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!

Hey, I hope you are doing good this weekend :) My week was fine, did over 60k steps and i havent been for a walk today yet. Eating was quite good, too, a little step outside the circle for a glass of prosecco and thats it (despite we were at a chinese buffet!). Feeling really good atm and tomorrow we will start week 3!

I have much more to do next week and I'm going to make it work anyway I hope :)

Sorry, i didnt realize there is a 8th page and didnt see your post until now.

I guess it will take some time (maybe 2 weeks) until you feel your energy levels rise. I also think that your evening snacking habits will do better than because you have more energy through the day and dont need some extras :) Just keep going!

Are you going to weigh yourself tomorrow? I start to see some changes but i'm nervous that my motivation will sink if the scales dont show what i want to see ;)

It sounds like you are doing so well, especially with the temptations associated with meals out etc. I'm not doing so well but working on just not dwelling on it and stepping straight back in the circle. So hoping as I feel less tired I'll have more will power, then once the habits are created, hopefully they will stick. I have upped my exercise a bit and steps going well. I'm not going to weigh myself until the end of this week I've decided as I don't think the scale will have budged, but, I can feel my abs are firmer, my legs look leaner, yesterday I ran 5.5k and felt good pretty much all the way round so I know I'm getting fitter and healthier and that is the main point of the battle really. Week 3 here goes 🙂

I can totally relate with that, I'm looking leaner and feeling much fitter :) You are right to focus on that... I did weigh myself this morning and as I expected, I only lost 700 g so far which is really little.
On the other hand I did have some steps outside the circle, altough this were little ones.
I Always get the feeling that my first LPM transform was the most effective, but i have to admit that i was often hungry on this one and this time i'm not starving myself. Maybe I eat too much from her beans-recipes, too...?

Oatcakes- salty ones:
88 g rolled oats
12 g vegetable oil or butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
warm water

Oatcakes- sweet/neutral ones:
220 g rolled oats
30 g vegetable oil or butter
1 tablespoon baking soda
30-50 g erythrit
1 pinch of salt
optional: a few drops butter vanilla aroma
warm water

Preheat the oven to 185° C.
Place your rolles oats in a blender and blend until they look like flour.
Give them into a larger bowl and mix in all the other ingredients - it comes out quite crumbly, so now add in warm water in small amounts and knead it. The dough is ready when you can roll little balls.
Place them onto your baking sheet and flatten them with wet hands or even better a wet tablespoon.
Bake them for about 15-20 minutes to your prefered crunchiness :)

It's not perfect and maybe it tastes different than the original, but as i dont know the original, i cant do it any better. I guess it will be nice with some spices, too.

I'm going shopping today and there will be some nice treats lurking out for me and i hope i can resist...

Have good start into our new week

My day didn't turn out as I wanted... last night I waked up to go to the toilet first and 2 hours later I waked up starving hungry. I had some banana bread (definiteley outside the circle) and overslept.
I'm quite hungry all day long, for lunch I had the salmon salad which wasnt fullfilling or delicious at all, afternoon tea had a nice brownie for me.... then I had 3 slices of toast (hungry as hell today), evening meal was on the method again but to be honest, I'm still hungry and dont know what to do.
I dont want to start this circle again...I have way too much steps outside the circle ...

It's so hard some days isn't it, I feel your pain, I definitely haven't been very faithful to transform in the first couple of weeks. On Monday I gave myself a stern talking to and yesterday and today have been better. That said I do not believe in feeling hungry, if I get too hungry then I just eat all kinds of stuff when I actually do eat. So if I am not feeling like her dish fills me up, I will have a slightly bigger portion or a bit of something extra. Last night I cooked a lasagne for the family and it's not really practical to extract the pasta from my portion so I just made it with whole wheat pasta. I then had a high impact sports class which normally I'm ravenous after, this time I wasn't and made it into bed without eating an extra bunch of stuff so I'm counting that as a win. Today's main meal was a green lentil and tomato based dish which would be served with spaghetti, I just had mine without and it was really tasty and filling. Fingers crossed for the rest of the day!

You made my day with "That said I do not believe in feeling hungry" :D thats gorgeous and I really get your point. I also try to eat before I'm starving hungy.

Sounds good with your lasagna! You could also make her lentil bake and throw in some lasagna noodles for your family and leave them out for your part. great that you had no snack-attack ;)!

I feel that I am very active atm because my hunger is increasing and i try to see it more relaxed - my body needs more bcause it feels the difference and my body shouldnt be blamed for it.
My day today was quite good, lots of steps and good choices (altough my boyfriend had noodles) :) You are so right - small steps, but consitently.

Do you notice any differences regarding your body already?:)

Mixed feelings about today... I had a lot of steps, but I craved a lot of carbs, too.
I had two slices of bread this morning, pasta for lunch with my mom and a mini pot of warm porrdige. I try not to make a big fuss but it bothers me, still...

I hope you had a nice day

I know what you mean, I think some days we do need more carbs, I think intuitive eating is something that is quite important, I often find the day after a really intense workout I find I need more.
I've hit on a good easy snack incidentally, we have chickens and an excess of eggs at the moment so I've taken to hard boiling a bunch and then just keeping them in the fridge to grab whenever I feel like it.
Today was pretty good, easy out and about and busy so not time to eat too much really and made mostly good choices when I did. Yesterday was a bit more hit and miss. I don't think I've lost any weight this transform yet but my face looks a little leaner, so I'll take that! Just wish I could lose a few cm off my waist, that's the main bug bear. It seems to go from everywhere else 1st and that's the one place I need! Have a good day tomorrow 🙂

I hear a lot about intuitive eating these days and it sounds good to me because I really struggle with trusting my body and its needs.
I am so confused about portion sizes for example, I still thinks LPM meals are too small for that much exercise and it leads to cravings for me.
I had a doctors apointment yesterday and I lack some minerals which I have to supplement over the next weeks.

