So I don’t really have anything exciting to talk about today so I thought that I would do something that has been floating around my instagram news feed the last week.

People know me as the C4K Goes Bariatric girl but do you know anything about me as a person?

So here you go, here are 25 things about me that not everyone else knows.

1. My name is Holly
2. I am 36 years young
3. I am engaged to my lovely partner in crime, Jamie
4. We have one little man, Lachlan who is 6 on 19th December
5. I grew up in country South Australia and have lived most of my life in South Australia
6. I work for the state health department as a project officer
7. I work to live BUT I love that I have a job that means something and impacts on people
8. I am sensitive to lactose
9. I am allergic to black bean sauce and seafood
10. I think that avocado and kale are the most revolting foods ever
11. I have 2 tattoos, a purple flower and the initials of my family
12. I don’t go anywhere without my glasses (or contact lenses), I have terrible vision
13. I won’t use a pen unless the lid is on the end of the pen
14. I will always change the toilet roll, regardless of my location, to be a waterfall
15. If I could meet any food celebrity it would be one of 3 people. Martha Stewart, Maggie Beer or Rachel Ray
16. As a kid my dream job was a singer, then I realised I’m an ok singer but not hit material
17. As an adult my dream job would be to host my cooking show
18. My favourite movie of all time is Steel Magnolias
19. I don’t have a middle name
20. If I could only every eat one food for the rest of my days it would dumplings or laksa
21. I have selfish reasons for being so open and sharing my recipes and my journey…..it gives me a great deal of personal satisfaction and worth knowing I can help and support others
22. I am a kind caring tolerant and accepting person on everyone I meet with the exception of my morbid irrational fear
23. My favourite animal is an elephant
24. I am addicted to coffee
25. I am slightly addicted to trashy MTV TV shows like Geordie Shore, Ex on the Beach and anything tragic like that.

So this is just a little bit of info about me….Holly – the face and person behind C4K Kitchen and When Holly Met Percy!

Another Instagram coming up on my news feed is #6photosofme so here is mine!

Well things got…….stressful today!!

My Saturday started off like any normal Saturday. I did a breakfast cook up for the family, I got a bit excited with mine and was completely dreaming when I served mine up!

After that I got myself motivated to go to the gym and what better way to be motivated than to actually have it written on your pants!!

30 minutes on the cross trainer, 15 minutes on the stair master, 20 minutes on the bike and 980 calories later it’s safe to say it was a decent workout!

And I have to admit Jamie is right, my normal work out tops are ridiculous and it’s time for them to move on to a new home, particularly since I had  wardrobe malfunction today and did some workout bra flashing lol

After that I came home to have a quick shower to get ready to go to a friends house for a birthday BBQ. I felt good, I feel that I looked nice and in a rare occurrence I wasn’t having massive clothing anxiety!

Well as we were about to head off that’s where things got stressful! The little man was running in excitement and tripped over his own feet and in the process face planted the textured concrete rendered wall out the back and cracked his head open! So within 5 minutes we were in the car and off to the emergency room!

The little guy with his ASD does not cope at all with situations like this and the environment of hospital and waiting. He also most certainly doesn’t understand that he needs to sit through treatment to help him feel better! Pre-sleeve I really struggled to deal with him in situations like this but now I am a calmer, stronger and more resilient person and it makes the stress of these situation so much easier to handle…..even if it means physically straddling him on the emergency stretcher and restraining his head while the emergency doctor flushes the wound clean.

He is ok thank goodness! No stitches or glue required and no signs of concussion or any damage more than a superficial wound. Some steri-strips to hold the wound together together with his “sore head special bandaid hat” and some pain relief we were able to come home!

My poor little man, he’s such a brave little warrior! While I had motivation written on my legs to start my day the truth of the matter is that any motivation I need to keep me going to be the best, happiest and healthiest version of myself comes from one place and one place only!! This dear little man….special bandaid hat and all 😍

Mourning is over and I am stepping out and proud and no black in sight!

This is another gifted designer outfit from a beautiful sleeve sister. It’s so really weird and daunting for me to wear a style that is so figure hugging and shape revealing however it must have looked ok as I was flooded with compliments today even going as far as being called a skinny mini!

Because I didn’t have any light colour work appropriate shoes so had to wear my nude heels. They were slightly uncomfortable so at lunchtime I went and bought some pale coloured flat shoes. It’s official my feet have also shrunk. I used to be a size 42 in Ruby shoes and even sometimes they were too small and tight, today I bought size 40’s shoes! That’s just a bit crazy that my feet have shrunk not one but 2 sizes! My body is changing in so many places I didn’t even consider.

