Louise Parker method - final try! Calling the old gang

[TheOwlChronicles]

I know I know. It's another thread

I can't find the last one. Managed to get myself a (cough) small banning for the despicable crime of troll hunting (oops!) but miss the support we all had when we were in the groove of it all

Anyway ... I've held off starting a new thread until I knew I was 'back' instead of this stupid managing a day or two and then falling off the wagon

I've managed nearly a week now and I've lost 7lbs. Have had to dig really deep for this but can feel the immense sugar cravings I had are lessening by the day

Anyone out there?!

ATM suffering dreadfully from a vicious cold, and my appetite is completely gone. Gym is momentarily on pause, as I can hardly stand up!
MSHat, not many Trumpistas at my gym, mostly semi-retired people & a few gym rats, it’s very convivial.
I will report back when my appetite re-appears, currently subsisting on LP bouillabaisse, crackers & low fat yogurt.

Urg @Moanranger that's annoying.
I need a boot up the arse. I am up. Again. Now closing on on 10st. I see no real difference between the snaps I took at 9st 5lb and now, and jeans are still fine in lower size, but a couple of dresses are tighter round my ribs.
Had a self loathing digestive biscuit spiral last night, as well as roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese at dinner. Urg urg urg.
I think it's portion size and " oh that one chip" left over that has got me here and I need to stop.
Activity levels are good to high. All a bit frustrating.

Morning all.

Hope you get better soon MoanRanger

Yup my clothes are also a bit tight. My size 10s are going to end up stretched out with those horrible lines you get from wearing them when they're too small and my size 12s are baggy. I've been living in dresses or leggings and baggy tshirts.

Exercise levels are good, been for lots of walks and swimming. I've been hitting 10k steps every day. I've not been eating loads of food carbs but I really need to knock going to the pub and drinking pints off. I've got a holiday in October, I think I am going to concentrate on living healthy until then and stop drinking. I also need to eat more snacks throughout the day as I'm crap at eating breakfast so end up grabbing lunch at work or a (low carb) meal deal if I'm not in the office, then I eat dinner but it's not eating 5x a day.

Today I'm starting again and will do more prep and planning.

Cha Cha cha's back into the thread!

Ok I took a few weeks off! I didn't want to or mean to but a fucking Pizza Hut pizza knocked me off the wagon and I struggled to get back on.

So after two weeks of stuffing my face, I actually said out loud to myself ' what the hell are you doing?! You lost a stone and a half! You're going to put it all back on AGAIN!'

So I braved the scales and astonishingly I'm only 2 lbs up. Maybe 3 at a push.

So I've got myself together over the weekend and buckled down again and I feel I'm back in the swing of it all.

Off to catch up

How is it going @TheOwlChronicles? I'm shamefacedly crawling back after a debacle lasting several weeks and culminating in this last week where stress levels have been through the roof with DS starting secondary and really not coping. Like you I seem to have got away with only putting on 2 or 3 lb so have evidently been doing just enough to stave off disaster.

Really want to push now though, have been trying to get myself in an evening routine of doing a little face yoga (have an app downloaded) to try and change it up from the 'gosh I'm exhausted let's eat more' routine. It seems to be helping a bit.

Today, very very gentle run (still suffering some kind of injury from all the peak hiking in the summer holidays), breakfast was the mug muffin from the freshwell app, but I did the savoury version with grated courgette, then toasted it lightly after and sprinkled some grated cheese. It was really good and so filling!

On a drink more water mission today...

I wanted to pipe in and say there's a good chance the 2-3 pounds aren't really "weight" pounds, but more just bloating pounds. If you've been eating out of circle, there's a good chance you've eaten something that makes you more bloaty.

For example, if I eat a piece of fried chicken, the next day the scale is FOUR pounds higher, even if it was on a salad and the whole day (besides the fried chicken) was in circle.

How is everyone?

I've discovered I'm lactose intolerant. This has thrown a wrench in a lot of things for me. For example, alternative dairy-free yogurts have only a tiny amount of protein (and sometimes higher calories) than greek. There goes bircher and putting yogurt in my smoothie.

