Showing posts with label Weight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weight. Show all posts
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Losing the Baby Weight Part 2 Trim Healthy Mama!
I have a very exciting concept and book to recommend to you all for optimum healthy living, but also for weight loss and maintenance of that "new you" once you've achieved it!
The book is called Trim Healthy Mama!
From Pearl Barrett & Serene Allison, "those Above Rubies ladies" as I always hear others refer to them as. *smile*
"No More Fads! A Common Sense Guide To Satisfy Your Cravings And Energize Your Life. By Pearl Barrett & Serene Allison. For Women Of All Ages And Stages! Over 250 Recipes, Proven Ways to Lose Weight, How to Balance your Hormones, How to Re-fire your Metabolism, Make your Skin Glow, Ignite Marriage Intimacy, Simple but Effective Exercise Plan. (for Pregnant Mothers too!) Answers for Postmenopausal Women."
Most of you probably remember the post I wrote 3 weeks ago entitled Losing the "Baby Weight", Part 1 - The Diet Plan That Helped Me Lose 64 Pounds Finally! Well I need to change up my recommendation to that diet plan. I did lose the weight quickly - however I didn't learn anything about how to maintain that new goal weight.
I thought, naively in hind sight, that since we had been eating very healthfully before I could just step back in to my old diet style and maintain my new weight. Well, that's not what happened. I knew how to maintain 64 pounds heavier than I am now, but not my new weight. That is a whole new ball game.
I reached my goal weight on a Thursday in April 2013, and that weekend as I tried to begin eating normally I gained 5 pounds! Not only did I feel like I could I not stop eating once I started as I was so craving the variety of food, and I was combining the wrong foods together causing my body to put the fat back on! *choke!* *gasp!* So, that Sunday I went back on the first diet for the next week. I did lose that weight again, but was really struggling with being back on that diet having worked so hard to reach my goal and then thinking I could just jump off of the diet and move on. *sigh* Okay, Friday arrived again the following week and I went off the diet again...and re-gained 5 pounds that weekend! *yikes!* Back on the diet again on Sunday...I did this three times. Gain...lose...gain...lose...gain...lose that same 5 pounds...for a month. Two days off the diet, and 5 days on again. It was so disheartening! And I felt so afraid of eating! And I felt like I couldn't get off of that first diet. Now what?!
I called my doctor and explained what was going on and asked for his advice and help. He gave me good instruction and told me of a way to maintain my goal weight. The basic principle being to avoid combining fats and complex carbs (grain) in the same meal. For example eating lunch that included fats such as cheese, peanut butter, oils, butter, with protein and vegetables; and for dinner eating a meal that had basically no fat but included carbohydrates such as breads or pasta with the protein and vegetables. But not combining the two fuel sources. With this plan one can eat most foods and not be deprived - just not eat them together. Let's look at this principle some more.
Both fats and carbohydrates are sources of fuel. When we're past puberty our bodies can usually burn one source of fuel at a time, not tandem burn. So when we feed our bodies both fat and complex carbs together, our bodies burn the sugars first (complex carbohydrates in grains) which are easier and set the fat aside for later. The problem is that when we eat the next snack or meal the same way, the body never has time to go get that fat that was set aside as a fuel source for later and so that fat then stays on the body. However, if we only offer the body one source of fuel at a time then the body can burn it off just fine. *smile*
If we eat complex carbs - grains, pasta, bread, etc. - with our protein and veggies then our body burns that single fuel as energy. And if we eat fat isolated from carbs (with protein and vegetables), our bodies can burn that just fine, too, and we feel satiated! So really it's not a matter of never eating fat in order to lose weight, or never eating carbohydrates. It's a matter of not tandem fueling the body by eating these two fuels together. But if you think about it, most all American foods combine fat and carbohydrates! Hamburgers, lasagna, crackers, muffins, even latte's with the carbs and fats in the milk. Most food items are made with both fat and carbs stuck together! So...what does one eat to implement these principles of separation?! Don't worry. God has everything under control as always, and He showed me a wonderful plan for success simultaneously with giving me these principles from my doctor.
