[NCRed]

Hi everybody,
I weighed in this morning and had a dissapointing 1.2 lb. loss. I started off so good and then it seems like the scales are stuck. I stayed the same last week and then this week only 1.2. One of the things the councelor said was to lay off the bannanas and raisins But I travel for a living and it is hard to take an orange in my briefcase on the plane so I have been taking the little boxes of raisins. She said they (and bannanas) are high in sugar. I lived off of chicken ceasar salads last week and she says the ceasar dressing is loaded with salt (even though I had it on the side and only used a litte).
and I need to cut back on that. Any ideas of how I could get my fruits in and have something I could travel with?
Thanks a lot

[MomOfThreeTeens]

how about dried fruit, like apples or banana chips?

[Dan2112]

Whoa! It's ok!! Any loss is a victory (Boy, does that sound cliche-ish!)... As my wife will tell you, there are good weeks, great weeks and really bad weeks... At first, I was dropping weight like a madman, but I evened out and plateaued.. I'm at the point now where even a 1 lbs. loss makes me feel good..

Ok.. Pep talk over...
Your counselor is right about the banannas.. There's a reason why 1/2 counts as a fruit serving.. In addition to the sugar, they are very starchy.
I also eat a lot of salads, but have had to really watch the dressing (even on the side).. Counteract the salty dressing with more water (with lemon)...

As for fruits.. Apples and grapes work the best for me on the road.. I've even taken to buying the pre-sliced apples (more expensive, but easier for me to eat.. Also, no core to have find a place to throw away!)... Rasberries, while a bit messy sometimes, are a really good fruit to eat as they are very high in fiber. You can also try drinking V8 Fusion (NOT SPLASH!) as they give you 2 veg servings as well as a fruit..

But be careful with those, as the individual bottles don't seem to come in "lite" varieties. The big bottles do, however, so you could pour a serving into a water bottle.

When I travel, I also carry a baggie with grape tomatoes and carrot sticks.. Makes it much easier to pass on the snacks at the gas stations!

[KrispieD]

I was going to say baby carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and I'm always on the run too so rarely leave the house without a baggie with my 15 grapes in it. I've also been buying a lot of the unsweetened applesauce, the individuals ones are 1/2 cup as allotted on plan.. I have one in the car between appointments.. just remember to pack a spoon!

[bizlawchik]

In addition to the above, you can take the pouches of tuna or chicken with you. You can get the individual packets of lite mayo at Costco (or steal some from McDonalds - LOL).

Wishbone Salad Spritzers hold up pretty well without refrigeration.

[mamato2girls]

Just like the unsweetened applesauce, you can also pack the individual canned or plastic containers of fruit. Just make sure that their packed in juice and not syrup.

[Mama Nicole]

Do you drive or fly for your travels?

[NCRed]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I fly most of the time so I am forced to eat in the airport a lot. Even though a lot of places have started to get more healthy things such as salads, it is still a challenge. I think I ate chicken ceasar salad at least five times last week but my councelor says to lay off the ceasar dressing because it is too salty. I carried my LALites with me and I attempted to carry some string cheese but I did not have anywhere to refrigerate it so I ended up throwing it away after it stayed in my bag for a couple of days. Someone mentioned dried fruit. Can we have dried fruit?
I would have thought it would have to much concentrated sugar in it. If anyone knows of a particular kind that works with our plan please let me know. Thanks for the help.

[hdsqrl]

Just a thought about the caesar salads - I realize that the caesar salads are better than others because all they usually have is romaine, chicken, and maybe some parm cheese & croutons, but how about ordering one of those but asking for them to give you whatever LF dressing they have, instead? I've found that McD's chicken caesar is GREAT with their LF Asian sesame/ginger/whatever dressing.

Oddly enough, I've had some fast food workers insist that "the caesar salad COMES with the caesar dressing", as if it boggles their minds to even THINK of changing up the dressings, but they'll usually make the switch for you if you insist on it.

[brittyboo07]

Well the refrigeration part is actually very easy to solve well kind of. You can pack your lunch in a thermal lunch bag/box that you have to put one of those frozen packs in to keep things chilled. Then at night when you are at a hotel you will have to refreeze it. Most hotel rooms now come with the mini fridge that has that tiny freezer in it. Then whatever else you have in the lunch box/bag can be put into the fridge to remain cold until the next day. That is how I would do it. I know it is kind of hard to have to pack all of those things for a trip but better safe than sorry right! You can also get those light done right salad dressings in the individual packages i think you get like 10 to a box or so and they do not have to be refridgerated.

[Kimphin]

I would avoid dried fruit for the same reason as the raisins - a lot of sugar.

I usually travel with the Wish Bone salad sprays in my briefcase. Then I can order any salad and use the spray on it. I've also become a fan of unsweeted applesauce, but 50% of the time I forget my spoon!