Her latest book The Louise Parker Method. Lean for Life: The Cookbook means everyone can try it. We asked her some questions….
Can you explain The Method?
It’s based on four pillars – Eat Beautifully – which sees you eating fresh, real food in balanced amounts; Work Out Intelligently which means walking 10,000 steps a day alongside a 15 minute cardio-sculpting workout. Think Successfully – means you ditch ‘stinking thinking’, leave past failures behind you and start this assuming it’s going to work and finally Live Well which helps you create a sense of calm that balances hormones and optimises weight loss. You need all four; the idea that all it takes to lose weight is to ‘eat right and move more’ is ludicrous. If that was it we wouldn’t have a global obesity crisis.
How long does it take to get results?
I ask clients to immerse themselves in the four pillars totally for six weeks. That’s not easy but my mantra is ‘Start Once and Don’t Stop’. If you do this incredible things happen. Your body fat levels plummet, you maintain a healthy metabolism and you feel absolutely amazing but more importantly, The Method, soon becomes something you are – not something you just do. It creates a shift in behaviour that keeps the weight off.
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So, what happens after six weeks?
I liken weight control to a dance. It’s okay to take some steps outside so long as you stay in the inner circle most of the time. I want you to eat salted caramel, sip a cold Rose or enjoy eating out – but the next day, simply get back into the inner circle. We need to end the ‘all or nothing’ mentality – you can enjoy life and have the body you want.’
You don’t ban any food group, that’s unusual in a world dominated by clean eating
There’s a huge difference between ‘clean eating’ and ‘lean eating.’. The awareness about eating real, whole food has been an enormous step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of confusion. I’ve seen a significant rise in clients who’ve been following a ‘clean eating’ sort of diet – but have gained weight. Just because a food is whole or raw or organic it doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all. A sugar-free, gluten-free, chocolate cake is still a chocolate cake and if eating one means you’re eating more calories than your body needs it will turn to fat.
Have you always been super healthy?
No, I hated sport. I was the girl smoking behind the bike sheds and skipping PE to kiss boys. I think part of my success as a trainer is that I can empathise. I wasn’t a naturally skinny girl who loved nothing more than a 10 mile run. I wanted to have my best potential body but also live a fun life and not obsess over my shape. That’s what I try and achieve for my clients now – no client of mine will ever have to eat dinner from a Tupperware!
The Louise Parker Method – Lean For Life: The Cookbook (Hachette, $39.99, hardback, $19.99 eBook) is out now – but you can get started with this amazing recipe below.
Smoky beans on toast
This is the vegan base of my homemade beans, that are so simple to make and great for batch-cooking. If you don’t need this to be veggie, try adding chorizo with the onions instead of the paprika, or vary it with lean bacon and a good dose of Herbes de Provençe.
Serves 4 (with leftovers)
For the beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 thyme sprig
400g (14oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
400g (14oz) can butter beans, drained and rinsed
400g (14oz) can cherry tomatoes
100ml water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
sea salt and black pepper
good handful of flat leaf parsley
leaves, chopped
chilli flakes, to serve
For the toast
4 slices of good wholemeal bread
drizzle of olive oil
1 garlic clove, halved
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
- Heat the olive oil in a casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and stir until the onion is translucent. Now add the paprika and garlic and stir for a minute, before throwing in the thyme, both types of beans, the tomatoes and water. Give it all a quick stir, put the lid on and pop it into the oven for 20 minutes (longer cooking will give you drier beans, so this is a matter of taste). Remove, stir in the red wine vinegar and season to taste.
- Now heat up a griddle pan over a really high heat. Brush both sides of the bread with a tiny bit of olive oil and rub the halved garlic clove swiftly across both sides. Grill each side of the toast on the griddle pan until fragrant and stripy.
- Serve the beans on the toast and sprinkle with the parsley and chilli flakes.
