Labels

Labels can sometimes be helpful in quickly helping others to understand who we are or what we do but they are very ineffective and only partly truthful. I don’t particularly like labels although I do, at times, use them. But in order to be honest with myself and others it is important that I not confine myself to one label. My eating for health isn’t just a blog category, nor a protocol, nor a bunch of rules. For many years I’ve been learning about nutrition and food as medicine. It’s not just a vague interest, it’s a passion! I learn things, experiment with them and either toss the ideas, file them in the deep recesses of my mind or put them into practice. I’ve experimented with primal, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, whole food/plant based, very low carb/high fat and more.

THM as a Framework

Yet THM is and will likely always be my framework. My template. Not a dietary restriction that I must abide by or else. My life is too busy, too full, too rich, too everything to be bound by more rules. yet, without some sort of framework my health would deteriorate into something that leaves me with no functioning life. I need some sort of template in order to function and work towards health.

What This Looks Like

I am careful about the food products I buy. I try not to purchase off plan foods. However, I don’t freak out or pay ridiculous amounts of money just to buy an on plan dressing so I can avoid a seed oil. I mainly eat THM dressings anyway but on occasion I do use a store bought dressing and it may even have seed oils in it. I don’t freak out – I don’t view these foods as good and evil or clean and dirty. I simply don’t eat it often or regularly. I have my own foods that my body doesn’t tolerate, even though they are on plan – quinoa and oats don’t like me all that much.

Some of my best online and offline friends are strict THM/Paleo/GAPS people and they are wonderful people. I’m super glad they still love me. And that they are happy in what they do. I need to be happy too, and for me that, that involves eating off plan occasionally with my beloved or with my family. For that does the heart and soul very good.

My SimplySusan version of THM does not make me feel restricted, deprived. I don’t feel like I am a failing THMer or that I’m doing it wrong  because I don’t live in a box with a label on it – I am a child of God who fuels her body for health and pleasure. And that’s okay. Any diet (we all have a diet, it’s not a negative, restrictive word) should not make you feel like a loser, deprived, make you feel you aren’t following the rules, feel guilt, shame or less than as a person. Your identity should not be in a diet, a plan, a lifestyle or any kind of label. My identity is in Christ!

This is the THM plan tweaked for me and my lifestyle. Do I recommend the THM lifestyle for everyone? You bet I do! I wholeheartedly suggest reading and implementing THM to anyone who needs to start improving their health or change their weight. (Notice I didn’t just say ‘weight loss’ – THM is for anyone and everyone). For those with conditions that are aggravated by certain foods like heartburn, leaky gut, digestive issues, etc. then yes! Go with THM. The knowledge you’ll learn will likely blow your socks off! And the plan is so do-able. You’ll learn lots about your own body and also about health and nutrition. After awhile, simply tweak it to suit your needs. Use it as a framework to create your ideal diet. This will be the diet that makes you feel more vibrant, more energetic, more peaceful and stronger. It will be a diet that will nourish your body and mind, that will allow you freedom to enjoy all types of foods, in all types of situations. It will be the opposite of guilt, shame, etc.

Originally written in  2016. Updated 2021.

It means the freedom to choose your S, E or FP meals based upon your needs, your wants, your budget, etc. some people need more E meals than S meals or vice versa. Some need more FP. Anything done to excess becomes unbalanced and is not THM any way.

It means not being bound to follow your best friend or popular blogger but instead choose when you will eat and what food category you’ll eat.

It means that you don’t have to like or consume smoothies if you hate them. Substitute nearly anything in place of the word ‘smoothies’. I don’t much care for kale, shakes or oats.

This is THM your way. And THM, unlike most other eating philosophies, has room for ALL types of people!

Your home looks different to mine and they both look different to someone else’s. As they should be.

If you have any questions about doing THM your way, feel free to ask.

You know why I appreciate Trim Healthy Mama even after many years?

