Trim Healthy Mama Plan (27 page)
Read Trim Healthy Mama Plan Online
Authors: Pearl Barrett
High insulin levels can be an indication of
PCOS, which can be another cause for
stubborn weight since it goes hand in hand with severe insulin resistance. Coming off sugar and adopting the basic principles of Trim Healthy Mama will go a long way in combating this issue, but your weight loss still may be slower than that of others.
Your blood sugar may be more sensitive to carbs at first. Use pulled-back EÂ meals as described in
Chapter 10
, “Just the Numbers,” if you are having trouble keeping your numbers steady; or let Gluccie help you out with its magical ability to level blood sugar.
Chromium and
inositol are considered to be excellent supplements for PCOS since they are known to help regulate high blood sugar and insulin levels. If your doctor has prescribed Metformin for your PCOS, ask him or her about taking a B
12
supplement. Although Metformin is a prescribed drug, it is considered to be a helpful medication that has anticancer properties. It does, however, lower B
12
levels over time.
TRY THESE TIPS FOR TURTLE WEIGHT
⢠Eat more
okra. Read about its help for stubborn weight loss in
Chapter 17
, “Affordable Superfoods.” For some people, lectins in many foods cause the body to cling to fat rather than release it. Okra has a positive influence in this situation. Our companion cookbook is chock-full of recipes that contain okra that you would never be able to detect!
⢠Watch your
Frankenfoods: Don't overdo low-carb wraps, pitas, and other packaged low-carb store-bought items. They are not perfect THM foods, just items that can make the plan more doable for some of us. If you are replacing vegetables, fruits,
and proteins with them, your weight may not appreciate it. If you have thyroid antibodies, then nix them altogether. If you can't manage a complete nix, pull back to a couple times per week.
⢠Change up your S meals as described in
Chapter 11
, “Higher Learning,” and don't overdo the Heavy-S type. Too much cheese and too many nuts may not be friendly to your weight. Focus more on pure oils, meats, and eggs as your S sources but don't completely deprive yourself of a Heavy-SÂ meal now and then.
⢠Go easy on dairy if you have Hashimoto's disease or elevated prolactin.
⢠Put more emphasis on Fuel Pull desserts after meals rather than on Heavy-S desserts.
⢠Avoid grazing and gobbling (as described in
Chapter 9
, “Snacking Mama”). You need wise intervals between snacks and mealtimes.
⢠Don't undereat. One egg alone is not enough fuel for your entire morning. Don't take your calories down so far that your body thinks it is starving and holds on for dear life! Undereating is as bad for stubborn weight as overeating is.
⢠Don't overexcerise!
⢠Try an edgier fuel juggleâthis means including some Fuel Pulls as full meals here and there (if you are not pregnant or nursing) but also even a Crossover or two. Some people find that if they have been doing primarily S meals, E meals, and Fuel Pulls for months and are stalled, adding a couple of Crossovers can help soothe the adrenal glands and help weight loss begin again. After a Crossover or two, you'll have had plenty of carbs; so it is best to switch to a Deep S versus Heavy S as described in
Chapter 11
, “Higher Learning.” Then back to some EÂ meals. This really keeps your body guessing.
ONE-WEEK FUEL CYCLE
We're about to give you a tool as extra help for very stubborn weight issues. If you've been doing the plan for at least a couple of months, are not exclusively nursing, and are truly a turtle, feel free to give this a whirl. Did you catch that? Only try this after a couple months on the plan. Please don't
start
your Trim Healthy Mama journey with a Fuel Cycle!
No bones about it, this cycle is strict! We can't promise you'll feel love and joy or abounding Food Freedom during this cycle. It might be the first time you have to summon
up some willpower on the plan. This is why we designed this cycle not as your mainstay but as an occasional kick-in-the-pants to turtle weight.
We are also fully aware that some of you are drawn to rules and rigidity and might cling to this cycle because it provides you with more boundaries and that little bit of misery you actually might miss with the freedom of freestyling. If this is you, you're not allowed to overdo or abuse this cycle. By that we mean doing it more than you are freestylingâ¦uh-uh. That's undermining the way we want you to roll as a Trim Healthy Mama. The Fuel Cycle is too rulesy, too stricty, and too set-in-its-waysy to be your foundation.
