Want to listen to this? Check out the podcast version of this post here.
From May of 2014 to May of 2015, I lost more than 30 pounds.
People who know me in real life may have wondered that I had 30 pounds to lose. Well, I did (need to lose it). I’m tall and carried it pretty well — yet it got in my way, made me depressed, and I wanted it gone!
And it’s not like I hadn’t been trying other ways to lose it.
Here’s where I found myself. I was working out regularly and watching my “carbs”. Yet even though I’d been eating healthy for many years, I was still gaining a bit of weight each year (though not excessive amounts… just a bit).
It’s super obvious now that I’ve put my before and after photos next to each other (top photo). I don’t have a full body photo from “before” — however, look at the chubbiness in my face and upper body!
And the numbers? Well, I already told you one of them — 30 pounds lost. I don’t actually know how much I weigh now, though, because our scale is unreliable that way. What I do know is how much it has moved in a year — 30 pounds down.
I was in a tight 14 and now I’m size 10 (sometimes 8). I’ve also continued to build muscle and re-shape my body through weight lifting.
How Did I Do This?
I ate all traditional foods. I even ate more of those darned carbs than I had been eating before. And, I felt utterly satisfied and in love with my food. I felt more energized and purposeful (which tends to happen when you get consistent results). I lost weight steadily and regularly.
That all’s great. What about the things I didn’t do?
I didn’t feel deprived. I didn’t eat any Frankenfoods. And no — I didn’t follow any diet scheme that was hard in the least. I didn’t lose dramatic or scary amounts of weight all at once (which would suggest starvation or deprivation).
Okay, you’re saying.. this doesn’t make any sense. How can this be?
Well, hold on now. Let me explain.
I followed a diet plan called Trim Healthy Mama. (In fact, in Trim Healthy Mama circles, this one year anniversary of following the plan is lovingly named a “Trimaversary” and I just reached mine.)
Trim Healthy Mama In Simple Terms
A very simplistic overview of Trim Healthy Mama is this:
There are 2 types of foods that provide fuel — carbs and fats. As we age or get more sedentary, we need less of these fuel sources, yet we are probably eating the same amounts we always have. Which means, we’re getting more fuel than we need.
Uh-oh. And what happens to the excess? The body stores it as body fat. Uh-oh is right.
The simple way around this is to avoid eating both types of fuels (fat and carbs) in any given meal or snack. While always eating protein; it’s important.
So the meals are composed of either carbs and protein –OR– fat and protein. That’s how any one meal or snack provides your body with just 1 fuel source — and therefore nothing extra to store as fat.
And honestly, the fairly easy (in my experience) weight loss probably has a lot to do with reducing excess caloric load, too. When you’re careful about keeping sugar down, for instance, you simply don’t eat extra calories which don’t get stored as fat.
Again, you’re saying: Hang on! Is there really something to this?
Does this really work?
I’m not going to say it works for everyone. Yet it did work for me, and that’s the point of this post — to share my story.
(In fact, sharing my story is all I’m allowed to do. Trim Healthy Mama is very clear that users of the plan aren’t authorized to teach the diet to others; so please get the book to get the whole scoop.)
So, yes, this is just my story and my experience. I’m thrilled to share it with you!
You’ve heard about the transformation, now let me tell you some of the ways I implemented this way of eating with 100% traditional foods.
Traditional Foods On THM
Although both authors — they are sisters — of Trim Healthy Mama have a healthy bent, one of them is a traditional food lover. This means that traditional foods and methods make regular appearances in the book’s recipes and discussions. However, non-traditional convenience foods make appearances, too.
I’m sharing my take on this plan because I want to show you how I followed it without using non-traditional foods like fake sweeteners or pasta, refined foods, or unnaturally defatted foods.
Traditional foods actually lend themselves very well to separating out their macronutrients such as carbs and fat.
