Where Am I?

I began my journey on plan with Trim Healthy Mama on January 5, 2015. THM was not a New Year's Resolution, THM was a life change for me. 

God has given me really great friends throughout my life. Tonight I hosted our Mom's Night Out in our home. There are many ladies that ebb and flow through the MNO group but there is the core and that core of women is becoming such an integral part of my life. You see, these are friends I have made all on my own, I began with paths crossing with one of the group and going to Mom's Night Out all by myself, a very big deal for me. You see these are now my people, we share the common bond of loving God, family and home educating our blessings. I have prayed and waited for years for these ladies, I knew they were out there I just had to wait until God brought us all together, in His time. 

Tonight we lingered longer than the other attendees and we got to talk about life and THM. Which brings me to the reason for this post. I was asked how I stay on plan. That was a difficult question to answer. The short answer is that I stay on plan because on plan works, the weight goes away and I feel energetic, I feel human. 

The question also made me realize that I need to share more about my journey with THM on this old blog. So here goes: 

I journaled this on January 15, 2015. Ten days on plan. Journal entry in italics.

On December 28, 2015 I had had enough. I was ready to make a change-to take control of the weight that has controlled me far too long. 

I had known about THM for quite a while now. I had done a little research but never read the book. I dismissed THM as too restrictive for me. Over moths and years I kept seeing the occasional success story on Facebook. All the while I started gaining weight. Something I really had not done for quite a while. 

I guess I had to hit my rock bottom, which would really be a weight high, when I decided to get serious, buy the book and give this a go. 

I ordered my book the night of December 28 and waited. Also, the night I decided to go for this I texted a friend who had the book but had not started yet and told her I was ready. She and another friend had just been talking of this book that day and thus began my journey with THM with a support system from the start. 

Oh, yeah, I gave up sugar. I cannot believe that at all. 

This picture is from July 2014 while in Ohio with two of my besties, I am the one in the black shirt. The bottom picture is me in August trying on jeans  at Old Navy. 

Back to School

We are back to school and the garden is almost harvested and moose hunting is just around the corner. 

Pictures, in order: 

Levi

Tummy tucking ice cream

Emmy, the duck fetcher and me

Emmy, Benjamin and me

Benjamin at work 

Fall means slowing down and knitting again

Me again, I am really working to record my progress along this journey

Random end of the day picture, I am still working on organization and my school workspace

What I Ate-Friday, July 17-Friday, July 24

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. 

Friday I drove down to youth camp to deliver pies for dessert and I got to see my kiddos, especially the one having a seventeenth birthday. 

What did I eat? 

Friday, July17

B- Fat Stripping Frappe book page 240- FP book page 

L- low carb tortilla turkey ranch wrap and celery with peanut butter -S

D- pork loin, salad and chocolate pie, yes, it was on plan - S

Saturday, July 18

B-THM pancakes book page 223 with berry sauce-E

L- Sam's pizza-off plan

D-chicken stir fry with frozen vegetables -S

Volcano mud slide with whipped cream -S

Sunday, July 19

B-THM pancakes and berry sauce and Moose sausage-E

Snack-peanuts and two slices of bacon-S

L-Bacon wrapped cream cheese stuffed chicken, saluted vegetables-S

Snack-popcorn and fat stripping frappe book page 240- E

Monday, July 20

B-three eggs, two slices bacon-S

L-three pieces celery with peanut butter, cheddar cheese-S

Snack-almonds, peanuts and a square of chocolate-S

D-moose with Gucci gravy, cauliflower mash, salad-S

Dessert- snicker doodle in a mug-S

Tuesday, July 21

B-Fat Stripping Frappe(FSF) page 240 book-FP

L-Salad bar at Fred Meyer-S

Snack- almonds and dark chocolate-S

D-Grilled salmon and salad with ranch-S

Strawberries and whipped cream

Wednesday, July 22

B-Blueberry oatmeal-E

L-Carl's Jr. low carb burger-S

D-Grilled chicken and salad-S

Chocolate chocolate chip cookie in a mug-S, we add a tablespoon of cocoa to the recipe

Thursday, July 23 

B-Fat Stripping Frappe(FSF)book page 240- FP (can you tell I love these??? I use dark chocolate cocoa powder in these)

L-Bagel, yogurt, orange, grapes and cherries-E

D-Dreamfields pasta, red sauce, ground moose and Parmesan-S

Peanut butter whip-S

Friday, July 24

B-Pumpkin Muffin in a Mug-S

L-FSF-FP

D-Pizza Casserole book page 327 and green beans(from the garden!!!)-S

Oh, and today I made it to forty-eight pounds lost, two pounds away from fifty pounds and two-thirds of my way to my goal!!!

My Life with Trim Healthy Mama--What I Ate This Week

I can no longer avoid regular blogging about my life with THM. I introduce to you the "what I ate this week" series. I am not promising a certain day of the week until I find my groove. I also know myself enough to know that I cannot do a  menu of what I will eat but since I do keep a food journal I can post what I have eaten here.

