weight-loss – Pure Healthy Living & Literature

2025 was my year for growing in health. Let’s back up real quick. I’m the odd person who loves Mondays. I love the fresh start to the week and healthy routines. Because of that, I also love New Year’s. I love reflecting on the past year as well as looking forward to the new one. This past year, I turned back to the the Trim Healthy Mama ways of eating. And this time I took it way more seriously. On top of that, my husband started coaching me in doing heavy weight lifting. Getting to do healthy living alongside my husband is so sweet! Having someone else help keep me accountable is absolutely the best.

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My Trim Healthy Mama History

I talk a bit about my Trim Healthy Mama story on my health coaching page, but I wanted to talk about it here, too. Trim Healthy Mama is a healthy way of life (not a restrictive diet) that includes all the food groups and is super customizable. There are tweaks you can do whether you’re wanting to lose weight, gain weight, are pregnant/nursing or are in menopause. There’s a way of doing it that fits every stage. I was first introduced to this plan by my parents back in 2012. Then, as I grew up, I had a loose understanding of what it was.

At age 19 I spent a summer in Tennessee and got to know the creators of the plan, Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison. After getting to know them, I decided I wanted to start eating the Trim Healthy Mama way myself. I was at an age where if I ate ice cream and treats several times a week it would actually start showing up in my weight. I knew as a young adult that my health was my responsibility.

I made healthy choices for a while, but how well I stuck to it fluctuated depending on life circumstances. The toughest time to stick to it was when I was in Bible school. By the end of my two years there, I’d gained 20 lbs., my energy was low, and my immune system wasn’t great. This brings us to 2025.

My Trim Healthy Mama Journey in 2025

The Story

After Christmas 2024, my husband and I knew something needed to change. Our goal has always been a healthy and active lifestyle, but we weren’t actively making healthy choices. January 1st, we got back on the Trim Healthy Mama plan just using knowledge I had from previous times I had been on it. I started off the year without knowing the importance of protein and struggling to find easy go-to recipes. Looking back, I realized previous times I’d done Trim Healthy Mama, I hadn’t been eating enough. That’s not the proper way to do Trim Healthy Mama. It’s not a plan of starvation, it’s a plan where you fuel your body and are satisfied by healthy foods. Let me share some specifics of how our health journey grew this past year.

The new book, Trim Healthy Wisdom, is 950 pages long and jam-packed with wisdom that I’ve started implementing in my own life and can’t wait to share as a health coach!

Highlights

We found thrifty ways to do healthy living. We go to a food pantry in our area. Probably one of the downfalls of my health was grabbing all the sweet treats they offered. I eventually realized being selective is ok, and they offer plenty of healthy choices (produce, meat, sometimes sprouted bread…). Even if you don’t go to a food pantry there’s always a way to do healthy eating cheaply. You can shop sales for meat, use lots of beans, and buy cheap frozen vegetables or fruit. A tight budget is an easy excuse, but not a good one.
Tried out and chose our favorite go-to Trim Healthy Mama recipes. The first year of our marriage I think I made cooking harder than it needed to be. I often tried new recipes every night. This also made our grocery bill higher because I was buying a lot of ingredients instead of finding creative ways to use what I had. Now I’m better at just throwing together what I have or leaning on my favorite recipes. Here are a few that I love:
Lost the college weight. Remember that 20 lbs. of college weight I gained? I was able to lose it all! Healthy living isn’t all about weight (there are so many other factors), but it is fun when the scale starts reflecting the effort I’m putting in.
Healed a dairy allergy. My husband used to be allergic to dairy. We introduced homemade kefir (so easy to make!) into our daily diet and now he can handle dairy! It doesn’t work that way for everyone, but it could be worth a try. Also, kefir is incredible for your gut health!
Incorporated working out into our schedule. We found the cheapest bare minimum gym membership in our area and got one. Going to the gym together has been so fun. Nutrition is my specialty, but my husband knows way more about strength training than I do. I enjoy getting to learn from him. If going to the gym isn’t possible for you, there are always home workouts you can do!
Better immune systems. We got sick so many less times in 2025 compared to 2024. I think the healthy eating, specifically avoiding sugar, helped our immune systems a lot. Aside from just catching colds, I used to be nauseous a lot and now that rarely ever happens.
More energy. Healthy eating and working out has given me more energy. Of course, getting good sleep also plays into this.
The Lord grew me in the area of spiritual health, too. I absolutely love working on physical health, but that’s not nearly as important as spiritual health. Looking back, the Lord has helped us grow in such a sweet community and fellowship at our local church. He’s used the teaching there to grow me, correct my thinking, and convict me. The Lord showed me that I treated my devotional time as more of a checklist where I tried to get through my daily reading plan. More recently I’ve been enjoying just slowly working through different books of the Bible and prayer journaling as I go. It makes my time more about learning and fellowshipping with the Lord rather than “just getting it done and staying on track”.

Goals for My Health Journey in 2026

I’m so excited to keep growing and establishing healthy habits this next year! Here are a few things I’m hoping to work on.

Better circadian rhythm. I’m excited to learn more about how to have a better circadian rhythm. Some little habits I’ve started implementing are being outside as the sun rises and waiting to have a coffee a few hours after I naturally wake up.
Up my protein a little more. This year I learned about how foundational protein is. It’s the building block for essentially everything- muscle growth, weight loss, hair and skin health…the list goes on and on. For the past several months I’ve tried to get in at least four meals or snacks of 25 g of protein each. This next year I’d like to add on a little bit more.
More consistent strength training. I’d like to be more consistent with working out at least 3 times a week. It can be hard to schedule it in, but I know it’s so worth it.
Sharing devotionals on my blog. Like I said, spiritual health is the most important kind of health. I’d like that to be reflected here on Pure Healthy Living & Literature. I look forward to hopefully writing and sharing devotional thoughts here on the blog.
Coach other ladies along in their health journey. I’m so excited to start coaching other ladies in their health journeys! This is something I’ve dreamed about since I was 19 and I’ve put so much thought into this past year. I’m passionate about sustainable healthy living and I want to be part of other ladies’ health journeys.

Are you interested in growing in healthy living?

I would absolutely love to coach you along in your health journey. My goal is to get to know each individual woman and come up with a healthy living plan that fits their needs and lifestyle. I’m currently waiting to take a test so I can be officially certified as a health coach, but if this interests you please send me an email (eliza.noel.writes@gmail.com) and I’ll put you on a wait list!