Today, I want to introduce MARY BETH JONES my sister and best friend and partner in mutiny against unhealthy living!
Hi, I’m Mary Beth Jones and live on the beautiful Gulf Coast in the panhandle of Florida. I am primary caregiver to my elderly mom as well as a younger sister with physical issues stemming from vaccine injury and subsequent autoimmune diseases. I am the principal of a private school of 125 students. I love my work as a teacher and counselor and thank the Lord for the opportunity to do the Great Commission work that I do! I am also an independent distributor for an essential oil company and love teaching classes and sharing THM with ladies in our regional area. In my spare time (I know, right…what’s that?!?), I read, garden (veggies, herbs, and flowers), cook, clean, swim, and go to the beach. I am a dedicated foodie!
As a child I was willowy, but as adolescence came on, so did the weight. I became a binge eater, under the guise of cleaning the kitchen and putting up the food, I would gorge on leftovers until my stomach hurt. Since I am tall, it didn't show at first, but by the time I was 20, I was pushing 185 pounds. I tried Prism and lost 50 pounds, but over the next several years, all the weight came right back. I don't know what my highest weight was, since the scales wouldn't measure me anymore at that point! At that point my BMI rating ranked me as morbidly obese, and I had been experiencing increasing aches and pains, sciatica, UTI’s, etc. As a professional career woman, I kept a confident demeanor, but on the inside I felt overly self-conscious and knew I was only getting chubbier.
On Christmas day, 2012, our family took candid Christmas photos, and as I uploaded them online, I was struck with how big I had become. I signed up for Weight Watchers right after the New Year and lost fifteen pounds in three months. Then nothing for the next four, even though I was spending exorbitant time entering my food logs and keeping up with my points. In February, I attended a ladies’ retreat with Nancy Campbell and picked up the THM book. I knew that the Lord had been prompting me to lose weight in an all-out campaign to “clean out my Temple of the Holy Ghost.” I started reading the book during the summer after my older sister, Cori White, asked me if I had ever heard of THM. “Umm, yeah,” I replied. “I have the book!”
“WHAT?!” she said. “And you didn’t tell me?! I've been doing it doe several months now!” Thus began my THM life in August 2013. Losing a total of 75 pounds (60 while on THM) has changed my life, and I am still successfully persisting with this journey. From the beginning, I have boldly posted my progress and pictures of my food, drinks, and meals on my personal Facebook profile for all my world to see and be encouraged to take a healthy plunge themselves. I have cleaned out my closet three times so far and cannot describe the incredible feeling of giving away the first 45 “way too big” clothing items! I have started T-Tapp for strengthening my body core and dry skin brushing to help with contracting extra skin. I will always be a THM. There is no junk that I used to put into my mouth that feels as good as I feel today! And the difference is so visible now that everywhere I go, I am able to give glory to God, bear testimony to what He is doing in my life and encourage others to take appropriate care of themselves.
My “five fav” THM book recipes include THM Pancakes, Berry Crunch, THM Cheesecake, the Fat Stripping Frappa, and the Big Boy Smoothie. I also like MIM’s (made from the coconut flour mix from www.justrightporridge.com), and Gwen’s Sourdough Bread (www.gwens-nest.com) and cook recipes from many THM bloggers. My favorite drinks are my own chai version of The Shrinker, the Strawberry Limeade GGMS, and the FSF.
Advice that I give to THMamas on a regular basis:
1) Be patient with yourself. Start out simple by adding The Shrinker to your daily routine, switching out your S and E breakfasts, and mastering 2-3 THM-style recipes a month.
2) Don’t eliminate all your old “go-to” family recipes and dishes. See if you can make them compatible with your new way of cooking by tweaking them to be healthy and on plan. I was able to do this for most of our family’s recipes that we can still enjoy!
3) Plan to spend more on healthy food now, so you won’t have health/disease crisis expenses later on!
4) Take natural and beneficial supplements. There is no amount of healthy food that can provide everything that your body needs to function properly and optimally.
5) Take care of yourself; don’t neglect yourself or forget that YOU matter! Your family will exponentially benefit from your taking charge of your health. Remember that you are the daughter of a wonderful Abba, and He delights in you and rejoices when you are taking care of the body that He has given you.
