THM Tip of the week - Grams of Sugar vs Added Sugar

Hello everybody, last week I started a "Paloma's THM Tip of the Week" for my blog...

If you have no clue what THM is ... Well... you have to check this out

If you are already on THM or lurking and full of questions... I hope my tips will help you... I want you to stay encouraged and motivated realizing that this plan is doable!

 So... here we go... this is the 2nd. Tip I share... please leave comments, suggestions or questions ... I'd love to hear from you!

Get familiar with labels

Food! We love it! And many times we eat it without even looking at the label on the packaging which gives us such important information. Many others of us WILL indeed look at the label and only be concerned about the "calories"... those that are a little more thorough might look at the fat content or "Sodium" (many times wondering if that's too high or just enough). Trim Healthy Mama plan we have such freedom that calorie counting is no longer needed (I do it once in a while just because I am obsessive like that) but in our plan "Ingredients Trump Numbers" (if you join the FB group you will see that phrase there often) ... We care more about the ingredients we eat and their categories (there are some things that we just do not mix).... but KNOWING how the labels work will help you a lot and will save you from a lot of confusion...

See that label? Let's study it together, we will not get in depth but I will show you two very important things that you have to notice... On Trim Healthy Mama we focus A LOT on the ingredients... Sugar (also known as glucose, corn syrup, dextrose, honey, agave nectar, evaporated cane juice, cane juice, juice concentrate, fructose... and many more) is not allowed on the THM plan, actually it will be easier for me to tell you the sweeteners that are on plan: Stevia (natural and doesn't spike your glucose levels) -Trim Healthy Mama has great sweeteners- and some natural sugar alcohols like Erythritol and Xylitol - like this or this  

BUT... sugar (even if it claims to be natural, organic, lower GI -like agave or coconut sugar-) is NOT on plan.

Don't worry... you can still enjoy lots of sweets... but your palate might in fact need some adjusting to the sweeteners, as you flush out the sugar from your system.

Anyway... So... back to that label! See the ingredients? Let's try a little exercise... Do you see any sugar in the Ingredients list? The LIST is at the bottom... right below that little chart with numbers and percentages.... look at the pic and check please, this will help you.... No sugar, right? That means this specific product (Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt) does NOT contain any added sugar... Most mamas start jumping up and down of joy when they see that it's actually sweetened with STEVIA LEAF EXTRACT!... but then... uh... their eyes catch something while they jump... as they look a little higher on that same label they see the word "Sugar" .... and when they see that it says "7 grams" they want to faint! If they already ate some they almost want to "spit it out" like it was poison (which... well... let's be honest... sugar IS like a poison) and they get troubled, confused and frustrated... But... let me tell you something: 

 Jump and dance away mama! You're good to go

Your brain is not tricking you, the food industry is not tricking you (at least not in this specific case), this is not as confusing as you might think... the "Sugar Grams" you see there are actually naturally occurring sugars from the dairy in your yogurt... THERE IS NO added sugar in this product and ... of course we all love a lower number in the grams of sugar but thankfully the fermentation process in a yogurt helps lower the impact on your sugar level... (this happens specifically with fermented products like Kefir and Greek Yogurt which are both allowed on plan, make sure you buy them 0% and plain! the only allowed "flavored" yogurt we've found so far to be on plan is the Triple Zero Oikos because it's the only one sweetened with stevia).

Now... let's just do another quick exercise just to make sure we got this! Let's do it with an "easier" product (dairy can be higher in natural occurring sugars so it can get a bit harder to figure out) but let's practice with a product we would assume there would be no traces of "sugar" in it...

Let's go with something most of us love and that you can enjoy on the THM plan... UNSWEETENED PEANUT BUTTER!

 You can buy the most affordable kind like:

Smucker's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter or Kirkland Natural Peanut Butter

If you can afford it get the organic/non gmo kinds like: this or this.

Let's look at a label:

I think you now know where to look first, right? Ingredients! What does it say? Basically Peanuts and Salt!

Now, let's look at the chart on the left, the nutrition facts:

Sugars: 2 grams...

With the knowledge you now have... is this product ON plan?

mmmmm

need another second?

.....

If you answer was YES! You are correct! On THM we can eat this product in an S setting, the "S" stands for "satisfying" where FAT is the FUEL. We avoid grains, starches (basically we keep our carbs low) in an S setting... so you would be MORE THAN SAFE eating this product in an S setting... Your carbs are 7 grams, then you remove the 3 grams of fiber and you end up with 4 grams of net carbs in 1 serving of this peanut butter (10 grams of carbs is the limit for an "S")...

"But wait... what happened with the sugar? I thought it wasn't allowed!"

You are right! Sugar is off plan... But... there is NO ADDED sugar here... as long as "sugar" (or any of its nicknames) is NOT listed on the ingredients you are good to go! (well... of course there are other off plan ingredients but we're just talking about sugar right now). Grams of sugar in the nutritional facts are good to know but they do NOT disqualify a product from the plan...

Keep checking your ingredients... Stay alert! Don't let that sugar sneak up on you!

