Trim Healthy Mama Plan (30 page)

Day 7

BREAKFAST—E

Banana Bread Crockpot Oatmeal (“Good Morning Grains” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

LUNCH—S

Slim Sloppy Joes in crisp romaine hearts (“Family Skillet Meals” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

DINNER—S

Lemon Herb Drummies—S (“Crockpot Meals” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
)

Snack Ideas for the Week

Cut fruit with Collagen Tea or any light Trimmy for protein (“Hot Drinks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) or NoCream Cheese Berry Spread (“Condiments and Extras” chapter in the
Trim Healthy
Mama Cookbook
) / hummus and crudités / crispy nuts (peanut-free) with small cubes of Hello Cheese (“Condiments and Extras” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Crunkers or Crispy Addictions or Kale Chips (“Crackers, Chips, and Dips” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Skinny Chocolate, Skinny Chocolate Truffles, or Gummies (“Candies and Bars” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Green Fries (“Sides” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / berries and NoGurt (“Sweet Bowls” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Beauty Milk (“More Drinks” chapter) / Avo Cream or Chia Pud (“Sweet Bowls” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Sensitive Big Boy (“Shakes, Smoothies, Frappas, and Thin Thicks” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
) / Tummy Spa Ice Cream or any dairy-free option from the “Frozen Treats” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook

Y
ou are not allowed to reach goal weight without a huge shout-out and happy dance from us. High-five, Mama!!! You plodded faithfully along and here you are the victor over excess pounds and a droopy, tired old self. You made it to the finish line and we are cheering, throwing confetti, and shaking pom-poms for you in the stands.

But what now? Do you really want this to be your finish line? For sure you need to stop with the losing weight part, but why go back to your old ways when they led you to that hopeless place where you began? It's fun to be an energetic Trim Healthy Mama who radiates a healthy glow and does not have to sacrifice tasty treats or hearty meals or suffer through crazy hours in the gym. Don't stop now! You can't be or feel healthy without controlling blood sugar, and the Crossover meal will now be your tool to help achieve this while curbing weight loss.

The most rewarding and longest part of your Trim Healthy Mama adventure is about to begin. Join us here in awesome maintenance land. We've been enjoying ourselves here for many years now, reveling no longer over the shedding of pounds but over the enjoyment of energy and graceful ease we feel while aging with vitality and wits sustained.

Accept your beautiful, unique body type and don't keep adding unhealthy additional weight-loss goals by never being satisfied with your personal healthy weight. Not everyone should try to be a size six or even a size eight. One Mama might be healthy at a size two and another showing way too many bones and completely miserable at size eight.
Many Mamas might be just perfect at a size twelve. We all have different skeletal frames and muscle distributions. Don't be overly judgmental of your body type by continuing to make weight loss your goal when in fact you have already arrived.

If you don't know when to stop losing weight, ask a trusted friend to tell you when you are looking too skinny. By trusted we mean make sure this friend has your best interests in mind and is not telling you to stop just because she wants to feel better about any weight issues she may have herself. How does your husband feel about you always wanting to lose another five pounds? He may be much happier keeping a little more of you around. Choose a healthy versus skinny weight for yourself. We cannot tell you what that is or have you do math equations or charts to work it out. It will be vastly different for each person with too many variables to fit into a “you-should-weigh-this” box.

The weight-loss part of your journey was just the doorknob you opened into sustained and enjoyable health. Even though we hope you enjoyed every day that you were heading in the right direction toward “goal weight,” you are now finally at the prime weight and size for your body to feel unencumbered and ready to fly. Your health has been improving along the way, but now your body no longer has to be burdened with the stress and inflammation from excess weight. This new maintenance season is your time to soar into health and reap the benefits of your commitment.

