THM: A Practical, Sustainable, Nutritious Diet

If you've ever tried keto, paleo, Weight watchers, Atkins, Slimfast, Whole30 or any other fad diet but quickly burned out you may be looking for a plan that's easier (and healthier!) to maintain long term. One plan that's been rising in popularity is Trim Health Mama (THM).

The THM plan is centered around the idea that total elimination of large food groups (such as carbs, "sweets", fruit, dairy, fat, etc.) can deprive the body of vital nutrients as well as lead to rigid "all or nothing" thinking, so they're harder to stick with long term.

For that reason, two moms from New Zealand, sisters Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison, delved deep into studies with nutritionists and health experts to combine the most critical nutritional concepts with proven weight loss techniques - simplified- and thus the THM plan was born.

The heart of the plan is two-fold:

1) Eliminate sugar and processed flours

2) Separate carbs from fats, eating primarily only 1 per meal

Fueling the body with protein at every meal/snack, regulating blood sugar, and only requiring your body to burn one fuel at a time - either fat or carbs- forces your body to burn its own fat, so weight loss happens gradually and naturally.

The plan simplifies the process by categorizing meals as either

Energizing Meals (E):

Healthy carbs from whole grains, with lean protein and very little fat

or

Satisfying Meals (S): Fats from meat, oil, dairy, etc. with protein

Vegetables & berries are always encouraged!

There's no requirement to eat a certain number of E or S meals, the flexibility to eat whichever allows for long term usage. The only other guideline is to refuel every 3 hours without eating in between.

The plan is also adaptable for times when you are actively trying to lose weight, versus when you are simply trying to maintain a healthy weight along with a nutritious diet. For those times, Crossover meals (XO) are a part of the plan, which combine E & S meals.

The THM diet is all over social media and have millions of books sold, so there's lots of resources, guides and testimonies out there to help you begin. If you're looking for a simple step 1, swap out your sugar for Stevia and your flour for almond flour and get started!