Negatives of Trim Healthy Mama, THM

The NaySayers. So we are in Week 6 of working out living as a Trim Healthy Mama. I have been obsessed in my thinking these weeks, but tempered in my speech. Any time I mention, even to supportive people, they seem inclined to give at least one reason why it is bad, or why it will not last for the long term. Which is interesting to me. Two sisters write a 600 page book, most of the people reading it don’t even understand, and I’ve said I’ve lost weight and you have a negative opinion.  Thanks.

600 Pg Book. Ya. We can’t get too far without mentioning how long the book is. However, these gals like to talk. And explain. and Over narrate every point. Most of the book is them sharing their hearts for what has worked For Their Family.  That is key. This is not a plan for everyone, on every eating regime, with every allergy, in every town of every country on God’s great earth. I think some people forget that. However, they spent 5 years writing down what they had learned and what they did. It is overwhelming. They have eating desires that I do not. (Ideas with Pork and Sugar Free Products).

There are no menus. The number one complaint I hear is that people don’t know what to eat. And that is a bit sad. They only really give 3 products in the No list – White Flour, White Sugar and Potatoes, and processed products containing these ingredients. They tell you the types of food you can eat, and how you can combine great whole foods to spark your body to use the meal for fuel for a 3 hour time period. How to control sugar and boost metabolism. They give so many recipes that I’m not sure we’ll work through them all. But there are no menus saying M/T/W/TH/F/S/SU – Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Snack. They want to you work that out. Once you quit looking at the grocery store for the lowest price white bread and the easiest snacks to throw into a picnic basket, options are limitless.

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Food is no longer Fast nor Easy. I have to think – What am I eating today? What types of foods do I have and want to eat?  Tuna and Egg Salad on Toast?  Then I should make up some eggs, and take out the yolks if I want the Sprouted Bread, or have some large leaf lettuce if I want the full monte in a lettuce wrap. Do I want fat in my coffee? Then I best have eggs and sausage for breakfast. Do I want oatmeal and fruit? Then I need to come up with a Fat Free option for creamer. Or learn to enjoy black coffee, or tea.  Do I want to go to the park for the afternoon? Then I best grab 3-4 containers and fill them with good food from the fridge.

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My Bread is Limited. Not only the types of bread, but how and when I eat them. Dave’s Sprouted Bread has so far not given me an insulin response. Same with lite Rye Wasa Crackers.  If I want pizza I need to plan 5-7 days in advance to ferment Gwens Easy Bread in the fridge. (Batch going right now!).  If I want a sandwich, I need to either learn to like Fat Free Mayo – (Blech) or use tomato or a part of an avacado to cream it up. Zero Greek Yogurt is great too.

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Eggs are Spendy. Our mainstay has been eggs.  Breakfast. Boiled for lunch. The plan says to use Omega 3 spendy farm fresh eggs. We just don’t have the money for that with 3 men in the house.  This pkg below was 7.99 in the store yesterday. (We got it on sale last week for 3.99). Egg Whites are 3.59 regular, and I have to wait and see when they come on sale for my muffins and pancakes.

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My Baking Cupboard has been Transformed. It cost a lot of money. Slowly. Recipe by Recipe.  Coconut oil. Almond and Coconut Flour. Flax. Good Whey Protien. Brown Rice – of good quality. Extracts. Most of the ingredients should have been what we were using before – but we had changed this cupboard to white flour, white sugar and easy to make ingredients that focused on baked desserts. Every paycheck, I have bought one 10 dollar or above item (Good Whey) and it has lasted. I can see that I will need Almond Flour soon, but I havn’t bought it in 6 weeks – (8.99).

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We are Missed. 8.99 for almond flour?  That’s Expensive!! Oh. But it has lasted 6 weeks and probably 1 more.  8.00 at Mc D’s this week got us 6 burgers and 2 sodas that lasted 10 minutes. (Took buns off for dad, and top bun off for boys). Our checking account has been beefed up without the stops through town buying ‘snacks’ when we are hungry. Our snacks were always of the lowest quality, fastest found, least nutrition, most sweet or salty variety. I think they miss us at the grocery store and drive thru.

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Not Enough Veggies. We go to the grocery store every few days now for veggies. We just can’t seem to buy enough. Buy too many and we don’t use them.  But now that we are not buying any pre-packaged groceries or flour/sugar items, our full 40 dollars per week are going to just great wonderful food.

