I’m writing this “what I eat in a day on Trim Healthy Mama” post because some of you have asked me about it. One of the misconceptions I had about THM was that its devotees ate weird ingredients. That’s simply not true!
Personally, I like reading “what I eat in a day” posts. (Especially those written by French women!) They inspire me to prioritize healthy eating and give me ideas for new, quick meals.
So here goes. What I eat in a day on Trim Healthy Mama:
Breakfast @ 5 AM: Cookie Bowl Oatmeal, Salted Caramel Oolong Tea, 0% Greek yogurt with raspberries
I prep breakfast the night before. Since I’m up at around 4:30, I don’t want to be banging in the kitchen when I’m hungry B.C. (before coffee!), lest I wake sleeping family members. These lovely recipes are from the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook
Cookie Bowl Oatmeal. Looks gross, tastes wonderful. It has cocoa powder and peanut flour so it really does taste like a cookie. Sorry for the dark picture, it was dark-thirty in the morning when I shot it.
(Side note: I just love Bonne Maman jelly jars. They’re the perfect size for a serving of oatmeal. I mix everything up the night before and put it in the fridge. So easy.)
Before THM, I had a very hard time eating oatmeal. I would be shaky and hungry within an hour after eating it because I was sensitive to the carb load. Not anymore! I’ve learned to eat carbs with plenty of protein to avoid this problem.
The Greek yogurt supplied the protein. I eat TONS of Greek yogurt. It keeps my belly happy and is easy to customize. Sometimes I eat it with fruit as a dip, other times berries, or with a bit of peanut butter and dark chocolate mixed in.
(A TL;DR summary of Trim Healthy Mama
Second Breakfast @ 9 AM: 2 fried eggs, 2 slices of bacon, coffee with cream.
What! you don’t know about second breakfast?! Oh yes, this “diet” of mine is sooooo hard. I get to eat every 3 hours, and I get to eat bacon. How ever do I manage?
Lunch @ 12: Chicken and Rice Soup & Swiss bread
The soup is left over from last night’s dinner. I’m all about easy here, folks.
The Swiss bread is a “bread in a mug” recipe that’s slow-carb and high protein, as well as gluten-free. (Eating gluten is ok on Trim Healthy Mama, but I have a lab-confirmed gluten intolerance, so I avoid it.)
This is my meal using carbs as fuel. The recipe has little fat but plenty of protein, so my body burns the carbs, feeds my thyroid and raises my metabolism.
THM is not a low-carb diet. I’ve tried those, and after 2 or 3 days, I cannot get off the couch due to overwhelming fatigue. Low carb diets work for some because they forbid sugar, plain and simple! But they’re not sustainable in my opinion, especially for people with thyroid issues.
Chicken breasts, homemade broth, onions, carrots, celery, brown rice, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper.
This is what the soup looked like just before it went into the slow cooker. I had homemade chicken broth to use with it, a glycine-rich, skin/hair/nails/immunity boosting nutrient.
Snack @ 3: Small handful of almonds, coffee with cream
I was running errands when I ate this. I keep a bag of almonds in my car for snack emergencies! Planning ahead is key if you want to eat healthy (and it’s necessary for frugality too.)
Dinner @ 6: Stuffed Mini Peppers, green salad with homemade Bleu Cheese dressing
This dish was also one of the freezer meals I made from this plan. Sadie made the dressing, one of her specialties. This dish didn’t look pretty in the picture, but it was delicious!
Along with a glass of red wine, I have a bit of dark chocolate. A girl needs her antioxidants!
*quitting sugar is crucial to how Trim Healthy Mama works. I would venture that if you did only that one thing, you would lose weight and feel better. Since quitting sugar, I have noticed several things. My bowels move like a teenage boy’s, for one. A life-long problem for me previously! My face, hands and feet are no longer puffy. My knees and hands don’t ache. Quitting sugar was the best thing I’ve ever done for my health and my looks.