Take a whole chicken, for instance. The dark meat is higher fat (for fat-protein meals) and the light meat is lower fat (for carb-protein meals). Separating the 2 types of chicken meat is easy to do — and I do it all the time. I use the light meat in carb-protein (E – Energizing) meals/snacks; I eat the dark meat in fat-protein (S — Satisfying) meals/snacks.
Or, homemade yogurt from raw milk (or at least non-homogenized): the cream rises to the top just as it does on fresh, raw milk. I skim away that “soured” yogurt cream and make butter out of it, leaving the skimmed yogurt as a naturally low-fat food. Also, the 24-hour fermentation for my homemade yogurt reduces the milk sugar to virtually nothing. Therefore, both the fat and sugar have been reduced, and that means I can use it in whatever type of meal/snack I want. Combine with fat for an S meal; combine with carbs for an E meal.
Or, homemade cheese. I use skimmed milk (I make butter with the cream) to make homemade cottage cheese or cheddar cheese or easy soft cheese. They’re either fuel-neutral (if fermented long enough for the sugar to be reduced) or E (if the cheese still contains some milk sugar).
Grass-fed beef? Naturally lean protein and therefore can be combined with fat for an S meal or carbs for an E meal.
Wild salmon? Again, a naturally lean protein which can be combined into either an S meal or an E meal.
Check out my list of 19 foods you need to start Trim Healthy Mama with Traditional foods.
But It’s Not Natural!
Look, I know some reading this may balk that I’m “separating” foods and worrying about which foods I’m eating when. You may be thinking: that’s not natural!
First of all, separating food really is an age-old practice (just as not separating it is natural, too). For ages, people have skimmed cream to make butter or creme fraiche. They’ve used certain parts of animals for some dishes and other parts for other dishes. And sometimes they leave it all together. Neither separating nor leaving it whole is unnatural or to be feared.
Second, this isn’t meant to be a life-long way of eating. If you have a goal to meet, such as weight loss, it’s a temporary thing to follow to help you meet that goal. It’s a lot like weight lifters who eat their carbs, protein, and fats at specific times — coordinated with their workout schedule. Or someone with compromised gut health eliminating sugars and starches until their gut microbes are in balance again.
Our bodies are beautifully and wonderfully made — and complex. We live in a fallen world; sometimes we have goals that can’t be met through general nutrition, so we need to get a little more specific.
That’s what this has done for me. THM allowed me to stay nourished and lose weight while still eating all the traditional foods I love. All I’ve done is rearrange the order/time/composition of eating them.
My Favorite Foods
Here are some of my favorite Trim Healthy Mama meals. Remember — S meals (fat-protein) or E meals (carb-protein).
These barely scratch the surface! I’ve had a lot of delicious meals and snacks in the past year, yet these are my favorites. 🙂
Have a listen to the podcast version of this post, where I describe these foods more.
Favorite E (Energizing; carb-protein) Meals/Snacks
- sourdough bread (einkorn) with wild salmon and cottage cheese
- THM pancakes (from the Trim Healthy Mama book) as bread with chicken breast or wild salmon and veggies
- skimmed yogurt with pre-soaked oats
- “mayo” from blended soft cheese or cottage cheese, herbs/salt added (and spread on E sandwiches or used as a salad dressing for E meals)
Favorite S (Satisfying; fat-protein) Meals/Snacks
- coconut flour wrap tacos (recipe for wraps in our Allergy-Free Cooking eCourse or eBook)
- meat sauce with spaghetti squash or zucchini “noodles”
- taco salad — seasoned ground beef and cheese over a bed of lettuce with taco toppings (onions, avocado, tomato)
- skimmed yogurt smoothie with cultured cream added back + lemon extract + stevia
- fried eggs in butter with bacon and cheese (or omelet)
- pizza on cauliflower crust
What About Dessert?
One huge benefit of THM? I’ve become un-addicted to sugar, and I simply don’t crave it anymore. I eat very few sweetened foods, and when I do, I use stevia — a naturally sweet-tasting herb that doesn’t contain sugar. My favorite brand of stevia is Sweet Leaf. I am comfortable with the processing, and there’s absolutely no after-taste.
