The new Trim Healthy Mama Plan book has hit the shelves, and become a nationwide best seller! You may have seen the book in your local department stores and grocery stores- it’s really become a THING! (I’m kinda SUPER thrilled about this!)

Since I reviewed the original Trim Healthy Mama book here on Gwen’s Nest about 2 years ago, I wanted to give you guys the inside scoop on this new book as well.

This is what we’ll cover today:

• What is the Trim Healthy Plan?
• What’s New in the New Plan Book?
• The New vs. the Original: Which Should You Get?

PLUS, I’ve updated the Quick Start Guide with the new Plan and Cookbook info, so I’ll link to that too for you.

Next week, I’ll review the awesome new Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook. And I’ll tell you right now, that post will be FAR more entertaining in the photo department. 🙂 Because: FOOD!

But today we’re going to focus in on the backbone of Trim Healthy Mama: the Plan

The Trim Healthy Mama Plan

If you’re brand new to the Trim Healthy Mama philosophy, then you’ll probably want at least a quick overview of the plan. Is it like Weight Watchers, or Atkins, or…(pick a plan)???

The Trim Healthy Mama premise is that you can enjoy carbs, fats, proteins, and even sweets- while getting healthier and trimming down. The key is learning to pair foods in the right way so that you’re not over-fueling your body. And being carb-smart.

There is no calorie counting, weighing out portions, or pre-packaged meal replacements in this plan.
The mantra? THM is about “food freedom.” So what can you expect? Expect a bit of a learning curve if you’re used to other diet plans. The toughest part about Trim Healthy Mama is nailing down the initial food types. But once you have that through practice, it’s super easy to stay on plan.

In the Trim Healthy Mama Plan book, you’ll learn about the meal types: S for Satisfying, E for Energizing, FP for Fuel Pulls, and XO for Crossovers. I share more about what those terms mean and photos of the meals I’ve made in my original Trim Healthy Mama book review here.

The basics of the plan remain unchanged from the original book. But if you already know and love the original Trim Healthy Mama book, there is more to this little beauty- it may be smaller, but it has added content!

What’s In the New  Plan Book?

Just like in the Original Trim Healthy Mama book, sisters Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison walk you through their plan in a warm, friendly, conversational way. The new Trim Healthy Mama Plan book is a more succinct, streamlined version of the original book. It’s just a hair over 300 pages long with 4 sections containing a total of 32 short chapters that wrap up their lifestyle eating plan. Many of the chapters are targeted at different lifestyles, so you won’t need to read every chapter in the book to get the plan down pat.

A Peek Inside

One of the really unique features of the original Trim Healthy Mama book is that both authors implement the plan in completely different ways. And the book is punctuated with commentary- and sometimes playful banter- from each sister giving her view of why or how she would approach certain aspects of the plan.

Pearl is a self confessing “Drive Through Sue” who enjoys the occasional drive through burger and buys spray whipped cream. Serene on the other hand is a food “Purist” who enjoys making her own sourdough bread, and culturing her own dairy products.

You’ll still find these two approaches reflected throughout the book in the gray “Chat” boxes.

Let’s stroll through the sections quickly and give you a peek at what’s in store:

Part I: the Basics

Part one of the book jumps right in to get your feet with with an understanding of the plan. In chapter 2, the Basics, we once again meet the cast of characters from the original book: Drive Through Sue, and Farm Fresh Tess are back to tell their story of food frustration. But this time, they’re joined by male counterparts and an additional cast of characters who represent the feedback of thousands of readers over the past three years. This part of the book is to inspire you to look at a variety of different food beliefs and habits, and how those are affecting your overall health.

The great thing about the new book is how quickly and succinctly it rolls into the actual plan details. You’re getting a basic recap of the plan before you hit page 25. And by chapter 3, you’re already digging into learning the S meal…in the original book, you were 8 chapters in before you found the chapter on S meals.

Part 2: Let’s Go

This section of the book helps you take the basic meal types that you’ve learned and start rounding it into a practical, doable plan that fits the way you live.

Here, the sisters answer a lot of the basic questions surrounding snacking, timing your meals, what sweeteners you can have on plan, eating out, and even cheating or treating. While some of this section is in the original book, there is a lot of great new info based on readers input and questions over the past 3 years since the original book came out.

