Hey Guys:

I gained a pound this week, what a blow to my efforts, needless to say I haven't been able to post any points to the September points challenge. I have an abscessed tooth, it started hurting last Thursday, all I have been eating is soft creamy stuff that I can chew on one side of my mouth or drink, I go to the dentist tomorrow, I think I will see if he will wire my jaws shut,LOL! I keep falling off the horse, but I intend to keep getting right back on. I hope everyone had a good week with lots of weight loss. Thanks for being supportive friends!

1 pound is probably water... keep on sticking to your plan as best as you can...

sorry to hear about your tooth.

Oh, Karen...don't WORRY about it !

Things are up and down on this journey. You can't expect life to be on your side every moment. Nessa's probably right, it's just water..and if not, it's only a pound.

You need to cake care of yourself and your tooth. Try some soup or something instead of some of the other things. Once you see the dentist tomorrow and you get yourself feeling better in the next couple of days...you just climb back on that horse and you'll be just fine...please don't fret too much over this...**** happens!

feel better, OK?

Linda

Karen. What's so important here is your determination to get back on it. And 1 pound! Geesh, don't worry about it. You can lose that overnight! I had a suspicion that I may have maintained or even gained a pound this week. When I'm feeling like that, I push my weigh-in back a few days to catch up. The reason I do that is because as you pointed out in your post, you automatically feel like its a "blow to your efforts" and sometimes, that just throws the rest of the day/week/ month right off. So Bravo to you for picking up where you left off and trecking forward!

Karen I can relate. As Linda said, these things just happen sometimes. I stepped on the scale today and up it was from before . Ugh, I stepped off and went to work out (I weight myself at the gym so I was going to work out anyways regardless of the scale). I was disappointed and still am, but then again, I've pretty much accepted that this is bound to happen from time to time . It's not fun and it can be frustrating, but it's something you can work through and surpass! You can do it, it's totally possible.

Do you have other goals you'd like to achieve aside from your weight? I think having other goals makes it easier on us because there is more room for success and more things to focus on. I haven't made any official ones, but I know I'd like to be able to ride my bike to school and back. That's one. I'd also like to strength train consistently. I'd like to be able measure my calories, fat, and types of foods eaten daily and actually keep track of them. I want to spend Christmas aglow knowing that I've spent 20 weeks exercising consistently! That's an example of a time-measurable goal, and at this moment I am aiming more for non-time measured ones just because I feel less pressure on myself. But those are just examples.

As for having to eat liquid foods - do you have a blender/mixer/electronic kitchen gadgets? If you're able to and if you can afford fruits/vegs, I'd suggest throwing in bananas, oranges, apples, carrots, anything you can mix and buy.. and having that as some part of your meal if it doesn't irritate your tooth (soo sorry to hear about that by the way). Another suggestion is making hot cereals (you can wait until they're at room temp or cold, so to not hurt your tooth again). yogurt, mashed potatoes (these can be healthy, especially if you cut up some fresh herbs like dill, parsley, etc.), cottage cheese - you can pretty much swallow this, no chewing required Just some ideas

Hang in there - it can and will get better You can do this Karen!

You are all so wonderful! I feel like I am always complaining, I don't mean to, I want to be an encouragement to others on this journey too! But, I also want to say thanks for all of you who are so encouraging to me. You are the greatest! Thanks so much for all the tips, and I will be trying to set some other goals as well beautiful!

So sorry about the pound Karen, I've had that the last couple of months...I go down a week or two and then up the next week, making my total loss very little, and it is frustrating, but your attitude is great, just keep on trying!! We all go through times where we fall down or where we follow our plan exactly and our weight still does not cooperate, and it IS frustrating. I'm so sorry about your tooth and hope it is feeling much better after your appointment tomorrow. Hang in there!!

Oh, please don't worry about it! This is the one place you CAN come to vent and rant and cry when you're frustrated and upset about this long, long journey we're on. When you are in an up-swing, you'll jump in and be supportive. And when you're in a down-swing, you'll need more support.

And that's what we're here for. BOTH those things -- to support each other AND to share/vent about the frustrations. That's what makes us a real community, with real people facing real challenges. We're not just a cheerleading squad. What you share will probably touch someone else who's feeling the same way but is too shy or nervous to post about it. We need that. Just the fact that we are in this together, going through similar challenges, is a tremendous support.

So don't let it bother you. You may need to vent a while. That's fine. Vent away. That's part of the journey, and definitely something that helps build this community.

Great post Synger, well said!