Here’s what I have when I do want something sweet:
- tea sweetened with stevia
- lemon yogurt — homemade yogurt + stevia + lemon extract (or lemon juice) or this recipe with lemon essential oil!
- dark chocolate (90%)
- cheesecake in jars sweetened with stevia
What Now?
I am pretty happy with where I am, so I am focusing on maintaining. That means I eat frequent “crossover” meals that contain all three food types — protein, fats, and carbs. If my weight creeps up, I know what to do. 🙂
Want to hear all this info? Check out the podcast version of this post here.
Looking for more Trim Healthy Mamma Tips?
- 5 Tips To Help You Stay On Trim Healthy Mama… Even During The Holidays! #AskWardee 102
- Trim Healthy Holidays: 8 Tips To Stay On The THM Plan (despite mashed potatoes & pie!)
- My Top 3 “Go-To” Traditional Foods For Trim Healthy Mama {purist} #AskWardee 064
- A Baker’s Dozen Of Tips For Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods
- If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods Over Again… (KYF147)
- 10 Healing Ways To Overcome Sugar Addiction (KYF162)
- 19 Foods You Need To Start Trim Healthy Mama {The Traditional Food Way}
How do you manage your weight? Do you eat Traditional foods on THM? Do you have a weight loss story to share?
...without giving up the foods you love or spending all day in the kitchen!
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This has to be one of my FAVORITE THM posts. You made this plan your own and it worked for you. I know THM isn’t for everyone but I am just delighted to see that it worked for you, without compromising food integrity. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Jessica. That means a lot to me! It was important to me that I not stray from my passion for Traditional Foods. I was determined to be a good example. 🙂
I bought the first “Trim Healthy Mama” book and loved it.
Just recently I saw a YouTube video la skinny femme (I think that’s her name) she explained that you had to separate carbohydrates from fats…
Both fats and carbohydrates are fuel sources. Both to be eaten with protein. Wonderful
I didn’t realize what the concept was. WOW
I have that first book away to a niece…
I got a TMI cookbook and love it!
I am so happy to see this! I have enjoyed your work for so many years, and have been following THM for about two. But I was saddened when, a while back, a popular traditional foods blogger used THM as a test case to “review” popular “diets,” having admittedly never read the book, and drew so many erroneous conclusions about it, and then shared those. It was really disappointing, since as you have found, I have felt THM is the ultimate way to get my body healthier while keeping my traditional foods position. I hope you will blog more on what you do and don’t use, what you consider traditional and otherwise, and how you have brought your fermented foods into THM. I’m often feeling like I’m charting new territory with some of these less mainstream things, as though Serene mentions them a little, there doesn’t seem to be a ton of guidance on exactly how they fit, and I’m just using my science background to make my own calls… 🙂 I’d love to hear another opinion on these nutritious foods! Thanks for sharing your journey!
Dawn — I don’t think I saw that information. Anyway, we all have to make our own decisions and no one should just believe what I say or experienced either, right?
re: ferments – Kombucha I enjoyed as a treat once in awhile, due to the sugar content. I ferment my dairy extra long so there’s no sugar left. Fermented vegetables — no limits. Fermented grains — eat with moderation in an E setting. That’s pretty it. I hope that helps. 🙂
Thanks for your suggestions on what you’d like more info on. If I’m able to share in the future, I will. (Trim Healthy Mama doesn’t authorize others to teach, and understandably so. I want to respect that.)
Wonderful post! Now I just need to work on incorporating it….not easy when money is so tight, and organic/grass fed foods are hard to come by reasonably priced 🙁 but I’m working on it!
As for Kombucha….I actually prefer mine fairly sour, so I let mine ferment at least two weeks, but my husband likes it sweeter, so I generally let it ferment long, and then bottle it. When he wants some he just waters it down a little, and adds a no-sugar drink mix to it (stevia based), which lends it both sweetness and a fruit flavor which he likes.