Where it shines is not only in its ability to help you rev your metabolism but as a powerful learning tool. It helps you understand with more clarity each fuel type, since you have to spend more quality time with each one. It forces you to get creative with E, FP, and Deep-SÂ meals where you might have been playing only with Heavy-SÂ meals and desserts you find on Pinterest. Perhaps you've been eating only apples or oatmeal for E. If so, you're missing out on a world of other energizing foods. The Fuel Cycle makes you branch out. You can't survive happily on only apples and oatmeal for an extended period. If you don't know how to build an SÂ meal without cheese, nuts, or sour cream, then you're going to find out!
Digging down to the core of each fuel deepens your relationship with its true character. The ultimate weight-loss power of each fuel can be experienced only through getting to know it more intimately. Acquaintanceship only takes you so far. Real friendship will take you much farther. When you've finished your Fuel Cycle, you can take away the treasures of knowledge you gained and apply them to your everyday freestyling. Your freestyling will have more power!
This will be a seven-day focused fuel juggle. You'll start with two days of Deep S. Two full E days will follow. Fuel Pull is next, two full days of that. Another Deep-S day will end your week for a full cycle. If you want to repeat for a two-week double whammy, then your last Deep-S day will end with an E dinner and then you'll have an E breakfast the next morning before continuing on with Deep S for the remainder of the next two days. Do not Fuel Cycle for more than two weeks at a time. Take off the straitjacket and go back to freestyling for a while, using your newfound tools for success.
The day before your Fuel Cycle, do not hang out in S mode. You need to nourish your thyroid and adrenals with Energizing foods before you strip them away. So have a couple of good EÂ meals or just one EÂ meal and a couple of E snacks, or even enjoy a Crossover (not a cheat, for goodness' sake!).
While not mandatory, it is more practical to start the Fuel Cycle week on a Sunday. This makes sure none of your Fuel Pull days hit a Saturday, which would feel miserable. Your Saturday will be fat-friendly so you can even go out to eat and have a Deep-SÂ meal, which is much easier to achieve than with the other fuels.
Stock up on the foods you'll need throughout this week. You don't want to suddenly find you're out of leafy greens or coconut oil on Day 1 or 2 when these are a big part of the plan. So take a look at each segment of the Fuel Cycle and make sure you have the right foods for victory. A major help to you this week will be foods rich in
gelatin and/or
collagen supplements, since the high amounts of
glycine they contain aggressively helps to push fat from your fat cells via stimulation of glucagon. The glycine they contain also helps give your energy levels a boost by hitching a ride into your body's fuel-burning furnaces called your mitochondria. Your body will release the fat and you'll be able to burn it for energy. A gelatin-rich diet paired with management of blood sugar is one of the most powerful fat-loss protocols. In the Fuel Cycle week we are pairing not only those two but also engaging in a more intense fuel juggle for a triple whammy.
You'll notice in our
Fuel Cycle Idea Menu
that many of the recipes focus on these supplements. If you don't have the funds for gelatin/collagen, make sure to prepare gelatin-rich stock for your week. We have two easy recipes for that in our companion cookbook, but there are plenty of videos on YouTube showing you how to make stock from bones. You can use the stock as a base for your soups, or even just as a soothing afternoon daily broth or meal finisher. You'll also notice we're trying to slip some
okra into your week. Sometimes stubborn weight can be tied to what some people call a “
leaky gut” and both gelatin and okra combined can help to heal the mucosa lining of your intestines.
You have the choice to do the Fuel Cycle in one of two ways: You can go dairy-free only on your Deep-S days, or rev it up and go both gluten-free and dairy-free all week. If you do a full week including dairy and gluten and the scale does not budge, then maybe that is the litmus test to show that these may be stalling your weight loss. Try the Fuel Cycle again, excluding them fully, and see what happens. Let's be clear here before anyone thinks that gluten and dairy are second-class citizens and that the ultimate diet excludes
them. Au contraire: The majority of us do just fine; in fact, we thrive on a diet that contains healthy sources of them. But for some, they can cause an inflammatory response that slows weight loss or stops it altogether.
