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Those of you who have been following the blog for any length of time might remember my reaction to going gluten-free. I was back and forth, agonizing over giving up favorite foods forever. Some days, I felt like I could do it, other days, I was more than a little resentful. But I finally got to the place where I gave in and gave it up. For three solid years. Until the day I got glutened … one too many times … by a supplement of all things. Unfortunately, wheat (and gluten) are hidden in all sorts of foods it shouldn’t – and doesn’t need to be in.
Tired of suffering because of a minute amount of wheat in something I didn’t even get to enjoy, I went on a gluten tantrum that’s never quite ended.
With a baby – now a toddler – in the house, I was getting glutened all the time and didn’t see much point in trying anymore. I’m not going to say no to sweet baby, gluten-filled kisses, and I have no intention of making her eat gluten free snacks just because I can’t have it. Not when she doesn’t need to give it up.
Fast forward a couple of years and I’m getting ready to make another dietary change. I’ve been experiencing symptoms of another health issue and decided enough is enough. I’m still not ready to give up gluten again but it did finally convince me to listen to what a friend – fellow author Diana Layne – has been trying to tell me for over a year.
I’d ignored everything she told me about the Trim Healthy Mama (aka THM) plan. With my hypothyroidism, nothing worked for losing a few pounds. Nothing worked to really make me feel better. So why bother giving up foods I love if it’s all going to be a colossal failure anyway?
With these new symptoms (pre-diabetes), I knew I had to nip them in the bud. I was ready to listen. I had an aunt lose part of her leg because of complications from diabetes. I know other people who struggle with their health because of it. So after reading that dietary changes could reverse that, I was ready to listen.
Of course, this was the gluten-free thing all over again. I did spend less time getting my mind wrapped around it, but I spent a couple weeks gathering dozens and dozens of recipes, and learning as much as I could about this new eating plan.
I know it’s gotten kind of old to hear that a new eating plan isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle change. But I can honestly it’s probably true with the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
In less than 72 hours, I’d started to feel better. On day four, I knew it wasn’t a fluke. I did feel better.
I also had my day get totally out of control, ran too many errands on too light of a lunch, too many hours after a pretty light breakfast. And I scarfed down some candy, a handful of Doritos, and and a half liter bottle of Vernor’s (The. Best. Ginger. Ale. EVER!).
And now I’m dragging. With all of the great recipes I found, I caved. Because I found the one candy – Zachary’s Bridge Mix – that could tempt me when I was down. Nothing else could have gotten me off track because I was just too excited about having a little energy again.
But I let myself get too hungry. I won’t make that mistake again.
And to help ensure that I do not, I’m going to share my progress reports here. Results I expect to see include some weight loss, much more energy, and a reduction in some residual pain left from my car accident in 2008. Oh yeah. And getting rid of the pre-diabetes symptoms.
I’d love to have some of you join me in my 2018 quest to get healthier and in better shape. If you’d like to try Trim Healthy Mama (and lots of guys do it too!), I’ll be posting links to some of my favorite websites.
To start off, check out Briana Thomas’s website. Diana Layne shared it with me a couple of months ago because Briana is getting married soon (two or three weeks now) and she thought I’d be interested in reading a real-life love story (I was!).
I’m going to make her overnight chocolate oatmeal before I go to bed. And if I can remember to get some ice, I’m definitely Frosted Lemonade making her copycat version of the frosty lemon drink from Chick-Fil-A. She calls it . and I’m excited to be able to have one again. Actually, the ingredients mean I could have one every day! 🙂
Since this is getting long though, here’s the link to her Starting Trim Healthy Mama page. And I’d like to say up front, I don’t know her. I don’t believe I’ve ever made a comment on any post on her website. I have, however, saved tons of links for recipes from her site.
Let me know in the comments if you’ll be joining me – and if you do, how you’re doing (and feeling)!
Photo Credit: Pixabay.com
I’m not familiar with the Trim Healthy Mama Plan. I’ll have to check it out. Change in diet can definitely reverse the pre-diabetes. Sure beats taking meds or getting full-blown diabetes. So sad what your aunt went through. Good luck with THM. I say whatever works, go for it!
Wow. I’m late answering this. Periodically, WordPress stops giving those handy little notifications up by my profile picture (maybe just on my screen) so I have to remember to check the comments link on my dashboard. Obviously, I don’t remember to do that often enough. 🙂
Anyway, thanks! And you’re right. It was sad what my aunt had to go through and I don’t plan on following in her footsteps. So I’m doing pretty good about sticking with the plan. A couple of speed bumps, which I’ll explain about in an update in a minute but it’s actually a very easy eating plan to follow. I hesitate to say ‘diet’ because I think – at least for me – it needs to be a lifestyle change.