Louise Parker method anyone? I know it's a bit old fashioned now ..

[HardRockOwl]

But I've decided to give it a go

The food is the sort of stuff I like to eat although I'll have to make some substitutes as I'm a vegetarian. But I love Bircher, porridge, all her snacks and salads etc

I'm starting tomorrow and wondered if anyone had some advice regarding the method or stories

Thanks!

Well done on all your amazing losses. Thanks @Topazpearlagain and @HardRockOwl. You may be right on the lag. Tomorrow is officially a week since I started the plan so will weigh in then and see what the week’s result is. I used to lose weight easily but now I am older and perimenopausal the weight loss is painfully slow. It took me around 18months before to lose my first 3 stone despite being strict with myself most of the time. It is all a step in the right direction so will just keeping plodding on. I have had bread 3 times this week, including this morning so will try not having any for the next week and see if that helps. Met my MIL for breakfast as planned and had granary toast, with a scraping of marg. I didn’t fancy dry toast so thought about jam but as it is so sugary I went with the marg instead. Slightly out of the circle but not terrible and wasn’t hungry for lunch afterwards so hopefully that balances out. As the weather was so lovely we went for a walk afterwards too so got some steps in.

Just tried a cashew butter oatcake. Very nice actually.

I'm going to start trying to follow the proportions but with some family recipes. Tonight is Heck chicken meatballs in tomato sauce with cannellini beans and a spinach and beetroot salad.

Tomorrow will do the mackerel salad. Bought some oat bran so will try Bircher of some some description tomorrow. I normally have overnight oats or fruit and fibre but I guess the dried fruit is out.

Sounds like a good plan @RinklyRomaine. I haven’t tried cashew butter but I love peanut butter on oatcakes.

@RinklyRomaine sadly no dried fruit. Not a hint of any anywhere Porridge oats fine to use though if you don't fancy the oat bran. I mix them both together as I'm not the biggest oat bran fan. Hardly delicious is it?

Well, today I've had ..

Porridge with strawberries and a few nuts

Cherry & blueberry smoothie made with oat milk and Total 2% Greek yogurt

Wholemeal pitta with 3 rashers of plant kitchen bacon, salad and a little hummus

Oat milk hot chocolate made with green + blacks cocoa powder, cinnamon and a pinch of stevia

Tonight is pizza night at a friends 50th! I'm going to eat beforehand - probably - plant kitchen bbq pieces with quinoa + salad . I'm hoping that no one will particularly care what I'm putting on my plate this evening - I won't eat the pizza

And that's sad because I LOVE 🍕

I've tried to keep my snacks a bit lighter today - the smoothie and the hot chocolate so hoping that may help with losses

It helps that I don't feel particularly starving at any point really. And I've had a 'Non Scale Victory!'

I was suffering horribly with heartburn - purely caused by how I was eating. And of course what I was eating. Lots of sweets, chocolate bars, ice cream, sandwiches + crisps. And I wasn't eating meals really as too full from aforementioned snacks! And this was causing horrible heartburn

Anyway, I've not had that for a week now so didn't take long to clear up totally.

Oops sorry I missed mention of dried fruit!

Dinner was indeed as I thought it would be. Added in a little hummus and im hopefully too full to manage pizza 🍕

Enjoy your friend’s birthday @HardRockOwl. Good idea to eat beforehand so you’re not too hungry.

Managed the evening with just a Diet Coke - despite there being bowls of crisps, loads of pizzas and birthday cake! Wasn't too painful tbh as I wasn't particularly hungry - it did smell good though!!

Well done! The planning and having something to eat beforehand worked. I could’ve resisted the crisps and cake but not the pizza

@EssexLioness I do absolutely love pizza and would semi regularly have a large dominos to myself - I'd have to leave the crusts but still... perfectly capable of putting one away. Has to be a piping hot dominos though - I don't like them lukewarm!

I’m so peed off… just got scales after a week on plan and I am exactly the same weight as I was before! I get so annoyed with my body as it just does not want to shift weight lately. 10 years ago it would’ve dropped off me.

Oops just checked my weight from last week and I’m 0.1kg heavier! So I’ve actually gained! FFS

Morning everyone, try not to worry too much about numbers @EssexLioness, remember muscle weighs more, how do you actually feel in yourself? I am personally really struggling in the evenings, I eat beautifully all day, then in the evenings binge like some kind of out of control animal, I'm not even hungry, it's just compulsive. It started in lockdown as a way of controlling something in life I think, and I'm really struggling to break the habit so any tips gratefully received.
Plan for today is to get out as a family so that will be good for steps. Breakfast will be yogurt with bran and fruit, salmon with veggies for main meal, a salad, then snack on oat cakes, hard boiled egg, blueberries.