If I let it ferment even longer I like using it in salad dressings! That way I still get all the benefits of Kombucha without the sugar 🙂 We’ve been drinking and brewing it for two years now and we wouldn’t go without it!
Question…what would your suggestions be for preparing traditional, energizing meals, without resorting to cheap rice/pasta/beans/potatoes etc. Are lentils OK in an E meal?
There is a lentil stew recipe in the new cookbook, so it would seem they are indeed, an E meal ! 🙂
Congratulations! I “discovered” you when I purchased your book after reading about using fermented foods in THM. So funny to see how all these little paths intersect!
I would like to comment on your phrase “this isn’t meant to be a life-long way of eating.” I agree that the idea of separating fats/carbs is no longer the primary concern once one reaches desired weight (and in fact combining is needed at that point) but I absolutely see THM as a lifestyle. It’s about learning how food truly fuels our bodies and using that knowledge to live a healthier overall life — you just happened to have already had a good understanding of that 😉
Thanks, Trish. Thanks for your comments about using THM as part of a healthy lifestyle. I completely agree!
I have tried several types of stevia including Sweet Leaf. I must be missing something because there was definitely a vile aftertaste. Glad it worked for you.
Shelly, that stumps me. I have tried so many and this one is SO good. Perhaps there is still an adjustment. I hope you find one that works for you. 🙂
I feel your pain, Shelly. Stevia, all brands burns my tongue.
Shelly, I’m with you! We actually bought unprocessed stevia leaf (crumbled) from the bulk section and tried it as a sweetener. That is horribly vile stuff.
I just cannot get into stevia either. I spot it instantly anytime it’s in anything. It reminds me exactly of the bad for you artificial sweeteners. I don’t expect I’ll ever be able to get used to it. Must just be an acquired taste.
I wonder if stevia is like cilantro in that cilantro either tastes delightful or horrible (like soap)? I don’t like it either — tastes like the fake sweeteners with a crazy after taste. I would rather go without.
I have a friend who is allergic to nightshades. She cannot eat stevia because stevia is a nightshade. It caused blisters in her mouth. Just fyi.
I have a friend who does Trim Healthy Mama. I will tell her about this post! I actually did an interview with her on my blog about her weight loss. She really likes the plan. From my research, it seems like a good thing to help people come back into optimal blood sugar range.
Kristie — Can you post the link to the interview with your friend? I’d like to see it. Thanks for sharing my post with your friend.
Sure Wardeh! It is here-http://familyhomeandhealth.com/2014/09/real-food-weight-loss-success.html.
PS I still spell your name with an h-because I have been following you for a long time (I took your course and have told alot of people about it!) Do you have a preference?
Kristie — Thanks. I enjoyed reading that. 🙂
My name’s official spelling is Wardeh. A few years back, I started going by Wardee online so that people wouldn’t wonder how to pronounce it. I have no preference which one is used. Since you knew me “before” you can keep using Wardeh. Thanks for asking!
I am so happy to see a Traditional Foods person come out in support of this way of eating. This plan lends itself to so many lifestyles and I think it can be a gateway to making better choices for a lot of the “drive through Sue” types out there.
Thanks, Amanda. That’s a great way to put it. 🙂
So glad to finally see a post about you coming out! I am a whole foodie too and lost 46lbs on THM….now have been in maintenance for about 1 1/2yrs. I find my body does so much better separating fuels even in maintenance because even with a few crossovers a week my weight tends to creep back up. This plan is so easy to do with traditional foods so I am thrilled to see a popular foodie sing its praises. Bless YOU!
Erin — Congratulations on your weight loss! Thanks for sharing how you’ve approached crossovers. I appreciate it!
Wow – Wardee…..congratulations! Your post is so helpful to me. I saw your Trimaversary post on FB. I have been following THM for a few months now but have been including some items that I am not 100 percent comfortable with. My wish has been to transition away from those things and the information you have shared will help me do that:) Thank you so much.
