Louren,
on all the hard work exercising. I swear
it will pay off!
Plateaus are really frustrating. Barb's right, though...they do go away, eventually. Going through them is great training for how hard it is to melt away the pounds when you get near the end (both Barb and I know about that!
). The best ways I've heard of breaking plateaus all involve shaking up your routine. Eating less (or, strangely, more!) food, eating different foods, or eating the same foods, but at different times, doing different exercise, doing interval training, or doing the same exercise at different times or different intensities. And, of course, doing as you proposed and examining what you're eating to make sure nothing has snuck in. You might want to read the lists of foods to enjoy/avoid to make sure you didn't forget about something.
I've had that happen!
Keep posting here and let us know how you're doing, okay? We can all help support you through this; we've been through it too!