Yes, I'm still here, shifting foot to foot, knowing the starting shot was already fired yet stuck at the starting line, seemingly unable to take more than a first tentative step. Hmmmm....
Yes, this is about losing weight and feeling better about how I look; but it's also about much more than that. It's about a healthier life, gaining control over my emotions as well as my health issues, giving my family better choices for what they fuel their bodies with and keeping them healthy, empowering my family to lead active and healthy lives without feeling the pull of junk food to fill their emotional needs..... It's about going where God is leading.
Over the past several months I had been seeing something called Trim Healthy Mama continually popping up in my FB newsfeed. Yummy looking recipes, friends posting about losing weight and improving their overall health, etc. I decided to do a little research and see what THM was all about. I tend to be skeptical about fads and I am realistic enough to know that I will never stick with anything that is too strict and involved (requiring too much work and telling me I can not have chocolate;), nor will I stick with anything that makes me give up the foods I like and only eat things I don't. I'm sure you all know exactly what I mean :)
Well, I gotta tell you, I've been very impressed with what I found. My initial concern was that it was going to be all about fake sweeteners, low/no fat, processed and refined foods that are expensive and really (once you get past the "lose weight fast" thought) not healthy in the long run, blah blah blah. WRONG! THM is all about real food and real life. Food your husband will love and your pickiest kids will inhale. Food with real fat in it as well as real nutritional value. Food as well as an eating style that will actually satisfy you and still allow you to enjoy better health along with weight loss.
After nine years of living with a T1 Diabetic child and educating myself on how food fuels our bodies, I was shocked to find a book that actually makes sense and teaches the truth about things but is still very mommy (and family/child) friendly. The basis of the book is that we should only feed our bodies one fuel source at a time (fat or carbs) to avoid overloading our system, causing much of what we are eating to be put into storage for use later on, only to end up parking it there for good. Our bodies can not utilize the fuel we feed it when we are on the standard american diet, because it's too much of everything. What we consider as a modern day nutritionally balanced diet is actually to heavy in starchy carbs which turn to sugar in our system; combine that with the high fat content in our food choices and our bodies go into overload mode. Our system just can not burn it all as fuel simultaneously. THM teaches how to have a new kind of nutritionally balanced mentality..... get in all the good things we need, but do it in a way that fuels our bodies with only one fuel at a time and balance it out over time. For example, if I choose to have carbs be my fuel to start my day, I won't mix in fats. Then about 3 hours later, when I'm ready for lunch, my body has had a chance to burn those carbs and I may choose fat as my fuel source for lunch, which will keep me satisfied throughout the afternoon. THM also teaches that protein is vital in helping our body transport and burn the fuel we give it, therefore it should be enjoyed at each meal/snack for the most effective nutritional benefits. By eating in this way, you are no longer depriving your body of anything, nor are you overloading it and causing it to breakdown.
I'm still getting the hang of the THM lifestyle.... breaking a lifetime of bad habits (ahem... not eating breakfast for example) and learning how to make smart choices. It's surprisingly difficult to let go of some of the lies we've been told about healthy nutrition, because they are so ingrained into us and it's just as hard to enjoy a newfound freedom to enjoy REAL food in all it's healthy splendor. Yes, I'm still heading down this path.... at a turtles pace. I'll get there eventually; and I keep reminding myself that every little change brings with it a lifetime of benefit. Journey on friends, there is joy to be found in it all :)
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