My Trim Healthy Mama Fuel Cycle Plan

Mouth Watering Meringues
I’ve been doing Trim Healthy Mama off and on for a few years now. I like that it helps keep my blood sugar regulated (I struggle with low blood sugar), and I was also hoping to lose some weight in the process.
When we married, I was around 98 pounds (I’m only 5′ 2″). I just wasn’t ever hungry. I just ate what I wanted when I felt hungry, but I often skipped meals just because I would forget to eat. I’ve never been a dieter (ever!), and I never struggled with my weight.
Until I had kids. I think it was after my fourth baby (who is now 9 years old) that I looked in the mirror and wondered where the extra 15 or 20 pounds came from (now I’m at 137). I guess with each child my body just hung onto a few extra pounds and then it all started to add up!
Parsley & Cilantro for Earth Milk
Lots of virgin coconut oil added to the Earth Milk
I started diligently following the Trim Healthy Mama plan months ago. I diligently followed the plan, and nothing happened. I added in some exercise here and there, but still nothing happened. I worked on my adrenals and hormones, but still nothing happened.

So, I decided it was time to try the Fuel Cycle (p. 429 in my first edition book).

I did the first round last week, and I’m repeating it again this week. When I was planning it, I had a really hard time deciding what to eat, so I thought I’d share what I came up with just in case it would help someone else.

You’ll notice I wasn’t very inventive with this meal plan. I ended  up just repeating several of the meals to keep things simple. It was such a busy week I just didn’t have the brain power to come up with something better!

I love the vibrant green color!
Earth Milk

Trim Healthy Mama Fuel Cycle Plan

Day 1:

  • Breakfast: Eggs, scrambled with butter, green tea with 1 Tablespoon virgin coconut oil
  • Lunch: Chicken on salad greens with lots of olive oil and vinegar
  • Snack: Smoothie with coconut oil and whey protein (p. 243)
  • Dinner: Roast Turkey, buttered broccoli
  • Snack (I almost always eat a snack before bed to help keep my blood sugar up): Choco Pudding (p. 366), small amount of raw cheese
  • Drinks: Lots of water, green tea, and Earth Milk (p. 425) made with parsley, cilantro, coconut oil
Day 2:
  • Breakfast: Eggs, scrambled in butter, bacon, tea with 1 Tablespoon virgin coconut oil
  • Lunch: Fish over salad greens with lots of olive oil and vinegar
  • Snack: Smoothie with coconut oil and whey protein
  • Dinner: Baked Salmon, Baked Cauliflower (p. 360) with lots of butter
  • Snack: Choco Pudding, small amount of raw cheese
  • Drinks: Lots of water, green tea, and Earth Milk
Day 3:
  • Breakfast: Eggs cooked in butter, bacon, tea with 1 Tablespoon virgin coconut oil
  • Lunch: Chicken over salad greens with olive oil and vinegar
  • Snack: Smoothie with coconut oil and whey protein
  • Dinner: Grassfed Beef Burgers (thanks to our friends who gave us the beef!) with no bun for me, just lettuce and other veggies (p. 339)
  • Snack: Choco Pudding, small amount of raw cheese
  • Drinks: Lots of water, green tea, Earth Milk
Day 4:
  • Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with berries
  • Lunch: Fuel Pull Salad (p. 301) with tilapia
  • Snack: Fat Stripping Frappa (p. 240)
  • Dinner: Sweet and Spicy Asian Stir Fry (p. 341) with konjac noodles
  • Snack: Choco Pudding, low-fat cheese stick
  • Drinks: Lots of water, green tea, oolong tea
Day 5:
  • Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with berries
  • Lunch: Fuel Pull Salad with tilapia
  • Snack: Fat Stripping Frappa, Mouth Watering Meringues (p. 370)
  • Dinner: Baked White Fish, salad (I had planned to have the Creamless Creamy Veggies, p. 352, but we ended up not being at home, so I had to just wing it with a salad)
  • Snack: low-fat cheese
  • Drinks: Lots of water, green tea, oolong tea
Day 6:
  • Breakfast: Oatmeal
  • Lunch: Warm Chicken Sprouted Sandwich (p. 298
  • Snack: Mouth Watering Meringues
  • Dinner: All Day Lentil Soup in the crock-pot (p. 311)
  • Snack: Apple Cinnamon Greek Yogurt Swirl (p. 250)
  • Drinks: Lots of water, green tea, oolong tea
Day 7:
  • Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Greek Yogurt Swirl
  • Lunch: Sweet potato with salad and water packed tuna (p. 306)
  • Snack: Choco Pudding
  • Dinner: Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
  • Snack: Greek yogurt
  • Drinks: Lots of water, green tea, oolong tea
A whey protein smoothie
After sticking with the above plan for a week (which was difficult to do with all of the social engagements we ended up having), I started waking up ravenously hungry. I’m hoping that means it had the intended effect of revving up my metabolism! Also, I noticed that my waist measurement is 1″ smaller.
According to the fuel cycle plan in the book, they tell you to complete the cycle at least one more time to really get your metabolism going, so that’s what I’m doing this week. I’m following the same basic plan I outlined above, with a few substitutions for the dinner meal.

