Trim Healthy Mama Plan

That’s not the name of a diet I would have expected to find myself trying.

I guess the fact that I did it in response to Lisa’s invitation is a sign of my desperation.

In October 2016, Lisa got blood test results that showed her fasting glucose at 102, and her doctor said she should cut back on carbs and sugar.

Meanwhile, my daughter Rachel had been on a diet called Trim Healthy Mama Plan, and Lisa asked if I would try it with her.

If I had watched the video below that explains the basics, I’m not sure I would have gone through with it.

But I was getting it second-hand, interpreted by Lisa, so I was willing to go along.

As Peter Attia, M.D. says, compared to the Standard American Diet (SAD), almost any diet plan is an improvement.

As I understand it, this plan gets some important things right, which is why I think lots of people have found it helpful. I lost about 15 pounds using it. Some of those good points:

  • Eliminate sugar.
  • Choose carbs wisely, avoiding starches and other carbs that spike blood sugar levels.
  • A healthy view of fats.

They also have some tasty recipes in their cookbook. That was helpful for Lisa in meal planning.

I think their advice on fuel separation is somewhat dubious:

  • Limit carbs to 45 grams per meal in what they call the “E” or Energizing meals.
  • Eat until you’re full when you have “S” or Satisfying meals, but limit carbs to 10 grams.

Their biggest error: recommending that you eat every three hours to keep your metabolism going. Your body isn’t a furnace, and the flame isn’t going to flicker out if you go six hours without eating.

Did our ancestors eat six meals a day?

As I said, I did pretty well on this diet, losing about 15 pounds in three months. Lisa was somewhat scarred by her experience with it though: she only lost three pounds. It made her gun-shy about getting on a scale, because she worked so hard and the lack of results was demotivating.

Another of the downsides of this diet is that with the recommendation to eat every three hours, you’re literally always thinking about food.

Lisa is quick to point out that different diets work for different people, and that with her thyroid issues and being post-menopausal it makes weight loss more difficult.

But it meant that we needed to look for a different plan, and so in early 2017 we switched to something that worked somewhat better for both of us.

More on that next time.

See the whole series about my health journey. Follow along on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn.

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