Trim Healthy Mama Plan (26 page)

P
REGNANT AND
N
URSING
I
DEA
M
ENU

Day 1

BREAKFAST—XO

Two eggs any style on 1 piece of buttered sprouted or Artisan Sourdough toast—either store-bought or homemade (see the “Breads and Pizza Crusts” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / 1 whole orange / Hot Chocolate Trimmy (“Hot Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

LUNCH—S

Superfood-Loaded Salad (“Quick Single Salads” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Beauty Milk (“More Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

DINNER—SH

Cilantro Lime-Burst Chicken (“Crockpot Meals” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / ½ cup cooked quinoa

Day 2

BREAKFAST—E

Creamy Grains (“Good Morning Grains” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

LUNCH—S

Cream of Mushroom Soup (“Quick Single Soups” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Swiss Bread with butter (“Breads and Pizza Crusts” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / optional salted sliced cucumber

DINNER—XO

Cabb and Saus Skillet (“Family Skillet Meals” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / ¾ cup cooked quinoa

Day 3

BREAKFAST—S

Bacon and eggs / Healing Trimmy, decaf if desired (“Hot Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

LUNCH—E

Waldorf Cottage Cheese Salad (“Quick Single Salads” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Swiss Bread with 1 teaspoon butter (“Breads and Pizza Crusts” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

DINNER—S

Cornbread Crusted Mexican Pie (“Oven Dishes” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / side salad / steamed broccoli with butter

Day 4

BREAKFAST—XO

Apple Cinnamon Crockpot Oatmeal with cream, butter, or coconut oil (“Good Morning Grains” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Collagen Tea (“Hot Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

LUNCH—S

Leftover Cornbread Crusted Mexican Pie / side salad

DINNER—S

Crispy Lickin' Chicken (“Oven Baked or Roasted Meats” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / green beans / optional side salad

Day 5

BREAKFAST—E

Leftover Apple Cinnamon Crockpot Oatmeal, reheated with unsweetened almond or cashew milk / Healing Trimmy Light, decaf if desired (“Hot Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

LUNCH—S

Superfood-Loaded Salad (“Quick Single Salads” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

DINNER—XO

Sweet Potato Bar (“Oven Baked or Roasted Meats” in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) crossed over with butter or coconut oil

Day 6

BREAKFAST—E

Trim Healthy Pancakes (“Pancakes, Donuts, Crepes, and Waffles” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) with 0% Greek yogurt and berries or fruit / Collagen Tea (“Hot Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

LUNCH—XO

Egg salad made with whole eggs and full-fat mayo on 2 pieces sprouted or sourdough bread / celery stuffed with peanut butter

DINNER—S

Super Salmon Patties (“Extra Skillet Stuff” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / side salad / steamed and buttered yellow squash

Day 7

BREAKFAST—S

Cheese- and spinach-stuffed omelet / Healing Trimmy, decaf if desired (“Hot Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

LUNCH—S

Just Like Campbell's Tomato Soup (“Quick Single Soups” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / grilled cheese on Swiss Bread (“Breads and Pizza Crusts” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

DINNER—XO OR E

Wicked White Chili (“Crockpot Meals” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) with sour cream and grated cheese if desiring a Crossover

Snack Ideas for the Week

Celery or apple with nut butters / fruit and cottage cheese / Wasa or Ryvita crackers with Laughing Cow Creamy Light Swiss cheese wedges or Laughin' Mama Cheese (“Condiments and Extras” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / cubed cheese and nuts / Greek yogurt and berries / BBBB Thin Thick or any other Thin Thick, shake, or smoothie (“Shakes, Smoothies, Frappas, and Thin Thicks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / any single-serve muffin (“Quick Single Muffins” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / any muffin from the “Family Muffins” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Avo Cream Pudding or Chia Pud (“Sweet Bowls” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Cottage Berry Whip, Collagen Berry Whip, or Tummy Spa Ice Cream (“Frozen Treats” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Skinny Chocolate, Skinny Chocolate Truffles, or Superfood Chews (“Candies and Bars” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

D
o you feel like you are doing everything right yet still the pounds won't budge? Let's help you troubleshoot to make sure you are not unknowingly sabotaging yourself. But sometimes, even if you
ARE
doing everything right, your body has some healing to do and that takes time.