One BIG difference from the original book is that now there is a whole line of Trim Healthy Mama ingredients available. In the original plan book, the sisters shared recommended brands that they used and loved, but within six months of the release, several of the key products (sweeteners, protein, etc.) changed formula and were no longer appealing or on plan with the new additives.

So the families took matters into their own hands and sourced the highest quality ingredients they could find to create fairly priced, great quality products with their label. This is reflected in the new books.

One of the key questions for those just coming to the plan is, “Do I have to use special ingredients?” The answer is, “Only if you want to.” 🙂  If you enjoy a meat and veggies lifestyle with just good, whole, basic foods, then you will probably not feel the need to order specialty foods.

But if you really love your brownies and carbs, then you may be more interested in replacing your favorite sugary snacks with on plan, and health promoting versions made with slower carb ingredients.

Part 3: Menus, Eating Tips, and What to Expect

This section of the book is completely revamped or new from the original book. And you’ll love it! In the original book, the sisters shied away from making menu suggestions, because they didn’t want to limit your freedom to create a meal plan that worked for each person’s unique tastes.

But they found that many of their readers really needed to see examples of how this plan looks in real life to get their training wheels on before taking off on their own. This section of the book dedicates 10 chapters to women and men from all walks of life: Drive Through Sue, and the purist…the working woman, those on a budget, the vegetarian, pregnant & nursing Mamas, slow losers, those on allergen free diets, and yes- even the men get their own chapter.  And in most cases, example menus. It’s exactly the type of help that readers have been asking for. Once again, Pearl and Serene show that they are listening and really connecting with and responding to their readers over the past three years.

One thing you might notice is that many of the menu suggestions do point to their cookbook. So if you’re just getting started, I do recommend going ahead and grabbing both books from the onset. They are meant to function together and compliment one another.

There are some significant changes in the Fuel Cycle chapter, written to readers who struggle with slower weight loss- again based on what reader’s feedback and additional information since the original book was published.

Part 4: Trim Healthy and Beyond

The Trim Healthy Plan book rounds out with a short section covering other basics: exercise, skincare, balance (which covers some of the science topics of interest to food purists), and how to get connected with others who are doing the plan for support. Which I really think is key. 

I also LOVE the Appendix in the back, which is a handy Meal Types Recap that you can flip back to when you need a refresher.

***Tip: Bookmark that section if you’re just learning the plan!***

The New Plan vs. the Original Book

“Which one should I buy?”

My personal preference is for the newer book, but I love the more streamlined, succinct approach with the helps and lists. 

However, the original book may be your favorite if you really love to delve deeply into the “why” behind the plan. They spend a lot more time discussing the science behind their approach, as well as cover topics like faith and food, hormones, exercise routines and fueling for workouts, and even a chapter on a healthy sex life. The original book is also punctuated by black and white illustrations of the sisters that coincides with the friendly banter narrative that runs throughout the book.

The new Plan book is devoid of illustrations, with the exception of a few small illustrations explaining the meal types.

Another plus of the original book is that you get both recipes and plan all in one. However, the recipes are written in a conversational non-typical format, which some people find frustrating.  The index is also frustrating in the original version. It’s split into a recipe index and topical index. If you’re looking for that yummy chocolate frozen drink, you have to remember the exact name “Fat Stripping Frappa” to find it in the recipe index, instead of finding it under “drinks” or “chocolate.” The new books use a more standard and user friendly formatting for the index. But I’ll cover more on the recipes next week.

All in all, the new Trim Healthy Mama Plan book is a book worth reading and owning for those who are serious about unraveling a healthy approach to eating that doesn’t remove any of the micronutrient groups. Its casual approach to communicating the plan is refreshing, and the plan is very doable once you understand the fuel types and premise.

Be SURE to come back next week for an amazing, colossal surprise that I’ve been cooking up for you. Hint- it has to do with giving.

Ready to Get Started?

Be sure to check out my updated Unofficial Trim Healthy Mama Quick Start Guide here.

Get the stuff via my affiliate link at the Trim Healthy Mama website!

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