That's both of us on supplements now then! Hopefully it will help us 🙂 Yes I definitely agree over the portion sizes, I have been loosely applying the idea of using the size of your hand to decide on volume of foods, eg 2 double handfuls for salad, meat only size of palm etc. (Cant remember all the specifics off hand, I occasionally re-Google it.) I do remember reading somewhere, cant remember if in 1 of the books or on her website, that porti0n sizes do have to be tailored for the individual and obviously in her clinic she does that. I think we need different amounts at different ages too as how our bodies work changes etc. And levels of exercise and even brain activity all play a part I suspect.

I have started well today by making myself get up bright and early and go for a run, only 4.36k but felt good, then yoghurt, bran and fruit for breakfast.

Yes I know this portion size thing, but it always leaves me hungry...I could have 1 piece of toast then but thats somehow never enough....
With internet calculation I need about 1900 kcal/day so LPM meals should fit me on most days to get enough, but still get a deficit..I dont know. maybe I am overthinking things.

I had cake with my family which was absolutely nice and very little bit of rice and indian curry which was nice, too.
I feel I am lossening the reins too much

I'm so frustrated...I put one slightly more weight instead of losing anything........ How is that possible?!

I don't dare step on the scales, someday I feel like I do look slimmer, other days not. I think I'm not taking it seriously enough, maybe I need to push through the feeling hungry bit for a few weeks, perhaps it takes that to get used too. But then that seems to go against the core message of the method. Yesterday I did pretty well all day, then stopped concentrating and blew it all by eating a load of rubbish in the evening.

I feel exactly the same and to be honest I dont want to punish myself and feel hungry for days or even weeks.
The evenings are really a thing for you and I dont know what I could say to help you... I dont struggle with that. Just dont blow it all of, every day is a new day and every meal is a new choice.

Ok, so I'm forming a plan for the next week. I think maybe we're focusing too much on food which maybe doesn't help the mental state. In theory we don't need to, we plan the weeks food then stop thinking, eat what is planned. Instead I'm going to focus on thinking about the other 3 pillars this week, really put my mind to self care etc, make sure my mind is occupied by other things. Maybe that way I'll 1)eat what I intended, 2) not feel too hungry as am distracted, 3) all other aspects should improve and therefore quality if life and satisfaction with it. I do feel I've neglected the other pillars a bit!

That sounds good :)!

I totally messed up today...lots of bread and chocolate, cookies, stinking thinking kicking back in.
I dont have any results after 3 weeks, I wont make it work etc...

Right, it's Monday morning, I am calling this week 1 again. I haven't really been dedicated this time round. So, lots of focus on all the pillars, food is planned so I'm just not going to think about it. Really going to make the effort to push through this time and if I slip occasionally, as you say, we mustn't fall into stinking thinking. We can do this, we know we can, we've done it before!

Good morning, sounds good for me...!

Ok, so Monday and Tuesday went well. All meals on method, no extra snacking, steps around 13k both days. I had a good walk on Monday then did a HIIT and Clubbercise class on Tuesday. Got on top of the housework so my environment is nice and calm and a friend came round with a beautiful bunch of flowers which was an unexpected pleasure pop and they make me smile each time I see them. Monday I did well for digital detox, Tuesday less so, I'm going to make that a focus for the next few days. How has your week started?

Total desaster to be honest... lots of steps, ice, donuts and not one meal on the method. I dont know if I want to continue, eating has become such a struggle for me and I have lost all common sense and apetite. I loathe green veggies and protein sources and all that things.... Maybe I will go back to calorie counting, that way I could eat what I want and dont restrict myself.

Aw bless you, totally understand, the same things don't work for everyone. I think the reason I still like it is my primary motivator is to get healthy so actively avoiding sugar etc was something I wanted to do anyway, plus I don't stick to her recipes but adapt others I already enjoyed. You have to do what works best for you though so good luck with whatever you decide, you know where to find me if you do want any further Lean for Life chat though!

Yeah that was part of my motivation, too. I really feel how I'm getting fitter and healthier with LPM and that's why I want to continue with her recipes. I also want to conitnue to chat with you if you want to - I really enjoy swapping thoughts with you.
I think I will incorporate more carbs and some sweets, but in the range of my calories because I still want to drop a bit until the wedding,

How are you doing? Do you notice any difference since you started your supplements?

Yes I have a bit, I still get tired but I think it's a bit more in the 'normal' range of busy person with 3 kids! I don't have that overwhelming, bone deep lethargy all the time and that has made a huge difference to my mood if nothing else! Yesterday was a feeling tired day (Wednesday often is for me) and consequently I ate more than I intended trying to get my energy up. I need to remember to just rest. Today is better. I am also incorporating a few more carbs than Transform suggests in the form of brown rice and some potatoes-have lots of potatoes in the garden so no way am I not using them! I just have smaller portions than the rest of the family. Hope you have a good day 🙂

That sounds good, hopefully I will see differences for me, too :) I had my walk and will do some exercises now (habits.. :) )