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Recently, a lot of you Trim Healthy Mama followers have been expressing your desires to be adopted, so to speak. We all would love to have a THM big sister who encourages us in our journey and helps us learn new things. THM is a community of lovely people who are all talented in different areas, so today, your wish is my command! I’ve teamed up with a few THM bloggers and asked what their advice to you would be. They’ve shared their words of wisdom, along with some links to their blogs so you can learn even more from them! These ladies all have a great grasp of the THM plan, so pull up a chair, grab yourself a good drink and get ready to learn!
I’ve written my personal advice to THM newbies in this letter. This letter shares everything that I would say to someone just starting THM. Now, let’s hear from some other ladies!
We were all like that at the beginning, and now a lot of us are
comfortable enough with the program to make up our own recipes!
Just stick at it. I suggest sticking to making mostly recipes from
the book until you get a handle on things. Yeah, that comes from
me – a recipe blogger! Why? Because a) until you learn to read
recipes in a discerning way, you *know* the book recipes are safe,
and b) there is a wealth of information contained in the recipe
instructions and notes themselves.”
You can find more tips and delicious recipes from Briana here.
Jacque of RunAmok Mama says, “Don’t panic if you lose a bit of
weight and then “stall!” It can feel so discouraging to be losing
regularly, then all of a sudden hit that “brick wall” where nothing is
budging on the scale. Stalls are perfectly normal- even “good”! I
promise! Losing 1-2 pounds per week is generally considered to be
a reasonable and safe weight loss. Even with a slow and steady
loss, the body can become somewhat overwhelmed, as our organs
must not only process the melting fat, but also (potentially) years
of toxins which have been stored in the fat. It is common for people
to experience a “stall” ever 15-20 pounds as their bodies take time
to recover between losses. Don’t give up! You can even rejoice
when your body takes a “healing” break- You are experiencing
success, even when it is a “non-scale victory”!”
You can hear more from Jacque here.
Judy from Wonderfully Made and Dearly Loved says, “If recipes
don’t seem to be working out. Slow down, start with 1 recipe and
get that 1 to where you like it. Then move on to something else.
Know that baking with alternative sweeteners and flours is trial
and error, even seasoned bakers have recipes that don’t work out.
Don’t give up and keep on trying … You will find your groove.”
I’m sure you’ll find a delicious recipe on Judy’s blog!
Dawn from Oh, Sweet Mercy shares a tip that has saved her many
times! “Plan ahead and be prepared for situations where you will
be somewhere where everyone else is eating “normal” food. Pack
on plan snacks or your own meal, and don’t feel bad about it. You
are doing what is best for YOUR body, and that is not a reflection
on their cooking. It’s like if you had gluten issue and brought your
own bread…except you now have an “allergy” to off-plan foods.
Same goes for when you will be out running errands, having an on-
plan snack can help you avoid the drive through as well as help
your budget.”
Find more life-saving tips from Dawn here.
Paloma of The Coffee Shop has two great links that will help you begin your journey. These two posts are super informative and are sure to help you start strong:
How To Get Started
Trim Healthy Mama Is Too Confusing!
Keep up with Paloma for free menu plans and more!
Teresia of Nana’s Little Kitchen says, “So much of any diet is
focusing on what you can eat and not what you can’t, and that is
where Trim Healthy Mama scores big! There are lots of food
choices, but figuring out which ones are actually on plan and that are right for you and your family is where the job truly begins. At
some point you will want to branch out because no one wants to
eat the same foods forever, but most of the people I know who
have successfully lost weight on THM have done so by starting out
with the recipes in the book first. Once they had a firm hold on the
plan, they began trying new dishes a little at a time while keeping
an eye on the THM friendly blogs and other THMer’s to see which
cooking and eating styles match up with theirs. Then they were
later able to establish a lifestyle of truly healthy eating on this plan.
Please don’t get discouraged and overwhelmed because everyone I
know, has gone through basically the same culture shock and it
just takes time and, when necessary, being willing to reach out and
explain your situation so others can help you figure out how to
tailor this plan to your situation. God’s blessings on your journey.
Get THM inspiration from Teresia by visiting her blog.
You can also find great inspiration, help for your questions and recipes by going on Facebook and searching up THM Beginners. This is a great group for newbies that gives a lot of support! 🙂
Good luck on your journey!
This is a great post! I just love THM, the support is fabulous and it's such a wonderful plan to follow. Thanks for putting these tips together!
This is great!!! Thanks for putting it all together!