Bonnie Ebert:

I started my THM journey a little over 2 years ago. Now I was never the skinny girl growing up but I have always embraced my curviness. I started gaining weight each time I got pregnant with our 3 beautiful daughters. Each baby was a 10 pounds and each time I left the hospital weight between 200 and 215 pounds. People told me that the weight would just “fall off” while breast feeding … anyone else heard that? Sure, I lost weight 5 pounds each time, nothing more. I gave up! I stayed yo-yoing in my weight in the 190-200 range. I finally realized I needed to do something when it was my youngest daughter’s 2nd birthday and I was still wearing maternity pants because nothing else fit!! Now I have tried every kind of diet out there. I hate to admit this but even in my 20s I worked for a weight loss company that focused more on how much product I was selling that if my clients were happy and losing weight.

I stumbled across THM while looking for freezer meals on Pinterest. What were these weird abbreviations: S, E, FP, and XO???? So, I started to research the program – it couldn’t be this easy! I was basically looking for something to say GOTCHA! This won’t work for you! But, I didn’t. I bought the Trim Healthy Plan book and the cookbook and haven’t looked back!! It worked for me, it worked for my husband, IT WORKED for my whole family!! I am currently at 170 pounds and still going. I have lost soo many inches and have soo much more energy!

My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/wiscomamacoach

As a THM coach I like to focus on BUDGET!!!! We are a single income family. (Well, I’m an artist but it’s not steady income. I guess starving artist only applies to starving for people to buy my paintings!) THM still works for us. We are also a busy family, especially during the school year. Because the school my children go to is not close to where we live. The bus does not come out by us. Three days a week, during the school year, we all ride in one car together to save on gas. That means we leave our home at 6:15 am and I won’t get back till after 10 am or even at all. Freezer meals, crock pot meals, Instant Pot meals and something to whip together fast is our way of eating.

My Helpful Tips:

– Do you have a problem with portion control? I know I do. I used to make the THM cakes and desserts in the 9×13 pans or as directed but I was guilty of taking a fork and eating a fork full here and there… so was my husband. So, now any cake or dessert designed for a pan I put into cupcakes instead. I watch the baking time carefully. Sometimes the cupcakes need less time baking, but it helps with portion control. I also use the silicone reusable cupcake liners, but I’m a Drive Thru Sue that way. If I don’t feel like washing them (I don’t have a dishwasher) then I usually will stock up on cupcake liners AFTER a holiday (4th of July, Christmas, etc.) as they’re sooo much cheaper then!

– Picky kiddo eater: My 6-year old WILL NOT eat any cooked veggie (it’s a texture thing for her). My 4-year old is the same way because she sees her big sister do it. My oldest girl (8) will eat anything – I got lucky there. So, to get more veggies in them, other than the ones I hide into meals by using my blender or food processor, I always set out a veggie with dip while I’m making supper. Ever hear that? Your kids claim they are about to die of hunger while you are preparing supper. I will set out carrot sticks or cucumber slices with an on-plan dip and 9 times out of 10 it’s gone before I put supper on the table. I peel and chop up a whole bag of carrots right after I’m done grocery shopping and put them in a Tupperware pickle container with water. Kids love to dip things!

– Kids also love things on a stick. In the summer I’ll make a quick grill meal of either chicken breast or thighs on the grill. I will buy boneless, skinless chicken thighs and cut them up and put them on bamboo skewers. My girls eat them up soo fast! Same with grilled veggies on a stick. It works on other kids, too! When our friends come to visit with their kids they always ask if they can have the Moana (Disney movie) supper, which is chicken thighs on a stick and veggies on a stick. Then I put different dipping sauces in those silicone cupcake liners, usually THM ketchup, mayo mixed with a little hot sauce, THM Honey Mustard, and Peanut Butter Sauce (1 cup pressed peanut flour, 3 Tbsp sugar free peanut butter, 1 & 1/2 tsp mineral salt, dash of sesame oil, water as needed to thin).

Here’s a recipe I hope you love as much as my busy family does:

Mama-issippi Roast (S)

Ingredients:

– 3.8 pounds beef roast

– 16 oz jar of pepperoncini peppers

– 1 Tablespoon parsley

– 1 Tablespoon chives

– 1 Tablespoon garlic powder

– 1 Tablespoon onion powder

– 1 Tablespoon dill

– 1/2 teaspoon mineral salt

– 1/4 teaspoon pepper

– 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

– 2 Tablespoons Trim Bouillon Mix from the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook

Instructions:

1. Add roast to a crock pot or Instant Pot.

2. Add a jar of pepperoncini peppers, with juice, and all the seasonings. Flip roast to make sure the seasonings just don’t sit at the top.

3. Place the stick of butter on top of the roast and add the lid.

4. Crock pot cook on high for 8 to 10 hours.

Instant Pot – Manual 55 minutes on high pressure. NPR (natural pressure release) – approximately 20 minutes.

5. Serve with a side salad or “Mashed Fotatoes”.