Secrets for THM Success #1: Eat at home!
When I first started to change the way I ate, I struggled more than I like to admit. I didn't really know where to start. But over the past five years, I've discovered lots of little strategies that have made meals so much easier – in fact, it's second-nature to me now! I'll be sending some of my top tips for success on your diet over the next week. I'm also going to be mentioning some details about the Ultimate Meal Planning Bundle I mentioned a few days ago, but if you don't want to get these emails, you can unsubscribe from these emails by clicking here.
My first tip for success on THM is to eat at home more. It may sound super obvious, but after years of eating the Trim Healthy Mama way I've found that if I want the numbers on the scale to go down, eating at home is a huge plus.
Of course you CAN stick to Trim Healthy Mama at a restaurant. I've done it many times. But you're always running the risk of unknown off-plan ingredients, not to mention the temptation of off-plan foods right in front of you. When I limit myself to only eating out a few times a month, I save a lot of money and feel so much better! I'm also not beating myself up over cheating because (cue the lights and choir singing) it's just EASIER to stick with my healthy way of eating when I prepare my own food!
If you're thinking I'm Captain Obvious right now, and you already know this, I don't blame you! This is a super simple change that I made that's made a huge difference in my results with THM. Here are four ways I've found it easier to eat at home more:
1. Prepare some basics like rice, chicken breasts, and a dessert. Keep your kitchen stocked with food items you can grab for last minute meals, and you'll be set for success! If you don't have time to cook, try keeping some rotisserie chicken (you can freeze what you don't use right away), wholly guacamole packets, and cheese sticks in your refrigerator. That's a simple and delicious go-to “S” meal for times that you're too busy to cook! I'll share some more prep times in my next email.
2. Cut your dining out budget. If I give myself enough money for several meals out in a month, I'll use it! I adjusted my budget to allow for ONE meal out per month, and that made it easier for me to remember that I was planning to eat every meal at home. If you don't have a budget (I only finally set up a real budget for the first time last year at the ripe old age of 33, so I get it), challenge yourself to only eat at home and to take food with you when you need to be out of the house. This is a decision you're not likely to regret! I've never wished I spent more money or ate out more, but I've sure wished the opposite!
3. Adjust your schedule whenever possible. Work time out of the house is unavoidable, and you'll want to pack meals to take with you, but I've found that adjusting our meal times to about an hour and a half before or after we're out of the house for all other events makes it easier to eat at home. I've tried to distance play dates, doctor's appointments, etc. from meal times and it's helped a lot! That way I can eat (and clean up) before it's time to leave the house. Sometimes we've eaten an early dinner to help us stick to this adjustment, but it's been worth it!
4. Have a plan. Having a meal plan in place should be number 1 on this list, because a good meal plan is worth it's weight in gold. Knowing what to eat and when to eat it saves time, reduces food waste, and makes meals easier – which makes you more likely to want to eat at home!
Yesterday I mentioned that one of my books is included in the brand-new meal planning solution to help busy cooks get dinner on the table with less fuss: the Ultimate Healthy Meal Planning Bundle. I started getting SO MANY great questions, I thought I would answer them all at once, here in one email, so no one has to wait for me to reply one-on-one! (I'm still happy to answer emails, I just feel so bad when I stuck changing diapers or doing dishes or shopping Target's 70% off after Christmas Clearance with the kids and see that I've missed dozens of emails and didn't reply right away!).
✔️Each mini-bundle is made up of 8-12 eCookbooks, full of recipes that suit that specific type of eating (ie. Paleo, Keto, Real Food) or that type of cooking (slow cooker/Instant Pot, batch/freezer, etc.). Each one also comes with a minimum of 4 weeks of pre-made meal plans plus shopping lists (and several mini-bundles come with much more than that!). To see the individual cookbooks or plans in a mini-bundle, just click the icons of the category that interests you on the link, then click “See what’s inside” and all of the products it includes will appear with a short description of each one. The mini-bundles are $27 each, OR you can add the ENTIRE REST OF the bundle (all of the mini bundles!) for just a little more!
✔️ The bundle includes: digital cookbooks, pre-made weekly meal plans and shopping lists, printable planning pages, meal planning tutorials, ideas for saving time and money, tips for specific diets or allergies, and more! Everything is digital, there are no paper copies and you won't receive any physical products, just digital ones!
✔️ The bundle is so discounted (96% off) because the product creators (including me!) agreed to include their ecookbooks and meal plans in the bundle for a very discounted price for a very short time only.
✔️You only purchase the bundle one time (it's not a subscription, so you're only charged once), then it's yours forever!
And now to answer the common questions I've been getting about this bundle:
Q: How do I know my kids will like the meals?
A: Many of these recipe creators are parents and know that your kids will eat healthy food if it actually tastes good. Their own families were the original guinea pigs for these recipes, and many of them have sent their recipes through extensive recipe testing as well, so you can be sure they selected only their best for these eCookbooks
Q: We’re gluten-free at our house. Will I find recipes that fit our family?
P.S. Seriously, don’t wait. Check out all the details here: Ultimate Bundle Sale and let me know if you have any others questions that I didn’t answer here! This timer tells you how much time is left before the sale is done forever:
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