Does Trim Healthy Mama allow "questionable" ingredients?

Hello everybody! Here I am ... Today is day 19th of my 30 Day "Allergen Free" Challenge... If you've been reading my previous posts you know I've eliminated:

• Grains
• Dairy
• Sweeteners of any kind (including stevia)
• Peanuts
• Beans

This is just for 30 Days and I am praying to God I can finish... It's proving to be harder than I thought. This is something I decided to do with the purpose to "shock" my body... If you know me you know I've been following the Trim Healthy Mama Plan for a while... and it's helped me improve my health and it's given me hope to know that there's SOMETHING I can do for the rest of my life that should help me reach a healthy weight without having to feel deprived! In Trim Healthy Mama there's freedom to make it as "purist as you want" or as "relaxed" as you want to as well...

Some things I often read/hear is that Trim Healthy Mama is awesome, there are really amazing testimonies and shocking before/after pictures from beautiful ladies that share their own stories with tears of joy that are just contagious and encouraging for those around them...

Some other things that I hear/read are not so great and I often see people, who don't really know the plan yet... judging it by "one aspect or two" that they disagree with...

Today I am going to focus on the controversial topic of sweeteners!

Why Trim Healthy Mama allows sweeteners like "truvia" when there are so many "posts" out there and articles trying to say that stevia is not a good sweetener...

Well... I am going to tell you why... Trim Healthy Mama allows these sweeteners because... the sisters Serene and Pearl (authors and creators of the Trim Healthy Mama plan) are out to get us and want to make us as unhealthy as they can... (insert maniacally evil laughter here)

ehem... No... Obviously not...

Why is it then? If there's no evil plot in their minds to cause the destruction of the health of many women... why are they allowing such a "horrible thing like stevia" to be consumed by us?

Well... the truth is that these "questionable" ingredients... happen to be "questionable for some" and really AWESOME for others! If you've read things like "stevia sweeteners often contain other not good for you ingredients" you can rest assured that the Trim Healthy Mama Stevia is made with Non-GMO ingredients... My favorite is the Pure Stevia Extract (1 oz. pouch) ...  there's no other ingredients added to it and just a very tiny bit goes a long way!

There are many other concerns behind stevia... But... guess what? I am not even going to address them... 1st. of all because I disagree with many of them... 2nd. because some have been debunked and others are just myths... and 3rd. because  I am just going to tell you... You DON'T HAVE TO use it....

That's the main thing... The Trim Healthy Mama Plan can be done by people who have food allergies or sensitivities... and can also be followed by people who never want to have stevia in their lives...

See? We shouldn't debate so much whether stevia is bad or good for you... Do your own research, definitely ... But know that... interestingly the worst thing for us is OBESITY... now... that one will reduce years in our life for sure... and will also cause innumerable of issues while we're alive... But... if you come to the conclusion that you hate stevia and want to stay away from it... know that ... There are many people like you in the Trim Healthy Mama groups... and they're losing weight and getting healthier and they're not allowing *one ingredient* get in their way towards a lean/healthy life.

Just recently I came across a few posts of people who "quit" Trim Healthy Mama... and while we all have freedom to eat what we want to eat and do what we want to do.... I was just shocked at how they were misrepresenting the plan... I actually read some of those posts in the beginning of my journey and they scared me a lot... but I still decided to see for myself and form my own opinion about it...

Some of the things I read were statements from people being very concerned about ingredients that Trim Healthy Mama "promotes" like:

De-fatted peanut flour?

Egg beaters?

Low-carb pasta?

Reddi-Whip?

And they even add a comment like: "You've got to be kidding me"

... Well... The authors of such posts are entitled to their opinion about those ingredients but they don't have to "deceive" their readers with statements that make others believe that any of those ingredients are required to follow Trim Healthy Mama Plan... The truth is that... there is NOT ONE INGREDIENT that is *indispensable* in this plan... The truth is that, since I was already eating mostly whole foods before Trim Healthy Mama I didn't even have to introduce new ingredients to it! Actually ... my grocery list looks pretty much the same (except when I've decided to splurge and buy some Trim Healthy Mama Whey Protein or some Jay Robb Whey Protein... I've actually added more healthy ingredients to my pantry by stacking it full of Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil,Chia Seeds,Raw Hemp Hearts, Raw, Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar, Nutritional yeast and my VERY, VERY, NEWEST FAVORITE:

COCONUT AMINOS!!

I never buy Reddi Whip, I make my own whipped cream with real heavy cream, I absolutely never buy Low Carb Pasta... Instead I use spaghetti Squash for my "S" meals and Brown Rice Pasta for my "E" meals... I've used egg whites on occasion for a desert here and there and I do allow myself to use stevia for desserts because I figure that all the other good stuff, all my exercising and all the positive changes I've made outweigh any other concerns I might have about stevia!

As you can see I am about 80% Purist 20% Not!  (At least when I am on plan because when I fall off plan I am 100% not purist at all... ugh!)

So... should you use Stevia? Well.. it's up to you... But I just want to give you peace of mind... You don't have to if you don't want to! There's nothing that you are going to "have to eat" if you Join THM! Am I saying everyone should do THM? Well... everyone could... but everyone is different! I am not saying that THM is the "only" way to lose weight... I am not saying "the rest of the weight loss plans of the world are wrong and we own the absolute truth when it comes to weight loss" ... I am saying it's worth the try and for me it is the most sustainable thing to do for the long run! ...

And when it comes to sweeteners alone... You should know the whole list of on plan sweeteners... You might agree with some, disagree with others... but they are ALL on plan and which one(s) people use... it's up to each individual:

• Stevia
• Erythritol (sugar alcohol, not for people with a sensitive stomach)
• Non Gmo 100% Birch Xylitol (sugar alcohol)
• Monk Fruit Extract

And... if none of those are sweeteners that you feel comfortable with, then you don't have to use them... Some ladies have switched to some OFF PLAN sweeteners like honey or Organic Coconut Sugar when they have reached their goal weight or even before just because they are more comfortable using those... those are not "THM approved" sweeteners... but again... I am sharing what some decide to do.

I hope these helps dissipate some concerns about Trim Healthy Mama and the "approved ingredients" ...if you've read the book... You know that "approved" doesn't necessarily meant "encouraged" ... There are some ingredients that are "approved" with a warning... like certain low carb products that are definitely approved for convenience but not necessarily recommended, especially not to be used frequently.

Whew... that's it for today... Gotta go now... Thank you for staying tuned! 

© Paloma K.

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