Not much to report today. Another day another new outfit and day of confirming my mind is in a better place that it has been in as long as I can remember.

My confidence levels are increasing everyday in all aspects of my life. Not just from a physical perspective but also as a whole. I believe in myself and my abilities so much more than I have ever before. It’s a long and hard road but I deserve to appreciate me…..ALL of the shrinking me!

I am making the best investment I can possible make…..I’m investing in myself!

Oh how life has changed!! I was the first to wake up this morning and having mum around to look after Lochie while Jamie got to have his Father’s Day sleep in I decided to sneak out of the house early and head off to the gym! Never in a million years did I think I would get out of bed on a Sunday morning while everyone else was still sleeping to go to the GYM!!

I started off with 20 minutes on the cross trainer (or torture chamber as Mum called it!) and the stair master was calling my name so I though stuff it I’ll give it another crack this time doing 5 straight minutes and even increasing the resistance/incline setting. I then went on to do 3 full sets of the circuit that Anita set up for me. Finished off with 6km on the bike and then another 5 minutes on that man stair master! Finishing off my Sunday morning workout of just over 900 calories burnt.

Being Father’s Day I wanted to make some kind of effort to look somewhat respectable for Jamie.

I was proud to be wearing an entire outfit of size 20’s. This is a surreal moment for me as I have been a 24+ for the last 15 years at least.

Since Mum was in Adelaide I took the opportunity to do another round of progress photos since Jamie can’t take photos to save himself. I have no words…….

I am shocked

I am dumbfounded

I am proud

I am in disbelief

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are my words!

To be honest I can’t stop looking at the back view as I never knew it was possible for me to have a defined and small looking waist. It all just seems so surreal and someone needs to pinch me! I am by no means where I want to be but I’m so damn proud of how far I am come and today I am one step closer and I’m happier and healthier than I was yesterday.

Today I am giving myself a day off from doing my Percy journal and I am handing over free reign to my biggest and bestest support person I have had on this crazy ride.  My amazing beautiful Mum…..Noelene!  She is going to do today’s entry and she’s been told she can write whatever she wants to.  Thanks Mum. Love you xxx

Well here I am, the very first guest blogger – firstly, I must say how proud I am of Holly for making the decision to go on this journey and for her magnificent effort in the last eight months.

That brings me to today ………… “let’s go to the gym together – it will be fun”  Holly says to me.  It did take me some time to answer  that question, as the thought of ‘fun’ went through my mind.  FUN- enjoyment, light-hearted pleasure, leisure ….. yes, that would be great – I will do it!!!

Not having any ‘gym clothes’ with me, I went with Holly looking like a beraggled version of a novice exerciser!!

We started on the seated cross trainer for 20 minutes – yeah this should be FUN!!  After choosing the exercise profile, we started pumping.  Holly powered off right from the start at a feverish speed and remained that way for the entire time.  I was puffing after only two minutes into the set but managed to womble my way through to the end with lots of moaning, groaning, sweating and the odd swear word.  I can’t tell you how many calories I burnt or what my heart rate was as I left my phone in the locker.  Holly burnt off 310 calorie.  What????  That’s not even equal to half of a meat pie’s calorie content!!!  I renamed that machine the ‘Torture Chamber’.  But it wasn’t time to go home …………

Next we did 20 minutes on the tread mill – I was soooo much better on this, maintaining a speed of 5.7 and increasing the incline to 10 …… but Holly was out-doing me with a much higher incline.  Holly burnt off 276 calories.  Well that seemed like some tough work for that amount of calories. I was gathering up my towel and water bottle,  heading out to pick up the grandson from the childcare room, when Holly informs me that we have to do a 20 minutes set on a bike!!!  You gotta be joking!!!

And what a fancy bike this was – it had a video generated screen showing where you were riding after picking your course.  I felt like a teenage at a video machine game!!!  Off I pedalled on the 5.42 km lap, only to be informed by Holly that I have to increase the gears on one hand and decrease the gears on the other hand whilst steering the bike – all those things to remember!!  I think I forgot to pedal while I was concentrating on other things!!  Well I FINALLY finished about  four minutes behind Holly.  While Holly was waiting for me to finish she worked on a stair master (I’ve never heard of or seen one before!!)  She was glad when I finished the course, so she could finish on that  ‘Agony Machine’.  I was able to get me stats from the machine and to my disappointment I had only burnt off 95 calories.  OMG!!!  I would have to ride 50 kms to get good numbers!!

Now that I know just how hard you have to work on these machines for it to be useful, bouquets go out to all the people who do this on a regular basis.  You have determination, drive and dedication!!!  Keep up the great work and best wishes!!!

Another new day of this week and another day I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to wardrobes. For the first time ever I wore jeans to work and I also wore a necklace I was given for Christmas. I have loved this necklace since I was given it but I have never worn it before as it used to sit on my boobs like a ledge and it just felt so awkward and wrong.

So many compliments this week on my new found confidence to rock out these new outfits with style and shape.

Loving myself this week!! This is a weird feeling and I kind of like it…..

My day started at 4am this morning, not by choice but that’s when my day kicked off….I have no idea why but I thought I’d get on my exercise bike at 6.30am and I did 30 minutes on the fat burner setting.

It must have got my happy endorphins going as getting ready for work I felt great and confident and pulled out another new streamlined outfit that was wayyyyyy outside of my comfort zone of being bright red and also much shorter than I am used it. Regardless, I pushed through the awkwardness and off I went to work in my size 20 dress.

