My Journey to Health and Weight Loss (so far) with Trim Healthy Mama

Every year at this time my typical "routine" is to think about how badly my last New Years resolution went, get really discouraged about the extra pounds that managed to creep on again (despite great efforts to workout and eat "healthy"), and set new goals to "really do it right" this time....and a year later, repeat with an extra dose of despair. I felt like I was stuck in a spiral of weight gain and poor health. 

You guys.....this is the first year in I-don't-know-how-long that I've not only been ok with my progress, but I'm actually ecstatic!!  I've found something that works...and not some weird pill or killing myself working out, but just a real way of living and eating delicious and nourishing real food -- it's been working beautifully for my whole family!  In 6 months I've lost 35 pounds, and I'm continuing to lose more and keep moving toward better health!  I'd like to lose another 20-30 pounds and I'm beginning 2015 with hope and joy knowing that it can actually happen!

The "before" was a really rude awakening. At my all time high, I was so uncomfortable in my skin,
but I thought I looked really put together and trim....until I saw it and realized how unhealthy I looked (and was)!
I shed some tears and then found THM soon after -- thank the Lord!
The "after" picture is when I'd lost 45lbs. in 7 months -- the same weight as my son at the time.
I can't even tell you how much better I felt!

I know this is a little off-topic from what I typically blog about, but with so much talk lately about New Years resolutions and many of us setting goals for better health and weight loss, I really wanted to share this because I know it's what so many of you are looking for too! 

Here's my story friends.....I've always struggled with weight.  I gain sooo easily, but it's such a struggle to get it back off.  After having 6 babies my body was even less cooperative about letting go of the weight. Over the past couple years our family has been working on eating more whole foods and eliminating a lot of processed foods. Sort of a "real food"/Paleo approach. I felt better by cutting out the junk (artificial colors/chemicals/most wheat...etc.), it's helped some of the kids skin issues (eczema/psoriasis), and we've all been healthier in general....but I wasn't seeing weight loss like I expected. While eating this way, I ended up reaching my all-time highest weight and it was really frustrating, to be honest.

(photo credit)

I knew something had to change, but I didn't know what.  I was eating the least "junk" we ever had, organic when we could afford it, and it still wasn't working...my weight was going up, I lacked energy and felt tired most of the time, and just felt unwell. 

From blogger friends and posts on Pinterest I started hearing about "THM" and "Trim Healthy Mama", and it intrigued me -- the recipes looked delicious and people were having great results.  I decided to check it out and I've now been following the Trim Healthy Mama (THM) way of eating for 6 months and have also been seeing great results myself!

Taken just over 2 years apart:
45lbs gone (in 7 months) & maintained for 1 1/2 years on Trim Healthy Mama!

I've been able to enjoy really yummy recipes (that my family of 8 loves!) and nourish my body at the same time -- while the scale and size of my clothes has gone down! I never feel deprived, and you don't have to give up fat or carbs - whew! You just learn which foods are healthier and how to put foods together so they work to make your body lose weight and feel fantastic! (they have a public Facebook page, but their closed FB group is also an incredible encouragement! You can check out their website here)

 




There's a bit of a learning curve, like in anything new, but it's not difficult! I'm using a lot of the same foods we're already used to, but just in a different way, and eliminating sugar from my diet. (I can still have delicious healthy sweets and chocolate, which is what makes this way of eating doable - this coming from a former major sugar addict, lol!). Sugar is so addictive, but also toxic! If we can get that out of our diets it's amazing how our health and weight can improve!

I was really happy with my steady weight loss (1-3 pounds/week) for the first 4-5 months!  I didn't start with any kind of workout (and you don't have to), but I wanted to firm up and get stronger. When I started the 30-Day Shred in August my weight loss slowed way down while I built muscle and lost inches, and I felt fantastic taking care of myself on the outside and inside. 

I then got pregnant, slowed down a bit on working out (Jillian really cracks a whip!), but then eventually miscarried.  Due to laziness (and a bit of depression maybe) I didn't really care about my health and "fell off the THM wagon" for a bit after that, but as I've gotten back on plan I'm feeling so much better and my weight is dropping again.  It's such a fantastic doable plan....just a great way of life! Things will come up, but it's so easy to get right back on track.  This is the first holiday season I can remember that I haven't gained any weight and feel great! 

Ok, this post is longer than I intended, but I just wanted to share this hope and excitement I have for a plan that works!!  I'm not associated in any way, just a big fan....but shrinking, lol!  😉

I do have affiliate links above to make things easy to find (and to support our family), but get the book from wherever you want!!  Check it out of the library, borrow from a friend (if you can pry it out of their hands, lol), get it from the THM website....just check it out! If I can help in any way or answer any questions, please ask!  I'm just so happy to have hope in this area again and have control over my health!  😊

(If there's enough interest for it, I'm thinking about writing a post on how to save money while following Trim Healthy Mama, so let me know!)