Louise Parker Method

[ElvenDreamer]

Hi, anyone following the Louise Parker Lean for Life method? I'm just starting (using her books) and could do with a group to swap thoughts with!

I don't think it's the curry and burger that will be the problem for me, while they sound like more celebratory foods, we make both from scratch. So burger is good locally sourced mince then with some onion etc, more like a meat patty really (plus I won't have it in a roll). Curry is made from scratch, no bought sauces or anything so we have total control over what goes in it and husband makes a super healthy one. No I think my bigger problem comes from binging still. I do really well all day then in the evening I feel super tired but there's still jobs to do so I eat all manner of rubbish to keep me going, doesn't work of course and I'm caught in a vicious cycle! I have spent the last few weeks journaling and trying to learn my patterns and triggers where this is concerned though so slowly improving. I suppose that's where the lifestyle 4 pillars comes in again, being organised to reduce stress, bed time routine etc. I know what you mean about maintaining all the exercise, I think I'm slowly finding a balance there, I was doing a crazy amount but it wasn't sustainable, so on days now where I'm doing a lot of walking I don't worry about the app too much and save that for days with less time, so short intense workout. My online class I've got a friend to do as well so often we're stupidly tired together, we text each other before the class which makes us both giggle and if we're really not in the mood it helps us both. Well, I'm feeling positive about this, look forward to seeing how we both get on, do you think we should do a regular check in to hold ourselves accountable? (Eg every 3 days or something say what we've had mealwise, what exercise managed etc) or just casual chat as and when feels good? Or a mix of both?

Good morning,

"I don't think it's the curry and burger that will be the problem for me, while they sound like more celebratory foods, we make both from scratch"
That sounds great, i wasnt sure about it and just wanted to ask you if that may be a thing..

Yes that sounds like you have a lot to do... i dont have kids or a big home so i cant really give advice here. Is there anyone else who can do some of this works? or can you batch it? or do you really need all that? i decided for myself that cleaning the kitchen in the evening and just once a day works better than doing it 3 times a day. i just clean my flat once a week for 1-2 hours etc... before i did a bit every day.

And of course, check if you are really eating enough through the day.

How often do you weigh yourself? i cant live with that every 2 weeks thing to be honest.

We can try to post every day about what we ate - i often have problems remembering my food after 2-3 days. I love the casually chatting with you, too.

Meals were okay yesterday, did manage nearly all steps. I need to workout for the next 3 days in a row to keep up my 4-5 workouts per week.
Uh, i love my zumba and yoga classes which are organised by the university by the way! I do these on top of my 3 Jilian Michaels workouts.

Which books should I buy to learn more about this?

Hi @mermaidsariel there are 3 Louise Parker books. The first is called Lean for Life then there is The 6 Week Programme and Lean for Life Cookbook. I have all of them, all via ebay bargains as they've been out a while. They all have different recipes in which is why I got them all eventually. Lean for Life is probably the one that explains the 'lifestyle method' in most detail so if going for one then that would be the go to. That being said the recipes are quite heavily meat based so if you are veggy then the 6 week method is a better bet, lots of veggy recipes in that one. The cool book is as you would expect predominantly recipe based, also has extra stuff for sides to add to meals when cooking for others etc, has less about the whole method I'd say, but all 3 books do explain everything. Hope that helps!

Thanks! I’ve ordered them.

Fab! Let us know what you think when you've had chance to have a look, would be lovely to have more people in this thread with myself and GloryLory. Hoping AmericanMom might rejoin us also 🙂

@mermaidsariel ElvenDreamer explained it very nicely, i have nothing more to say. But if you are not sure if it suits you, just try a few from the recipes online before buying the books. Thats how i started.

I'm glad you are joining us and i would love to hear where you are starting and what you want to archieve.

Ok, Sunday afternoon, doing some prep for tomorrow. Just made kale chips for another snack choice and now roasting peppers ready for soup. Just weighed myself and currently still 10 stone 4/ 65 kilos which is what I got down to in that initial 6 week method push and it's been stable ever since by eating mostly on method so this stuff definitely works! Ideally I'd like to get down to 9 stone 13 but mainly I'll be happy if I lose a bit off my tummy and feel more alert etc.

I am so glad we have each other and starting transform again...! the WE had quite a few steps outside the circle and i am beginning to wobble again. I had a lot of emotional stress and could not finish my days as I wanted. I skipped meals, ate to much from suggary things, didnt get my steps and completed only one exercise.

I'm feeling stressed out and anxious how i keep it all up to be honest.
I've managed to prep my meal for tomorrow. I will walk a bit tomorrow morning, will get vaccinated and do some studying if i'm feeling alright. I really have to learn more despite anything else.

I don't know how to plan this week... should i reduce my exercise to get along with anything else? atm i'm opting for 4-5 times a week which included 1 x zumba, 1x yoga, 2-3 times HIIT.
Steps are no problem, 10 k per day on average.