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It is just too hard to understand. My family will never get it. That’s probably true. I just quit buying anything that wasn’t on plan and there are great grocery lists out there. I did cave and buy one loaf of white bread for my oldest teens sandwiches, but it has been in the fridge for over 2 weeks. Youngest son made this with his ‘favorite bread’. He used mayo and full yolks with 2 large pieces of bread. Pickles, mustard, tuna, low fat mayo and 4 boiled eggs.  Man is it tasty. I had a bite to test it out. I could have the mixture without the bread on lettuce leaves. But he’s 12. And this is a good hearty meal for him, and he made it himself, and he’s not loosing weight. I say Bravo!!!

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I need a T-Shirt or Stickers. I’d like to make a t-shirt that says, “I’m not on a protein diet. I’m not eating Paleo. I’m not on Adkins. I’m not suffering. I’m not – whatever your next statement is. I am eating amazing food that I have control over.

I can’t make others change. No one, in the last 15+ years could get me off of white wheat. Well, for a while to whole wheat. But not out of my entire diet. No one could get me off of french fries or deserts. Or choco cookies. I had to get sick enough, and large enough, and start missing out on activities based on my size and body’s health. I had to put up with days of my knees throbbing and shoulders aching and fatigue and headaches. When I was ready – I gave up White Sugar and White Flour.  If you are not ready to do this, then you probably will not like this healthy way of living.

I don’t agree with everything the girls say. er Write. I love sugar free jello. From a cup. From the deli. I love pork skins. I like Diet Coke. I can’t stand Stevia. I don’t like most of their deserts. I remember a lot of recipes I did like from Adkins for my low carb meals. I’d like to use more simple ingredients of stir frys and tacos and roasts and soups. I don’t need their created dishes. I am an adult and can use the fuel process with my own healthy ingredients. I like pork. I eat bacon. I can still support THM.

I am not loosing weight fast enough. I suppose I could get on a shake diet (but there goes the excuse that this is too spendy). I could get surgery (but I haven’t even tried losing with food and exercise). I could just starve to death (but my body stores everything I eat as fat thinking it is dying.)  I think 17 lbs in 5 weeks is good. Yes? Averages to 3ish pounds a week?  In 2 years I won’t even be here.

I’ve heard the ‘negative’ talk.  What it simmers down to is that people don’t have time to read the book all the way through. They don’t take the time to really understand the program, jumping to the recipes in the middle. They don’t want to give up buying their main groceries. They don’t want to add these ingredients to their grocery bill. They don’t want to give up their favorite sweet foods. They don’t want to give up eating out. (it is hard without flour or sugar). They don’t want to plan. They don’t want to cook their own food. They don’t want to spend time looking for groceries.

Neither did I. Neither did my family. But now, last night for Tacos, both boys used my Ezekiel wraps. They both like my oatmeal pancakes. They are both using one piece of bread for sandwiches instead of two. (except for Jon today)

These are the negatives I can think of with this plan. What have you run into?

About +Angie Wright

The Transparent Thoughts of an Unschooling Family of Boys - Answering the question - What DO you DO all day?
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22 Responses to Negatives of Trim Healthy Mama, THM

  1. DOREEN MOQUIN says:

    Thank you for writing this post. You are so realistic with how change can be hard. I just started with THM. It’s not easy, but it is interesting and an adventure and I do love changing out my ingredients and shopping for them. I love a challenge, and I need to lose almost 100 lbs. I hope I don’t grow weary. Luckily, I have a lot of friends who are doing the same so they inspire me.

  2. Annie says:

    What’s your opinion on the sugar alcohols that the recipes use?

    Aren’t they not good for you in general?

  3. Pingback: Negatives Of Not Having A Healthy Diet | Good Health Lost

  4. sanjaywa says:

    Great post, agree with you totally 🙂 Thank you for saying that you don’t always see eye to eye with the sisters either – I’m the same as you when it comes to their desserts (but try the meringues, they were good…). It doesn’t stop me from living the THM way. I’ve been doing THM since Feb and have dropped two dress sizes.

  5. Donna says:

    WELL SAID

  6. I love this post. I have the book but haven’t read all the way through it. I’m learning the plan, but as I work through it and revamp my pantry slowly seeing changes in my tastes and my eating. I could probably be putting more effort in but am busy with a lot on my plate at the moment. I appreciate your balanced approach and realistic attitude. I aspire to incorporate this fully into my life but am finding it a process. Thanks for the encouragement

  7. Honey Brown says:

    I think you have to be ready and you have to own it. You make it work for you and your unique likes/dislikes, health issues, allergies, body type, etc. You have to make THM yours. Your post was excellent.