Other favorite sweeteners on plan are:






(Update after publishing) Beware of Truvia Baking blend... Yes it's cheaper but it's because it's mixed with sugar. It is NOT on plan, stay away from Stevia in the raw as well, it's NOT only stevia and it's NOT on plan. We have to check the labels of everything... Grocery shopping actually makes me a bit angry to see how many "innocent looking" items have sugar in them! You can even go to your pantry and check your container of SALT and you will very likely find DEXTROSE in the ingredients.

I hope this is helpful for you!

© Paloma K.


 Disclaimer: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, this means that you pay the same price, but I also receive a very small compensation. I recommend products I have tried and love.

Rehearse, Practice, Wonder, Question - THM Tip!

Hello friends! How are you doing? I know many of you are just joining (or thinking about it) Trim Healthy Mama... I know a few friends that have asked me about this amazing plan, they all get encouraged to join when they hear about the amounts of foods you can eat, the fact that you can have butter with your veggies or that you can eat a nice steak and feel no regret! But as soon as they hear something like "S, E or FP" I can see glossy eyes! Many get lost there...

My beautiful oldest daughter is bright as can be, she is 6 years old and very smart... But she often complains when we do something "new" for school (I home-school)... She is a perfectionist and wants to avoid making mistakes at all costs! So if I introduce a "new word" to her spelling words she gets frustrated and says:

- "but I don't know that one!" ... and I answer:

- " Well... of course... of course you don't know that one! Isn't that exciting? you are learning something new! In the beginning it's going to seem odd, weird and sometimes even impossible! But isn't it going to be great when you get it? and then it  just be part of your well known words. Would you rather I repeat day after day: *cat, hat, pat, bat*? No, right? I know you know those! Those are now easy! But at some point they weren't!"

What does that have to do with anything? I know you know what I am trying to tell you! Trim Healthy Mama is a new thing for you! It's not even a "familiar word" but... how awesome is that? It's an opportunity for you to learn something new (to you)... and not only something new... it's something good and something that will soon become part of who you are and you will manage to see it as something easy!

Of course you DON'T HAVE TO learn this plan... It's not indispensable, you could just continue your life without it... I often see posts of ladies that want to be "convinced" that this plan works... Day after day I see ladies on the FB groups trying to explain why this is so good for others! Like trying to convince a kid to eat his veggies! So I am not going to try to convince you! You can see all the amazing testimonies day after day on Facebook ... We are not children anymore... I am responsible for my health and I have my own struggles... Staying or not staying, joining or not joining is completely each individual's personal choice and decision to make. Others get discouraged when the scale doesn't move (been there! TOTALLY, way too often) and when we are down we want to be convinced to stay on plan! Thankfully there are wonderful, encouraging ladies on plan that will try to do that work and convince others... but honestly... if someone has made up their mind to "quit" it's almost unfair to put that "burden" on others to fight for them and somehow try to keep them doing what's good for their health!

 So... I decided to start this new "thing" on my blog and it's called "Paloma's THM Tip of the Week".

Here goes this week's Tip

Read the book and...

Spell it!

Just like with my daughter... whenever there is a new word she freezes and thinks she can not do it! Just yesterday she wanted to write a sentence and use the word "suddenly" and the first thing she did was come and ask me how to write it... I could just answer! It's easier not only for her but also for me... But... I know for a fact that I will not be helping her if every time she has a question I immediately jump and tell her the answer without having her try to think about it for a little bit....

I said: "I know you never write that word but I also know you've seen it before... you know how the letters work... so sound it and you tell me"

She immediately said: "Ok... S-U-D ....." and ... she spelled the whole word she thought she didn't know.

Whenever you go to the FB group and want to ask a question... go ahead! Questions are not only welcome but also encouraged... but if you take my tip... TRUST ME ... you'll be rehearsing those concepts that you think "don't make much sense" but you've ALREADY SEEN THEM in the book, etc... The knowledge is there! Try to apply them for yourself before you ask and you might be pleasantly surprised and actually excited to realize you know more than you give yourself credit for....

Of course ... the first thing is I am assuming you already READ THE BOOK ...

Don't get me wrong... I am not saying don't ask! I am the very first one to help answer a question whenever there's a doubt on the group... I am also the first one to ask if I really can't figure out something! You shouldn't do this by yourself when there are so many wonderful people out there willing to help you... BUT... before you ask someone else... ask yourself if you can "answer your own question" and when you come up with an answer... even if it's a wrong one... then share with the group ... something like "hey... I was wondering if I could have rice with my *S* meal... I think I can't because rice is a grain and it belongs in the *E* meals but I am not sure and I want to confirm"

What a wonderful thing that is! To see mamas trying to apply their knowledge, willing to make mistakes, being teachable because they take their health that seriously.

 Also... I've seen that one of the administrators of the group (Michelle) sometimes challenges the members to figure out what kind of meal she is eating, she posts a picture and everyone chimes in with their response... many get it right, many get it wrong but they are ALL PRACTICING their knowledge and willing to even make a mistake! guess what? Most of the things I know BEST are the result of a mistake I once made and once it got corrected I never got it wrong again!

See? Try for yourself! Make an extra effort... go the extra mile... it will make all of the THM concepts become a part of you THAT MUCH FASTER.

And that's my tip for you today! I hope you take it or let me know your opinion.... I love hearing from you!
 
More tips to come each Friday! Stay tuned.

© Paloma K.



 Disclaimer: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, this means that you pay the same price, but I also receive a very small compensation. I recommend products I have tried and love.