Choosing the Right Meal Plan

Trying to find the right meal plan is difficult. There are so many to choose from and honestly most of them are really difficult to follow, especially if you have others in your homes that are not in need of the changes.

            Some of the “diet” plans that I have tried to follow unsuccessfully have been:

·        Atkins

·        South Beach

·        Hungry Girl

·        Paleo

While some of these will work for some people they left me feeling like I needed more. I wanted to be able to eat

·        Cake

·        Cookies

·        Chocolate

·        Food that did not taste like cardboard

So then I ran across the newest plan, Trim Healthy Mama. I have been loosely following this plan since March 2014. I HAVE lost about 20 pounds. But the book is HUGE (600+ pages) and most of the recipes are written in a manner that is extremely difficult to implement and they are verbose. So when you see references to THM that is what I am referring to.

This plan allows me to indulge in the 3 C’s (cake, cookies and chocolate) it also is a very personalized program. While neither of the authors are nutritionists they are mothers that cook for their families. The things I find most encouraging are the many testimonials that are posted by everyday people eating in this manner, the fact that the foods are natural and clean, and the support that is available through Facebook groups and message boards and also that I have lost weight as well as feel so much better eating this way.

Where I Began

All my life I have had issues with my weight fluctuating up and down, never knowing... Why? 

     I have always followed a Standard American Diet (SAD, there must be a reason that it spells this word). I found comfort in food as many of us do which lead to a bigger problem, my weight. 

      Emotional eating is an issue that many of us face without ever realizing that it is affecting us in the many ways that it does. 

      My family history is a mess, my mom is a type 1 diabetic and has been since before I was born, my dad was a type 2 diabetic later in life, and myself with all of my siblings are type 2 diabetics. So yes we are genetically dis-positioned to being diabetic. 

     Growing up in home with a diabetic is an education in itself. Knowing that eventually this disease will take its hold and you will have to give up the things that so many of us enjoy, cake, French fries, bread, pasta, etc makes you dread the aging process.

     Making wiser choices is hard when the grocery and food markets are always pushing the “quick fix” answer to meal preparations.

     So please join me in my journey to better choices that do not spike my blood sugars and enable me to be on no to low doses of medication to control this disease.