Every maintenance journey will look different. You will learn to make little tweaks as you listen to your body and study how you personally respond to the addition of more Crossover meals. We call this special season “The Art of Maintenance” because it is a bona fide art to truly learn about “you” and your body's unique needs rather than following details designed for someone else. It's not the tools that make a charming masterpiece but the time and the understanding of how to wield those tools in your favor. If you pay attention, you can know your body better than any diet author who was not born in your skin. Just as learning the weight-loss principles of this plan took some time and practice, so too will this part of your journey. Tuning in will be your most useful key for being a successful Maintenance Mama.

While we're going to teach you here how to healthfully stop losing weight by adding in the right amount of Crossovers for you, we can't promise you won't keep shrinking. In
fact we'd be liars if we told you your size will stay the same along with the number on your scale. The shrink kept slowly happening to us and over and over again we hear the same from other Trim Healthy Mamas who are now at goal
weight. Little by little they keep getting smaller. Once you reach a healthy weight on the scale, your body still has other ideas of its own. You may be the same weight you were in your twenties or thirties but end up a size or two smaller. Obviously you won't keep shrinking until you disappear, but all that healthy protein ensures a denser muscle profile with less fluffy fat on your body. Well, that is the science; but this incredible shrinking effect is still a THM phenomenon that remains a bit of a mystery.

Try incorporating three to four Crossover meals per week to start with and watch how your body responds. If you notice the pounds creeping back, then just pull back a little and introduce Crossovers at a slower pace, letting your metabolism adjust. Some Maintenance Mamas find that their body can only ever handle one or two Crossovers per week. These folks are not doing anything wrong. They are simply listening to their unique body makeup or season of life. If you are postmenopausal, thyroid deficient, or just designed to burn fuel more slowly than others, then you may find your Crossover quota to be much less than those who might be younger, hormonally well balanced, or very active with a high metabolism. Don't compare your special path to somebody else's and lose the joy and beauty of your own.

Both of us found that when we first reached goal weight, we did extremely well maintaining weight with just three or four Crossies per week. That lasted a year or two. As the years went on, though, we both found we had to start including more Crossovers to sustain a healthful weight. Years of healthy protein-centered meals that juggled fuels of both fats and carbs continued to rev our metabolisms to the point where we both need about one or more Crossovers a day now or we get too thin.

Some Mamas reach goal weight and immediately find their body can easily burn up three or more Crossies per week and they still lose weight. Within just a few weeks of playing around with Crossovers in maintenance they realize they have to include at least one Crossover per day or even have to make all their meals tandem-fueled in this manner. If this is you, then rejoice and embrace your own body's needs. Don't think for a
second that eating this many Crossovers is any less on plan than strictly freestyling S and E. If your body embraces them, Crossovers should be at the core of your Trim Healthy Mama maintenance plan. True Crossovers stay the course of your Trim Healthy Mama health goals. They are designed to never spike your blood sugar and are antiaging, anti-inflammatory, and anti–carb binging. You are every bit a Trim Healthy Mama even if you never purposely eat an E or S again in your life.

Even if you are able to predominantly live on Crossies and keep your trim, you don't have to get too religious about this, either. You'll be fine with some true single-fueled meals here and there. Going out to a restaurant and ordering grilled and buttered wild salmon with steamed broccoli and a luscious side salad with creamy dressing or olive oil would be a super-healthy option for you even if it is a true S meal. Sometimes finding healthy-carb options when dining out can be a real challenge and you sure don't want to eat the white, devitalized dinner rolls just to add some glucose fuel to your fat fuel. Don't think you have to carry a slice or two of sprouted bread in your purse just to make sure you “cross over.”

S meals are going to happen naturally, as are E meals and, yes, even a Fuel Pull here and there. You might just be craving Greek yogurt and scrumptious plump raspberries for a snack: That is a yummy Fuel Pull and your body won't fade away to nothing just by including some Fuel Pull snacks occasionally. Don't be concerned with the religiosity of maintenance. Just be alert and attentive to how your body is reacting and what it is really needing. If you begin losing weight swiftly, again be mindful to keep your diet extra rich in Crossies but don't become imprisoned by them.