Make sure to read
Chapter 11
, “Higher Learning,” for an explanation of a Deep-S meal, which is a little different from a regular S. You'll be cutting out dairy, nuts and seeds, store-bought low-carb breads (Frankenfoods), and any non-superfood fats like Ranch dressing or mayo. Sorry, we're even taking out our beloved Baking Blend because of the little bit of almond meal it contains. Avocados are out just for this week. The only dairy allowed is one tablespoon of Parmesan or pecorino-romano cheese used as a garnish (omit if you have a dairy allergy). You can use one tablespoon of cream in your coffee but for a greater boost to weight loss try the Trimmaccino recipe, which you can find in our companion cookbook.
The only exceptions to this no-nut rule will be unsweetened almond, flax, or cashew milk, since they are so watered down (avoid canned coconut milk during Deep S because it has a higher carb content). Up to one tablespoon of pressed peanut flour can go in a smoothie or another recipe. But we do want to encourage you to focus on the true Deep-S foods, which are your pure superfood oils, the healthiest butter, meat, and eggs, and (preferably organic) greens, greens, greens! This doesn't mean you can't do a Fuel Cycle if you are a Drive Thru Sue and never buy organic anything. Just do your best.
Leafy greens are the lowest in carbs of all non-starchy veggies so we really want you to concentrate on packing them in on your Deep-S days. Other non-starchy veggies can also be used on Deep-S days except for peas, tomatoes, onions, and most winter squash.
Enjoy our All-Day Sippers if desired with your meals.
This will be the same as regular E freestyling meals except we want you to change it up and try some new E fuel sources. If you've been eating only apples and oatmeal for EÂ meals, try other fresh fruits (not just berries). Include soaked beans and lentils, sweet potatoes, or other root veggies such as cooked carrots and parsnips. Perhaps you should try your
EÂ meals gluten-free if you have a thyroid issue. Try quinoa, which does not contain gluten and boasts a bunch of health benefits.
Don't forget, we want to force you out of the comfy feathered nest by pulling away the Frankenfoods this week. No store-bought low-carb wraps or pitas. You may have been overdoing these, so try the recipe for Wonder Wraps in our companion cookbook instead. Told you we'd be forcing you to branch out. Okay, that was our suggestion; we know we really just freaked some of you out if these “Personal Choice” Items are your mainstay. We'll relent just a little bit and say “dramatically reduce them!” If you have to have a Frankenfood on a Fuel Pull day just to get by, you have not failed. Keep going to the end.
You'll do Deep S again all day unless you wish to repeat the Fuel Cycle, in which case you'll end the day with a thyroid-boosting EÂ meal and awaken to an E breakfast the following morning, then continue on with Deep S.
The following menu excludes all gluten and dairy with the exception of whey protein. We do not mean for the following gluten- and dairy-free menu to be considered the ultimate way to do the Fuel Cycle. It is just the hardest way to do it, so we wanted to help out those who have fewer options and truly have to be gluten- and dairy-free.
F
UEL
C
YCLE
I
DEA
M
ENU
Day 1âDEEP S
BREAKFAST
Fried eggs in butter or coconut oil / Trimmaccino Rich (“Hot Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)
LUNCH
Deep S Salad in a Jar, made fresh for your plate if you prefer (“Quick Single Salads” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)
DINNER
Crispy Salmon Siesta (“Quick Single Skillet Meals” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / side salad with superfood oils
Day 2âDEEP S
BREAKFAST
Fields of Green Omcake (“Good Morning Eggs” chapter of the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Trimmaccino Rich (“Hot Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)
LUNCH
Soothe Your Soul Soup made with cabbage (“Quick Single Soups” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
); add Superfood Chocolate Chews if still hungry (“Candies and Bars” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)
DINNER
Baked chicken with skin / dairy-free version of Collagen Creamed Spinach (“Sides” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook) /
side salad with superfood oils