Thanks @ElvenDreamer. I feel ok in myself I guess but I really need to lose this last stone in weight. I go away end of this month for a couple of days plus holiday mid May so bound to put on then and wanted to lose beforehand so at least I wouldn’t be heavier.

Muscle does weigh more that’s true but I am still pretty flabby and in overweight category. I don’t think I have packed on extra muscle in one week. I will stick with it and see what happens but I do find it depressing when I eat well, workout a lot and still don’t see the benefits. I know I had the blip on Saturday but usually a little wobble like that wouldn’t have made a difference.

Anyway plan for today:
Breakfast: had banana and coffee
Lunch: quinoa, roast veg and tahini dressing
Dinner: protein shake
Snack: oat cakes with pb or yogurt with fruit.

I don't think muscle does weigh more tbh - that's a bit of an urban myth. What muscle does do though is take up less volume as it's a lot denser than fat.

Try not to get disheartened @EssexLioness ... I'd have a week of being completely 'in the circle' .. no stepping out at all if you can manage it and making sure portions are correct, snacks are all 'approved' and water intact is decent - that's where I fall down! Maybe write down everything too. And just select recipes from the books if you can.

Those would be my tips for hopefully having a good reset

After all, no matter what plan we are following, the fact is that it all comes down to calories in vs calories out and not taking in more than we need. But it can be trickier when peri-menopausal and I certainly can find it tougher.

Chin up though - it'll happen

@EssexLioness another point! Are you actually overweight? As in, do you not have much to lose at all? This will also have an impact if you're only, say, half a stone over normal weight

@ElvenDreamer so hard isn't it when the snack monster rears it's head? All I can suggest is maybe taking yourself off for a bath and reading a gripping book. Brush your teeth after your last meal. The use a strong mouthwash so you can't eat. Or just really think about how you've done so brilliantly being on plan all day and tell yourself you're going to have a cup of tea and that's all and you'll bask in feeling all smug.

But I know it's so so hard all this stuff. I have to be vigilant every day because it's so easy for me to give myself 'permission' to go off piste

I've been saving one of my on plan snacks to have in the evening - instead of having one morning and one afternoon, I have them afternoon and evening .

@EssexLioness Oh it’s so disheartening isn’t it? I would suggest taking all of your measurements- chest/waist/stomach/hips and then seeing if they change over the weeks. You can be losing cm/inches without seeing the scales change. Keep going, I know how you feel- those pesky hormones.

Thanks everyone. I will make a big effort to stay in the circle 100% this week and see what happens. @HardRockOwl yes I am definitely overweight. I am 1 stone over the top of my healthy weight range, and my BMI is 27. Weight has slowly crept up since Christmas as I was only 1/2 stone over before that.
I have been writing everything down, and except for Fri my calories were between 1000-1200. My water intake is good as apart from one decaff coffee most mornings all I drink is plain water. Honestly I try so hard most weeks and get really frustrated at my lack of progress. I eat (mostly) really healthily, exercise is over recommended amount per week etc. @TheWreathLady I take my measurements too but they haven’t changed since September last year. I did think this morning though I might start taking photos every month or so, as I can see clearer muscle definition so that may be more motivating. But I really need the scales to move to as I want to be a healthy weight. Anyway, will stick with it but just needed my moan today. I know how my body is but I had high hopes switching to a different way of eating so I think that’s why I am extra disappointed today.

I wonder EssexLioness if you are eating enough? Your plan for today looks a lot less than the days shown in the one-week plan in the book linked earlier. I’m sure I’ve read that eating too little forces your body to double-down on holding onto your fat stores (again, could well be urban myth, but worth a thought).

So annoying @EssexLioness

If it makes you feel any better I have been thinking the last week or so's slight effort had seen me drop a kg or two. Until this morning when I found a baby toothbrush wedged under the scales. Humph.

Tried the oatbran this morning. It's nice enough and makes more than I expected but not keen on it with all yoghurt, it's a little tart for me. Will try a mix of milk and yoghurt tonight and some chocolate PB powder.

Asian beef slaw tonight, was thinking the tricolour salad for lunch but 1/4 of an avocado, really? I don't need a whole ball of mozzarella, could do half of that with more avocado or is that the wrong sort of tweak?

@Topazpearlagain I have thought the same but I am fairly short. Have tried increasing calories in the past and it didn’t help.
@RinklyRomaine the toothbrush under scales is funny. Glad you’ve worked it out now!

@RinklyRomaine I'd definitely tweak that, yes. Half an avocado and a 1/3rd of the mozzarella probably. 1/4 of avocado is barely worth bothering about is it!

I'm having a hungry day today. So far ..

Porridge with cinnamon, strawberries + 2% Greek yogurt

Slice of rye with cashew nut butter + 1/2 sliced banana

Bowl of quinoa with hummus, pomegranate seeds, salad leaves + plant kitchen BBQ pieces