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!

Hello, Can I join you? I love the Louise Parker method and have all her books. I don’t know why I stopped.

I will start today 😀

@indiesearcher welcome! What do you want to lose? And I agree - the food really suits me as there's loads of stuff I like.

I've not yet bought the Stevia - guess truvia is the same thing? Does it really make a difference?

I have finally given on though and ordered the bloody vanilla paste!!!

@Cherryana welcome. Ha yes, I have all 3 books which I dip in and out of every day. I remember before starting that I idly googled her practice and wondered whether I could possibly stretch to it, thinking it would be an investment in my health etc etc

I then saw it was about £1800 for not many weeks and thought 'books it is!' 😬

@indiesearcher I quite fancy sausages but they'd need to be veggie. What were they served with? I dislike mash but suppose could just dry roast the same amount of potatoes!

Hello, may I join you all? I’ve been doing ww, since November, and I’m about 1.5lbs down from my starting weight. It just doesn’t work, especially now with the whole “I’ll eat three Mars bars and then I’ll get the points back with some carrots and a walk” thing. I need hard boundaries (such as those provided by LP method) so I don’t end up as you describe OP, knee deep in processed junk at 4pm every day.

I bought the 6 week and lean for life books second hand off Amazon, and I love them. I think I love her too. I did a week and lost 3lbs and then had a massive work stress thing and my period so I’m considering that the prep week: I’ve got my head around the fact that there is a lot of food prep involved but once you’ve done that, you can really take care of yourself every day with delicious food you’ve chosen, not just the Doritos that your colleagues casually shove under your nose….

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Can I hang out with you?

@Sutra yes come and sit down. I've been absolutely spamming the thread because it's good to see what everyone is up to and it's also keeping me accountable to myself because this is it for me .. I don't have another 'diet' in me and I've got to get a couple of stone off.

I agree with you re the prep sometimes but also once you're in the swing of it, it can be surprisingly quick. The Birchers for example really do take a minute. I also don't find it particularly expensive as some of these plans can be ( although I've just ordered pricey bloody vanilla paste as she's basically worn me down 😜)

Plans like WW just don't suit me. I don't want to count points or syns etc. I've been calorie counting for a few years but was trying to squeeze in as many 'carbs' as I could to my calorie allowance and I don't think it was helping. Right now I'm just selecting a meal or snack from the books and going with it - making tweaks as I need to as I'm vegetarian but sticking to the principles

And I really like her too. She's posh and funny 😄

Hi @HardRockOwl - I too have had to order the vanilla paste! The Truvia is, I think, a newer fancier Stevia(??!)... but it's totally ace in my morning tea. And if the aim is to eliminate sugar then so be it! Sainsburys had a good range of stevia/Truvia options.

The sausage recipe called for high % pork (or chicken) sausages. I used Sainsburys taste the difference 97% ones. I'd have preferred a veggie option too but I really want to follow it religiously in the first week or two. I suppose you could compare nutrient info on those sausages vs a veggie option.

The 'mash' was beans! Mix of cannelini and butter beans with garlic, chard (I had to sub for kale), thyme and lemon. Yummy.

Morning everyone, managed to find some vanilla paste in Tesco yesterday for £5 so not too bad.

Today I'm going to prep and meal plan for the week. I'm going into week 4 of 6 week plan.

I've also downloaded the app which has lots of recipes and you can favourite ones which makes it easier for me.

Morning everyone, managed to find some vanilla paste in Tesco yesterday for £5 so not too bad
I'm surprised at the problems you are having finding vanilla paste. I bought some in Aldi a few weeks ago. Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons also sell ut. I'm from a small northern town where quinoa is still looked at with suspicion!!
I have been unwittingly been more or less following her plan for the last few weeks as I hadnt heard of her until your thread OP.
I just cut out all refined sugar and as much hidden sugar as I could, no heavily processed carbs, no alcohol. It was much easier than I thought . I may order her receipe book for new ideas though.
I've not had baked apricots in ages though!! Quite fancy them now!

Have just reserved all 3 books from the public library. I'll check them out with a view to joining you all ???
I'm concerned that I can't bear porridge/ bircher and hope that's not a barrier!

What is bircher?

I am wondering about trying this. My big problem with food is getting to the point where I am really hungry and then caving and eating loads of crap. I also use it as a reward / comfort. I’m convinced my job makes me fat, after a year on maternity leave where I was healthier than I’ve been since I was in my 20s. Went back to work in September and have gained a stone and a half

I have been doing Cambridge / one to one diet since Friday (1 April, has to be done,or is this just me?) but I may consider this. I have a holiday at Easter so wonder if I could get some meal prep done then.

@HardRockOwl - where do you buy your fruit?? At this time of the year I can't find nice strawberries, raspberries, apricots etc. I find they are generally tasteless and expensive.

