I started pre-conditioning on 6/23 and lost 4# that week. The next week I lost another 4# and felt great about it but then I was told I was doing the meal plan incorrectly because I was combining groups on my protien. I was doing like a turkey burger with cheese on it and was told that's a no no on the beige menu. After that we went on a mini vacation and ate out for every meal but I still came back loosing a pound.

Well here is where it gets frustrating for me. I cheated and had Chinese food this past Wednesday. It actually made me feel like crap so I literally tried to drown myself with all the water I was drinking. Since then not only have I gained back 4# but now am not loosing AT ALL. The scale is stuck and it's making me upset that I am drinking so much water, working out, eating all this food and it's not moving the scale. Did my one meal cheat really mess this up that much? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the scale moving again? I really dislike eating how much I have to on the beige menu especially since it's not reflecting on the scale as it had been.

It takes time for your body to adjust, and it sounds like you have had some ups and downs before you have had a chance to really establish a true burn. They say a single cheat takes you out of the metabolic burn, and it takes a full 3 days to reestablish it after that happens. It may seem like you are drowning yourself with water. I know I felt that way at first, but after you've been on program for a while (a month or more!) your body will adapt and it will seem less like drowning. I know when I eat out, it's much harder to stay perfectly on program, so in the beginning I ate out less often, took my salad dressing with me in my handbag, absolutely refused to have anything put on my plate that wasn't on plan, etc. It is amazing how those little licks, tastes, and sips can have an effect if you are carb sensitive like I am! I am not implying that you are me, but just give yourself time. Also, once your weight goes below 200 pounds, your menu will change and you will be eating less. One thing about it, you won't be hungry! Hang in there. It gets easier. We've all been where you are. As another answer, you may want to ask your counselor about Meta Quick. You replace 2 meals a day with a bar or a shake for up to 7 days out of a month, and this gets a really great burn going which carries over for a good while!

I agree with ladystarrider, and wanted to add one thing.

Chinese has a TON of sodium in it and my guess would be you put on 4lbs of water which sounds like a lot of pounds, but isn't that much proportionally. Those 4 lbs will flush out faster than you think in addition to losing some more real fat.

I started out pretty close to where you are and agree, it feels like a lot of food, but believe it or not, I lose at the same pace now than I did then. I eat less now that i'm below 200, but i lose at the same rate, so eating less won't really help. It's not as much about eating 6 oz of protein vs. 4, it's about WHAT you eat, when and in the right combinations. I thought up until a couple months ago, I was allowed to have cheese for dinner and when I stopped doing that twice a week, my weight loss picked up. It really is in the little details.

I have my ups and downs with the program, I hate it and then I love it and it all depends on how i lose that week, but now after almost 5 months, I finally just trust it and don't question as much. It works. Just keep the faith, good luck!

hi all. Goal2010 -- i'm very new to the diet...4 days into preconditioning... you mentioned it's important WHEN you eat as well as what you eat? I have to force myself to eat in the morning and through out the day...but it's in the evening that I struggle. What time should i eat my last snack/meal?

Hi jetperson, this is the part i struggled with at first but finally got the hang of it. They say you need to eat on the following schedule:
- within 1 hr after waking up
- no more than 5 hours between meals (or at least until an hns)
- within 2.5 hours after drinking a HNS
- don't have dinner or your last HNS more than 5 hours before you go to sleep - you want something in your body to help you metabolize all night

What this means for me on the green menu:
- Breakfast + HNS within 1 hour of waking up (7:45)
- Lunch + HNS within 5 hours of breakfast (noon-12:30)
- Afternoon HNS (5:30)
- Dinner (by 8)
- Evening HNS (usually before about 10pm)

Hope that helps!

Thanks ladies for the words of wisdom. I did start seeing movement on the scale yesterday so I'm pretty happy about it. I did realize today that with each "diet" I've ever tried as soon as I see a good weight loss then it seems like I sabatoge myself. I'm taking the Chinese as just that but I'm learning from it. Each and every time I think about eating off plan, I'm going to look back and remember how upset I was when the scale wasn't budging. That one meal really wasn't worth it in the big picture!

Hang in there! In a few days, after being back on program, you'll be down those 4 lbs and then some!! Get back on track and you'll be fine!

We are from the same town - cool!

thanks GOAL for the quick mini-rundown for meal scheduling. I begin yellow menu tomorrow. I'm pretty psyched about the whole thing!

Good luck, I am 9 days in and down 5lbs. I only lost .5 on pre conditioning but I did not try all that hard. It will come off, the menu's do really work