Eating on plan is what you are supposed to do but sometimes you need a little jump start to your weight loss. Find out the on plan THM food I quit in order to start losing again.
Remember the Freshman 15 that everyone warns you about? Well no one warned me about the pandemic pounds that would make their way onto my body during COVID.
And let’s be honest, for every on plan meal that I was eating, the next two or three would be off plan. So the pounds just kept coming and sticking.
At the end of the summer, my husband and I got serious about sticking to Trim Healthy Mama. He lost a ton of weight and I lost 10 of the 15 lbs that I gained over quarantine.
But then the weight stopped falling off even though I wasn’t doing anything different. Why? That was the issue that I had to solve.
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The On Plan THM Food I Quit (And Started Losing Weight Again)
After reviewing the 9 reasons your weight loss might be stalled on Trim Healthy Mama, I felt pretty confident that I was doing everything right.
The only thing that I thought I could add would be to count calories. If you’ve read the book, you know we don’t traditionally count calories on THM. However, if you are not losing weight it can be good to make sure you are not abusing calories.
But here’s a secret – I hate counting calories. I usually do it for a meal or two and then it gets annoying and I quit.
And since my momentum was good with being on plan, I didn’t want to risk ruining that by adding on a task that I know to be difficult for me.
Food Evaluation
So instead of entering into the world of counting every cheese slice and celery stick that goes into my mouth, I went a different route that produced similar results.
I started really looking at everything I ate. But I ate normally (didn’t restrict anything more than I already was by following the THM Plan).
After a few days, I realized that I was really overdoing it with one specific food.
So What Was the On Plan Food That Was Stalling My Weight Loss?
Nuts. Cashews to be specific.
I love them. They are delicious buttery snack that is great to grab in a hurry. So filling and a pretty good sub for when you want to grab a handful of chips or crackers.
But here is the problem. I was eating way too many.
A handful in between breakfast and lunch. A little bowl with cashews and Bake Believe chocolate chips for an afternoon snack (my favorite). Another handful while cooking dinner.
It was just too many. Nuts are calorie dense and while we don’t count calories if you are overindulging in something (even if it is on plan) it can stop progress.
OK, Cool But I Don’t Overeat Nuts, So Why Am I Stalled?
Take a look into your habits. Look for anything that might be excessive, especially if it is a highly caloric or fatty food (or very high in carbs/natural sugars if you are doing an E meal – like too many bananas).
My scale had not moved in a few weeks and when I cut out the nuts that I was overeating, I lost 4 lbs in one week!
Think about it, is there anything that you are eating too much of? Avocados? Dairy? High carb fruits? Heavy S’s? Can you cut it out for one week?
I’m not forever quitting nuts. In fact, I’ve eaten some since I did this little experiment but I’m much more aware of the quantity that I’m consuming on any given day.