That said, stevia differs in quality. Some of it is just plain nasty and has a horrible, bitter aftertaste. The best stevia products
If you’re interested in learning more about THM, read my Trim Healthy Mama blog. Questions? Leave a comment below and I’ll answer it. And definitely get your hands on the THM book
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Thanks for sharing. …been on thm about 1yr..still learning…agree about the sugar
Hi. Thanks for sharing. I did not see cookie bowl oats in the THM cookbook. Did i just miss it?
Deanna
Tell me Carrie, is having too much Stevia or Truvia in a day is bad also? I cut out sugar, but still put a lot of stevia or stevia blends in my coffee, or Trimmies! So I hope that’s ok, because I plain stevia just doesn’t taste that great to me…. I appreciate your input Carrie. Thank you!
I don’t think so. I’ve been eating stevia for years with no ill effects.
My husband and I are on the THM plan.
We have E meals (protein+45 grams net carbs/5grams fat) for breakfast and lunch, S meals (prorein+10gm carbs, added fatsfor dinner). We have 2 snacks per day between meals, consisting of protein and carbs, sometimes a snack after dinner. So I think I have the basics. I feel like I have read a lot of the book and refer to it almost daily. I have one of the cookbooks. So far, we have lost 16 lbs since April. We have both had labwork and the numbers look good. I guess I just want a “you are doing it right” from you. Some things are stressing me however and I am wondering if you would clarify them.
Coconut oil in my coffee..or MCT oil, .how much can I have with my E breakfast?
Breakfast is usually 1 cup oatmeal with 1 cup Zero Oikos Yogurt, 1 cup berries, 1 tsp ground flax, a little Almond milk. In my coffee I use almond milk and sweetner.
Also, I am wondering if a cup of yogurt is ok. The book says a dollup.
And then there is the issue about “Sourdough bread”. How can I be sure I am eating real sourdough bread bought in a store? Is there a particular store brand that I should purchase? I see some brands called sourdough but no starter listed in the ingredients. I hope to make my own but time is an issue for me.
Thank you for any help.
I am loving this plan.
Bonnie
Carrie,
I lost 12 lbs on THM several years ago, maintained for two years, then ate too many crossovers and in two more years gained
back 12 lbs. I have hypothyroid issues. I felt like I wasn’t eating enough carbs so I started combining too much. I was doing 2 S meals per day and only 1 E meal and my snacks were mostly S. I want to lose the weight again, but I want to feel well. Should I try to do more E meals? I don’t feel as full when I have them. My doctor has me off gluten and dairy because of inflammation issues. I struggle eating an E breakfast because it is hard to find a non-dairy protein. I guess I could do egg whites. When I did THM before I could eat anything I wanted. Now it is is much harder to do, but I would like to figure it out.
Hi Sheri!
Yes it is harder to feel full with E meals, but I think we all have to figure out how to get enough protein in there. For example, I love the “sweatpants oatmeal” and find it fills me nicely. It takes experimentation. 🙂
People with thyroid issues definitely need more healthy carbs!
Hi! Do you have a recipe for the broth?
Carrie came across your site as a pop up on Pinterest. I’ve been doing THM for a yr. I cook from home but my struggle (when not cooking from a recipe book) is determination of if the meal is an E or an S meal. I lost 17 lbs in a yr and it’s slowwww. I feel a lot better health wise. I can’t beard that # on my scale to start going down again. What do u suggest?
So the determination of whether a meal is E or S is whether the fuel is CARBS (Energizing) or FATS (Satisfying)
Have you read the books? The newer one is more concise and easier.
And for some, just delving in and making the recipes in the cookbooks makes it easier to figure it out.
E meals are low fat
S meals are low carb
Ok so all great info! I am just wondering how exactly you manage getting up at 4:30! I’ve been trying to do that just two days a week and it’s killing me!
This is an old post, and I haven’t been keeping that schedule for a few years LOL!! I am glad the THM info was helpful. 🙂