My Trim Healthy Mama Experience

Have you been seeing about the Trim Healthy Mama eating/weight loss/health plan and wondering if it works?

For years, I have seen friends and bloggers who say they were doing the Trim Healthy Mama (THM) plan and were loving it.

I also had a personal friend who dove ‘all-in’ and, I don’t know exactly how much weight she lost, but she definitely went down several sizes in clothes.

So, one day, I was in a used book store and came across the THM plan book. (Go to this post to see which book I’d recommend for you to get started.)

I brought the book home, did the reading and (trying to) understand it, and tried it for a little while, and have a bit of feedback that I’d like to share with you.

Please note this post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission if you choose to make a purchase using my links.

Also, you should consult your doctor before starting any diet modification, this is a summary of my experience, your experience may vary. You can read my full disclaimers here.

Why I Started Trim Healthy Mama

I, like most women, am always looking for the latest and greatest diet and style ideas that will give me great results with the least amount of effort. 

I didn’t have a ton of weight to lose, but there has been some pudge that I have trouble controlling, mostly around my belly area, and I wanted to take care of it.

Plus I have or have had other (invisible) health issues like chronic fatigue, hormone imbalance, sleep disruption, etc.

So, I thought a healthy eating plan would probably help.

Though I had heard of Trim Healthy Mama (THM) long before I tried it, it was finding the THM plan book that got me researching about it, and joining the official Facebook group to see if it would work.

My Trim Healthy Mama Experience

I will first tell you, in the interest of transparency, I haven’t done Trim Healthy Mama (TMH) for extended periods of time; I did have a four month stint where I followed it as much as possible.

In general, I noticed good results in my body composition and overall feeling of health.

My most noticeable positive result was that my menstrual cycle, which was about 32 days long, was decreased to 28 days, which is the goal most healthcare providers say is the goal length. 

I also did notice some weight loss. Nothing drastic but a. I like to eat, and b. I don’t have a ton of weight to lose.

And when I say weight, I actually mean size – I don’t weigh myself.  

Since I have been doing my Body Beast workouts (which I write about here), I have actually gone up in weight (on the scales) because muscle weighs more than fat. And I’m fine with that!

Now, while I did notice a bit of size reduction overall, I didn’t notice any great changes to my problem area, my belly. It was more under control than before, but not much difference to write home about.

I think this is because the THM plan allows dairy, which I love, but it does not do my body good as well.

After some testing, my doctor told me it’s best to stay away from dairy products due to the results of the test, as it likely causes inflammation in my body, and definitely in my belly.

I once went an extended period of time without dairy (in foods that I knew of, I wasn’t super strict on ingredients I wasn’t sure of), and my waistline and overall shape were amazing (to me, at least.) The best they’d ever been.

It didn’t last, however, because being dairy free is a pain. And expensive. And alternatives are not necessarily healthy (margarine, fake cheeses with overly processed oils, etc.)

Many of the THM recipes in the cookbooks, which I wrote about here, are fairly dependent on dairy. And they are delicious. 

THM cookbooks do, however, have a few recipes for faux cheeses; I have never tried them but some say they’re acceptable substitutes.

But dairy, overall, for me, even in the THM plan, does not result in great strides in reducing belly fat.

(If you do have belly fat issues, you should also look at your sleep and stress levels, in addition to general inflammation, as they can cause extra spare tire in your abdomen; my stress is fine, my sleep has been an off and on struggle for several years.)

My Overall THM Experience

If I had the willpower and needed to lose many many inches for my health and also body image, I would probably have stuck to THM better.

I did have some promising results, and feel like if I had stuck with it longer, I would have found ways to modify the dairy or make it work better for me.

But, I didn’t stick directly to the plan, even though I use many of the recipes in their cookbooks for weeknight dinners.

So far, the only ‘eating modification for health and weight control’ style I have been able to maintain is a constant but conservative intermittent fasting of 16 hours fasted, 8 hours eating. (But often that becomes 15:9 fasted:eating hours.)

I have tried THM, portion control where I eat half of every portion (works very well but hard to maintain for someone who loves food), and intermittent fasting.

I will tell you this — I have a friend from church who I know has been following THM fairly strictly for several years. 

Now, she was not a “big” woman, but she might’ve sometimes had some pooches, and I would say anyone would not be surprised for her to say she’d had two kids — I only say that because I know having kids can be harder on a woman’s metabolism and weight loss afterwards.

To see her now, though, she is very small. Like, she’s probably in a size 2 or so. She’s almost so small I am afraid to hug her because I’m afraid I’ll break her, lol.

And there are many more testimonies like hers in the THM Facebook group. 

It’s actually a really great, supportive group, and you can ask questions there about the plan, ingredients, and even ask for support on issues. 

I cook out of their cookbooks (start with this one) pretty much every night if I’m cooking.

And the recipes really are delicious and most of them are fairly quick and easy.

TIP: if I have a question about a recipe, or need a substitution, I’ll do a search in the THM Facebook group and there are so many helpful posts already on my problem (so I don’t have to wait for an answer.)

I also usually search a recipe I’m not sure if my husband will like or one that sounds iffy, and yep, most people say it’s really good and their families love it.

I will warn you, there is a whole THM empire, with their own line of ingredients, skincare, coaches, you name it, they might have it.

And I know they have fairly strict nutritional and processing standards, so I trust their brand, though I only buy a few things like the Baking Blend (which may look a little pricey but has lasted me 8 months at least, if you don’t make a lot of baked goods from their recipes) to use in some of the recipes.

Speaking of which, I just ran out and need to order more.

Does Trim Healthy Mama Work For Everyone?

I doubt any diet/eating lifestyle plan works for absolutely everyone.

There are some people in the Facebook group that struggle with this plan and say they aren’t having success.

But, if you’re in bad health, on lots of medications (many can be eliminated by a good diet, always see your doctor), need to lose weight, I would definitely recommend giving THM a try.

If nothing else, it normalized my cycles, which is one indicator of hormones going back to operational correctness, which is a huge sign of health.

If you have more questions about THM, please ask in the comments.

You can also read more about how the plan works here, and my reviews of the THM Cookbooks here.

Have you tried Trim Healthy Mama? What was your experience? Let me know in the comments, I love feedback!!

Thanks for reading, and God bless!!

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