Within 2 days of hearing about these great principles and wondering how in the world I was going to implement them (and while still stuck on the previous diet) the Lord brought an angel of a friend in to my life. Being a new friend to me she was completely unaware of my current struggle, and yet the Lord prompted her to give me a copy of Trim Healthy Mama - as a gift. What a God send. *smile* And this book not only goes in to depth with lots more information on this same principle of fueling the body with one fuel or the other but not together, but it provides over 250 recipes to enable successful eating! I was in awe. *smile* God's timing is amazing to me - and being fairly nutritionally educated I had never heard these principles before. But the blessing doesn't even stop there.
This is one of my favorite aspects of the The Trim Healthy Mama (THM) book - and a very practical one at that (my favorite thing! *laugh!*). The authors of the book, Pearl and Serene show us how to adjust most of our normal recipes for our families so that we can be losing weight, while the family eats their normal tandem-fueling foods. It is a big book, 600 pages (but including 250 recipes!), however please do not let this intimidate you because Pearl and Serene intentionally included all of the practical how-to's and tips along the way which I so appreciate, and that help us all to be successful without the mystery and frustration of having nice principles given to us but with out the practical how-to's for doing so. THM is an awesome resource.
So for family shopping and meal planning everyone in our family eats the same pretty much, with some tweaking done on my part to enable some family members to lose weight who desire to do so (in our family that would be me, my husband Bob, and our oldest daughter). I only prepare one dinner instead of two (for dieters and non-dieters as I was doing for months), and it is very easy to simply adjust the diet a bit to stop losing weight as soon as one's goal weight is reached. Amazing to me. Children's bodies actually tandem-fuel just beautifully being so young and this is actually good for them, so we don't need to be concerned about these principles for them yet. It isn't until we're older that our bodies start to choke up when we try to tandem fuel.
There are simple principles in the THM book, but then much explanation and understanding to help educate people, and tools to implement and give a jump start for life. There's a lot to be learned about how to separate fats and carbs; what foods fall in to which categories, and in what quantities, but then a life style is established that we can run with and have so much freedom within. I'm beginning to experience this myself, and have talked with many others who are much further down the road than I am and who testify to these facts. *smile*
Most people can begin reading and learning from the THM book and begin losing weight, applying the information as they learn it, trying out new recipes, etc.. I had been trying to keep the weight off that I had worked so hard to lose and I didn't have time (or patience) for a learning process while gaining weight back so fast simultaneously. I dove in to reading the book every minute I could spare, and applied the knowledge as best as I could as I was learning. And because of coming from the first diet with no education behind it I had a steep learning curve to begin to start losing weight. It's taken me 3 weeks to halt the weight gain and to begin to get back to my goal weight. *sigh* Oh how I wish I had the THM book in the first place...but, the Lord's timing is perfect and I am confident that He has a plan in leading me through the path He chose for me for weight loss and then maintenance.
Beginning this new journey with THM I went form gaining 2 lbs. a day coming off of the last diet each time, to gaining 2 lbs. a week initially as I tried to adjust my body to a new way to eating everyday foods. It was scary for me. I was growing out of my new clothes and shoes and feeling so afraid (having gone before from a size 16 down to a size 4-6, including down one shoe size). But I trusted my doctors advice, and I trusted these Christian ladies who have such powerful testimonies themselves and have great evidence of all that they have learned being very successful.
Then one of our readers even pointed me to the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook Group! *cheer!* *laugh!* (And Facebook Fan Page - more recipes, people's testimonies and photos; and the Free Forums) God is so good, and so full of the provision we need! This group of nearly 8,000 Mamas (which has grown by about 1,000 members just since I've joined about 3 weeks ago!) has been so helpful in answering my questions; and the moderators are also so insightful, educated, and experienced themselves. And there are many document files in the group as well full of practical helps and ideas!
