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!

WOOO HOOO CONGRATULATIONS @HardRockOwl for the 1 stone loss and a lot of NSVs! I too have noticed that I no longer get heartburn

@chloechloe welcome- I also have 3 young dc, they eat what I eat plus a carb. It's quite easy tbh from that point of view

@HardRockOwl congratulations! Very impressive results.

Still prep week for me so I'm trying out recipes. Salmon tartine yesterday - delicious.

Great result HRO -you are an example to us all.
Apprehensive about my next weigh-in. I am in the midst of a challenging week. Trying & failing to avoid getting over-tired. That’s when things can go off the rails for me.

@Moanranger I'm the same .. tiredness leads me to craving carb heavy foods! Good luck to your husband - it's really difficult to cut down on sugar, let alone completely cut it. And it's everywhere! Hidden in all sorts of things.

Had my apple slices and peanut butter which was delicious. Now thinking about what dinner might be .. think I'm gonna settle on roasted veg with either tofu, halloumi or feta

I'm going away up north to see various family in mid May so already thinking about how I'll manage. It's a 250 mile drive and I stay in a premier inn for a few nights. It leads to me eating rubbish usually, as I'm eating out in the evenings, and on top of that, basically living on m and s sandwiches , snacks and pizza etc

I already know that I'm going to have to do another round of this plan and maybe even 3 spins. I've got another 2 stone to lose 😬

I think I'll take a box of mixed nuts, packet of oat cakes, jar of peanut butter, some bananas and berries. That would take care of my snacks

God knows about actual meals though!!

I'm going away up north to see various family in mid May so already thinking about how I'll manage. It's a 250 mile drive and I stay in a premier inn for a few nights. It leads to me eating rubbish usually, as I'm eating out in the evenings, and on top of that, basically living on m and s sandwiches , snacks and pizza etc

I already know that I'm going to have to do another round of this plan and maybe even 3 spins. I've got another 2 stone to lose 😬

I think I'll take a box of mixed nuts, packet of oat cakes, jar of peanut butter, some bananas and berries. That would take care of my snacks

God knows about actual meals though!!

Sorry for that double post. Bloody app glitch

This is me for today:

B - vegan chocolate and rasp Bircher (not to my taste).

S: apple and peanut butter

L: left over lentil bake + watermelon steak.

S: banana

D: green fritters with goats cheese and eggs (delicious).

I'm still a bit hungry. Might chug some water.

Tell you what, though. I've had more energy today than most days. Not sure if it's related to the sharp intake of nutrients over the last 48 hours.

Really well done on the stone Hard Rock Owl!

Back at work for me today so I've found it easier not to eat but exercise much more limited. Did manage a 20 minute yomp round our hilly town before dinner.

B Bircher
L melon and feta salad
D chicken salad with a couple of new potatoes.
Snack - handful of cashew nuts.

Going well then i blew it with an Aldi French fancy. It was pretty nasty actually, really not worth the calories!

First weekly weigh in tomorrow. Would like to be 11st13 (loss of 4.5 lbs) but we will see.

Thanks for the friendly welcome!

Well done on your weight loss @HardRockOwl - that’s impressive! When I did LPM last time round I lost a few centimeters in the two weeks I managed, so it really does work. I just find it hard to stick to. Traveling will no doubt be a challenge, but planning in advance will help for sure.

@NinetyNineRedBalloonsGoBy You’re right, it’s easy enough to give the kids carbs on the side. My main problem is that the quick and easy crowd pleaser is pasta.

So today I had:

B Vanilla Bircher with raspberry and Chia compote.

S Apple and walnuts.

L Carrot and lentil soup (River Cottage Kids Cookbook, from freezer stash).

S Yoghurt with mixed berries.

D Tossed tuna salad.

I struggled to eat all the salad for dinner but now a couple of hours later I’m hungry! I found this last time that I have a few
days of being hungry, I think I’m used to filling up on lots of stodgy carbs.

I haven’t had time to exercise today so will go and do half an hour now that the kids are in bed. I’m doing the 2-weekly routines from the book. I find it much easier to have a fixed routine for 2 weeks as there’s no need to decide which exercises to do or keep looking at the directions. Simplicity is key for me!

Tomorrow I'm out for DH's birthday at a tapas restaurant- any tips on what to have / avoid?

Otherwise the plan for tomorrow is:

B: Greek yoghurt/ nuts .& seeds / blueberries

S: Ryvita with cashew butter and strawberries

L: low GI roll with ham & cheese & salad

S: yoghurt with cinnamon and orange

@keiratwiceknightly ooh best of luck with the weigh in tomorrow. Do report back. Always so satisfying to drop into the next stone bracket too

@NinetyNineRedBalloonsGoBy I'm not very au fait with tapas but I think just stick to the tomato based ones / cheese / seafood / meat ones and avoid anything looking like bread or pasta!