Good morning, I'd love to join but I'm just concerned about the expense of ingredients, can anyone say whether they think they are spending a bit more than usual on shipping?
We started to follow SW recipes casually in December and have made some changes such as no alcohol and reduced pasta and bread. I'm 17.5 pounds down but have seen myself eating a lot of chocolate which I never did before, craving biscuits too so something is missing! I want to lose around another 2 stone by mid July. DH is at his goal weight just really wants to eat healthier and he is an amazing cook so we share prep.
I'll have a look on Amazon later. You are all doing amazing and have inspired me.
I'm 50 this year so a lifestyle change and goal weight would be a fab gift for my body xxx

@Wastwater not at all. Lots of the breakfasts are smoothies, eggs, a fry up, fruit based, pancakes. All sorts. So you'll be fine

@ILoveYouMoreTheEnd now I don't know what you'd call expensive and Christ who knows in these hideous times but I've not found it any different really. It's just normal food. And also Louise is fond of saying 'GOOD balsamic vinegar' and 'GOOD eggs' etc etc, I doubt there's a barrier to losing weight if you go for say, the less GOOD eggs.

There's no fancy ingredients really. She may suggest the blood oranges but the normal ones will do just fine

@Wastwater and as to where I buy my fruit.. M&S and Waitrose. I happen to have M&S discount of 20% so that helps! I just can't bear horrible fruit and even with the pricier stuff you can still never be sure. I bought some quite expensive nectarines last week. All... woolly textured. Gross.

@Daisyonthelawn honestly give it a go. It's really nice normal food and I'm very rarely hungry. I speak as someone who actively likes to feel stuffed and I know that's a bit grim. But I could usually eat lunch and feel full but still manage cakes, chocolate and crisps all afternoon. On this I've felt a lot more stable and not had any cravings.

Bircher is basically 40g ish of oats, or oat bran or a mix. Add a little oat milk or orange juice or normal milk or none at all! Dollop of greek yogurt, chia seeds if you fancy it and GOOD VANILLA PASTE

Leave overnight in fridge and top with fruit or nuts in the morning

Here's mine today .. I grated an apple in plus a teeny amount of protein powder and a pinch of cinnamon. Topped with raspberries and walnuts.

Thank you @HardRockOwl

I’m vegetarian too, but I’ve lived all my life pairing my pulses with a heap of eg pasta or rice or bread so I get all my protein. And then often smothering the massive heap with most of the cheese in the fridge

Her point about “delicate portions” really rang true for me.

I’ve just had peanut butter (pure peanuts, nothing else in it) on 2 slices of whole grain toast with a apple. I sliced the apple up to accommodate the instruction to be fancy.

To the folks asking about bircher, I tried it and don’t like it so I tried soaked chia seeds with full fat yogurt and some fruit. I think it fits into the LP plan, it tastes fine without sugar and seems to keep me full. I’d have had that this morning but there’s not much food in. Shopping coming later so I intend to plan and prep like a demon.

Old fashioned because it’s low carb??

I think there’s a lot about it that’s good. A lot of people find they have to adjust the portion sizes up a bit.

I had a Friday night very much out of the circle, oops. Trying to ignore it now and just focus on getting back to it. I've done three weeks now, and my coat that I hadn't been able to do up all winter, now does up!

This looks great. Which book would you all recommend or shall I get all three?

Hello, thanks for the welcome. I got my books off Amazon second hand. My favourite is the first one - Lean for Life and then second is also her second book which is a cookbook.

I also love Louise and really like how she places effort on making it all pleasurable and how you are more likely to stick to it if you like doing/eating it.

I want to lose a stone and a half.

I'm liking the look of this from the foods you are describing , can I join you ? I'm a serial dieter too it seems. I've just been away on holiday and had a big birthday celebration and gained another stone that I desperately need to lose. I tried fast 800 and lost but I just don't think I have it in me to be hungry and deprived again. I do like the quick results it gives initallu though. I have a problem with feeling hungry and I'm a sugar fiend. I've tried so many diets but I always regain the weight through bad habits. I think I adopt all the tricks of every diet and get them all in a mix and justify eating everything. What's the app that you can download? I'm going to order the books today and plan some menus .

@Luredbyapomegranate no. Old fashioned because it was all the rage at one point and then... nothing much really. I used to see the name and think 'meh, overpriced and fancy' and that was even after reading a couple of threads.

It's all keto, intermittent fasting, low carb, etc at the moment and none of that suits me - although I appreciate the LP method isn't exactly laden with pasta and chips (worst luck)

@clpsmum I got all three but I found them on Vinted, an Amazon buyer etc and think I ended up paying about a tenner for them all. I really like the Lean for Life one right now but really, any will do as they all explain the method and they all contain recipes. Maybe also google her name + recipes and you'll come up with more too.