Sleep - i dont go to bed early enough, still working on digital detox.

I'm wishing you all the best and I know we can do it!

PS: Thanks for 65 kg hint - i have no idea what a stone or a pound is...

.....this day was a mile outside the circle. here we go again, all or nothign mentality and stinking thinking kicking in again

No stinking thinking allowed, take each day as it comes, another step in the dance remember xx If it feels too much too all your sports etc then maybe cut back a bit? I'm only doing a longer exercise on 2 or 3 days, then just a few minutes of something when I can on others. Some days I'm literally going to bed, realise I've not really done much and just do a plank at that point, it's only 30 seconds to a minute of exercise but every little counts 🤣 don't be too hard on yourself and celebrate the small wins.
I've done ok today food and drink wise, although we are now into the evening which is dangerous territory for me and snacking. Step count is down today but that's quite unusual for me so not worrying. Tomorrow is another step in the dance.

You are so right and so I have to say: No random snacking for you tonight. Maybe you will have a snack, enjoy it, but dont eat out of the fridge ;)
Thanks for your kind words. Tomorrow will be a tough day for me like every tuesday and yes, i have to cut back on some point i guess. Cuttung back on sweets would do it for tonight :D

I've got a question... I want to do her double deckers from the Cookbook. She says you need 3 mini oatcakes per person but 3 tablespoons (!!) nut butter and half a banana.
To me these quantities dont fit - mini oatcakes and 3 teaspoons nut butter and 1-2 slices of banana would make more sense compared to the picture. Also, she never suggests more than 1 tablespoon of nut butter in her snacks.
It's delicious, no question here, but this snack contains more calories than most of her lunches with these quantities...

That's one of the recipes that confuses me too for the same reasons. To be honest I use as lot of them as a guide rather than prescriptive some of her lunches leave me ravenous (think the tomato and mozzarella salad) so I have a slightly larger portion than she suggests, other snacks I downsize! Maybe the trick is to combine higher calorie snack days with lower calorie lunches, then it all balances out? I think we have to use discretion as we're all different. I'm pretty tall for example so that will make a difference.

I'm quite small and my calorie intakte should be about 1900 kcal/day to keep my weight stable due to a few online calculators. With LPM daily intake is about 1400 kcal/day + sports + 10 k steps - no wonder there are days which leave us hungry. I adapt portion sizes too and i would love to know what she suggests in the 1:1 transform.
But i never know if my adapting leads to plateauing because its too much
But anyway we lost weight in our transform so we are doing things right most of the time.

On of the recipes that confuses me as well is her breakfast smoothie with banana, cacao and coffee - for me more of a scnack, sooo tiny portion!

I was looking at that double dockers recipe again, it is confusing as only a couple of pages previously she says about 1 portion being 1 tbsp with not butters but I reckon the key to this one is she states it's a good snack for high energy days. So I figure if it's the day of a big workout session or whatever then you need the calories, which makes sense but it's not one for a low exercise day. I'm not really going on calories as I find that not very sustainable, I don't have time to be working it all out 🤣 I'm trying to east eat slowly, listen to my body, if I'm still hungry I will have a slightly larger portion than she recommends, she does say you shouldn't feel genuinely hungry and if I am then all bets are off and I lose control. Thanks for the timely reminder last night by the way. I chose to have a snack in the evening, I sat down with it, and I felt I needed it, but it wasn't out of control, stopped at just the little snack I prepped and I stayed on method so pretty happy.

Good morning, nice to hear you managed your evening snack so well.

I only figured out calories because I was interested, I dont count them, too. But i use them as a guide when i eat something thats not in her books or trying some new recipe.
Today i will have to plan meals for the next few days. Yesterday was okay, only 5 k steps, but i had 12 hours university going on so i guess thats okay.
My mood is so bad atm and I dont know why. The weather is really getting on my nerves, its always cold, rainy and windy. my raised beds arent doing well. there is nothing to do but to walk outside and hang out with 1 other person (in Germany we still have lockdown). After 13 months i get the feeling i cant take in no more... I'm vaccinated 2 times and maybe there will be some adaptions for these people but still... I had such a light step in my mood a few weeks ago and now i can feel it fading every day :(
Sorry for the pitty pot!

I will assemble a nice breakfast now to start the day nicely....

BTW my weight was 60.8 kg yesterday.

Aw bless you, it's so hard when lockdown is still ongoing, and I hear you about the weather! I've had some very down periods of time myself over the last few months so I totally get where you're coming from. Can you find some other little ways to do something a bit special? I tried to make a point of picking up my crochet or similar hobbies and make something just for me which definitely helped. Even silly little things like drinking a cup of tea out of a posh cup can make a difference!
I had my hour long HIT and clubbercise class last night. Normally I'd ransacked the fridge after but this time I was ready, I made a little tuna mayonnaise on some oat cakes, had 2 before and 1 after. Also my friend who does the class had bought us both some glowsticks to use in the class which made it more fun! I have a chicken salad all prepped for lunch today when I get home from morning's work. I want to get really ahead on house work etc before weekend too as I have my first vaccine on Friday and worried it will wipe me out for a couple of days and then I'll just slip into bad eating habits due to playing catch up.