I tried, the other day, putting two spoonfuls in my smoothie (even with lactose pills) and the pain for the next 24 hours reminded me not to do that again.

I'm wondering if anyone knows how to do this for men. My husband is 6'4 compared to my 5'5 and I don't see how he can daintily eat his way through the day on the program. He also has a nickel allergy (all legumes, oats, nuts, soy, and many leafy greens are a no for him).

Hang in there, everyone. I'm still slowly seeing progress but I've had to kick myself about my nightly smoothie stress habit. I think it's what has been holding me down.

Starting weight: 10 stone 8
Current weight: 9 stone 7

Goal: Not sure. I thought this would be it, but there's still some wobbly bits in the lower abdomen that I could do without. What's the term? Mum's apron?

Hi all <waves shyly>

I've accidentally got to the very top of BMI and am about a stone and a half above my happy weight. My jeans burst along the inside leg seams this week. The shame.......

I'm starting back on method this week. I will be slender for Christmas. Anyone out there want to keep me company?

Oh gosh, yes please @Sutra , I've been in a ridiculous downwards spiral mood wise and need to kick myself into touch. I have a drs appointment booked to discuss possible perimenopause issues which I'm hoping will provide new inspiration 😬

Also piled weight back on and was just talking to OH last night that I needed to get myself sorted out and back to eating well. So this thread waking up again is serendipity and I’m back in!

Fabulous, I'm happy to have some buddies!

I've just done an on-method food order.

The LfL book has a section where Louise talks about getting ready. She said "how you feel matters" and that nearly made me cry because I've been totally ignoring how I feel. This is going to change. She also says that you have to decide what you want to achieve and write it down in 5 bullet points.

Mine are:

1. I've got two pairs of gorgeous work trousers that used to hang off my hips. I can't get them past mid thigh at the moment so my first bullet point is that they will fit me again.

2. how I feel will feature in my headspace every day. I'm not going to ignore my feelings because that makes me binge. I'm going to take gentle care of myself

3. I feel so much better when I exercise so I'll pay my daily rent, 15 mins as a minimum.

4. I have beautiful underwear that doesn't fit. Like the work trousers, I will be slinky again, and they will fit!

5. I'm going to keep going, even when it's tough.

Good call, I'm not very good at havong clear points on what I want to achieve, it's all too general which probably doesn't help me. I'm going to have a little think today and come up with some bullet points of my own, will report back later...

Aargh - have just hopped on the scale and my think in ink target is 2 and a half stone. Need to lose 20 lbs to get down to normal BMI.

My plan for next week (and some to be carried forward) is:
• breakfasts: smoothie, porridge from Pret, egg pot from Pret, monkey toast
• Lunches: salads from Pret or salad bar, sushi, soup if at work and soup, omelette or poached eggs if at home
• Snacks: fruit with nuts or nut butter, yoghurt, oatcakes, cheese and fruit
• exercise: run 3xweek, 1 hour Pilates on Sat, 3 x walk 30 mins on days not running
• Bedtime/relaxation: 10.30 bedtime with bath and book. Digital detox from 10. Alarm set for 8am. 1 x massage/yoga/stress management option per week
• NO TAKEAWAY FOOD on Friday (this is our family treat) - buy my own easily cooked treat food earlier in the day if at work and bring home or pop something in the instant pot if working from home. Rest of family can have their takeaway.
• Date night not to include eating out or venue to be chosen in advance and food choices planned.
• NO ALCOHOL and no Diet Coke
• Team lunches: Caesar salad and/or sushi with fruit (these are always on the options we can choose from).
• Plan good choices in advance when eating out to stay as close to inner circle as possible (I have at least 2 client meals coming up in next couple of weeks).

My vision is to drop two dress sizes and treat myself to some new clothes to flatter my newly flatter stomach area!
Wish me luck!

Today I had a lie in so no breakfast. I’ve just had brunch which was a poached egg on toast and taken some chicken out of freezer to defrost to make chicken chorizo and chickpea stew for dinner. I’m in my running gear, headphones are charging and I will go for a gentle run in about half an hour.

Good for all of you for keeping going! We're about to enter holiday season here in the States -- Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas (with my birthday thrown in for fun). I've realized it doesn't have to be a whole SEASON of eating.