We did end up doing most of our grocery shopping for these meals at Aldi, our favorite grocery store. For the evening meal, our children ate the same main dish, but I added more carbs and fat to their plates, in the form of rice, whole grain buns for their hamburgers, etc.Even though it’s sometimes a little bit difficult to combine my dietary needs with those of our children, often it’s as simple as adding in a whole grain bread (or something gran-free works, too!), some full-fat cheese or other dairy, or rice or quinoa.

I’m hoping this plan I’m trying works! Have you ever done the Fuel Cycle? I’d be interested in hearing how it went for you!

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6 Comments

  1. This is my 3rd effort with THM. I have been KETO and eating a healthy diet for quite awhile, but I tried THM a couple of times (hoping for more food diversity) and only ever managed to GAIN weight. However, I tried again. This time I started with a Fuel cycle week. In two weeks I have lost almost 3 lbs!!! This is nothing short of a miracle as I have been trying to lose weight for a couple of years and only ever manged to see the scale keep creeping upward. I’m going to continue with another fuel cycle. (2 S days, 2 E days, 2 FP days, S day). Perhaps at my age (almost 51) one just really needs to reign in the calories, and those 2 FP days at the end are difficult for me, but I can keep doing that if weight loss continues.

    Reply

  2. I have had the same issue with weight. I am 5’1 and weighed between 98-110 most of my life. I worked out and watched what I ate in my 30′ but before that I didn’t. I had one child at 42 and gained a lot of weight even though I was stringent about calories. I have been unable to loose that last 10 lbs no matter. Diet nor exercise does it. I hate it. I started the THM journey because I saw some of my friends loose weight and then researched it and found it is a great way to train your body to EAT and loose those pesky pounds. Thus far I have gained a few pounds which saddens me. I am going to push forward and when I get back from out of town I will try the FP cycle.

    So I was wondering since this is over a year ago how things went. Do you have any other ideas on how to loose that last bit of weight?

    Reply

    1. Hi Kelly,

      Sorry to hear you’re struggling with this, too. It’s so frustrating! After doing the Fuel Cycle, I did lose a couple of pounds. But I still haven’t lost all the weight I was hoping to. I was doing pretty well and seeing some of the weight come off, but then my dad was in the hospital for several months and then passed away, and I’ve had such a hard time doing all the things I know I should be doing (going to bed earlier, drinking plenty of water, and eating completely THM). The new THM plan book has some suggestions for those in our situation. Some of the suggestions are to have hormones checked, consume less dairy, don’t overdo heavy S meals, and add some special ingredients like okra (the new recipe book includes some recipes that disguise okra in them!). I highly recommend getting the new plan book, as it includes a whole chapter called “Turtle Losers,” with helpful ideas. I read through the plan book several months ago, and it really helped me understand the plan a lot better. Now if I only had time to put all the ideas into practice! 🙂

      Reply

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