Angelia,
You are exactly why I shared this. I wanted others to see that it’s completely doable without abandoning the Traditional Foods we love. God bless you — keep me posted!
I have heard good things about THM but I also heard things about it that were not consistent with a traditional food diet. I like that you are an example of combining the two.
I have to say that it made me feel better that you had gained weight. I know that sounds bad, but I too am tall and eat a healthy traditional foods diet and yet I can’t seem to loose but a few pounds and then gain them back. I was beginning to think that I was doing something wrong with our traditional foods diet.
I will be looking into THM.
Amy — Ha, ha — I am glad that it made you feel better that I gained weight! Now let’s lose it together. 🙂
I also gained weight (about 40 to 50 pounds) with a totally healthy local in-season organic, pasture-raised, made-from-scratch traditional foods diet. It was slow but pretty steady. I was eating grains and probably a dessert every day. I suspect enjoying wonderful home made ginger ale and kombucha added calories too. I lost 30 pounds over a year by just cutting out most grains, cutting back on calories by restricting portion size, and by exercising. I didn’t change what I ate that much though. In the last seven months I’ve lost another ten pounds by totally cutting out grains, legumes, sweeteners, and seriously limiting starchy vegetables and most fruits to an occasional treat. I still eat the same diet in general, but I don’t worry at all about the fat content – as long as it is healthy fat in the context of real foods. I’ve found high fat/low carb leaves me feeling very satisfied and I don’t think I’ll go back to the level of carbs I was eating before, since I felt like I was ‘fighting’ to limit my food intake before, while the current guidelines are easy (as long as I have access to my home or good restaurants) and don’t take much ‘thinking’ or will power.
I’ve probably got a lot to learn about this, but I thought kombucha was a safe drink? How would it contribute to weight gain? I drink roughly a bottle a day.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I have come across THM before in the forums, Facebook, etc., but after reading up on it, I couldn’t get past the frankenfoods. I’m just too much of a real foodie! And I wasn’t sure how to follow THM using only traditional foods.
After reading your story and listening to the podcast this morning, I bought the book. Not even a quarter of the way through it, but I could see myself following this. I thought the “S” meals would be really low in veggies but was pleasantly surprised to see how many they included! I think this will work perfectly for me and can also see where I went wrong.
I used to be on a constant low fat diet (contribute my miscarriage to this) but after learning how amazingly nutritious fat is for you, I made the switch to a low carb diet but that ended up giving me constant headaches. For the past year I have been trying to step away from the diet mindset and focus on healing traditional foods but the weight has crept back on (plus more). I do limit sugar, but admittedly most of my meals have both fuel sources. Officially starting tomorrow (following as I learn today) and can’t wait till my trimaversary!
Cev – I really hope this works for you. Please keep me posted, ok? God bless you!
Thank you, Wardee! Lost 4 lbs in the first 5 days and haven’t felt deprived at all. I’m using honey or coconut sugar for the few sweets I have made. I’m happy with THM so far and very thankful for your review!
Oh, I am SO thankful to hear that someone is losing weight with honey and cane sugar!!!!!! I cannot get my tastebuds to cooperate with stevia. :-p
I am glad to hear this as well!
I loved this post Wardee, congratulations! I love hearing how others follow THM with traditional foods. I started THM about a year before you did and thought many times as I was following THM principles, “now what would Wardee do about this?….” So I was so excited to see when you, one of my favorite bloggers, joined in on doing THM 🙂 I remember encouraging you early on in the GNOWFGLINS forums, so I’m so happy to see that you did so well!!