When I began reading the THM book I had just gained 5 pounds from my goal weight again over the weekend, then gained 2 pounds my first week with THM (but not 2 pounds a day!), and 2 pounds my second week with THM putting me then at 9 pounds above goal weight. *cringe!* But the weight gain had slowed way down, and my food cravings had begun to disappear, my energy was up, I was sleeping better...and I had hope. *smile* I applied what I was learning as best as I could, making lots of mistakes which is also one of the reasons I was still gaining a bit. And most of the ladies I spoke with on the Facebook group who were coming off of very restrictive diets like myself testified to the same thing initially. And then they started losing weight again after a few weeks or a couple of months, and most importantly they learned to keep the weight off and they felt great. Everyone testified to being so healthy, and having great reports from doctors who had been managing their physical problems with them.
With continued studying and improving in my knowledge, and with lots of advice from the Facebook group monitors and members, my third week with THM I finally arrested the weight gain and actually lost 1/2 pound. This may not seem like very much, but it was a great turn in the right direction for me and I was beyond excited. *smile* I'm now in my fourth week and am eager to see how well I continue to learn and lose to get back to goal weight - and then maintain that good weight finally. And I can easily adjust my husband Bob's and our daughter's diets so that they are able to continue losing until they are at their goal weight and then stop losing and instead maintain.
Now on our THM journey we are eating most all foods: proteins (meats, eggs, cheeses, whey protein powder, etc.) and vegetables, but also fats, carbs, and home made sugar-free desserts. We're just eating fats and carbs separate from one another, and in healthy portions sizes (not tiny bird-like portions, just normal serving sizes). We enjoy coffee with cream and iced tea; desserts made with peanut butter, chocolate, heavy cream, vanilla, and ice creams, cakes, and cookies; muffins, pancakes, oatmeal; butter, olive oil and coconut oils for cooking and baking; fruits, crockpot meals, soups, sandwiches...everything. But with THM plan savvy. It's so cool.
Here's a bit of a nutshell glimpse into the THM plan. There are 3 basic types of meals: "S-Meals" which are Satiating with fat included in them, "E-Meals" which are Energizing from complex carbohydrates, and "Fuel-Pull Meals" which do not include fats or carbohydrates (mostly just protein and vegetables) and therefore pull fuel from one's own body at a heightened rate. Eating the 'S' and 'E' meals alternately will help people lose weight and keep them healthy, because by fluctuating one's metabolism between utilizing the fats or carbs as primary fuel sources one's metabolism is stimulated in to action! And one can switch between 'S' meals or 'E' meals at each meal if desired, or do one or the other for a couple of days and then switch - there are a number of ways to learn to do it, whatever fits for each person. Fuel-Pull meals are an added tool that can be used here and there, which Pearl and Serene show people how to do.
Here are some pages I typed up for myself categorizing all of the THM recipes that we eat in to the 3 main types, to help me with meal planning quickly and to help my husband and daughter to also be able to have an at-a-glance "cheat sheet" on the kitchen cupboard for making their own food choices when they're hungry. This chart doesn't include the recipes I already have that we enjoy, just Pearl and Seren's new meals with page numbers referenced to their book.
- The first thing I do when filling out my chart for the week is to look at my regular month-at-a-glance calendar for events happening that week. If there's an evening when we will be at a friend's house for dinner, then I record that at the top of the column for that day. For example, above the Friday column I would write, "At the White's House"; over the Saturday column I would write "At the zoo"; and over my Sunday column is often written "Errands" because that day I need to do all of the grocery shopping and other errands so I need to have "to-go" foods planned for myself, and easy dinners prepared for Bob to cook for himself for dinner.