Because it isn’t just trim. And it isn’t just healthy. And it isn’t just for me but the whole family. It is Trim *AND* Healthy.

I’m 174cm tall and am not quite at goal weight (so say the experts) but I am very happy where I am at. Because I have been 65kg and I was skinny but not healthy. (That’s why I use the term ‘skinny’ and not trim in this sense). I was dieting all the time – existing on low fat everything, 1000 calories per day and exercising my butt off.

I have been 125kg and felt healthy yet overweight. Too many refined white products – still low fat and even exercising heaps but still no balance.

THM encourages healthy fats, low GI carbs to help me be at *my* trim. The emphasis on real, whole foods  help me to improve my health. It is family-friendly which is super important for it to be sustainable. I easily adapt everything to feed my family – everyone one of their unique needs – be it health, weight loss or weight gain. And it complements my own food philosophy – eating real food which is local and seasonal.

THM can be used with every budget, age, condition or allergy.  And mostly, I don’t have to deprive myself of treats! Want chocolate? Cookies? Cakes? Drinks? mains? Desserts? THM has you covered! It is an eating plan for life that is affordable, sustainable and achievable in the long term.

It is adaptable for each stage and season of life. Pregnant – no worries! Nursing, menopausal, exercise junkie? THM is adaptable to any age and stage. This is because it provides an educational framework. Sure one could approach it like a typical ‘diet’ filled with all the rules but we all know that diets don’t work in the long term. THM teaches you about the foods and food groups and encourages you to try different things and do what works for you.

Why do you like Trim Healthy Mama?

I’m a creature of habit and convenience. I’m a Drive Thru Sue with Purist ideals. I don’t like shakes or smoothies and I’m quite conservative with my drinks. I’ll try about 3 shakes or smoothies per year and gag every time. It’s just not my thing. Coffee is though. Hmm coffee. I also drink chamomile tea, green tea and Good Girl Moonshine – these are regular drinks for me. One of my ‘must-have’s’ is a big daily salad. I just don’t feel ‘whole’ if I don’t have a huge plate of veggies every day.

Breakfasts

• Nourish Me Proats (carb-fuelled)
• Alpine Sproutedtoast with ham, tomato & hummus (carb-fuelled)
• Sautéed Zucchini & Mushrooms with a poached eggs, bacon and collagen tea (fat-fuelled)

Lunches

• Soup with ryvita’s or on plan bread (carb-fuelled)
• Soup with Swiss Bread and Greens Salad (fat-fuelled)
• Popeye’s Power Soup, chicken-free version (fat-fuelled)
• Sautéed Veggies in Butter/Coconut Oil, sprinkled with Nutritional Yeast (fat-fuelled)
• Salmon fillet with Sautéed Lettuce and Mushrooms (fat-fuelled)
• Superfood-Loaded Salad with boiled eggs – lettuce, spinach, capsicum, cucumber, tomato and a dressing (fat-fuelled)
• Left Overs from previous night’s tea

Dinners

• African Beans with Rice (carb-fuelled)
• Chana Dahl Soup or other Lentil Soup (carb-fuelled)
• Trim Mac Salad (fat-fuelled)
• Small tin of sugar-free Baked Beans with fruit and a collagen coffee (carb-fuelled)
• Chow Mein which is similar to Egg Roll in a Bowl (fat-fuelled)
• Stir Fry Chicken with Veggies (fat-fuelled)
• Eggs Purgatory (fat-fuelled)
• Usually tea is a form of animal protein with lots of veggies. Just enough fat or carb to make it yummy.

