Hi weight loss buddies. I hope you've all had a much better week than I have.

Food wise, I've had an excellent week and have stuck rigidly to the Healthy Eating Plan I follow.

It's been a very stressful week as firstly, I had a very important meeting to attend that I was extremely worried about and secondly, I had an accident which resulted in me having to go to A&E with a suspected broken wrist. Thankfully, after x-rays, they discovered nothing was broken. I now have to wear a wrist splint to ease the pain and also take strong pain relief.

I went to my weigh in without being worried at all and when I got on the scales, I was devastated to find I'd gained. Not only was it a gain, it was a cracking gain of 9lb. I burst into tears and said, "It can't be right, I've had a really good week!"

I felt as though my heart had been ripped out of my chest and stamped on repeatedly. I've said all along that I will be totally honest with everyone and say if I've cheated on this eating plan in anyway.

The only thing I can put it down to is the effects of stress and fluid retention. My legs and ankles are so swollen and I can't get my engagement ring on my finger which usually goes on no problem at all.

The gain really has knocked my confidence especially as my husband, who has eaten the same meals as me, lost 4.5lb.

I know the weight gain won't beat me as I'm determined to lose next week, but at the same time, I'm worried that the fluid in my legs and ankles will stay and cause another gain. I felt so ashamed when people asked me how I'd done at the weigh in.

When I told them, many of them said, "You've had a wild week then."

I just hope people do believe me when I say I'd been good. I'm trying so hard to pick myself up and not let it get to me but I really do feel like a failure. I keep telling everyone in my blogs, there's no shame in a gain but this week I'm really struggling to listen to my own advice.

If you have any wise words for me, please leave your comments below as I need all the encouragement I can get right now.

Diet Coke Chicken

A friend in group recommended a great recipe this week for Diet Coke Chicken. I haven't tried it as yet but do intend to give it a try. She said although the name sounded disgusting, it's actually one of the nicest meals she's tasted. If you decide to give it a go, let me know what you think.

Ingredients

4 Chicken Breasts with skin removed
1 Can of Diet Coke
Passata
2 Onions
1 Oxo Cube
Worcestershire Sauce
Fry Light
Salad to serve

Method

1. Cook the chicken with Fry Light adding the onions.

2. Sprinkle the oxo cube over the chicken.

3. Once the chicken is almost cooked, mix 6 tbs of passata with the diet coke, then pour over the chicken adding a dash of worcestershire sauce.

4. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-30 mins until the sauce has thickened

5. Serve with salad

People who have tried it have said it's delicious so I must give it a try.

If you have had a gain like me this week but truly don't know where it's come from, try not to lose heart. I know it's hard. Our bodies are strange contraptions and sometimes we'll never understand why things happen. All we can do is keep our focus and remember why we want to lose the weight. Easier said than done, but we owe it to ourselves to try. The only failure in life is failing to try. Let's pick ourselves up and shift those stubborn lbs next week. Tune in to see if I manage.

Hopefully, I'll see you lighter next week,

Love Wendy xxx