1. You may not feel any different as the pounds come off. Sure, it feels great to lose weight, but I am generally the same person I was many pounds ago. I didn't hate myself then, but I disliked how I looked and worried about the struggles of getting bigger. I guess what I am trying to say is, now that I am getting "trim", I AM STILL JUST BETH. I am not suddenly acceptable. I am not suddenly beautiful, and I am also not suddenly judging everyone heavier than I am. (Naturally I want to share with others my excitement about this plan, but I don't expect others to follow me! But if you want too...... I will get excited!!!) I am not a better person now. I am not better than you. I am not any more valuable than you.
Don't expect losing weight to fix "everything". It won't. Don't set yourself up for a disappointment like that.
You are valuable because you are you, not because you are successful at weight loss. Find you value in who you are in Christ. NOT your size! (BONUS INFO: And by the way, don't expect your husband, your friends or your job to constantly fill that need to be valued. It is a heart issue between you and God Almighty! He is waiting to fill you! And His filling is perfect and complete.)
2. GWEN! An awesome secondary source for THM info and recipes: a blog called GWEN'S NEST. At first you may just need to know about her EASY BREAD! If nothing else try this bread! I hesitated as it seems crazy to wait three days for bread to ferments so the carbs are eaten up before you eat it! BUT it was worth it and you can then eat from this jar of dough for TWO WEEKS and it is SOOOOOOOOO STINKIN' EASY! (WARNING: this is only for "E" meals. BUT it is great and can be used for TONS of recipes!)
3. FIND CHOCOLATE. Find some chocolate and/or "sweets" recipes you like right away! There are people who rave about the skinny chocolate. I enjoyed it at first, but my tummy didn't like too much coconut oil at once, so I moved on to other rich decadent sweets! Sometime I will do a post all about chocolate - it deserves it's own post -but for now use the book recipes or my pinterest board of THM sweets. THIS PLAN DOES NOT CUT OUT sweets! You just have to acquire a taste for new sweeteners and OFF YOU GO! Sweets galore!
4. DIET CHERRY PEPSI. At first there was just no way I was giving up my diet cherry pepsi. Then came the Sodastream. I have been able to create plenty of tasty healthy carbonated drinks with the Sodastream I am almost "100% off" regular canned/bottled diet drinks. (Just when eating out or at a LONG track meet, then it seems totally justified! *Smile*) To the Sodastream water I add root beer extract, caramel extract, sometimes cherry extract, sometimes vanilla stevia or extract, stevia (liquid form), ginger and apple cider vinegar, oh and a little sea salt. With extracts the flavors are limitless. (Yes, there is also Zevia in some stores that is plan approved.) I usually by Watkins brand extracts on the top shelf of the spice aisle at Walmart, but yesterday I ordered some new ones to try from Bakto.
5. BLENDER. Yes, you will want a blender. Yes, you can get one at a garage sale or thrift store, and yes, you will want the nicest blender you can afford. Oh and yes, they best ones cost $300-600, decide on your price range and they find one to fit your budget.
6. SECRET bread! Ok, it's not really secret, but you may not know about it..... Joseph's Pitas. They are at most Walmarts in the bakery bread section. They are "on plan" and you will soon find yourself taking them to restaurants and pizza parties. Just replace the off plan stuff in front of you with these pitas. (ALSO I eat low carb tortillas that have "less than 5 net carbs" somewhere on the package but I read the ingredients to be safe.
7. SNOWBALL EFFECT. The few times I have decided to go "off plan" for a day or a meal or a weekend..... it has snowballed for me. Like, one "off plan" brownie turned into half a pan of "off plan" brownies in one day. I like just figuring out how to stay on plan in most situations. BUT when I have rolled with that snowball, I am reminded that it is only 3 hours till I can back "on plan". It is NOT the end of the world. We live REAL LIVES. Life gets in the way of the best laid plans ALL THE TIME! KNOW yourself. You may do better at jumping off plan than me. AND remember that our priority is our family and friends and ministry for God. Please be careful not to be so rigid that you offend someone hosting you for a meal. One dish "off plan" or one meal "off plan" will not kill you! We are called to LOVE way more than we are called to be disciplined in our eating.
8. ICE CREAM. I got an ice cream maker. LOVE making it. Don't love it fully frozen when left over. So I make it less. There are a few ice creams on plan. You can look them up in the FB group in the search box. There is also a section on the that lists ALL the files from the group! Tons of good info in there. Ice cream is very important, no?
9. DRIVE THRU SUE. I am, what the book calls, a Drive-Thru-Sue. I like meals and snacks to be quick and simple. Know that about yourself and plan around it. Sometime I will do a post about just this topic. Lots of the recipes for THM in the book and online are REALLY FAST! I was amazed by this fact. I just need to memorize them so I don't feel slowed down by always looking at a recipe. I want it fast.
10. ATTITUDE. Success on this plan does hinge a lot on your attitude. If you go in it thinking "this isn't really for me" or "I know I won't be able to do this" or "these women are nuts" (yes, I am guilty of that one)..... it can potentially ruin or stall your success. Now I am NOT saying that you should believe everything you read in the book or on the FB feed. NO! You need to do your own research too! But be open minded. This is a very different way of thinking about food, meals, sweets, etc. Be realistic in your expectations. And don't expect your spouse or family to "get it".
OK y'all that's 10 more tips!
THE SMALL PRINT: Share this with your friends who are on the fence about taking on this plan or are beginners! Lets learn together! *smile*
"Smiling is my favorite!"
This is "no makeup me" today!
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