All of your Trim Healthy Mama questions answered from A to Z. A complete look into the THM plan with insight on how to make it easier and more cost effective.
Are you a Trim Healthy Mama with question? Or are you interested in the plan but afraid to take the plunge?
Today we are embarking on a 26 day comprehensive look into the Trim Healthy Mama plan. If you have lots of questions or need help on something specific, please join us on this journey!
I blog a lot about THM and I really did not have that intent when I started blogging! My first goal was to share money saving tips with other moms that I have learned along. Since my full time 9-5 is as a professional buyer, I thought my expertise would be valuable to families that could apply those principles at home to live a better life.
But then one day in June 2018, I posted a Keto/Low Carb/THM S recipe. It was a pretty simple recipe that I threw together one night in less than 30 minutes and did a quick blog post. The pictures are terrible. The recipe is crazy easy. There are only 4 ingredients. I expected to throw it up and go back to talking about saving money on back to school clothes shopping.
My THM/keto readers had a different plan though! The post went crazy and the recipe has been shared more than 150,000 times on Pinterest. So I decided that maybe you guys were interested in seeing more Trim Healthy Mama recipes and learning about how to save money and time while doing THM! So here we are, working our way through Trim Healthy Mama A to Z.
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Trim Healthy Mama Basics
If you read any of the THM posts that I have, I always stress that you should read the book! The internet is a wealth of knowledge but I recommend reading the book to get your own grasp of the plan.
In particular so that you can understand the sister’s reasoning for different items and then apply personal choice and food freedom to make choices that work for you and your family.
So now that you have read the book, we will go over the THM basics before we dive into the Trim Healthy Mama A to Z guide.
What is THM?
THM is a way of eating that combines aspects from several other popular diets like Keto/Low Carb diets as well as lifestyles that focus on low fat meals like Weight Watchers.
On Trim Healthy Mama, your meals are broken out into one of four different types: E meal, S meal, XO or FP meal. There are actually a couple of others (like Heavy S, S Helper, Deep S) but you are not going to worry about those until you get these first few down pat.
Here is the THM cheat sheet!
S Meal (Low Carb – Fats allowed)
The easiest way to describe an S meal is to call it low carb. You will eat whatever fats that you want but you will avoid carbs. Full fat dairy, any type of meat, full fat cheese, and full fat dressings are allowed in this type of meal.
You can also have berries or a kiwi with an S meal but should avoid other fruits.
E Meal (Healthy Carbs – Low Fat)
For an E meal, you will have a lean and low fat meal with a healthy carb. You will avoid fatty cuts of meat and all those full fat dairy and cheeses. You should aim for lean meats, brown rice or quinoa, sweet potatoes or carbs that are higher in carbs such as apples, pears, oranges, half a banana.
FP Meal (No Large Source of Fats or Carbs)
A FP meal is a meal that doesn’t have a major source of fats or carbs. I think of this meal as a traditional diet meal that you might find on a low calorie meal plan. For example, grilled chicken and non-starchy vegetables would not be high in fat or carbs leaving it to be a nothing meal (as I like to call it) or a FP.
If you read my 9 tips on what to do if you are not losing, you will need to know what a FP is!
XO Meal (Mixing S and E)
If you mix an S meal and an E meal together on one plate, that is called a XO. A crossover (XO) is still on the Trim Healthy Mama plan. However, if you are actively trying to lose weight, they may not be as beneficial vs. separating your fuels.
An example of a XO would be a fried egg in butter (S because of the fats in a whole egg and butter) with a piece of sprouted toast (E for the carbs in toast). Eating these together is certainly better than eating a donut but it may not have you losing as quickly as you would if you ate your fuels separately.
XO’s are great for growing children, men, nursing mother’s and those that are at goal weight. They are also good if you are going to go off plan or choose a XO! I would much rather see you eat the breakfast that I described above vs. that donut! And some people even swear by eating a cross over occasionally to kind of jump start their weight loss again.
Protein
Don’t forget to add a protein to every meal or snack!
Now that you have the basics, lets jump into this 26 article list of all things THM.
Trim Healthy Mama A t0 Z
Ok, here is the list of Trim Healthy Mama A to Z posts that will solve all your THM problems. A new letter will be added weekly and this will be your one stop shop to see every post from A to Z.
A – Accountability for Success on Trim Healthy Mama & Alcohol on THM
B – Budgeting On Trim Healthy Mama and On Plan, Store Bought Bread
C- Cooking Made Easy on THM & Store Bought On Plan Crackers & Chips
D – Drive Thru Sue – What it is & how to succeed if your name might be “Sue” & Store Bought THM Desserts
F – Fuel Pull Meals & Understanding Fuel Rotation
H- Husband’s and THM (Making it Work)
I- Icecream
J- Jelly (On Plan, Store Bought Options)
K- Keto Vs. Trim Healthy Mama (What’s the Difference?)
L- Lunch On THM, More than 35 ideas
N- No Special Ingredients (NSI) – Do you really need special items?
O- Overwhlemed on THM – 5 Simple Tips to Make Life Easier
P- Party Foods & Potlucks – Healthy & On Plan Appetizer Ideas (that even your non-THM Friends will like)
Q- Quitting THM – what I did wrong the first time around & how you can avoid my mistakes!
R- Restaurants & THM – How to eat on plan at virtually any restaurant
S- Shopping List – Everything you will want to grab at the grocery store.
T- Type 2 Diabetes (How my Husband Drastically Improved his A1C in 6 months)
U- Understanding THM – A Beginner’s Guide
W- Wasa Toffee & Wasa Puppy Chow
X-
Y-
Z-
Drop me a comment if you have a question. I would love to try and help you on your journey.