Over the years I have written at length about my journey with health and fitness. It has been an ongoing battle for me and I have often felt like I was paddling a canoe upstream.

I’ve tried juicing, green smoothies, lots of raw foods, coconut oil and more. I’ve read and tried BodyTrim, Jenny Craig, Dukan Diet, The Maker’s Diet, Nourishing Traditions, Eat Fat to Lose Fat, Changing Habits Changing Lives, and then some!

I know that many carbs and grains do not sit well with my family – but how to know the difference between them?  How to prepare meals for the whole family when I’m the one one who needs to limit those carbs? We lived on pasta, rice, flour products, potatoes, rice and bread for years. Especially when you’re a one-income wog family like we are.

Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful.
1 Corinthians 10:23

It’s been 12 months now. I have lost 10kgs although weight loss has been an unexpected bonus. My motivation was health. And I’m happy to report that I have indeed experienced an increase in my health. Physically I am much stronger now than what I was 12 – 18 months ago. My blood sugar levels are a lot more stable now whereas they had been starting to cause some issues with light headedness, fatigue, vision, etc.

How?

Trim Healthy Mama!

I am not a purist. I own and use a microwave occasionally. I drink milk in my latte. I still forget to eat regularly. I don’t combine my fuels correctly. In fact, I am only on the THM between 70 – 80% of the time. I can do fine all day but then eat a crossover (combining 3 fuel sources at a meal) which will inhibit weight loss. I don’t use many special ingredients although I have easily learned how to swap some ingredients for better alternatives.

I eat lots of chocolate that helps to raise my metabolism and heat my body. I eat [THM] chocolate muffins for breakfast. In fact, the more chocolate and muffins I eat regularly, the more weight I lose and the better I feel! I eat meat, chicken, veggies, fruit, cream, cheese, yogurt, nuts, seeds and more! I’m eating more calories than I ever have before. Anywhere between 1600 – 1800 per day! I tell you, the 1980’s have a lot to answer for (and none of it good) with the low fat, aerobic exercise only craze!

I’ve noticed that I naturally eat more on some days than on others but it all evens out over the course of a week. There will be a day or two where I simply don’t feel hungry and/or I’ll forget to eat. But boy, I make up for it the next day. This isn’t good practice for those with CFS, AF, Thyroid issues or BSL fluctuations but the stronger I get the more I cope with it – in fact, my body seems to like it. So I am mostly THM with a little bit of [natural] Intermittent Fasting thrown in.

Now of course, I have my Therminator so I’m trying to create THM meals in the Thermomix. Hmm, I’ve had a few meals that need improvement, that’s for sure.

Goals for 2014

I want to continue with my current eating plan but I want more:

  • More regularity with meals
  • Even better quality of foods
  • To do more S meals during the day with the main dinner meal being an E or a Crossover
  • To regularly do T-Tapp and/or walk

All in all, I’ve had a good year health-wise. It’s the first time in a very long while that I can see, feel and touch hope. But now I want more. I want to be fitter, stronger, healthier. And I have the tools now to do it.