I do use some foods that I would rather not use, but am not sure how to do it any other way. I feel so good eating the THM way, so I have considered it a worthwhile trade off. Having balanced blood sugar just feels wonderful and I know it is very healing to the body. We all have to find what we are comfortable with doing. I would be interested in knowing if you ever use erythritol or xylitol? Did you ever find a protein powder that you like? or do you find that you get your protein taken care of with just meat and dairy? and if you prefer not to use gluccomannan, what you use for a thickener. I would love to see more posts on THM! Thanks again for all you do Wardee, and again, congratulations 🙂
Rhonda – You were SUCH an inspiration to me when I first started. Thank you!
re: erythritol/xylitol – I tried them both at the beginning but found that xylitol gave me a really bad upset stomach; erythritol wasn’t so bad but I just didn’t need it because I got everything I needed with stevia occasionally. I had an additional goal to losing weight – I wanted to be able to show everyone here that it could be done without.
re: protein powder – I love the Vital Whey protein powder. I use it in smoothies on days I lift weights.
re: glucomannan – I never tried it so I can’t say. Thickener? How about gelatin? Puddings can be thickened with gelatin – though it requires dissolving it then chilling it.
Thanks again for all the help you gave me in the beginning, Rhonda!
I am not sure what you are trying to thicken, but arrowroot powder works great as a thickener in baked apple dishes and gravy too I think.
I haven’t bought the book yet, but I think I want to start this plan. Just like the author, I am a tight 14, but would like to get back to my pre-child size 10.
I want to post a good resource I recently found https://www.facebook.com/groups/thmwholefoods/
It is a unofficial THM group of whole food eaters. Lots of great ideas in there!
Christine — Thanks for sharing a link to the group. It’s a great one. I hope THM w/ traditional foods works for you!
Could anyone help me with the above group? I keep requesting to join with no results. Thanks so much!
I just tried joining, and it’s “pending”. I’ll let you know what happens.
Wardeh, I am so happy to read this! I have been struggling with some parts of THM, because we make so much of our food and enjoy traditional foods & I was not willing to “throw” it out. I am really interested in your making butter out of the raw milk yogurt “cream.” Are you speaking of whey? I seem to waste the whey when we make yogurt. I am also thankful that you shared the sugar content of the fermented yogurt!!
How do you feel about honey? I know that it is not on plan, but we harvest our own and we haven’t really found a stevia/xylitol/sweetener substitute that doesn’t leave an aftertaste or bother tummies. I am considering just using honey anyway since we don’t do too many sweets to start with. Thanks so much for sharing your THM journey!!!
Autumn, check out the facebook group that Christine shared. It is an excellent source for people who don’t want to use stevia/erythritol/xylitol. In the files, they have a document that explains how to use coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup and molasses instead.
Rule of thumb: 1 Tablespoon in S setting and more liberal in E. You don’t count the carbs in the natural sweeteners.
Carbs in a Tbsp (just so you are aware):
Coconut Sugar: 14g
Raw Unfiltered Honey: 17g
Maple Syrup: 14g
Unsulphered Blackstrap Molasses: 15g
I’ve only been doing THM for 5 days, but I find that a tsp adds enough sweetness to S desserts and at just 5 carbs, I don’t worry about it at all. They say there might be an adjustment period but if you find yourself plateauing for more than 3 weeks, then try cutting back. (I think trying to cut back on sweeteners in general is an excellent idea. Don’t worry, your taste buds will adjust.)
If you don’t have access to facebook, just let me know and I can figure out a way to share the document with you.
Best of luck!
Thank you so much Cev K! I actually found the whole foods THM group after posting a comment, but was waiting to be added 🙂 The comment before must not have been posted when I published mine. Great info there!!
I would love to view the file.
Don’t know if this will work or not:
https://www.facebook.com/download/1527037947536670/Trim%20Healthy%20Mama-WFS%20Sweeteners%20Guidelines.docx
Autumn – Thanks for your comment and kind words. 🙂 RE: making cultured butter out of cream – no, I’m not talking about whey. I’m talking about the cream that rises to the top of the yogurt (think cream top yogurt?). I skim that away and make butter.