Snacks

• Ryvitas x 2 or Rye Cruskits x 4 with hummus (carb-fuelled)
• Carrot/Cucumber/Capsicum/Broccoli Sticks with Hummus (carb-fuelled)
• Fruit (Winter strawberries, kiwi fruit and mandarins are beautiful) with Aquafaba Meringue (carb-fuelled)
• Handful of Nuts or Nut Butter with Cucumber (fat-fuelled)
• Skinny Chocolate (fat-fuelled)
• Popcorn with spray of olive oil and sprinkled with Nutritional Yeast (carb-fuelled)
• Yogurt (coconut if DF)  with nuts and seeds (fat-fuelled)
• Muffin in a mug (fat-fuelled)
• Dark Lindt Chocolate
• Fruit with 1 TB hummus or fruit with a collagen tea (carb-fuelled)

If you look closely enough you may notice something missing is a little sparese: milk. More specifically dairy products. I have been dairy free for more than three months and really enjoying it. Going dairy free has opened my imagination and I’ve been eating more veggies than ever before which is a good thing. Dairy has always been my weakness. I never dreamed I could live without it but it’s a mindset. I knew dairy wasn’t helping with chronic sinusitis and the arthritic symptoms which are a part of fibromyalgia. And it wasn’t helping with weight loss either. Dairy doesn’t need to be fattening but when one has a weakness as serious as mine, when dairy becomes a part of every meal and snack then it isn’t going to remain a good thing for long.The main thing I’ve missed is Parmesan Cheese. I know it’s a good food but my inability to have parmy cheese in the fridge for longer than 2 hours is simply wrong.  

What is your food weakness?

2021 Edited to add: I am no longer dairy free, I include Chobani yogurt, all the cheese and dairy milk because I simply don’t want to live without dairy in my life. 2021

I’ve learned some things about forgiveness in relationship to reconciliation. I am not struggling with lack of forgiveness – it is something different. So as to continue to maintain the privacy of all concerned I can best relate my thoughts via an analogy – an imperfect one but its the best I can do and remain discreet. I will say though, that my situation has nothing to do with my husband having an affair but it conveys my point.

Let’s say Ann and Bob are a married couple and Ann has had an affair with another man. There are a few different possible outcomes but in this instance I’ll point out a few to illustrate my point. Upon finding out about the adultery, Bob and Ann have options – to separate and go their own ways or to remain married and work things out. Rebuilding the marriage can only happen if Ann is repentant, if she acknowledges her sin. Then together they can work forward in the marriage – both understanding that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They could acknowledge that Ann has a particular problem and they could devise strategies to deal with temptation and honesty and open-ness would have opportunity to strengthen the marriage. No, it wouldn’t be easy but with repentance and forgiveness it can happen.

But what if both Ann and Bob wanted to continue to be married and work on it but Ann refused to accept responsibility for her actions? What if she blamed Bob or other people? What if she honestly believed that she should not be held responsible or accountable for her actions? How could Bob possibly continue on in the marriage, expecting it to heal, grow and mature? It wouldn’t matter how many times Bob forgave Ann… without her acknowledgement of her own actions, without repentance, how can they both move forward together on the same page?

**********

And therein lies my struggle. My person can not/will not even listen to some of the things they have done. They refuse to hear how they impacted my life. I want my person to acknowledge their actions and to acknowledge that I had been hurt. But they will not listen. I have apologised to them, asked for their forgiveness. I have tried to acknowledge my own wrong doing and also their hurt even though I had their best interest at heart and never meant to hurt them. I forgive my person. I love my person. However, it is extremely difficult to have a relationship with my person – what do we build upon? We have two very different beliefs about the world, its Creator and therefore how we should live as well as how we see the current status of our relationship and everything surrounding it.

Counsellors and godly people in my life would normally advise me to step away. To forgive and yet accept this non reconciliation, to protect myself. But that isn’t so easy. My situation is such that I cannot separate myself. I can forgive. I have forgiven my person and I love them. But full restoration can only come about through acknowledgement, confession, forgiveness and commitment of both parties.

And this is the struggle that leaves me feeling battle-weary and worn down. So if you see me down the street, looking haggard or overwhelmed, chances are… I am overwhelmed. Trying to navigate through life where decisions must be made, actions must be performed within a state of forgiveness yet without reconciliation. Yes, God is good. All the time. But I am still overwhelmed and taking each moment as it comes.