I’m getting myself prepared for stage 2 of my refocus! I have finished my holly-ified reset, this week I am doing some home stretches with an increased repetition every day and next week I am starting back on logging my food diary. I was filling out the food diary I have and it asked me one simple question.

“Why I’ve decided to take on this journey”

Such a simple question but it’s a really difficult one to answer. In fact it took me nearly half an hour to find the right words to answer the question.

I am so glad that I finally found the right words to this question and I will be keeping this page as a reference point.

When I am feeling lost, when I’m feeling deflated, when I’m feeling hopeless, when I’m feeling like a failure, when I’m feeling like I’m fighting a losing battle – I will refer back and read this page to remind myself of where I WILL get to and where I am already so much closer to being than I was this time last year!

And just a quick side note…..my collar bones wants to say hello to everyone!

Weigh in Wednesday

This week is just a small week and to be honest I am totally over the moon with the results!

This week – 0.1kg

Since surgery – 59.4kg

Total – 78.3kg

It may have only been 100g loss this week BUT that number had a magical turning point and I dropped down into the next 10 group of numbers.

This 10 group represents a big deal for me as I am now in the range and on the home stretch to my next mini goal, I’m only 7.4kg away from FINALLY dropping to Obese III.

I have been this category for at least the last 15 years so I am beyond excited to finally think that it is realistic for me to move out of this category!

Today is my last Tuesday off before I start back at work full time next week. I’m wondering how I will cope working full time again as I haven’t working full time since 2011 before I went on maternity leave.

Being my last Tuesday off I used the opportunity to go to the gym. And I was totally out of my comfort zone as I was wearing the new gym top Jamie picked out for me. I am ALWAYS so crazy self conscious of my belly bulge and attempting to hide at all costs. Today this wasn’t the case, I wasn’t hiding the bulge under a tent I would normally wear instead I was wearing a smaller and shorter top – this is terrifying to me especially when I am wearing tight and revealing gym pants underneath. I hope I didn’t burn anyone’s eyeballs who had to look at me.

I did another RPM class!

I can honestly say that I have NOT yet been hit by the endorphins of loving RPM but it’s a crazy intense workout. My Fitbit recorded my burning just under 700 calories….I do however know that it would be way more than that as for over 15 of the 50 minutes it stopped working because I was sweating so much! Realistically it would have been a 1,000 workout and nobody can argue with that.

Red face and all! The instructor came and saw me afterwards and told me she could tell I was working and pushing myself harder and that I was doing really well.

I had a follow up appointment with my GP today and after doing my research and realising the wait list to access the public list for skin removal surgery is between 18-24 months. So we have decided given the issues I am already having and knowing they will only get worse with my excess skin that we have today sent off my referral to the specialists. I know it’s still a long way away and I still need to get to goal weight but I am already a little bit happier knowing that the process has already started.

It really is so ridiculous that it is already the end of October. This year has gone so quickly!!

Just another Monday at work except today I did something that I would have never done 12 months ago…..realistically probably even 6 months ago! I had a meeting at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, normally I would have caught a taxi there but today I walked there. Slightly over 2km in heels and arrived completely comfortably.

And to add another perk I got hollered at as I was talking down the street “blue dress, hot legs”. Sexist – yes, demeaning to women – yes, kind of liked the warped compliment – hell yes!!

When I got to the meeting one of the ladies who was attending the meeting I haven’t seen since I last did a presentation in March this year and have met her at least 4 other times before. It was the weirdest conversation when she introduced herself to me like we had never met and then I said no actually when met earlier this year when I did the last presentation at the old building. She was very matter of fact in telling me no that wasn’t me and that it was definitely another girl who did the last presentation and not me at all. I hate to tell you this Nicola there is nobody in the state that has the knowledge to give this presentation….just me. This version and the larger version lol

When I got home tonight I had a delivery in the mail, something that I forgot I had bought. After my chaffing and tortured arms as a result of my ridiculous playground adventures I bought myself some compression sleeves for arm protection. I got them tonight and they feel really good and holding things firm. It’s so nice to see what my arms should actually look like instead of what they actually look like! There is hope for decent looking arms yet…..post surgery that is!!

So nothing exciting happened today so I thought I would share the answer to the question I get asked regularly.

