[bananalana]

I am on about week 7. I gain and loose the same 3 pounds. This has been happening for the last 3 weeks. I can't stand it! Has this happened to anyone else? I follow the plan as best as I can ( I travel for my job a lot and sometimes my food choices in restaraunts deviate from the plan due to the menu) I drink 8 to 10 glasses of water. The only foods I don't allways get in completely are the fruits. The staff at the center have NO CLUE what to suggest to me. And they don't understand the fact that I travel for my job and have to eat in restaraunts. The other night in a restaraunt I ordered a white chicken breast, baked potatoe and steamed veggies. The girl at LA said "maybe it is the baked potatoe you had?" What the #$%%^^&^ isn't a potatoe a starch? And I didn't even load it with the extra's. How sad is that...if I knew I was going to gain weight I would have went HOG WILD with the extra's. HELP!!!!! I can't stand it!

[starofsorrow]

It might be that you're on a weird plateau. I've heard that for a lot of people on the forums...what they did to break was to eat more than what they were supposed to eat (just a BIT more, not a whole lot!) for a day or two, and it'll get started on the weight loss again. Though I'm not 100% sure. I haven't hit a plateau yet. =/

[ChefsGirl]

I just got over a plateau. I was in the same boat, gaining and losing the same 5 pounds. But I know it was what I was putting in my mouth. I went back to the Express plan and followed it exactly. It took me 4 days to start seeing good results and now I'm over the hump.

It sucks that your COD can't give you any better advice than that. That is a huge challenge - traveling.

Are you having business dinners, is that why you have to eat in the restaraunts? If not, maybe you could start traveling w/ more of your own preportioned food? It'll take a ton of preparation, but may get you back on track.

[cecil]

Yeah I can't imagine being able to follow the plan eating at restaurants everyday. I usually limit my self to once a week and I always see a gain. Regardless of what I have I am sure that it's the sodium or how it's prepared.
I agree with Jill try bringing food with you, or drink a ton of water while you are at dinner and then have a salad and chicken or something?
That's a tough one!

[BarbaraB]

Bananalana, You are probably just on a plateau. Portion sizes at restaurants are often way too much, so you have to be extremely careful. I know it is very difficult to weigh and measure when you are at a restaurant, but the probability that you are getting too large of portions is very high there. Remember that one serving of chicken is just the size of the palm of your hand and only that thickness too. So be real with yourself. I recall that 1 starch is only 1/2 of a small potato. So if you are eating a whole large potato you might be going way, way over. The salt in restaurants is likely going to cause you to retain water too. Some people do avoid potatoes during weight loss... I didn't find it to be a problem, but you have to really watch the portion sizes, as one serving is not a lot of potato.

[frustratedieter]

Don't know if this might be it...but I can relate to this from other programs I've been on! Could be you're "insulin resistant" and there are too many carbs (think sweetners in low-carb prepared foods). If this is the case you will have to research it. I'm insulin resistant and did Weight Watchers, a low-fat diet (called Thin & Healthy) and some others. After I did my research I found that South Beach is the way I need to go. It's really too involved here to go into the insulin resistant thing but if I were you I'd find out.

[betty big bum]

Uh how frustrating!

I bet it is the eating out, even though you're being conscious they probably use more oil and salt in things then we would at home.

Do you like greek food? Or chicken with salad? Last time I lost weight if I was out I would go for a big salad with chicken in it - just be careful of the dressing. You could ask for some oil and vinegar on the side, that way you know what you're getting.

I admire you for sticking to plan at restaurants.
Here.. have a dancing carrot to brighten your day...

[marzbe]

When I was dropping, I played with the same 4 pounds for the better part of 4 month. Yeah it sucks.

I also had a really great COD staff who had all lost massive weight on LA and kept it off, so they were beyond sympathetich and idea filled when it came to my frustrations. I was actually instructed to spend a day totally ignoring plan, to go out and eat chinese food or a cheeseburger, to do what my body craved. It worked, I broke the 4 pound barrier, only to go right back to it when I went into stabilization.

Try upping your water, I actually find that now when I'm slumping that's what my savior is. I just switched hours at work, and now that I'm not wheeling my crap through the store with me, I'm not drinking nearly as much water as I used to, and it makes a major difference. Especially with eating restuarant meals when traveling, the water will flush out the excess salt and that sometimes makes a major difference.