If you are on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, then you need this THM Calculator!

When we first started our Trim Healthy Mama journey, the most confusing part was how to determine if we were eating the correct number of Fat vs Carbs.

Since I have a math brain (I was an accountant before I was a mom), I set up a little table in Excel that allowed me to enter the nutritional information from what we were eating.

The THM Calculator would then tell us what “THM Type” of food we were eating, an S (Satisfying) and E (Energizing) a CO (Cross Over) or a FP (Fuel Pull).

Let me show you how easy it is to calculate what ratio of carbs and fats you are eating on the Trim Healthy Mama plan with this yummy turkey sandwich.

Protein-Focused

The first thing you have to consider when eating on plan with THM is that every meal needs to be “Protein-Focused”.

That means that you need to aim for 20 grams of protein every time you eat.

Protein is actually called your “Fuel”. It is what your body is going to use to repair your cells, get rid of fat and make your skin glow.

Once you’ve determined what protein you’re going to eat for your meal, then you can add in fats or carbs to determine whether you are eating an E (energizing) meal, an S (Satisfying) meal, FP (Fuel Pull) meal or a CO (Crossover) meal.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Lean protein does not count in your meal calculations. The Trim Healthy Mama plan believes in “food freedom” and that means not having to count and keep track of the nitty-gritty numbers. These numbers will become VERY EASY and second nature. It’s only in the beginning of learning THM that you want something concrete to help you identify that you are eating the correct mixture of foods to stay “on plan.” That’s why I created this THM Calculator.

1. Your Fuel Source

Looking at the package of Turkey you can see that the serving size is 2 slices and there are listed:

0.5 grams of fat
1 gram of carbs

Since this is a lean source of protein, you exclude the fat and carbs from your THM Calculator.

They don’t count.

Just jump up and down and move on.

2. The Sandwich Ingredients

The Mayo (Kraft’s Mayo made with Olive Oil)

While I prefer to use Duke’s Mayonaisse, once in a while when the Kraft variety is so cheap, I’ll buy it and use that until the Duke’s is at the stock-up-price again. Duke’s is the better option because it does not have sugar as an ingredient.

Looking at that package, you can see that the serving size is 1 Tablespoon and the fats and carbs are listed as:

3 grams of Fat
2 grams of Total Carbs (0 Dietary Fiber)

The “Bread” (Joseph’s Pita)

Have you had Joseph’s Pita before? They are a “game changer” in the THM way of eating. They allow you to have sandwiches along with the rest of your family, without overloading your body with carbs.

Looking at that package, you can see that the serving size is 1 Pita and the fats and carbs are listed as:

2 grams of Fat
8 grams of Total Carbohydrates – 4 grams Dietary Fiber = 4 grams Carbs

The Cheese (Laughing Cow Wedges)

Looking at the package, you can see that the serving size is 1 Wedge and the fats and carbs are listed as:

1.5 grams of Fat
1 gram of Total Carbs (0 Dietary Fiber)

Now let’s make our sandwich and see how it all fits together with the THM way of eating and add it to the THM Calculator.

3. Meal Examples

With a lean source of protein (turkey breasts, chicken breasts, egg whites) you can decide if you want to pair them with more fat to make them an S (Satisfying) meal or pair them with healthy carbs to make them an E (Energizing) meal.

You could also keep them very low in fat and carbs in order to be a FP (Fuel Pull) meal or if you are already at your goal weight, then have both higher carbs AND healthy fats in order to be a CO CrossOver.

Let me show you how to create each meal properly:

Example 1: S Meal (Satisfying Meal)

The guidelines for an S meal are to have less than 10 grams of carbs and more than 5 grams of fat.

That means based on the ingredients I used you can have:

• ONE PITA with this on it:
• Turkey Slices (I suggest 2, but you could have more slices if you want to make it meatier, the numbers do not really count for this item)
• 1 Tablespoon Kraft’s Mayo with Olive Oil (this could be different for a different variety such as Duke’s Mayo)
• 1 Wedge Laughing Cow
• Lettuce and Tomato to round out the meal with some veggies

Example 2: E Meal (Energizing Meal)

The guidelines for an E meal are to have between 10 – 45 grams of carbs and less than 5 grams of fat.

To have it bump up in healthy carbs, I’d open the pita and put 2 slices of turkey in each “pocket” and then add another wedge of Laughing Cow cheese to have one schmeared inside each pocket.

Then I’d add some no-fat cottage cheese to eat along with it.

• ONE PITA with this on it:
• Turkey Slices (I suggest 4, two on each pita, but you could have more slices if you want to make it meatier, the numbers do not really count for this item)
• No Mayo
• 2 Wedges Laughing Cow (1 on each Pita)
• Lettuce and Tomato to round out the sandwich with some veggies
• No Fat Cottage Cheese (eat up to 39 carb grams worth to bring your total carb count to a max of 45)

Example 3: FP Meal (Fuel Pull Meal)

The guidelines for a FP meal are to have less than 10 grams of carbs (just like an S meal) AND less than 5 grams of fat (as seen in the E meal).  This is the lowest limits of the E & S meals.

Basically, you just need to take out the mayo (the most fat-laden item in the meal):

• ONE PITA with this on it:
• Turkey Slices (I suggest 2, but you could have more slices if you want to make it meatier, the numbers do not really count for this item)
• No Mayo
• 1 Wedges Laughing Cow
• Lettuce and Tomato to round out the sandwich with some veggies
• Eat with about a scoop of cottage cheese (4 carb grams worth to bring the total carb count to a max of 10)

Example 4: CO Meal (Cross Over Meal)

The guidelines for a CO meal are to have between 10 – 45 grams of carbs (just like an E meal) and MORE than 5 grams of fat (as seen in the S meal). This is the higher limits of the E & S meals.

You can have:

• TWO PITAS with this on it:
• Turkey Slices (I suggest 4, two on each pita, but you could have more slices if you want to make it meatier, the numbers do not really count for this item)
• 2 Tablespoons Mayo (1 on each Pita)
• 2 Wedges Laughing Cow (1 on each Pita)
• Lettuce and Tomato to round out the sandwich with some veggies
• Low-Fat Cottage Cheese (eat up to 29 carb grams worth to bring the total carb count to a max of 45)

3. Download The THM Calculator

Are you excited to be able to calculate your fat and carb counts for your next meal and determine what type of meal you are eating?

Download the THM Calculator from here. (I’ve made it a Google Sheet so that you can easily have it on your phone as well as your computer.

Remember, please don’t get too caught up in the numbers. THM is about Food Freedom and that means not obsessing about counting all the nitty gritty numbers in a meal you are eating.

However, tweaking the fats and carbs slightly can make an incredible difference to your waistline. Which, as a lover of numbers, I find really fascinating. Have Fun!

YOUR TURN: Comment below if you have any questions about the calculator or other THM curiosities!

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