What can you eat?

To answer the question it’s simple, I can eat whatever I want just in a much much smaller portion.

This is an example of what I can eat. For dinner tonight I cooked a delicious lamb roast with roast vegetables and gravy. I had 2 thin slices of meat, 2 small roast potatoes and 3 small roast carrot pieces. But as delicious as it was I still couldn’t finish the portion I had.

While I normally try to make the conscious effort to avoid high carb foods but tonight I enjoyed potatoes. My new food ethos is that I chose to no longer diet, my new world is about making conscious decisions and opting to a healthy and balanced food intake with all things in moderation.

I can still have cookies, I just make them myself with no sugar, added protein in appropriate portion control.

I can still have desserts, I just make them myself with no sugar, added protein in appropriate portion control.

I can still enjoy a variety of fresh and delicious foods in appropriate portion control. This lunchbox is my breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks.

So yes my sleeve has helped me with adjusting to my tea party portions but it has been me that has completely overhauled what I eat.

So why has my portion control substantially changed? What did my sleeve actually do?

The average adult stomach has the capacity to hold between 1.5-2 litres. With my sleeve Percy’s new capacity is 150ml. This next picture is not for the faint hearted, this is not actually my stomach but this is a visual representation of what I had removed and I’m so bloody happy it’s gone and has been the tool to support me in making these much needed lifestyle changes.

Protein Veggie Muffins

Makes: 12

Ingredients:

• 80g carrot, grated
• 80g zucchini, grated
• 80g Pumpkin, grated
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• 125g creamed corn
• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 scoops (90g) pure protein powder
• 1 cup wholemeal SR flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare a 12 hole silicon muffin tray by lightly spraying with cooking spray
• Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir until well combined
• Spoon the mixture evenly between the 12 muffin holes and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and a cake skewer comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in the muffin tray for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely
• Delicious served cold or warm with some cream cheese.

Nutritional Value per muffin:

• Calories: 130
• Total fats: 4.3g
• Total carbohydrates: 10.6g
• Sugars: 1.6g
• Protein: 11.5g

Recipe Notes:

• Store in an air tight container below 27 degrees for a maximum of 5 days
• This recipe is freezer friendly to be consumed within 6 months
• Protein powder used in the recipe is Protein Supplies Australia WPI Fast Release protein powders
• You can buy online from www.proteinsuppliesaustralia.com.au
• Use the Discount code psafriendsofhollys at checkout to get a 10% discount

Disclaimer: C4K Kitchen does not hold any responsibility for the consumer using this recipe including the storage guidelines and time frames recommended in the recipe notes. The consumer holds all responsibilities to ensure that food hygiene and safety standards are adhered to.

Muesli Cookies

Makes: 15 Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup toasted muesli (or rolled oats)
• 1/2 cup mixed seeds
• 1/2 cup sultanas
• 2 scoops (60g) pure protein powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 tablespoon milk (optional)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius and prepare 2 baking trays by lining with baking paper
• Add in all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well
• In a microwave proof bowl add the butter, peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla
• Heat for 30’seconds and mix well until well melted and combined
• Pour the melted mixture into the dry mixture and stir well
• If the mixture is too dry and doesn’t come together add in the milk, this step may not be necessary as it depends on the viscosity of the peanut butter used
• Place the mixture in the fridge for 5 minutes to bring back to room temperature
• Spoon a tablespoon of the mixture onto the preparing baking tray and flatten down
• Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown
• Allow to cool on the baking tray for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutritional Value per Cookie:

• Calories: 128
• Total fats: 7.4g
• Total carbohydrates: 9.9g
• Total sugars: 6.1g
• Protein: 6.3g

Recipe Notes:

• Store in an air tight container below 27 degrees for a maximum of 5 days
• The cookie batter is freezer friendly to be defrosted and baked within 6 months. The baked cookies are not freezer friendly
• The pure protein powder can be substituted for vanilla protein powder, just exclude the vanilla paste
• Protein powder used in the recipe is Protein Supplies Australia WPI Fast Release protein powders
• You can buy online from www.proteinsuppliesaustralia.com.au
• Use the Discount code psafriendsofhollys at checkout to get a 10% discount

Disclaimer: C4K Kitchen does not hold any responsibility for the consumer using this recipe including the storage guidelines and time frames recommended in the recipe notes. The consumer holds all responsibilities to ensure that food hygiene and safety standards are adhered to.