All things Gale: Trim Healthy Mama

So a quick check-in on my Trim Healthy Mama journey. You guys: I am LOVING it!! I am still a total of 9 lbs down because I took a month off of strict THM to take care of some other business. I started back on it this week at 80-100% and have been trying some of the recipes from their new book and love them so much. But I always come back to this one...

Smoothies are possibly one of my favorite things. And obviously other people like them or we wouldn't have a million Smoothie Kings everywhere right? Even thought it is starting to get cold outside,

I still drink smoothies year-round (and wear birkenstocks...with socks of course) I try to make myself something that is indulgent and healthy to stave off the snacky cravings especially if we are going to eat wings and fries (football season staple, amiright?!). I'll eat a couple and enjoy them, but with something of my own that is filling and delicious, I never feel like I am depriving myself.

And the ingredients are super simple staples that many Trim Healthy Mamas already have on hand!

Since I started Trim Healthy Mama, I have at least 1 smoothie a day. Usually they are fuel pull smoothies, but every now and then, I like to fuel up with this E (energizing) smoothie. It tastes like a creamy orange popsicle and is seriously so delicious, I die a little each time I sip. I will make an "E" meal JUST so I can whip up this smoothie on the side!! My E meal is usually a turkey and laughing cow sandwich on sprouted bread. It's a little boring, so this on the side makes it luxurious!

You know what makes this smoothie even more fun? My brand new Ninja blender!! My blender took a turn for the worse after 5 years of faithfully operating day in and day out. My blender and my coffeemaker are in use daily around here. And they just can't suck or I'll be replacing them quarterly. Hooray for no more ice cube chunks stuck in my straw!! I'm feeling super fancy with this monster of a blender. I'm movin' up!!

If you are looking for a quick and healthy snack, give this smoothie a try and let me know what you think! And please tell me your best kept THM secrets so I can make sure to eat healthy through the rest of football/holiday season!!

THM'd Orange Smoothie

Ingredients

1 medium orange

1 scoop pristine whey powder

1/4 tsp gluccie or xantham gum (optional)

2-3 tsp gentle sweet

1 cup Chobani Greek Yogurt (to make this THM E, pick fat free plain)

1 dash vanilla

1 dash probiotic (optional)

12 ice cubes

Instructions:

Peel the orange and drop the sections in the blender along with the whey powder, glucci or xantham, gentle sweet, Chobani yogurt and vanilla. Blend for 3-5 minutes. Add the ice cubes and blend until smooth.

ENJOY!!!

It makes a HUGE smoothie so you can share with everyone :)

Or not...

*this post contains affiliate links

So you may have heard a little about Trim Healthy Mama, maybe you even googled it a little bit to learn about what it is an how to do it. But you never took the first step to give it try because it looked complicated or you just weren't in a place to start focusing on your own health. If you are anything like me you were confused by the "rules" and could probably research yourself into your grave before you ever get started on the plan. So let me try to help you out with a few tips!

When I was researching the best way to kick-start my weight loss, I just couldn't do another diet. I've done them ALL! Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, calorie counting, gluten-free, etc. I firmly believe that you should not have to cut out major food groups or healthy foods when you are trying to lose weight. I stand by my "Eat Butter, Lose Weight" post. Healthy fats have a firm place in my diet and I won't drop them. But I also wasn't able to drop pounds just by eating healthily after I had Bridget (I'm getting OLD!!!).

So, I finally decided to jump on the Trim Healthy Mama plan and I have had SUCH amazing success with it so far that I must encourage you to give it a try!!!! You can follow my weight loss on the left with the My Fitness Pal icon and see my progress since July 15th. I started working out and counting calories until I got very frustrated that the scale wasn't moving at all. On August 10th, I finally decided to give Trim Healthy Mama a chance on recommendation from a friend. Now this particular friend is extremely petite and had to quit a few weeks in because she can't get "too skinny"...

Credit

Yeah, I don't understand or relate to that issue at all. But, I do know that she lost the last few pounds easily. Then, Wardee of Gnowfglins (a personal foodie hero of mine) posted her success with THM and I decided it was time to give it a try. After all, I had lost and regained the same 8 pounds repeatedly this past year and was done with all that mess! I am currently down 8 pounds and the scale continues to move. I am eating healthy foods, tons of veggies and produce, tons of butter, eggs, avocados, and even my personal favorite: homemade sourdough bread! (I used to sell it at the farmers market!) If you are looking for a plan to actually lose weight using science you can understand and food you love, this is definitely the one to get behind.

