I went in to WI today and was down .2 pounds which I accept without any bewilderment or confusion as to why not more. I know I have been hovering for the last month and half playing with the same 2 pounds (up and down) and I know why. I am bored and I am persnickety about what I will and will not eat.

However, my "favorite" counselor - I call her Attilla - has decided that today - she and only she can boost my weight loss efforts by giving me a lecture about my choices, going through my diary with a fine toothed flea comb and attempting to make me feel like a failure. Then she informed me that because clients are abusing certain foods - she wants me to cut out salads (abuse of dressing), peanut butter and bananas for the next two weeks. I told her she was nuts and if she really thought I would buy into that she had another thing coming. If I cut out salads - there is no way I will get in 4V a day and I eat peanut butter and banana on toast for breakfast two to three times a week! It is quick, easy and legal!

Has anyone else been told this? I am completely confused and somewhat angry that someone would actually think this is a good suggestion...

Hi there - I have had the "banana talk" and my COD frowns on peanut butter more than 1 or 2 times a week. I haven't heard the salad comments, but I could see where they'd be concerned about over-use of dressing (which is easy to do) because of high sodium content. Also, I have had them tell me "No Lean Cuisines" which I took seriously & stopped doing, but it didn't help me lose any faster, and when I went back to them for a week (I work, so it is an easy solution for lunch), I ended up losing 3+ pounds that week!

So, hopefully this will help you feel less like you're being picked on...

BTW, my COD goes through your journal with a YELLOW highlighter, so it really is kind of like being in grade school when they have that talk with you!
Don't let it ruin your Saturday...

I've had these talks a billion times, as well. They're always getting mad at me about bananas, carrots, and cereal (Carb Cravers, which I used to do ALL the time, but have slowly cut out). I personally don't think any are an issue for me, so in the end, I make my own call on the matter. They know well enough by now not to bug me about my precious peanut butter, which I have at least once daily, if not more. It hasn't killed me yet, so I'm going to stick to what works.

That having been said, there does come a point where you have to take a good hard look at whether what you're eating is causing a plateau. I think recently the peanut butter might have started having an effect, but I was close enough to my goal weight that I went on stabilization, instead of cutting out the peanut butter to lose the last few. If you're really stuck and still want to lose more, though, it can't hurt to at least switch things around for a week or so. A lot of it is trial and error to figure out what works for your body. But don't let a hard-assed counselor get you down! I've had a few dreadful ones (most of whom aren't working there anymore, thankfully!), and it sucks, but you can always discuss the issue again (in a much nicer way!) with one that you get along with better the next time you go in!

Yes - it is irritating when they decide you have a problem - not you. It does make you feel bad and insulted: "Oh - you may be telling me you're ok with it, but let me tell you how you really feel: you're not." I mean - maybe they should wait until you ask for help, or advice, instead of assuming you want a private consulation. If you're ok with being down .2 for a month - good for you. You're down - not up and although plateaus are frustrating when you're trying, I think sometimes you just want a break from losing - it can get SO OLD. I would think that being able to maintain for a while even during your weight loss process is a healthy way to "practice maintainance" for when you're at goal.

That said - she's probably just trying to be helpful.

Sarah has a really good point. While things may be "legal", there are times when we tend to overuse things (such as dressing) or let ourselves get stuck in a rut with the same foods that - even when we don't mean to - start getting larger in portion size. That half of a small banana one week because half of a large one the next, and then on and on. While her delivery may have sucked, she was probably trying to be helpful in her own demented way.

Since you posted, you kind of put yourself "out there" to comments, so I'm going to give my $0.02. Maybe this week take a look at the food lists and find some other things to try that you like. Plan for the week and that way those quick breakfasts will be easier. Also, check out the thread on quick breakfasts we had a week ago. May be on the next page by now. Sometimes your body needs something different to kick start it. Good luck and let us know what happens.

Playing devil's advocate here... Our, ahem, COD counselors told us to cut WAY back on the bananas because of their starch content.. While they are legal, we should only have them (1/2 a banana) a couple times a week at most... Not only are they starchy, but they back you up in a big way, as my banana loving son found out the hard way after a trip to the emergency room... I can totally see why they told you to cut them out.. 1. they may have been causing you to retain weight and 2. Your body was getting used to them.. Same goes with the peanut butter.. PB is one of my top 5 favorite foods of all time and it's VERY hard for me not to eat it every day.. But I've been able cut it back to maybe twice a week, and never two days in a row..

As for the salad thing.. I can agree with the propensity to abuse dressings.. Liz and I try not to, but we don't always follow the rules... Also, your body can get used to the constant salads.. I know I've had my ups and downs...

As for your counselor... There's never an excuse for them to belittle you or come down on you in a mean way.. We've had our fair share of lectures by counselors, and yes, sometimes it seems like they are talking down to us.. As adults there's nothing we hate more, so your reaction to her advice, even if it was sound, is completely justifiable!

As for going through our menu with highlighters and fine-toothed combs, I actually appreciated that... I felt that's what I was paying for...

Hi there,

I can kind of relate to not enjoying the cruise through the diary thing. Sometimes I just don't have the patience to hear one more time, are getting in all your water? Even though it's marked off every friggin day!

But, I agree with Sarah. Because every time I slow down it is the little "extras" that get me. They don't seem like much at the moment but they totally add up and plot an all out attack on me and the scale! The salad thing seems rediculous though. I know dressings are an easy place to over do it, so I started a couple months ago using Salsa, BBQ sauce (difficult to over use cause it's so dang strong, in my opinion) or FF or Light Sour Cream. And you know what I don't miss my dressings at all, I count the 1-2 tbsps I use as my condiments.

Also the salad spritzers aren't bad either. HTH!

From the beginning I have totally stayed away from lettuce salads. I've done this for 2 reasons a: I know what I'm like with dressing; and b: even on weight loss I got 4 veggies a day, now on stablization I get 6--that's a load of lettuce. The first week on program I ate 6 cups of lettuce and belive me I felt it.

I find I do much better with denser vegetables, I do eat salads but typically it's ones with diced tomatos and sliced portabello mushrooms marinated with vinegar. Or cucumbers and onions with a teaspoon of oil and a tablespoon of vinegar.

As for the variation, I wish I could say it worked, but I spent 15 weeks yo-yoing the same 2 pounds. The only thing that saved me was in the same time I lost 15 inches. The body can be losing and not losing weight. It knows what is best for it.

I have been told that the reasons they suggest certain foods to be restricted for a time period is to get your body excited about new foods. I have done this and it help get me off my plateau.

I know how offended you felt, but I joined up to have someone hold me accountable and occassionally kick my butt to lose this weight. If they didn't push me I would be mad that I spent all this money for them to let me hit a wall and give up. Though when they counsel you they should be tactful as well, instead of making you feel like a failure, which you are not.