Honey? For the most part, I have avoided it – except for special occasions. I know others who have done THM with Traditional Foods and use it sparingly (like once a week). If you’re not doing too many sweets anyway, perhaps that could work for you.
I started THM last year and FINALLY noticed the scale moving down. BUT, I started getting pretty frequent migraines and I’m pretty sure it was the Stevia. Now that I have stopped using it, the migraines are a lot less often. So that kind of threw me off track. And I got pregnant. Again. I only have about 6 weeks until this baby is due and I know I need to get serious with probably 50 pounds to lose. This gives me inspiration to do THM in a completely traditional foods way.
Thanks for your post! You gave me some great ideas. I’m not into maintenance mode, but on SBD site, one poster had lost a lot of weight and has kept it off for years. She plans to go back on phase 1 about 3 times a year….after the holidays, in the spring, and after summer. She doesn’t have to stay on it too long to lose whatever weight had crept on and that also got rid of any sugar cravings. I’m not trying to push SBD, but I thought her plan was a good one, so I thought I’d pass it along.
Thank you so much for this information. I have been intrigued by THM for awhile now, but couldn’t put $31 into it without a better idea of how it would work with a real traditional food diet. You have helped tremendously! You mentioned that you also do strength training. Do you follow a specific program or do they have one in THM?
Hello! The first commenter, Jessica, said exactly what I want to express. I am reading all these comments from grateful readers, and have to say I agree so strongly! I’m also someone who has a friend who tried THM, but I was so put off by the strange things incorporated in the program that didn’t sound real that I never gave it a serious thought. In fact, I was rather proud of my not jumping on the THM band wagon, because the Traditional Foods principles were more important to me than this “fad”. I also wondered about separating the macronutrients, but, like you pointed out, as well as other articles I’ve read, this isn’t new or unusual. I do appreciate the examples you used of separating macronutrients. It made a lot of sense!
I’ve been praying about losing weight …this may be it. =) After hearing how you made it fit, and how easy it seems to be creative within the guidelines of THM/traditional foods, I’m encouraged, and have changed my tune about THM. Thanks.
I started THM 1.5 yrs. ago. A little over 3 years ago I was in a car accident and could no longer exercise. I put on about 17 lb. I have never been a “dieter” and in the past just increased my exercise if I needed to lose weight. I have been eating whole, natural foods for a very long time, can’t even remember when I started. I was very discouraged with the weight gain and not being able to exercise. When I started losing weight on THM, I was very excited. I lost an average of 2lb./wk. with very little effort. I didn’t use their recommended foods, just modified my regular meals to not include both fat and starchy carbs. I am finally beginning to exercise more regularly and am adding muscle mass. THM was a God sent blessing when I didn’t feel like I had any viable options. I know this may not work for everyone, but I wish everyone could know that it is an option. Thanks for posting about your experience.
This is exactly how I eat – loosely based on the Montignac method. Carbs+protein, or protein+fat. I tend to have my carbs in the morning, and am picky about the carbs I eat. I trust grain production from non-US countries (Finn Crisp are made in Finland). The fats are coconut oil, plain goat cheese, and half and half for my coffee. When I stick to this I never, ever have to think about my weight, or my mood. So lovely to be free from obsessing about weigh fluctuation, and I straight up love the food. It tastes decadent, plus I get to have dark chocolate, coffee, etc. Thanks for posting about this!
If one is celiac and on a restricted diet including dairy (casein), is this even something worthwhile to look into?
Yes you can easily follow THM with allergies and food restrictions. I am GF, DF (Well dairy light now) and soy free. THM has been easier to keep GF and DF than any other time since I had to remove these items from my diet.
Wow! I am so glad to have found this post! I read the THM book about 2 years ago but didn’t feel I could do the plan using all traditional foods. I also was unsure about the sweeteners they recommend and seem to use so routinely. My weight has crept up since then- nothing major but exercise and eating carefully hasn’t helped so I recently decided to give THM go and see if I could do it with traditional foods and without many sweets. So far so good and this post makes me feel like it is very doable! Also, I am so impressed you make your own cheeses! I’ve been making yogurt for year. Maybe I will try cheese too. Thanks so much for the motivation!