Here is your Trim Healthy Mama Crash course:

Eat tons of protein.
Enjoy fats and carbs, just not together.
Eat meals with protein and fats.
Eat meals with protein and carbs.
Wait three hours before switching between a high carb and high fat meal.
Eat tasty food.
Eat everything in moderation but never go hungry.
Don't count calories.
Each meal is another chance to start over.

So, if you want to give it a try, here are the top 5 items you need to get started with Trim Healthy Mama!

1. The Trim Healthy Mama Plan Book

The book explains everything so well and highlights lots of different food combos and ideas along with a ton of go-to recipes that you will use daily! The sisters just came out with two new books:

Trim Healthy Mama Plan

Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook

2. A high quality pure protein powder

Trim Healthy Mama Protein Powder

This is a daily staple. You will use this powder in a daily smoothie or other food. Especially after you try some of the awesome and filling recipes! My favorite is this Fat Stripping Frappa and I make one every day! It's like a huge milkshake but packed with protein powder! (I always put my probiotic in as well.)

I use the Trim Healthy Mama protein powder for two reasons

It is affordable! You don't end up with a 1 gallon container that cost you a fortune.
It only has one ingredient: Whey (Milk) Protein Isolate Powder

3. Glucomannan Pure Powder

Glucomannan is Konjac Root Powder used to thicken various liquids!

I use a little Gluccomannan Powder in my daily "Fat Stripping Frappa" smoothie and also in my chocolate pudding (recipe found in the book). This can also be used to thicken soups or stews and sauces if you are on an "E" meal and can't use gobs of fat. I also make a strawberry vanilla topping thickened with a little glucomannan to put on pancakes, muffins, etc. So tasty!

4. Gentle Sweet

Gentle Sweet is amazing! It is a blend of xylitol, erythritol and stevia and perfectly sweetens all of my favorite dishes!

THM Gentle Sweet

Now let me clarify that I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners like splenda or anything with aspartame. And I would prefer that the only sweeteners in my home are pure maple syrup and raw honey, but the reality is that I cannot lose weight by regularly consuming these items. I look forward to going back to "normal" once I have reached my happy zone. Until then, I am SO excited to have found Gentle Sweet!! It is delicious and flavors all of my specialty foods like strawberry sauce, smoothies and skinny chocolate. Just make sure you don't eat a lot of it and use THM to dampen your sweet tooth. You will find that as you avoid sugar, you don't crave it anymore and the natural sugars in food begin to get stronger and more appealing. And you want to make sure your sweetener doesn't have any other ingredients than just the pure stevia/xylitol/ethyritol.

Skinny Chocolate for a little "pick-me-up"!

5. Cocoa Powder

I have never gone through so much cocoa powder in my life as I do with Trim Healthy Mama! But everything that I make with it is healthy and nourishing. It is important to get a high quality cocoa powder and a pound is a good starting point! This cocoa powder is from Frontier, one of our foodclub sources, and it is certified fair trade. And delicious!!

Frontier Fair Trade Cocoa Powder

And there you have it! These are 5 of the main items needed to begin Trim Healthy Mama.

If you are ready to jump in with both feet, here are a few other items that are key to add to your shopping list in addition to fresh produce and meats so you are fully prepared for Week 1! You should be able to find these in many stores like Aldi and Kroger. If not, you can get anything from Amazon!

Flax Seeds - where to find
Almond Flour - where to find
Coconut Oil - where to find
Chia Seeds - where to find
Rolled Oats - where to find
Unsweetened Almond Milk - where to find
Greek Yogurt
Cream Cheese
Baking Powder (make your own aluminum free blend!)
And TONS of eggs!!!

Now you are officially ready to begin. For inspiration, be sure to join us in the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook group. You can see tons of recipes, before/after photos and hear testimonials for how THM is working for women and men in every age group and every circumstance!! I will be posting my personal before and after photos as soon as the change is more noticeable. So far, I have lost 8 lbs and 8.5 inches and while this is a good start, but I have about 20 more to go!! I will be some information on what I typically eat soon so stay tuned.