Trim Healthy Mama Plan: Keep It Simple, Keep It Sane

Sisters and blogging partners Barrett and Allison leave some essential ingredients out of this pared-down version of their self-published Trim Healthy Mama (THM) program guide. Based on what the writers call "Biblical truths" and on their personal experience with diet and weight loss, the plan calls for a mix of fat-centric "Satisfying Meals" and carb-centric "Energizing Meals," suggesting that eating this way pushes your body to burn fat and thus lose weight. Other THM meal types and approved foodstuffs may be added to support a range of dietary concerns, such as the needs of children, pregnant or breast-feeding women, or vegetarians. The Mamas are sweetly encouraging, but the folksy tone they use will be off-putting for some, as will the plan's unstructured nature and glaring lack of recipes. Readers may want to bypass the book and head to the THM site and Facebook page, as well as to the THM-recipe-touting blogs and Pinterest boards that the writers so often mention throughout this guide. (Sept.)