Blessings to you all! I look forward to continuing the THM journey with you and cheering you on as you gain success!
Hi, I’m Mary Beth Jones and live on the beautiful Gulf Coast in the panhandle of Florida. I am primary caregiver to my elderly mom as well as a younger sister with physical issues stemming from vaccine injury and subsequent autoimmune diseases. I am the principal of a private school of 125 students. I love my work as a teacher and counselor and thank the Lord for the opportunity to do the Great Commission work that I do! I am also an independent distributor for an essential oil company and love teaching classes and sharing THM with ladies in our regional area. In my spare time (I know, right…what’s that?!?), I read, garden (veggies, herbs, and flowers), cook, clean, swim, and go to the beach. I am a dedicated foodie!
As a child I was willowy, but as adolescence came on, so did the weight. I became a binge eater, under the guise of cleaning the kitchen and putting up the food, I would gorge on leftovers until my stomach hurt. Since I am tall, it didn't show at first, but by the time I was 20, I was pushing 185 pounds. I tried Prism and lost 50 pounds, but over the next several years, all the weight came right back. I don't know what my highest weight was, since the scales wouldn't measure me anymore at that point! At that point my BMI rating ranked me as morbidly obese, and I had been experiencing increasing aches and pains, sciatica, UTI’s, etc. As a professional career woman, I kept a confident demeanor, but on the inside I felt overly self-conscious and knew I was only getting chubbier.
On Christmas day, 2012, our family took candid Christmas photos, and as I uploaded them online, I was struck with how big I had become. I signed up for Weight Watchers right after the New Year and lost fifteen pounds in three months. Then nothing for the next four, even though I was spending exorbitant time entering my food logs and keeping up with my points. In February, I attended a ladies’ retreat with Nancy Campbell and picked up the THM book. I knew that the Lord had been prompting me to lose weight in an all-out campaign to “clean out my Temple of the Holy Ghost.” I started reading the book during the summer after my older sister, Cori White, asked me if I had ever heard of THM. “Umm, yeah,” I replied. “I have the book!”
“WHAT?!” she said. “And you didn’t tell me?! I've been doing it doe several months now!” Thus began my THM life in August 2013. Losing a total of 75 pounds (60 while on THM) has changed my life, and I am still successfully persisting with this journey. From the beginning, I have boldly posted my progress and pictures of my food, drinks, and meals on my personal Facebook profile for all my world to see and be encouraged to take a healthy plunge themselves. I have cleaned out my closet three times so far and cannot describe the incredible feeling of giving away the first 45 “way too big” clothing items! I have started T-Tapp for strengthening my body core and dry skin brushing to help with contracting extra skin. I will always be a THM. There is no junk that I used to put into my mouth that feels as good as I feel today! And the difference is so visible now that everywhere I go, I am able to give glory to God, bear testimony to what He is doing in my life and encourage others to take appropriate care of themselves.
My “five fav” THM book recipes include THM Pancakes, Berry Crunch, THM Cheesecake, the Fat Stripping Frappa, and the Big Boy Smoothie. I also like MIM’s (made from the coconut flour mix from www.justrightporridge.com), and Gwen’s Sourdough Bread (www.gwens-nest.com) and cook recipes from many THM bloggers. My favorite drinks are my own chai version of The Shrinker, the Strawberry Limeade GGMS, and the FSF.
Advice that I give to THMamas on a regular basis:
1) Be patient with yourself. Start out simple by adding The Shrinker to your daily routine, switching out your S and E breakfasts, and mastering 2-3 THM-style recipes a month.
2) Don’t eliminate all your old “go-to” family recipes and dishes. See if you can make them compatible with your new way of cooking by tweaking them to be healthy and on plan. I was able to do this for most of our family’s recipes that we can still enjoy!
3) Plan to spend more on healthy food now, so you won’t have health/disease crisis expenses later on!
4) Take natural and beneficial supplements. There is no amount of healthy food that can provide everything that your body needs to function properly and optimally.
5) Take care of yourself; don’t neglect yourself or forget that YOU matter! Your family will exponentially benefit from your taking charge of your health. Remember that you are the daughter of a wonderful Abba, and He delights in you and rejoices when you are taking care of the body that He has given you.
Blessings to you all! I look forward to continuing the THM journey with you and cheering you on as you gain success!