Stephanie and her husband have been missionaries in Mexico and Puerto Rico for the last sixteen years. She started Trim Healthy Mama after a lifetime of dieting—taking off and then putting back on the same fifty pounds. She'd suffered with a thyroid condition since the age of fourteen and PCOS since her early twenties. Not surprisingly, her metabolism was completely broken when she began THM.

In fact, once Stephanie started Trim Healthy Mama, she did not lose one pound, not even an inch, for four months! She continued on, enjoying her food, realizing she was feeling a lot better; and that was a victory. Due to her past low-carb dieting habits, she was terrified of carbs at first but slowly began tuning in to her body. She started nourishing herself with both S and E meals and, when the scale remained on the same number, reminded herself that her journey was no longer about the
weight so much as the health. After the four-month mark, Stephanie ever so slowly began dropping pounds. She is now down forty pounds after close to two years on the plan. Her husband joined her and has dropped significant weight, too.

To some people, forty pounds may seem like slow loss in that length of time, but to Stephanie it is a huge accomplishment. She did it without having to starve herself or remove whole food groups as she had done her entire life. What would have happened if she'd given up mad and frustrated because the plan hadn't appeared to be working? Her only alternative would have been to go back to the diet extremes that had ruined
her metabolism, or to give up and adopt an “I-don't-care-so-I-may-as-well-eat-whatever” diet and gain more weight. Stephanie is not quite at her goal weight yet, but she happily continues in the right direction and encourages other slow losers not to quit.

Take a page from Stephanie's book and hang in there. Don't quit if pounds are slow to move or won't move at all. Your journey may be painstakingly slower than others', and it is difficult to struggle while watching your friends start the plan and lose weight quickly. But your journey is your own. You can still enjoy it even if you are carrying stubborn postmenopausal, hypothyroid, or severe-insulin-resistant weight. The turtle might have been slower, but he crossed the finish line, didn't he? Hopefully, some of the tips and tweaks we'll give you here can help.

Let's clear something up first. Don't automatically label yourself a turtle if you are losing on average about a half pound to a pound per week. At that rate you are not a stubborn loser and probably don't need to do anything different on plan than what you are already doing.

If your weight loss stalls for a week or two, or even a month or two, don't freak out! The body often takes breaks from losing weight, especially after each twenty-pound loss or so. This also doesn't mean you are a stubborn loser; it is quite normal. Your
liver has to work extra hard eliminating toxins as fat is released. Including collagen and gelatin into your diet can help it stand up under the pressure. But remember, your liver needs some down time, too! Let's not expect it to be a super-organ that never tires.

If you are coming to the Trim Healthy Mama Plan from any sort of extreme diet, shift your focus from the scale for a month or two. Many Mamas arrive on THM's door bone-weary, in many cases having been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue like Adrenal Splat Pat, whom we met in
Chapter 1
(see
this page
). Their nerves, hormones, and metabolisms are suffering after long years of harsh treatment from obsessive calorie counting or long-term fat or carb restriction and/or overexercising.

It is possible that at first your body may even want to store as it heals. Your scale may go up just a bit since your body may want to cling to every nutrient and bit of nourishment that it's offered after having been deprived for too long. If tiny gains on the scale throw you into a tailspin, simply focus on nourishing and fueling your body these first few weeks or even months. Remember, you're fueling your metabolism. You want to help it heal, and get stoked up hot again, so no skipping meals!

Take a break from hour-long gym sessions. They truly don't help with stubborn weight since they further tax your adrenal glands. Enjoy walks in the fresh air and read
Chapter 29
, “Let's
Talk Exercise,” in which we discuss the hazards of overexercising and how to do it in a way that is kind to your
hormones.

