Trim Healthy Mama ~ Chapters 5, 6, 20 and 33

I am starting to gain more insight into the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating, and I like it! It makes sense to me. I know that it will be several weeks before I have the full picture, but I have started piecing it all together and it is very exciting for me.


Chapter 5 - Get Ready for the Plan

The "S" and "E" code letters were explained in this chapter. S stands for "satisfying" and E stands for "energizing". The E foods allow you to have some of carbs that your body needs and the S foods allow you to have some of the fat that your body needs. The key? Don't eat your fats and carbs at the same time! And here's why ...

Your body can only burn one fuel at a time, and you want it to burn your fat. If you eat fat AND carbs at the same time (and usually loads of it), your body burns through the fat in your meal and then has to move to trying to burn the glucose out of your fat cells that has been deposited there by the rush of insulin. Your body never gets the chance to burn your fatty tissue for fuel. It's too busy trying to burn all the fat and glucose you just ate and it can't keep up.

The book recommends carbs in - carbs out. This is a carb conscious diet, not a low- or no-carb diet. God created your body to need carbs for energy. You want to give your body time to flush out all of the glucose in the blood so that your insulin does not have to kick in and try to deposit it somewhere ... usually in your fat cells. Since it has had time to flush out, the glucose can be deposited in cells other than fat cells because they are empty and hungry for it. You also need the fat in your diet to be satisfied, and the only way for fats to be stored in the body as actual body fat is when glucose rises in the blood and the hormone insulin has to rush out to take care of it. That's from eating carbs.

The answer? Alternate your E and S meals ... Alternate your fats and carbs. Don't eat them together. Give your body time to deal with each of them separately so that it has time to actually turn to your fatty tissue for fuel. THAT'S the goal! Once your fatty tissue is being used for fuel, you slim down.

That's a lot of info, I know. Here are some "bottom line" tips from this chapter:

• Try to focus on low-glycemic foods which are foods that have a gentle impact on your blood sugar levels. No spikes in blood sugar!
• The S and E plan focuses on non-starchy vegetables, both raw and cooked, often drizzled with creamy dressings or buttery sauces. (Here's where you get the fats you need.)
• Eat lots of superfoods like salmon, berries, nuts, seeds, cultured dairy products, and super fats like coconut oil.
• Eat natural sources of red meat, eggs, and chicken.
• Eat balanced amounts of whole grains, legumes, fruits and sweet potatoes.

You know how the book recommended that eggs should be your number one staple for breakfast? Well, salmon is the recommended number one staple for lunch. Aren't I lucky? I love eggs. I love salmon. Breakfast and dinner ... Check! But, there needs to be some variety, don't you think, or it gets boring and mundane. Plus, you don't want your body to get complacent. You have to keep it moving and shaking, right? That's what keeps your metabolism revved up.


Chapter 18 - Morning Meals (Revisited)

So that I do not get bored with eggs and bore my body and metabolism, I tried one of the other recipes from the Morning Meals chapter. I made Trim Healthy Pancakes. OH. MY. GOSH. YUM! Who would have EVER thought you could make a pancake with oats and cottage cheese and it be delicious! But, it was! Here is the recipe:

1. Put 1 cup Old Fashioned Oats into blender and blend until oats turn into powder.
2. Turn off blender and add 1 cup of 100% Liquid Egg Whites or Egg Beaters or 7 egg whites, and 1 cup low-fat (1%) cottage cheese. (**I didn't want to waste my eggs so just used 4 whole eggs, but this turned it into a S meal because of the fat in the eggs. I was just wanting to see if they were going to be nasty. Next time I will use egg whites only to make it an E meal.)
3. Add 2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder, 2-3 tsp. Truvia (** I used 4 squirts of Liquid Stevia instead), and a dash of vanilla. Blend well.
4. Use a ladle and pour onto a non-stick pan with cooking spray. (** I poured about a 3" diameter pancake onto my griddle and it spread out to about a 5" pancake when it was cooked. I made 9 of these).
5. Flip and cook completely then put on a paper towel for one minute before eating.
6. You can eat three of these. I topped with a dab of plain greek yogurt and a couple of blueberries.

I ate three of them (the recommended number) and put the other six in the freezer to microwave on another day. I am thinking of using this batter as waffle mix and making my kids' waffles with it and eliminating the store-bought.

Chapter 6 - Truths from the Bible

Well, if the Bible talks about it and says it's okay, then it's okay with me. I love this chapter because it dispels the rumors in the diet industry against butter, dairy and meats, and the ones against snacking, for cutting back portion sizes, and for an over-abundance of wheat products (Remember me talking about how Brynne was getting TOO much fiber in the form of wheat? I was astonished to realize that you can have too much fiber in your diet.) The authors do a great job of pointing directly to scripture to back up their lifestyle recommendations. And I appreciate that.

Chapter 20 - Lunches

Salmon! I do love salmon. And yesterday I had a piece of broiled salmon with a salad of lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and a hard-boiled egg (white only). I wanted it to stay an E meal since I made my Trim Healthy Pancakes an S meal by using the yolks of the eggs. I topped it off with some Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing. It was yummy and filling!

But, I'm going to get bored with salmon. So on the days I eat pancakes for breakfast, I can have eggs for lunch. And, thankfully, you can cheat with low-carb tortillas to make any number of things. I love turkey wraps and eat a lot of them in the summer. And what about sandwiches? You can make Trim Healthy Pan Bread with the exact same recipe as the Trim Healthy Pancakes by just eliminating the stevia and vanilla. You can also use seasoned Egg Beaters (like southwestern) to add some flair to it. Sounds good to me!!! Maybe a peanut butter sandwich on that bread with an apple? That sounds good, too.

I'll reveal more lunch recipes as I try them.

Chapter 33 - Mama Knows Her Body (Putting Hormone Therapy to Practice)

This chapter is meaty and specific and I have not had a chance to really absorb it yet. As, to me, hormones are not something to mess with lightly, I think I will defer my opinion on this topic. I definitely want to do more research and would want to talk with a good and trusted physician before I started messing with my hormone levels. But, it is all very interesting and something to keep in mind as we grow older and start to notice negative changes in our bodies. What do I take from the hormone chapters? If I start to feel bad or have negative things happening to my body, it could very well be a hormonal issue and it's something I should look into further.

There was one tip from the chapter that I am considering. The author recommends having all hormone levels tested regularly starting in, at least, the early 20's of a young woman as a benchmark for what levels the hormones were ate at an optimum age. That is something I will definitely discuss with Kyndal. She is 18 and with our female family's history of hormonal issues, that will be valuable information for her when she gets older.

Whew! That was a lot, I know. And I know there will be so much more. But, it's nice to be taking all of this in baby steps and applying just a few of the principles while I am becoming more educated. This will definitely be a lifestyle change. But, it sounds like it will be a good one!