A fired-up metabolism is beneficial for many functions of the body and not for weight loss alone. The occasional natural juggle of an S meal here and E meal there just throws a wild curveball into your new Crossie life and keeps your metabolism on its toes.

Now that you are not actively seeking weight loss, don't give in to the temptation to just eat whole foods any ol' way and think of this blanket strategy as Crossing Over. A true
Crossover never jumps over the safe E boundaries for starchy carbs or high-energy fruits. Many healthy foods can be unhealthy when eaten in excess. This is very true for carb sources that can throw your whole body off balance when not respected. The inclusion of carbs is paramount to health, but this doesn't mean you go for second and third helpings of rice casserole or eat piece after piece…after piece of sprouted toast with butter. Eat your two sane pieces of bread, then have second helpings of veggies and protein if you are still hungry. Don't opt for a large buttered
popcorn at the movies and call it a Crossover—'cause it ain't! That's a cheat. Movie theaters don't use healthy oils and most of us don't eat safe Crossover portions of popcorn from a big movie-theater popcorn bucket. You are welcome to enjoy it and call it what it is, but don't call it a Crossover, okay?

Weight may not be such a huge deal anymore, but even skinny people feel like death warmed up when their bodies are continually crashing from roller-coastering blood-sugar levels. So keep tabs on your definition of this healing and nourishing meal so you don't ruin your “goal weight” or lose your healthy glow.

There is a lot more to Trim Healthy Mama than this “trim” business. The
healthy
word is smack dab in the center of this title. Be careful not to slide back to old ways and cheat on junk more liberally now that your pants fit nicely and you don't feel as much motivation to stay on plan. By now you know that you can have the freedom for an occasional completely embraced and enjoyed cheat meal, but the inclusion of too many will not only slide you backward (or upward on the scale) quicker than you realize but will also tear down your renewed energy and radiant luster.

If you wake up one morning and realize you have cheated for two weeks straight, you have gained back a few pounds, and you basically feel crummy—don't let shame take over. Don't stay there in the brambles. We love the Bible story in Luke 15 in which the good shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep to rescue the one stuck in the thorns. Our heavenly Father wants to rescue you from your mess but you have to allow Him, you have to accept His grace. His grace and forgiveness are so much bigger than what we have for ourselves, but we need to learn from His great grace and apply it to our own mess-ups, too. It's clear from the scriptures that good health is a biblical blessing: 3 John 1:2 says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.”

Deuteronomy 30:19 challenges us, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life that you and your descendants may live.” This verse has both spiritual and physical applications. We have this choice every morning as we start a new day and, thankfully, His mercies are new every morning; so if we messed up yesterday, our slate is once more clean. We have this choice before every meal. Will we choose life or death for our bodies for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner? Allow Him to gently untangle you from thorny thickets and guide you back to healthy green pastures, which is where He wants you! Remind yourself of this choice and then choose life!

We didn't include a menu for our Maintenance Mamas for two reasons. First, as we explained earlier, every Maintenance Mama will need to do things a little differently to suit her unique requirements. There is no one-size-fits-all. The second reason is that we already designed a menu for our pregnant and nursing Mamas that includes ample Crossovers, so head over to
Chapter 23
, “Heads Up: Pregnant and Nursing Mamas!,” to check it out.

While you are over there in the preggies and nursing chapter, take a read of a couple of paragraphs on crossing over with more easy-burning S fuels than heavy S fuels (see
this page
–
this page
). This concept will help many Maintenance Mamas who have trouble including Crossovers if they ramp up the scale too quickly. Strategically placed Deep Crossovers can actually instigate weight loss in thyroid-deficient Mamas or those who are stuck, stuck, stuck on a plateau of quicksand! So heads up: If you are struggling with Crossovers, learn how to prepare this “deep” variety properly and see if your body smiles on it.