While we absolutely do not want you to count the calories in your every bite, it isn't wise to fall off into the opposite extreme as you recover, by indulging in all Heavy-S meals overflowing with cream, nuts, and cheese. Once you find your feet firmly in the very basics of the plan, give
Chapter 11
, “Higher Learning,” a read. You'll want to learn to juggle your fuels with a mix of Light-, Heavy-, and Deep-S meals, balancing those with E meals and Fuel Pulls. Whatever you do, don't nix your E meals! Damaged
thyroids and adrenals need healthy carbs! This foundational precept of juggling is especially important for damaged metabolisms and skewed hormones. Deep-S and Light-S meals will be kinder to you than Heavy-S meals, along with Fuel Pull desserts and snacks. Once you feel ready, also read through the part of that chapter that deals with fuel stacking (see
this page
). It may be something that you need to be more careful about than others do. It's not fair, we know. We feel for you, sister; we think about you often and are pulling for you. We are researching all we can to help with your stubborn situation.

Stubborn weight often means imbalanced hormones. It will be important to test your hormones. We suggest that you ask your doctor for a full blood panel and include the following:

(A full sex-hormone panel may be important for perimenopausal women, including estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone.
Postmenopausal women will automatically be low in all three of these sex hormones but testing is still helpful if you find a doctor familiar with bioidentical hormone treatments who can help you naturally boost your sex-hormone levels back to an optimum range.)

High levels of this hormone can go hand in hand with extremely stubborn weight loss or weight gain, no matter what eating style is adopted or how hard you try. High prolactin levels sometimes indicate a growth on the pituitary gland, which is usually a benign condition but needs to be dealt with under a doctor's supervision. These benign tumors are quite common, with an estimated one in ten people being afflicted; but they can often be an undiagnosed reason for extremely stubborn weight. The normal levels for prolactin for a non-nursing woman are between four and thirty. Most doctors will dismiss prolactin as a problem unless levels are above one hundred, but some reproductive endocrinologists like to see a prolactin level below fifteen, given that high prolactin will also negatively impact fertility.

Nursing is another time of high prolactin levels. Prolactin is needed during this season in order to stimulate milk and suppress estrogen, which promotes regular fertility. While some women find that nursing promotes easier weight loss after giving birth, others appear to be sensitive to these high prolactin levels. Many find it frustratingly difficult to shed weight, sometimes even gaining despite their best efforts.

The relationship of prolactin to stubborn weight loss during nursing is still rather untested and it is not known whether women with this issue have excessively high prolactin during nursing or whether they are just more sensitive to the weight-loss-inhibiting aspects of this hormone. Hormone testing during nursing (especially while the body is not yet ovulating) is hit or miss, with too many variables. If you suspect you may have a pituitary tumor (which would have already manifested symptoms before nursing), you could talk to your doctor about the safety of a pituitary scan while nursing. There are some supplements and medications that may help bring down prolactin levels, but of course none is appropriate during the season of nursing as they can dry up milk supply. What's a Mama to do?

There is a school of thought that the essential amino acid
tryptophan can increase
prolactin levels through raising serotonin, but studies conflict. Tryptophan has many benefits in the body and is found in foods such as muscle meats and many dairy products. It stands to reason, though, that those who struggle with the weight-loss-inhibiting aspects of prolactin might not want to overdo foods high in this amino acid.

The ability of tryptophan to cross the brain barrier and give rise to prolactin only appears possible in studies through an insulin pathway—either in the presence of high carbs (which you won't be doing on THM) or through the anabolic mechanism of insulin in the form of whey protein. We are all so unique and while for most of us whey protein helps with weight loss, it might not be the perfect supplement for those really struggling with prolactin issues. If extremely stubborn weight is an issue for you during nursing or even if you are not nursing, consider that this prolactin issue could be a possible reason. If so, collagen and gelatin may be the better form of protein supplement for you. In fact, they can be the very keys that will balance tryptophan levels in your body and make them less dominant.

