THM {the skinny on my recent favorite book & club}

They arrive on my doorstep once again.
It’s Wednesday morning and the little road
that leads to my house will hardly see a busier day this week!

I greet their smiling faces,
these lovely women
and their sweet children,
as they come from the near and far
corners of our county.

{l-r: yours truly, hilda, rosanna, jenn, joanna, shannon, cindy, thelma, and melissa}

It’s time for another few hours
of wonderful conversation, laughter,
sharing our frustrations and victories,
{both with the scales we KNOW lied to us last week,
but which is speaking in our favor again this morning,
or with the latest, greatest recipe we have discovered}.

Welcome to the local chapter of
The Trim Healthy Mama Book Club!

Trim and Healthy.
But did we also mention delicious?!
Great information!?
And fun!?

Yes. And the journey has only just begun!

 

***********

Early last year when I saw whisperings
for a new book yet to be printed called, Trim Healthy Mama,
I preordered my own copy and waited hopefully
for September’s first printing!

I had read about a few of Serene & Pearl’s ways of cooking
and eating here and there though the pages of Above Rubies Magazine.
And I was so excited to finally get my hands on their book
which, amid families and homeschooling
and lots of time spent in the ktichen,
had taken them five years to complete!”

September came . . . and so did my very own copy
of this {now} blockbuster book!
I began reading . . . and reading . . . and reading.

It’s a thick book, chuck full of good information
on the “science” behind the “S”, “E” or “FP” meals,
hormone issues, natural skin care,
a one week fuel pull week for stubborn weight loss,
effective exercise, the authors’ personal stories,
many great recipes . . . and much more!

{It’s been said that if more husbands knew
the things encouraged in this book
they’d be out in droves buying this for their wives.
Um, yes. Well, we’ll leave it at that
and let each wife discover for herself, shall we? }

One thing I so love about this book and approach to eating,
is that it isn’t a fad diet, but a wonderful “coming together”
of so many of the other books on whole foods
and healthy living that I’ve been reading in recent years.
Books like The Maker’s Diet,
Making Babies,
and several more.
All are on track and books that I so appreciate
for their own area of expertise.

Trim Healthy Mama {THM},
for me, adds one more element
that is so important, and that is to know
how blood sugar and insulin levels are effected by food,
and how to enjoy wonderful, delicious,
whole foods in a way that will help me
to feel great {no sugar rushes} and to stay trim
instead of packing on the pounds!

For more detailed information about the book itself,
including a printable shopping list, and great recipes,
here is one of the best book reviews I have read
for Trim Healthy Mama.

 

And so . . . to tackle the learning curve,
to introduce more women to the book,
and to surround myself with a support group
for something that I see as a lifestyle change,
I asked around to see if others would be interested
in joining a Trim Healthy Mama Book Club
at my house for a few months.

Quite a number of friends,
as well as others who I only knew
through a friend or by a connection made through this blog,
were interested . . . and so the group was formed!

**********

 So, this, our last “official” book club morning at my house
turned out to be bigger and better than ever!
Each woman was able to come,
bringing with her each. and. every. one. of her children,
which came to a grand total of twenty-three!!!

{Lunch with some of the clan!}

Yes, we have a partially finished basement where they could play,
and more importantly, we hired a wonderfully responsible 16-year-old
to watch, read to, play with, and do over-all monitoring of this tribe.
{And hats off to my friends who are raising pleasant,
well-mannered, responsible children as well!}

{Wisdom from children of Trim Healthy mothers.}

 

So after an hour or so of book discussion,
we migrate to the kitchen
where the ladies begin to set out
the wonderful food they’ve prepared
and are proud to share with the rest of us.

Our first meeting’s menu included:
A big salad w/ seasoned chicken & creamy dressing,
mini pepperoni pizza cups
and a mocha cheesecake.