- The second part of the chart I fill out is the blank line beside each meal name (Breakfast ___, Lunch ___, etc.) I write down if that meal is an S, E, or FP meal. This helps me make sure I have balance over the course of my week of S & E meals with some FP snacks. It also helps me see that if I have an extra "deep S-Meal" (highest in fats) on one evening for company perhaps, I should make sure that I have some FP snacks or a meal planned in for that day as well to balance it out. Also, since it's fine to have homemade desserts after breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I'd like (*cheer!*) then I need to make sure I match the dessert to the meal type. For example, an E meal needs to end with an E dessert (or a FP one, which is neutral) so that they continue burning the same type of fuel. Right now for breakfast I like to alternate having an S meal (such as a fried eggs and turkey sausage patty, with coffee and cream, and some green smoothie, adjusted to be plan-appropriate) with an E meal (such as Trim Healthy Pancakes, or Steel Cut Oats oatmeal, with a fruit, and some hot tea). So I can write down across the top of my meal plan, S...E...S...E... Then for lunch I will have the opposite meal, so I can write across the lunch row the coordinating thing, E...S...E...S... So I may have Trim Healthy Pancakes for breakfast (an E meal), and then an S lunch (such as a salad with hard boiled egg, plenty of homemade olive oil salad dressing, and some Skinny Chocolate for dessert). I also circle for myself if I'm having coffee with cream, or tea. If it's an S meal then I have coffee with cream; for an E meal I have tea (because I only like my coffee with cream in it *smile*).
- I then fill in the actual meal plan while referencing my recipe chart inside my kitchen cupboard (and/or looking in my own recipe binder for ideas), for meals, snacks, and desserts. If I'm using my THM cookbook then I also write the page number of my selected recipe in parenthesies for quick reference, or if the recipe is in my binder then I write "binder" so I know that I pulled that recipe out and set it aside in my kitchen counter file box where I can find it easily when it's time to prepare a meal. The star asterisks are where I write in which dessert I'm having after that meal. *beam!*
- Finally, when I've filled out the whole chart then I look to each recipe I've chosen and record on my grocery shopping list what ingredients I need in what quantities that week to make sure I'm prepared.
I've also started a list (again, are you surprised? *laugh*) to help me remember where I have been able to purchase many of these new-to-me food items. I've been very pleasantly surprised that most of the new-to-me items I can find at Costco, Wal-Mart, and a few from our local food co-op, with a few items purchased online for the best price. Here's my list to remind me where I've found which items locally (not my regular grocery shopping list, but just the new items I've not been purchasing before now).
If you are desiring to get back to before-children-weight, or "wedding weight" as some ladies have referred to it as, or are maybe desiring to have an incredibly healthy pregnancy or nursing season, desiring to lose the intense cravings for foods that can make our lives so miserable, and to have energy and well being - then I encourage you to pick up a copy of this book. It may seem a little more expensive than some books ($35), but for what you get it's well worth it. Six hundred pages of knowledge, wisdom and practical application, and over 250 recipes. This is actually an awesome price.
To achieve the wonderful goal of becoming a Trim Healthy Mama, I really recommend this eating plan - a way of eating and living - not just a fad.
If you would like to have any of my charts, lists, or schedules that I've shared you can download those from this link.
Blessings on your health,
Recommended resources:
Trim Healthy Mama, by Pearl Barrett & Serene Allison ($35)
Facebook group for Trim Healthy Mama readers
Trim Healthy Mama Facebook Fan Page
You also might be interested in my related posts:
Losing the "Baby Weight", Part 1 - The Diet Plan That Helped Me Lose 64 Pounds Finally!
Motherhood With Vitality, Part 1 of 2
Freedom From a Sugar Addiction
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Losing the Baby Weight
I love my babies.
When my kiddo is soundly sleeping in my arms, I feel like the best mom ever. Baby snuggles are the best. And those first smiles - most precious moments in the world!
Babies are pretty amazing.
You know what's not amazing?
Pregnancy.
Rather, the pregnancy weight.
Those of you who know me in real life would probably roll your eyes at me with the amount of weight I gained in my fourth pregnancy. I know, I know, I was lucky to only gain 25 pounds the fourth time. I've been lucky enough to gain less weight with each successive pregnancy; usually women gain more weight each time. Please don't assume that I'm bragging about the poundage. I've been on the opposite end of the spectrum as well. I gained 50 pounds in my first pregnancy, more than any of the other first-time mommies in my social circle. I didn't lose that weight through breastfeeding either. It was a long nine months before I finally lost the baby weight.