*disclaimer: I have been home with only a six year old this week so cooking has been minimal. Probably not the best week to start sharing my food journal on the blog 

Also, it has been swimming lessons the week, thus the abundant fat stripping frappes for breakfast

Here goes:

S= satisfying, higher fat and lower carb

E=energizing, higher carb lower fat

FP= fuel pull, protein source that is neither high carb or high fat

Sunday, July 12

B- sausage, low fat moose sausage, and Dannon Triple Zero yougury-E

L- turkey, mashed loaded cauliflower, sautéed squash--S

Snack- popcorn and a Fat Stripping Frappe from the book --E

No journal recorded for Monday 

Tuesday, July 14

B- Pumpkin Muffin in a Mug--S

L- Silver Hills squirrelly bread one slice, toasted with 1 tsp. peanut butter, triple zero yogurt, 1/2 banana, mandarin orange and grapes--E

D- leftover turkey with sautéed veggies--S

Wednesday, July 15

B-Fat Stripping Frappe-FP

L-toast with PB, yogurt, Apple, grapes, mandarin orange- E

D-white turkey chili from the Coers Family  Blog- E

Thursday, July 16

B-Fat Stripping Frappe-FP

L-toast w/ PB, 1/2 Apple, grapes, mandarin orange--E

D-grilled chicken thighs, salad from the garden!!! and ranch dressing--S

86% dark chocolate

Update- Trim Healthy Mama

Last week I hit the goal of forty pounds lost. Forty pounds means I am over half way to the finish line.
I received this dress in a bag of clothes from someone moving away. I love this dress. The colors, the fit, the total package.

 I still have a way to go but I am not where I started.

My Story

This picture, taken on Thanksgiving Day 2014, was the breaking point for me.  When I saw this picture I knew that I had to do something to get this weight off, for good. I had tried exercising for seven months with little to no results.

On December 28, 2014 I ordered "the" book. Yes, I am talking about Trim Healthy Mama. I had read about THM here and there and just knew it was not for me, but I was wrong. I ordered my book and tracked it daily until it arrived on my doorstep. In the mean time I started reading all I could online and on Pinterest I created a secret THM board and pinned like crazy. When the book arrived, I read it quickly and was thankful for cold winter days to read. I think my book arrived on a Friday so I had the weekend to read as fast as I could. 

On January 5, 2015 I began my journey. I weighed and wrote my weight down, wrote it down people. I owned my weight. I also did some sort of weight calculator and faced the fact that I needed to lose about seventy-five pounds. Ouch! 

I started small and my goal was to have on-plan breakfasts that first week while I read more of the book and read parts for a second time. I even had spaghetti and pizza that week, yet I still lost weight.

I had an instant support group as two other friends were starting at the same time and a third joined a couple of weeks later. (We get together every month or so to chat, ask questions and try new recipes) I dropped six pounds in the first three weeks. Then I hit a wall and stayed the same and even had a couple of pounds come back but after those few up and down weeks I hit my stride with figuring out meal types, learning to love Good Girl Moonshine, finding a couple of on plan desserts and enjoying food without guilt.

Five months have now past and I am still enjoying this way of life. I do not feel as though I am missing out of anything because I can eat so many great things. Life pretty much has us eating all THM meals for dinner with off plan side offerings for the family members that choose to partake of such things. 

Judith has joined me and she has lost weight and makes excellent choices the majority of the time without feeling like she is restricted. When the time comes for pizza and other such foods when she is somewhere with friends she can eat the food available and then get back on plan next meal. She chooses this, she saw what was happening with me and she read the book and started making recipes from the book. She has introduced me to many great desserts and is quite the thm kitchen whiz. 

 Elisabeth is now interested and she jumps in when she can with our meals, so I would say she is at fifty percent on plan. Breakfast is her favorite on plan meal of the day.

What I love about THM is that it is not extreme, it seems like it at first, but once you are on plan it really does seem to come easier than the first month. My girls can do this and they are not wrecking their metabolism, starving themselves or setting bad habits. They are learning to live a healthy lifestyle and still enjoy food. That makes a Momma happy.

Here I am five months into my THM journey. I am about half way to the finish line for weight loss but I have also learned skills to maintain this weight loss when the goal has been met.

My Day on Instagram

Do you Instagram? I really like this social media outlet. I am a picture person, you see. So, I post quite a few pictures over on my Instagram account that do not make it to Facebook or even to the old blog here so why don't you join me over there for even more of the craziness that is our every day life?

Here is my first pic of the day. My boy with his Trim Healthy Boy Drink, for the link to this look at my Pinterest widget on the side and follow the directions. He liked it and there is no sugar!!!!

 

Then I posted my Mason Bar Company lid, I love these things. They should pay me for all the word of mouth advertising I do for them.

 

A picture of math time with Benjamin, he is a very active six year old boy and he asks a ton of questions, he is challenging to keep on topic. I love him. 

 

Here are two drinks, my quart of water and Benjamin's quilted jelly jar of yummy goodness. 

 

Lastly, a selfie went on Instagram. I was discussing a science chapter with Judith and decided to relax a little while we discussed.