Since starting method at the end of March, my body finally really doesn't like sugar anymore. I'm still making a pumpkin cake for Halloween, but bought our candy yesterday and didn't bother getting the chocolate bars I like (and usually eat that night as we hand out candy).

Some upcoming meals for family, mine are modified to stay on method:
Quick chicken curry (rice or Naan for family, wholemeal pita for me)
Pulled Pork and salad
Migas with pulled pork
Cuban sandwiches with said pulled pork (I will just have mine with a slice of wholemeal bread).

My weight had basically stalled for....4 months? I was only losing 1 pound a month. I don't know if it finally started down again because the heat has FINALLY lifted here (maybe 4 months of 43c just means my body is angry and won't lose?). It's still 35c, so I don't know. I'm just happy the stalling has stopped.

Down 19 pounds. Honestly am just one pound above my "goal" weight, but there's this spot around the navel/hips that is so stubborn-- taking Louise's advice and am going to keep going until that spot is gone.

Keep going, everyone! I'm cheering for you.

<creeps back in<

Room for a little (a ha ha ha) one?

Owl! Delighted to have you amongst us! How've you been?

Weighed in this morning... I am a full stone heavier than I was in March. So 14lbs at least to lose. I can do this in 6 weeks can't I?

Yes, we all definitely can @Sutra

I'm aiming for 1 stone initially, then I'll evaluate how I feel and see if I feel an extra half would be perfect. Think in ink targets I've decided to make 2 tier, a couple of short targets per week or fortnight to try and instill habits and the longer term aims.
Longer term -
I have 3 particular of clothing I'd like to wear again!
I want to be more toned.
I want to have more energy and motivation for doing the things I love.
This week-
I will focus on upping my water intake may have mainly been drinking coffee recently... and I need to create a better bedtime routine, one that involves some self care rather than pity eating. I'm going to try and wind down with a face massage and good skincare routine and a book.

Excellent aims there @ElvenDreamer

Yesterday's food times:
B yogurt berries and nuts
L apple and cheese
T roasted vegetables (lots and lots...) with a ball of mozzarella

I was coming of the back of a cake bender so really not hungry!

Today might look similar but with an actual meal at lunchtime and another snack. I need to drink more water too. And exercise...

Has anyone dipped a toe into the circle yet?

The is my fourth day almost completely in the circle. My one step into the middle ring I guess was sushi for lunch on Tuesday but that is such a low cal and healthy option with only a tiny amount of forbidden white rice I’m not really counting it.

I haven’t been as good at paying my rent as my knees were sore and stiff after my run on Sunday and I am being super cautious about that. But I’ve also worked on my bedtime routine and sleep hygiene and that had been much better too.

If I could only get round to tidying up a bit and making my surroundings calm and relaxing it, all would be well in my world.

Well done @Katrinawaves , that sounds a great start. I would say I'm teetering round the edge of the circle, definitely not fully entered yet. I am creating a better environment at home and trying to be calm and organised, but I'm so freaking tired all the time, I just fall into the trap of grazing for energy (which never works anyway!)
Today I had
yoghurt, fruit and bran
Chicken and steamed vegetables
Cheese
Biscuit
Cereal bar

It's all been a bit unstructured tbh and I'm gigging this week so will no doubt arrive home starving which never ends well so assume something else will be consumed later tonight.

Going to keep trying though and I have been better with water intake and paying my 'daily rent.'.

We are in Amsterdam for a long weekend this weekend and so far I’ve been good at staying in the circle. Family have picked this place for dinner though and I’m wondering what would be the best option - none of them are exactly on plan! Any recommendations please?

I was thinking the roasted aubergine but am a bit stuck for a good choice for the main.

https://www.hulschers.com/_files/ugd/92d44c_e83c7a035f834fde912eac6ba53cab03.pdf

I ended up going for the catch of the day which looked and tasted absolutely amazing and was surprisingly on plan

Urg. COVID. That is all.

Hi all can I join you? Desperately need to get on track after dipping my toes in earlier this year! Would be great to have some company on the journey. I have 2 stone to shed. Really hope this thread is still live. I’m in the preparation week.

Welcome sheepdreams.