About Me

Welcome to Blissfully Prepared! I’m Morel Bliss (yes, Bliss – as in “bliss-fully” – really is my last name!) and I’m a mama of two kids and have been married for 10+ years to my best friend, August. We’re a gluten-free family after discovering almost 2yrs ago that August is Celiac. Couple that with trying to feed and nourish my two picky kids, while also preparing Trim Healthy Mama/Keto/Low-Carb/Sugar-Free/High-Protein foods for myself and, as you would guess, I spend a lot of time in my kitchen, lol. But luckily I’m OBSESSED with food and eating so the kitchen is actually my favorite place to be (though, I’ve crafted my Blissfully Prepared recipes to be easy enough so that YOU won’t have to spend as much time in YOUR kitchen).

My Journey

With having two kids, I gained a lot of weight. Breastfeeding helped bring off some of it but only to a certain point. I still always looked 6 months pregnant. I was also starting to have a lot of back and pelvic pain issues. Physical therapy and chiropractic helped a lot but we discovered that I have moderate scoliosis in my lumbar spine which causes my pelvis to be “twisted”. And the excess weight I was carrying around with me wasn’t helping.

In early 2019, our whole little family all became very ill with Flu A, all at the same time. It was awful. Our daughter even ended up being hospitalized. It was the sickest I’ve ever been my whole life. I lost 8lbs in just a few days.

When I was finally better, I decided I was not going to let those 8lbs return. This was also around the time that my husband found out that he was Celiac and our whole family had to go gluten-free. So, instead of eating high-fat, high-carb, gluten foods (I often just ate whatever my kids ate), I started eating gluten-free/paleo, along with a lot more veggies.

I experimented with a lot of different ways of eating. I had heard of Trim Healthy Mama (THM), and borrowed their books/cookbooks from my local library, but was a little overwhelmed at first and ended up going keto instead.

Keto

I had big results with keto at first (which greatly improved my back/pelvic issues) and liked how clear-headed it made me feel. And I fell in love with cooking and eating the keto way (and I still largely cook/eat the keto way today). It just came naturally to me after being such a lover of healthy fats from my decade or so of following the Westin A Price Foundation recommendations.

But, just a couple weeks into eating keto, I started having intense and chronic nocturnal leg cramps. I literally tried everything.under.the.sun – even medication – and nothing would get rid of them. It was really impairing me from being able to get a decent night sleep.

Also, after a few months, I was no longer losing weight with keto anyway. My body had gotten too use to that way of eating, which had slowed my metabolism. This was when I started looking into carb-cycling and the importance of a healthy/active metabolism. And that’s when I started revisiting THM.

THM

And suddenly THM just clicked for me and I started reintroducing some healthy carbs into my diet again. And, you know what? The nocturnal leg cramps completely went away! Healthy, slow carbs was all I needed after all! 🙌

My metabolism greatly improved, as well, and the weight started coming off again, even though I was eating more carbs. Honestly, the whole idea of eating low-fat (though high-protein) for my carb meals took a little getting use to. I don’t think I had ever eaten or added liquid egg whites to anything in my life. But I quickly caught on as I started seeing all the amazing results in action, and now I add egg whites to almost everything lol.

THM Fuel Cycles

I also discovered THM Fuel Cycles and the power of the fuel types THM-Deep-S and THM-Fuel-Pull. The former focuses on pure fats and protein while being extremely low-carb/keto; and the latter focuses on protein, as well, but also “pulling” from your reserves with meals that are both low-carb AND low-fat.

But both THM-DS and THM-FP were very challenging for me at first since they’re rather restrictive. And I couldn’t find as many recipes for these fuel types. So I started creating my own! That’s why most of my recipes on Blissfully Prepared are THM-DS or THM-FP. These recipes have helped me tremendously and I hope they can help you, as well!

Helping you feel your best!

Even though, I have reached and even surpassed my goal weight, I am continuing to follow THM to help keep the weight from returning. I feel great and have so much more energy. I still do Fuel Cycles every few months to reset my metabolism but also try to rotate my fuels as much as possible throughout my day while “freestyling” to keep my metabolism healthy and active.

It’s been mind-blowing and revolutionary to be able to eat all my favorite foods again, but in a responsible way that allows me to keep off the weight and feel great. There’s a season for every way of eating and pretty much no foods are completely off the table (pun intended); it’s just about knowing and organizing these foods into your daily meals in a way that works with your body to help you reach your goals and feel your best.

Come join and follow me as I share all my favorite recipes and tips for helping you to eat great AND to feel your best!