Thank you for your kind words. It really helps to speak out about it and to be understood.
Sounds like a perfectly fine evening yesterday, so nice! I will exercise today and try to get some more steps in.

Yes I'm thinking about something nice through the day, but I have no more ideas...i'm having all of this daily since months. My hobbies are swimming (hahah), raised beds (....) and meeting friends (hahah). I dont know what to do at home. Studying would be great I guess!

I did not have any problems with the vaccination, I took Ibuprofen an hour before my meeting and didnt do any sports that day. I prepped meals too, but i didnt really need it. My arm hurt a bit after, thats all.
Good luck!

Ugh, I definitely stretched the circle today! Trying not to dwell on it. I do struggle on Wednesdays, Tuesday's are very intense and Wednesday I have a sort of midweek slump and end up snacking extra and usually junk to pull myself out of it. Not clever! Still, onwards and upwards.
Shame your raised beds aren't doing wel atm, weather is still quite lousy here for gardening too and mice dig up and ate all my broad bean seeds which would have ordinarily been growing well by now. Could you plant some herbs in the house or something like that to focus on for now?

Oh I feel you, Tuesdays are hard for me and on Wednesday I feel like I need the WE and tend to pamper myself a bit too much. Thats why i have zumba tomorrow, which makes me happy and feels like dancing in pre-corona times.
Maybe there is something which could make your day a bit better like a bit of extra love to your meals, extra time for yourself or simply as it is, a cappuccino in a relaxing space? Or phoning/meeting a friend?
I sometimes usw recipes from other fitness blogs like healthy cakes without sugar, "kaiserschmarrn" if you know it, muffins oder pudding. That helps me (most days) to stick to it but feels like a special treat because i dont make these very often.
If you are interested, i can give you some recipes, they are all on the method and dont need fancy things.

I'm sorry for your broad beans! Weather is really cold for May i think.. we had a bit of snow today.
Yes I have some herbs on my window which are doing well despite the weather.

Something which lifted my mood and which i have to laugh about: I got up from my pitty pot, did exercise and tidy up, went to shower and after that I dressed nicely and even used make up I went to a shop which is a bit more expensive where I dont usually shop and I enjoyed it. I took all the time I wanted, I bought some things I dont find in my nearby shop and it felt so luxurious.
I got some regional strawberries, passionfruit and shrimps, sugarfree hazelnut butter, cinnamon bun flavored tea and low calorie ice cream - felt like heaven- i still have to laugh. All on the method and a new sports pant found its way into my bag as well
That really lifted my mood and I am so thankful for your ideas this morning when everything felt overwhelming.

I watched lectures from today (yeah online university has its profits...) while I prepped some meals for tomorrow .
I'm in a good mood and was excited to share that with you, before i will go to bed nice and early.

Have a good night/ good start into your day whenever you read this.
Your messages are always kind of a pleasure pop to me

I'm so glad you've had a good day! I bought myself some new colourful leggings for running the other week and it definitely lift my mood when I put them on 🤣 So yesterday evening ended badly for me diet wise but I'm not going to dwell on it. Yogurt and bran with fruit for breakfast, onwards and upwards! Hope today is good for you and will check in at some point this evening and let you know how everything else went!

I think its important to wear sport clothes you like so we invested wisely here ;)

I went for a walk this morning because it was sunny and I was still in agood mood. All the P's Smoothie is nice, but not my favourite breakfast i think. I have a lot to do today but i will take my time between it to relax mantra for today

Sorry to hear your evening didnt work out as you wanted - but I am shure you will balance it out. Great that you just carry on, no stinking thinking here And thats all that matters.

Well I walked the kids to school in my running gear and then jogged home the long way so that was a good start. Small stray outside the circle when I had a slice of bakewell tart with my lunch but otherwise I've stuck to it. Fish with a bean mash and vine tomatoes for dinner, banana on ryvita for morning snack. Now out at kids swimming classes so extra snacking not possible which helps 🤣

Good morning, sounds like you had a good day! Great!
I had a small step outside the circle too, a friend came over and she made brownies (but not too sweet and without indulgend amounts of chcolate) and i had one. I had no meal in the evening due to a lot of emotional stress, so it balaced out i think.
I did my zumba class and walked 7k steps.

Breakfast was strawberry and passion fruit bircher with pistachioss - dreamy combo! You really need to try it if you havent already.
Lunch will be a shrimp and cashew salad which i also had yesterday. Yummy and refreshing, but not the most filling meal.

I will have to plan meals again tomorrow I think.
Mood is okay :)