  8. Diane says:

    I see the original post is old but someone just posted it today on THM. You really hit the nail on the head. Yes, this way of eating requires some thought and planning but it can be done eating simply cooked meals. I cannot imagine going back to eating processed foods, wheat and sugar. I agree … on WW I ate a lot of processed foods. I don’t have diabetes so an order of french fries will be eaten but rarely. There are so many recipes online to satisfy any taste bud and appetite. Thanks again for the realistic assessment of THM.

  9. This is a great post! What it boils down to is you’ll always find an excuse until you’re ready to change. I’ve said before I wish I had hard about THM 20 years ago but honestly, I probably wouldn’t have tried it or given up if I did – I just wasn’t ready to be an adult about my food choices lol. Now I am abd I’ve lost 45 pounds, have normal blood pressure without meds (was on meds for over 10 years) and feel great. Now I think about how what I want to eat will make me feel more than how it will taste. This helps me make the better choice most of the time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Shared on FB 🙂

  10. I love this post! You are so realistic about your approach. The haters are gonna hate but when we are ready to make a change it shouldn’t matter what others say. I think your progress is great, keep it up.

  11. thepcgoddess says:

    I am glad you are finding success with THM. I think it is a great plan for many people. I was following Eat To Live before starting THM.I really loved THM and the great foods I got to eat. However my health did not improve with this plan. My chest pains and shortness of breath came back with a vengeance and became worse. My breathing was labored and difficult. I would just cry because it was so hard to catch my breath. I reluctantly went back onto Eat to Live and my problems started to subside. I’d say I’ve had at least 85% if not more reduction in symptoms. I felt more in bondage to food during my THM time too – I thought about food a lot. Now I eat 3 times a day and thoughts are not totally consumed with food. I’m glad THM works for some people but for those of us who may have more health issues a more radical approach may be what is best.

    • Your experience just reinforces my belief that there is no one perfrct diet for every body! I’m sorry to hear you had such a negative experience but glad you found what works best for you. Interesting also that I finally broke free from bondage to food through THM! But this is what I needed and it works very well for me.

  12. Anonymous says:

    I’m thankful for your wonderful view AND for all of the amazing ladies on Pinterest who have taken the time to come up with menu plans and planners. I LOVE this plan so far. I always feel satisfied and looking forward to the next meal.

  13. Christy says:

    Thank you for sharing. I’m waiting for my book as I type. I can’t wait to start feeling better and losing weight.

  14. Janette says:

    Thank you for posting that you still drink diet coke! I have friends on THM, and when I have expressed interest in beginning, they say that I have to give up my diet coke! I have been on Atkins for 3 months, and I have lost only 5lbs. I am discouraged and hungry.

  15. Beth says:

    Great article and you are very real. I am a week into this and loving the journey. It took me six months on Weight Watchers to lose 20 lbs. I believe I will do it in two months with THM and it won’t be eating crappy processes food like I did with WW. I am not a full purist and I agree the book is waaaay too long, which will put people off. But, when we get the basics down, it will become a habit and way of life. Thanks for your inspiration!!

  16. beck says:

    Love this post! and mmm…pass me a BLTA (toss a coupla slices of avocado on!) 😉

  17. I got a lot of negativity over my diet too, especially when I have a lot of success. People tell me they could never do it. Two people unfriended me on Facebook over my reposts! One commented on another friend’s status that the research is junk science. They can’t argue with the kind of results I’m experiencing, so it just sounds like sour grapes. If you’ve found something that works for you, rock on! It doesn’t matter what other people think. In a hour or so I’m getting my blood drawn. That will tell the true story.

  18. Carissa says:

    You are terrific and your post is spot on, except the pork part… 🙂 I don’t really miss anything and I put cream in my coffee everyday no matter what I’m having for breakfast. And I eat way more veggies now and I personally don’t think it’s possible to get fat eating apples! Lol Apples didn’t make me fat to begin with, it was all those chips and salsa and m&m’s!

    • pebblekeeper says:

      I’ll enjoy my BLT with Real B over here. 😉 Picked up more pork rinds for hubby’s night time snacks. Pork Fat Rules! Actually – I don’t really like pork, but my three boys do.

  19. Laurie says:

    I ♥ this post!!! I’m sharing it! 🙂

  20. northlaurel says:

    I think my comment was eaten! Or I did something wrong…probably that.

    I love this post!!

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