{These foods all fit into the “S” category
of satisfying foods, which means they
contained plenty of healthy fats,
but very little or no carbs at all.}

***
Menu #2
Chicken Ceasar Wraps
Homemade Berry Ice Cream
and coffee w/cream

{again, an “S” meal}

{I think they loved the food, though expressions could cause one to wonder. }

***
Menu #3
Trim Healthy Pancakes {oh, they are so good!}
w/ berry syrup & greek yogurt sauce
Turkey Bacon
Chocolate and Berry Frappes

{an energizing ”E” meal because there is minimal fat
but is a little higher in healthy carbs}

***

Menu #4
Chicken/Shrimp Pad Thai
Lemon Muffins
Homemade Berry Ice Cream

{The Pad Thai is actually a “Fuel Pull”
because we used the ever-growing-in-famousness
Konjac noodles (also known as Miracle Noodles)
which means that it had very little fat
and very few carbs,
making it a meal to really PULL
and use stored fats in the body.}

The only thing is . . .
we kind of turned this meal into an “S”
by the time all was eaten and done
because of the most awesome,
most delicious & decadent
Lemon Muffins which we also consumed,
plus a bit more of that lovely ice cream.

***

OK, if you’ve followed me thus far,
you must be a very patient person.
I feel like I’m fumbling along to both:
a) tell you about the wonderful book club
and
b) to educate you just a wee bit on what exactly
Trim Healthy eating might involve.

Oh and in case you wondered,
there are recipes for all of the above mentioned foods!
Some come from the book,
and some come from our own creativity
or the innovation of other women
in blogland who are also cooking
and baking the Trim, Healthy way.

In this thing, you are definitely not a loner!
Even if you don’t have a local support group
to learn from and hang out with,
there is quite a large online community
that is bursting at the seams with
Q&A’s, encouragement, success stories,
daily inspiration, and yummy eats!

So just assuming that you might perhaps
like to know how we made these great meals,
check back again, and as time allows,
I will either give you the recipe myself
or link you to the website where it can be found!

First up will be the Pad Thai recipe,
coming tomorrow!*****

So that’s that.
Oh WAIT!
We have lost WEIGHT too!

Since early-mid January,
the total combined weight that eight of us have lost
eating and exercising the Trim Healthy Mama way
is approximately 55 pounds!

It’s been slower going for some,
but still a steady downward trend!
Others dropped their weight more quickly.

Just as there are so many different body types
and stages of life,
and also the level of diligence
with which we apply ourselves to the cause . . .
it all gives us our unique story!

But as one friend said,
We ALL lost.
No one gained.
and we are on a roll
with continuing to lose . . .

So that’s our happy story and we’re stickin’ to it.

The ninth member in our group has lost
a very significant amount using another,
faster weight loss program,
but wanted to join along
with our group because she wants to learn
and apply Trim Healthy
lifestyle and eating plans into her life
for continued weight loss and maintenance.
We are so proud of her for sticking to her current plan
and for putting up with the rest of us
as we talked and discussed all manner of THM things!

*****

And now our book club is officially ended.
But it seems we can’t bare to part ways for good.
So we have plans to get together at Melissa’s house
in about a month for more learning in essential oils.

When Spring comes we might meet at the park
so our many littles can run and be wild,
and I’m sure we’ll bring lunch to share.

Rosanna suggested a girls’ night out.
{You know one of those nights where the fathers
take their turns with the 23 young ones!}
Now there’s a great idea!
It would be a celebration of good food,
goals reached,
and lasting friendships made . . .
with uninterrupted conversation!

Sounds like a HEALTHY plan to me.

Thanks for reading. It’s been a pleasure to tell this story!

And so many, many thanks to these friends
{’cause I know they are going to read this!}
who have brought food, picked up the baby sitter,
shared ideas and encouragement,
brought food for the children,
snapped pictures of the children at our last meeting,
and plenty more that I’m probably forgetting.

You all know which “thanks” is meant for you.