My THM Journey

I don’t know about you, but I’ve owned a whole library of Diet books.  Books like Suzanne Somers’ “Eat Great and Lose Weight”, Dr. Michael R. Eades and Dr. Mary Dan Eades’ “Protein Power”,  Jon Gabriels’  “The Gabriel Method” to Dr.  Arthur Agatston’s “The South Beach Diet” and on and on and on. I had thoroughly poured over each and every one of these books.  I would implement the successful tips and tricks others had used, and succeeded, only to find they just didn’t work for me. :'(

 

Heart break after heart break, failure after failure,  I was feeling helpless and hopeless.  I had reached my highest weight after fracturing my ankle in February of 2013, placing me in the morbidly obese category.  I had to heal my fractured ankle and being sedentary, while eating a whole bunch of comfort foods, lovingly provided by church friends and family.  As yummy and as thankful for the help it caused me to gain 30 pounds and fast!!!  I was feeling trapped and ugly, heartbroken that I couldn’t give my husband more beauty.  Thankfully his love was blind.  He saw in me what I couldn’t, and was so perfectly content and in love.  I’m so blessed.

In my hopelessness I considered surgical methods to help me with my weight-loss, but found them terrifying and couldn’t make those options work in my mind…..even having seen others have great success with them, it just didn’t fit for me.  So I mustered up all my will power and turned to the many books I’d had piled up. Those exact same books that hadn’t worked for me in the past.  However, I was determined to do it differently and make them work this time, even if I had to starve myself.  I would white knuckle it because enough was enough.  I had hit the bottom and I wasn’t going to live there anymore.  Sadly nothing worked again…and I was dealing with great sadness and desperation.

Then one day out of nowhere (cue the Angelic choirs), while I was on my computer “being social” I noticed a post on a friends wall.  She had shared about her recent weight loss.  I had an immediate response of intentional interest like the bell to Pavlov’s dog  I immediately began to “salivate in anticipation”.  I just had to see what diet she was following and was it something I could make work for me? She posted this delicious looking dessert that I thought had to be unhealthy (because of how amazing it looked) yet she claimed she was eating lots of stuff just like that dessert and still losing weight!!  I took notice and was instantly intrigued.  I watched for her posts for a couple days to see if she’d divulge what diet she was doing so I didn’t have to ask outright….you know that pride thing that often holds us back?  But Nothing! Just more delectable food pics! TORTURE!!!   So I swallowed my pride and asked her what she was doing.  She lead me to Trim Healthy Mama.  THANK YOU NATASHA! <3

 

Being frugal I got the e-book version initially, as I wanted to spend as little money possible just in case this one would meet the same fate of my other dust collectors.   I started to read, and was so excited to learn the authors where Christian women(still one of my favorite aspects of this plan), fighting their way through all the same diet jargon I had, though in greater volume and for more years.  These ladies were inspired by the Word of God (so cool!) and they wanted to make sense of walking in a life that glorified God, without the chains of dealing with unhealthy weight and its issues.  So before even getting half way through the book I was totally sold out, and ready to rock this plan.  I just had a peace in my heart that this plan would be the last one I’d ever do.  I even started to feel the lightness of hope….I could be healthier with Trim Healthy Mama, I just knew it in my heart of hearts.  Praise God that hope wasn’t in vain!

This way of eating revolutionized how I look at food.  I immediately understood where I was going wrong in the past with my other diets.  I knew it was going to be different from here on out, and boy has it ever been different!  The Authors of the book Pearl and Serene, (who just happen to be sisters) have done an extensive amount of research and present solid information that literally melts the fat off your body.  All by separating the two main fuel types…. fats and carbs….how ingenious and inspired!

 

Though Pearl and Serene will say that this way of eating isn’t a sprint, that it’s more of a marathon, many people do experience quick and steady weight loss.  However, some don’t have that experience…and let me encourage you here.  The damage we’ve done to our bodies eating harmful foods and in ways that have destroyed our metabolism isn’t always repaired quickly.  Some ladies take months…..literally months before losing a pound.  Their bodies require that time to heal.  Those ladies that see it through, and get past the discouragement of going months without loss see other non-scale victories in their lives….better sleep, joint pain reduction or total relief, clear skin, normal cycles, lowered blood pressure, and so on.  Until one day their bodies say….”ok I’m good now, thank you….I’m ready to let go.”  Then the weight finally starts to comes off.  WOW!  How incredible that God’s given us a way to heal our damaged bodies by eating.

So don’t think you’re going to drop a massive amount of weight in 3 months and be done with it.   This is a lifetime, sustainable way of eating for your complete health.  However, you WILL see progress the whole way though, even if it’s with non scale things initially, and that is what keeps you motivated.   I’m now 1 and a half years in and have lost a total of 67 pounds to date (all without consistent exercise).  I have a bit more to lose but it’s going so well and I know that I’m going to be on this plan for life.  It’s so easy and so delicious.  I feel like I’m cheating every single day as I get to eat whole, natural foods that make my taste buds happy like butter, cream, BACON and steak…while also enjoying lots of awesome veg, and wholesome grains.  It’s such a life changer.  So be encouraged, be lifted up!  You can do this. <3

If you’re interested in this book and this way of eating please search out the many groups on Facebook.

You can also order the book from many different retailers online and at your local bookstores.  Here’s a link to their website to order direct from them  This will change your life, as it has mine 🙂

With Love, <3

Chrissy Benoit