Hi Wardeh. I’m pleased to see you posting this. I’ve read your blog off and on for several years. I’m embarrassed to say that I pre-judged THM as too weird and out there before reading the book. After having my 7th baby (a highly stressful, difficult pregnancy/birth/newborn period), my hormones got messy and I couldn’t lose the last 10 pounds or so. Discouraged, I decided to look into THM. Amazingly I lost that 10 pounds EASILY in 3 weeks. I love this eating plan, and like you, I’m a Purist. I wish I had read the book myself before deciding it was not for me! I’m especially thankful to be free from sugar cravings and addiction, which as you know are a huge problem even in the whole foods/WAPF community.
So…I know you usually eat the einkorn sourdough bread even for the THM diet. Which other types of grains are acceptable for the THM plan when made with sourdough? I don’t think my family will eat the rye/spelt listed in the plan book. I used to make wheat flour sd from this eclass and they like that. I know it is by taste but I was not sure about my options . Thank you!
Hi Kathryn,
Any of the grains are fine to use with sourdough on THM. 🙂
Millie
Traditional Cooking School
Hi Wardee! Thanks for this article. Can you pick us up to speed and tell us if you have been able to keep the weight off and what your diet is like now? Thank you!
Hi Annette,
Wardee’s diet is 80/20 THM and yes, she has kept the weight off. 🙂
Millie
Traditional Cooking School
Hi. I am still in the preliminary stage of committing to a THM weight loss/eating style change. Can you explain to me what the 80/20 ratio is referring to?
Thanks!
Hi, Ginger,
80/20 ratio is referring to 80% of the time she follows THM using TCS methods and 20% not THM. 🙂
~Peggy, TCS Customer Success Team
Wooohoooo! Totally cool! Yaaaaay!
Thanks, Vange. 🙂 God bless you and your sisters!
Can you follow the healthy mama eating plan if you are lactose intolerant and can’t have nuts or seeds?
Katherine ~ Absolutely! There are all kinds of ladies who are working around allergies. Because you’re eating with whole foods, you have lots of choices.
If you can have coconut (many who have nut/seed allergies can), you can make coconut kefir and coconut milk to sub for dairy and fermented dairy and nut milks. Coconut oil instead of butter, etc.
There are THM FB groups around allergies and special needs. You can ask many questions there!
God bless you.
I’ve been on THM for almost 8 weeks now with a loss of about 8 pounds so far. I’ve been happy with the results but am not moving much the last 3 weeks. I, like you, only have about 30 or less pounds to lose (if that). Anyway, I find myself getting discouraged lately although I enjoy the foods and definitely don’t want to go back to sugar so I definitely plan to stick with it regardless of weight loss but I was just wondering how often you felt stalled or how slowly or quickly it happened? Did you have months that were better or did it just steadily fall off, bouncing up and down. Thanks for any help. I just want to stay encouraged.
Hi, Lisa. This definitely happened to me! Sometimes I would lose fast and other times I would stay the same for awhile before dropping again. Keep it up, you’re doing fabulous! Sounds perfectly normal to me ~ at least going by my experience. 🙂
I know somebody who does this diet after her 4th child. I’ve heard about so many different diets for auto-immune thyroid issues and wonder what you or your followers can say about that with this diet. I’ve moved a lot and after leaving Canada, I’ve gained weight and can’t lose it regardless of my exercise regime. Thanks.
Mention was made to the “frankenfoods” in the THM Cookbooks. I have both cookbooks and am about to start THM, but I guess I do not know enough about Traditional Eating because I did not recognize anything in the books to be frankenfoods. Could you please give me some examples as to what would be a “frankenfood” listed in the book? Thank you!
Hi Deborah,
Wardee is referring to things such as defatted peanut flour or protein powder that are highly processed.
~ Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team