I was on the fence about writing this post. I’m not a nutritionist and I’m not the type of person to promote what might be perceived as a diet. But, when I thought about it a little more, if I didn’t already know about this, I’d probably want to know. So, I’m sharing it with you now. I first tried the Louse Parker Method seven years ago, when a few of those post-pregnancy pounds refused to budge and I still follow it, sometimes to a greater and sometimes to a lesser extent. Because it isn’t a diet or a fad; it’s principles to live by and an education in nutrition and efficient exercise that help to keep you feeling at your best. When I first tried the Louise Parker Method, I had no idea about nutrition or how to tone up, or the habits upon which to build a heathy and sustainable approach to both.  But I knew I wasn’t looking for a crash diet either. I really don’t do well on diets because I really don’t believe in them.

As I’ve already mentioned, I’m not a nutritionist, but I can speak from my own midlife experience, in which I’m pretty certain I’m not alone. While experiencing midlife is unquestionably a blessing, it’s not without its challenges. One of the most annoying things I’ve found is how much faster the pounds creep on than at other points in life. The causes are well known and include hormonal changes, as well as increased stress levels and decreased physical activity. The latter is completely understandable when you consider how hectic our schedules are, which nuke’s our free time for exercise and sends our tiredness levels through the roof. Our hormone levels also contribute to our fatigue, which makes exercise quite the chore.  It’s the prefect storm of factors to boosting our weight! Yay! But maybe you’re not ready for the midlife spread, but you’re not certain how to counteract it?  There’s also the added complication that in midlife, we really can’t deprive ourselves in the nutrition department if we want to avoid premature ageing, hair loss and other such joys. It’s a fine balance! Goodness, I’m a bit stressed out just thinking about it all. That’s why it’s brilliant to have a reliable, tired and tested method like the Louise Parker 6 Week Programme to fall back on.

The Louise Parker Method gets the demands of life including those of a working mum. She’s one herself. The Louise Parker 6 Week Programme holds your hand through the process of shaping up and feeling your very best, while treating your body like a temple. Not an enemy!  It’s not about becoming evangelical in what you eat. It’s all about balance. And that’s what we need. I have absolutely zero interest in any extreme regime. I’m not so fixated on maintaining a particular number on the scales that I’ll miss out on fantastic tastes and indulgences when the notion takes me. They’re good for the soul, and that’s important too!  Fortunately, these don’t affect your success with Louise Parker, it’s all about moderation. 80% good and 20% not, is the ideal. These ratios do go out the window on holiday and at weekends, but when my jeans let me know I’ve overdone it, I can redress the balance. It’s incredibly flexible. It’s also not about feeling guilty. Guilt leads to stress and we really don’t need any more of that in our lives, do we? This is about feeling good and having the knowledge to ensure it!

There are four pillars to the Programme: thinking successfully, living well, eating beautifully and working out intelligently. There are also three phases to the Programme: Transform, Balance and Lifestyle. Once you’ve done all three, you really don’t think about any of this again. It just becomes your new normal. The Transform phase, I’m not going to lie, is pretty tough. It’s eating according to the method which is big on protein and portion control and light on carbohydrate. But it’s definitely not carb-free. That would be a no, no for me. It’s all about filling up on the really good stuff, no junk allowed!  It also introduces exercise into your everyday. This is in the form of very efficient and effective, progressive workouts, the results of which you see pretty quickly.  This phase is intended to set the lifestyle changes in place and to form habits. Once completed, you shouldn’t need to do it again. Because once you know, you know. And, you’ll be so pleased with the results, that happen pretty quickly after starting, you won’t even question it. You then move onto the Balance phase which is a reintroduction of foods considered ‘worth its’ and then the Lifestyle phase, which is really just your new normal.

This sounds like a huge commitment, but it boils down to taking at least 10,000 steps a day as well as a 15-minute home workout.  There’s a range of exercises to choose from in the book, so it’s completely personal to you and therefore more likely to last. Think squats, lunges and the like. The whole idea is creating habits that endure. You can do these in your PJs first thing in the morning, or last thing at night. It really doesn’t matter! You don’t need gym gear or equipment. But you’ll be toning up and using muscles you forgot even existed!

The programme is based on three meals and two snack daily, which are a carefully balanced combination of a little protein, a little good fat and a good dose of low-GI carbs. There are so many recipes and combinations to choose from in the book, as well as the others Louise has written It’s all about flexibility and giving you the freedom to choose what you want to eat. You’ll have no problem finding something you like. You’ll also have the knowledge to tweak recipes to suit you. And it doesn’t taste or look at all like a diet. In some cases, I ended up eating more than I had done previously. The idea isn’t to starve yourself! It’s just an adjustment in habits and eating well. Packing in the nutrition! If you don’t stick to it for whatever reason, it’s not the end of the world, or anything like it. You just look forwards and continue, you don’t quit!

Unfortunately, sugar is considered the enemy of the plan. I have a tremendous sweet tooth and I love to bake, but I’ve still managed to do the Louise Parker Method and continue to rely on it seven years later. The only time I pretty much entirely cut out sugar was during the Transform stage, which is all that’s required. It’s not forever. Which again, is why this works. I wouldn’t want to feel forced to give up what I love, long term!  I still eat sugar every day, but now it’s once daily and not scattered continually through the day, like the old me. The fact that’ve cut it down and don’t notice it at all is probably one of my biggest wins with the programme. We all know sugar isn’t great for us. But a little of what we love is essential. It’s got to work for you, to work at all!

This is a whirlwind guide to the Louise Parker Method. Louise’s book, however, is a step-by-step, user friendly education in mindset, nutrition and efficient exercise. It helps you to feel at your very best and stay there.