@chloechloe your breakfast sounds nice! I may make a raspberry and chia compote this evening to have tomorrow

Weighed in this morning and I've lost another half a lb, so that's 6lbs in the first week. Chuffed. 11st 12.5 today - my first goal was to get under 11st11 as I've been that for a couple of years before this year; and it puts me at the very top of healthy bmi.

Food today is looking ok
B oatcakes and nut butter
L Greek salad
D vegetable fajita
S hummus and sugar snap peas, apple and almonds.

Good luck to anyone else weighing in today.

Hi all, @HardRockOwl congratulations, this thread is great and I'm so glad you got your first target! @chloechloe 3 DC here too, when I do a pasta dish for them (which is rarely to be fair) I tend to manage to have either saved a portion of something I made earlier in the week for me, or I will have the same sauce as them but put mine on courgetti. Other meals I do as @NinetyNineRedBalloonsGoBy said aswell, I just add a side of rice or potatoes etc for them. Dishes that have things like chickpeas or butter beans in seem to not need anything extra although I make sure I serve them a really decent portion.

I've not done that well in the last couple of days, some really tricky family illness stuff going on led me to initially struggle with eating at all, then binge in response to it. Situation is still ongoing and I really need to get a grip as it's not going to help anyone if I crack up. (Full guilt mode this morning.) On the flip side I have walked flipoing miles and miles to pace off my nervous energy! Plan today is yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, main meal sesame salmon greens (adding wedges for kids), a beets, beef and horseradish salad (Jamie Oliver recipe) for other meal. Not sure on snacks yet but I have oat cakes, nuts, fruit etc in house.

Congratulations HardRockOwl and keiratwiceknightly on your losses.
I have not lost (nor gained) this week, but being honest with myself, I have been slacking a bit. I started reading week 4 in the 6 week plan book, and it is all about avoiding complacency. This is exactly what I needed to hear, so I am back on it. I need to shop today, so I will make a new menu plan and I will keep checking in. So far today, I have had yoghurt with berries and pumpkin seeds and have done my 30 min exercise.
Have a good day everyone!

Hi everyone,

So last Monday my copy of The 6 Week Plan arrived and I did my best to do the groundwork that week, as Louise Parker suggests. I read and planned, did the shop (£20 more expensive than usual - but I'll contra that against the curry takeaway we usually eat on Saturdays by making her recipe instead)

My starting weight is 10st 13lbs.

Yesterday's menus:

B - strawberry & passion fruit Bircher
S - Cashews & seeds
L - TexMex beans
S - Monkey toast
D - Made our usual Mon meal: fusilli with roasted aubergine in a homemade tomato sauce

Today:

B - Choc & raspberry Bircher
S - Cashews & seeds
L - Greek salad frittata
D - Making our usual Tues meal: Homemade veggie 'meatballs' with homemade tomato sauce

I'm self employed and my job is very active as I'm walking over 13K steps a day so I'm usually knackered by early afternoon but my energy level has already improved - hoping the aches and pains will, too!

Well done @HardRockOwl you are such an inspiration! Good luck to everyone else on this ride.

Sorry to hear about the family illness @ElvenDreamer , I hope things improve soon. I’ve been meaning to try courgetti for a while, but DH is Italian and he may divorce me if I suggest substituting pasta with a vegetable! I’m going to start sticking up the freezer with batch cooking - it’s so much easier if you can just grab something for a quick lunch (I WFH) or when the kids are eating off-plan.

@HardRockOwl I often make raspberry compote. It’s super quick to make and DD7 loves it with plain yoghurt - am glad she’ll eat that rather than sugary flavored yoghurt.

Food for today:

B Vanilla Bircher with compote again

S Greek yoghurt with mixed berries (I buy the 5% version as the fat-free stuff is bleurgh!)

L Tossed tuna salad from yesterday

S Apple and walnuts

D Salmon with asparagus plus potatoes for the kids.

On the topic of fat, what is the take on it - there seems to be a mixture of full fat, half fat and low-fat products when it comes to dairy which I find quite confusing!

@GenExer that sounds like a delicious menu! Is it far away from what you'd normally eat? I'm just thinking if the extra £20 was for 'stocking up' on a few bits purposes or if it'll be they going forward

I bought a lovely airtight container which I wanted to fill with nuts. Cost me £25 to fill it!! Wish I'd gone for one slightly smaller now

I find the diet can be as expensive or reasonable as you like though really. I wouldn't ever call it cheap but reasonable can be done depending on choices

@chloechloe I'm not sure what the deal is with the fat! It's certainly not a high fat low carb plan. But it does have a mix doesn't it? The best I can come up with is that it's definitely sugar free and it definitely doesn't seem to allow pasta, potatoes, white rice, white bread etc.

And on the topic of it being a sugar free plan, this definitely extends to things like dates and dried fruits but fresh fruit absolutely fine

I'm three days in. And already feel healthier!

Today:

B: smoothie (oat bran, 1/4 banana, nut milk, cinnamon and vanilla paste).

S: nothing I was on a call.

L: crunchy crab salad (delicious).

S: monkey toast.

D: will be cod and haddock chowder.

Well done to day 3 @Throwawaytoday!