When it comes to baby weight, most medical professionals would agree that it's important to lose some (if not all) of the extra weight. Obesity is a growing challenge in America. However, medical professionals disagree on how quickly those pounds need to come off. Some recommend losing the weight within a few months through diet and exercise. Some suggest taking an entire year to slowly lose the weight. Oftentimes the mantra is, "It took nine months to gain the weight, it'll take nine months to lose the weight."
Jaime Arruda, MD wisely states, "Probably the most important thing to remember about this is that everyone gains their weight and loses their weight differently in pregnancy, and that it’s not a competition as to how quickly you can lose your postpartum weight."
As a counselor, a friend, and a mom, I see women struggle with things other than the number on the scale. Self-esteem. Self-confidence. Self-image. Most women just want to feel good about their bodies after childbirth. Moms not only sacrifice their time and emotions to raise children, they sacrifice their very bodies. Our skin bears stretch marks, our abdominal muscles flab, our chests never look the same again. Even our feet can permanently change! The number on the scale may get down to your wedding day weight, but your wedding dress may still not fit because your rib-cage expanded during pregnancy.
Pregnancy affects all women differently, and so does postpartum weight loss.
Don't fight to look like a supermodel.
Fight to simply feel good in the skin you have left, scars and all.
I'll say that again:
Fight to feel good in your new skin.
How do you win the battle of new mom self-confidence?
Answer these questions:
What makes you feel beautiful?
What makes you feel strong and capable?
Over the last few weeks, when did you feel the most confident in yourself?
And on that occasion, what were you doing, wearing, and thinking?
Think about the last time that you felt "like your old self" again.
In that moment, what were you doing, wearing, thinking?
How will you know when you have reached the moment where you accept yourself?
What will you say to yourself when you are good with yourself?
Ponder over your answers.
And tell those kind words to yourself now. Smile at yourself now.
Allow yourself to be human and imperfect. Be patient with yourself while making a game plan to get feeling good again. If that means losing some baby weight, then make a plan towards that goal. (Check with your doctor if you have medical concerns.) If feeling good means updating your wardrobe, then get to it. Feeling good about your body can also involve daily positive affirmations, volunteer service, or frequent self-care time where you relax from stress. When I see counseling clients struggling with self-image, their weight is usually connected to anxious eating habits. Under-eating and overeating are common stress relievers, and neither are healthy habits. Every mom experiences stress. Analyze within yourself if you are coping with stress in a healthy way. Are other stressors affecting your ability to love yourself?
Sometimes, even as you fight to feel good, your results will not be "perfect." I know amazing moms who can't seem to lose every pound of baby weight despite their conscious eating and exercising. Sometimes abdominal muscles stay separated. Sometimes chest sizes shrink even more. Sometimes scar lines don't fade but remain bright purple. We cannot control the unexpected, but we can control whether or not we try to reach our goals. If you have tried honestly and sincerely, than you have not failed. Don't withhold kindness from yourself. Don't withhold smiles from yourself. Do your best, and love your effort.
No matter the number on the scale, fight to feel good.
No matter your deflated bra size, fight to feel good.
Remind yourself about your inner strength and beauty. Tell yourself compliments. Work on your goals for physical and mental wellness. Kick those nay-saying, negative thoughts to the curb.
Eat healthy. Run around after your kids for exercise. Breathe fresh air. Smile at yourself in the mirror. Express gratitude to your loved ones often and to your God for the blessings of family.
Write love letters to yourself. Praise your efforts to be healthy for your family. Accept compliments from others with a "thank you" instead of "oh, thanks, but I still (insert self-degrading comment.)" Replace negative self-talk with a loop of received compliments. Whatever stage you are in, whether gaining baby weight or losing baby weight, simply love yourself and fight to feel good.
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