomeSchool, too?)
Valerie says
DO…subscribe to Briana’s blog so you don’t miss any of her yummy recipes and great posts!
Briana Thomas says
Amen!
Abby Almaroad says
I have been more encouraged by measuring inches lost than pounds lost.
Thanks so much for your helpful tips!
Natalie Waggoner says
How much coconut oil per day is enough? I’m sure I dont get enough bit im not good st finding places to fit it in!
Briana Thomas says
There’s no hard and fast rule, and I know my own personal consumption varies a lot. 1-2 T a day would probably be a good place to start, and I’m sure more wouldn’t hurt!
Sheryl says
How do you suggest getting coconut oil in our diet?
Briana Thomas says
Make chocolate with it (you can check out my Meringue Skinny Chocolate recipe), add to it shakes and hot drinks, fry things in it, eat it by the spoonful, make PB&J Chocolate-Covered Strawberries (recipe also here on my site)…the possibilities are endless!
Bonnie Sheffler says
I look forward to the new cookbook. Love your ice cream recipes.
Dee white says
Hearing great results from friends. Interested and hope to get started.
Heidi Marcin says
Awesome lists! I want to be more in-tune with true hunger and fullness in 2016. We can be food obsessed whether it is healthy or junk and overeating is possible in both categories. I am learning that revving up my metabolism does not necessarily mean I get to eat huge portions every day, all day long. There is only so much fuel the body can burn!
Sandy B says
Do drink half your weight in water every day. Add a little lemon to it to help flush toxins.
Kelsey says
Will using lemon essential oil work the same as real lemons?
JAN says
Drink half your weight in ounc Es every day 200 lb person 100 oz (JUST OVER 3 QTS OF WATER)
Janeth says
I would drown.
Dottie says
Lol
Lisa says
Thanks for the tips. I’m just trying to get started on THM I dont know why I have such a mental block!?!?
Briana Thomas says
Just jump in! It’s a huge learning curve, but trial by fire is the quickest way to learn. 🙂
Lise @momlovesbaking says
Be kind to yourself and don’t ever give up.
Amy@AtMulberryHill says
Well, from one food lover to another, this is fantastic! (I wake up excited about breakfast every day, too! 🙂 I found it frustrating that I gained even when I ate THM approved treats. I’m also a binge cheater. Ah, I messed up, so I may as well make it good! Ugh.
Thank you for all you have to offer here. Every time I read a post, I think I could spend hours here learning and gathering new recipes!
Hermine says
This is a brilliant list!
My sister once advised that to give up because you cheated once, is like finding a puncture in your car’s tyre, then deciding to slash the rest of it with a knife…
Thank you for all your amazing tips and advice, Briana. You definitely contribute to the joy in this journey.
Julie says
DO: Try to find a friend or two to share this journey with you. Support and encouragement, ideas and accountability are a key factor in the success I have had! My THM buddies and I meet once a week. It is worth the time and effort to coordinate our schedules.
Cassandra says
There’s an app called youfood where people post different meals they ate that day – I find that helps keep me motivated and I’m able to show people what my meals are- also helpful to see if I am eating correctly with my meals!
nikki says
That’s true about PB. I LOVE it so much. It’s an addiction I can eat by the spoonful
Chloe says
I have the same problem, but a good solution is to buy some pb flour in bulk (i get mine from costco) and whip up some of that instead because it has SO much less fat (2.5g per 2tbs) which means you can put a whole four tablespoons of peanut butter on your toast if you so desire and still stay in E mode. It has a different taste but i add salt and truvia and i love it.