Animal products that are higher in tryptophan should not be shunned, but it might be a good idea to scale them back to smaller portions—say three ounces of beef or chicken on a salad instead of six ounces. An added scoop of collagen or gelatin somewhere in your meal or in a drink will give you more of the protein your body needs. Now, that's a perfect protein balance. Salmon is lower in tryptophan, so be more liberal with it. Dairy products such as Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, while so helpful to many of us, may also need to be scaled back and replaced with our gelatin-based dairy-substitute recipes. Or try our Jigglegurt recipe (found in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
), which volumizes Greek yogurt while decreasing its calories and carbs. This doesn't mean you have to forgo dairy completely, but instead of including it at every meal, try it once a day and see what happens.

These tweaks have worked for several that we have shared them with who had incredibly stubborn weight during their nursing months. We are not scientists or doctors so these are only suggestions, but we are passionate about finding solutions to nutritional problems without going to extremes. Melody is a Mama who gained fifty-five pounds with each of her pregnancies prior to discovering Trim Healthy Mama and always had great trouble taking any of that weight off during her seasons of nursing without severe calorie counting. She discovered Trim Healthy Mama and was able to get down to goal weight slowly but happily, but then got pregnant again. She had a healthy, nourishing thirty-five-pound pregnancy gain, eating the Trim Healthy Mama way all the way through
her pregnancy, but then once again had trouble shedding that weight in the first year after her baby's birth. She was stuck!

We suggested she try some of these tweaks—replace her whey protein with collagen, decrease dairy and muscle meats a little, and increase glycine-rich proteins instead with cups of tea with collagen at the end of meals that were lower in meat or dairy protein. Now, just a few months later, Melody is just a few pounds away from goal weight again. She's loving her tweaked way of doing Trim Healthy Mama, is still making lots of rich milk for her still-nursing one-year-old, but is steadily losing—and is even incorporating three or four Crossovers per week!

Some people have high prolactin levels for unknown reasons even when not nursing or when pituitary growths are ruled out. The tweaks we suggest here for nursing women could be tried in these situations, even for men. Aside from glycine, the amino acid tyrosine and vitamin B
₆
are both thought to help balance out high prolactin levels.

Interestingly, low thyroid hormones and elevated prolactin levels are often tied to one another, so addressing both of these is a smart approach. While thyroid issues can make weight loss more challenging, we have received thousands of messages from women who have found success on the THM Plan even with severe thyroid issues—so don't lose hope.

We talk a lot about not forsaking E meals; but if you have a thyroid issue, including them is especially important. Low-carb diets are notorious for suppressing levels of T3, which is the thyroid hormone your body uses for all functions. Of late there has been a backlash against low-carb diets from people with tanked thyroid levels. Some experts even encourage sufferers to indulge in refined carbs.

While thyroid hormones may indeed respond to carbs, this approach to overdoing carbs only brings destruction to the thyroid itself and in other areas of the body. Weight gain inevitably happens, which drives up insulin resistance, which drives up inflammation, which drives up a host of other diseases. Extremes are never the answer. Enjoy your healthy E meals with their safe blood-sugar zone and be vigilant about not jumping from one extreme diet to the other.

Testing for thyroid antibodies is important if you have a thyroid issue. The presence of antibodies can indicate an autoimmune condition called
Hashimoto's disease. Many
with this condition cannot tolerate gluten and often, but not always, dairy. Sadly, these foods become inflammatory to the body with this condition and the inflammation can prevent weight loss. Even if you don't have a known allergen to gluten or dairy, if you test positive for thyroid antibodies, you should read
Chapter 26
, “Heads Up: Allergen-Free Mamas!,” to gain some knowledge about how to do the plan while limiting or completely abstaining from those foods. We have come up with lots of recipes in our companion cookbook to make this doable.