I had so many compliments once again, which I really aren’t used to. I saw a colleague from one of the hospitals today and she even did I double take walking past me telling me that I looked phenomenal.

Looking at this photo the main thing I notice apart from my new found confidence is my shoulders! I actually have normal shoulders as opposed to the big round puffy and neck eating shoulders that I used to have!

Tonight by the time Lachlan has gone to bed it was 7.30 and the last thing I wanted to do was to go the gym, but I pushed through and off I went! Complete in my bright pink pants.

I did 10km on the bike and then 20 minutes hill profile on the cross trainer. I intended to do another 20 minutes on the treadmill but my body was telling me enough tonight you need sleep so it was time to call it a night

The old Holly would have made excuses as to why I couldn’t and shouldn’t go to the gym.

The new Holly just does what needs to be done to be the best version of myself!

Now to decided what new outfit to wear tomorrow 😜

Weigh in Wednesday has rolled around again! Wednesday seems to come around so quickly….

This week – 1.5kg

Since surgery – 53.1kg

Total – 72kg

Loving life, loving my changes, loving my progress, loving the way I am feeling, loving the way I am looking, loving my sleeve!

After yesterday epic gym session I was pleasantly surprised that I felt fine and well enough even to rock out in my heels again at work today.

I had a follow up appointment at lunchtime today with Lilian’s clinic, Lilian was away overseas so I had my follow up with my Bariatric GP (Kiki) so I off I went in my lunch break, I caught a taxi there which was my first little win of the day. I haven’t caught a taxi since February this year and last time I did I had to pretend to do up the seatbelt in the backseat as it didn’t physically fit. Today I clicked it in easily without any dramas at all….NSV victory.

My appointment went really well. It’s started off with her being in awe of my physical transformation asking me to do a twirl of my outfit on the way in so she could see how fantastic I was looking and then went on to compliment me on my new style and confidence she can see in me.

She is very happy that my acute episodes of pain have completely gone and that I am managing with the residual tightness and discomfort without any pain relief. I need to continue with the management plan of lactulose and coloxyl/sennalax at the double dose that I am currently in until I am have daily movements and then gradually scale it back until I find a regular routine. After a fortnight if I still aren’t regular I will need to exchange the oral tablets to movicol but not yet as this can be harsher on my tiny little pouch.

She also did my updated measurements. Since 15 November 2016 I have lost 64cm off my waist and 58cm off my hips and she no longer needed to double up on the tape measure with one length now being around to get around me.

As I was about to leave Kiki then decided to round up all the other staff to show me off on how well I am doing. My heart is full of appreciation for the amazing team at Adelaide Bariatric Centre and full of pride of my own achievements.

As I left I had a whim moment and thought Norwood isn’t that far away from the city, I don’t need to get a taxi back to work…..I’ll walk back instead. It was only 2.3km however I was wearing high heels and I may have gotten slightly lost and ended up walking an extra km than i needed to walk. I wouldn’t have even considered with 1 month ago let alone 8 months ago…..another NSV, even if my feet were screaming WHY HOLLY WHY at me for the rest of the afternoon.

Even with my unplanned walk this afternoon I was intending to go to the gym tonight, unfortunately the little guy didn’t go to bed until nearly 9pm so by then it was way too late for me to go to the gym. There is always tomorrow night.

Today was a big day for pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I had my gym induction personal trainer session today with Anita who set me up with a program and plan to get the best bang for my buck. She was so lovely and encouraging with my progress so far and excited to see my progress moving forwards. She was also impressed with the muscles that I already have that are starting to emerge through the padding and excess skin.

I can not believe I leg pressed 70kg as my starting weight…..but I guess in reality I used to leg press the extra 70kg every day since that is how much I have lost since I started this crazy journey.

Anita really wants to push me outside my comfort zone and to next week commit to doing on class a week. The thought of this is beyond terrifying to me, I like being in my own little bubble doing my own thing. The thought of me being in a big group of people as the one fatty that can’t do everything that I am supposed to be doing makes me feel physically ill. But I guess it’s a bit like the gym as a whole!! I don’t know unless I try.

After my 45 minutes with Anita, I then pushed myself to do a full 3 set rotation of all the exercises finished off with 20 on incline walking on the treadmill spending just under 2 hours at the gym….I mean really who on earth would have EVER thought that I would spend 2 hours in one day at the gym!!

Yup I was hot after and now at the end of the day I’m beyond exhausted and ready to fall into bed for the night…..but will I be able to walk tomorrow?

Chicken & Herb Dumplings

Makes: 30

Ingredients:

• 30 wonton wrappers
• 250g chicken mince
• 3/4 cup wombok, finely shredded
• 3 spring onions, finely shredded
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1cm fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 stalk lemongrass, white stalk only finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons shredded fresh coriander
• 2 tablespoons shredded Asian Basil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 scoops (60g) pure protein powder

Method:

• Place the wombok in a bowl of boiling water for 1-2 minutes, drain while squeezing out excess liquid then pat dry with paper towel.
• Place all ingredients except the wonton wrappers into a mixing bowl and massage through your fingertips until well combined.
• On a clean dry service place a wonton wrapper
• Dip your fingertip in a cup of water and dampen two edges of wonton wrapper in a L shape
• Place a heaped teaspoon (approximately 20g) into the middle of the wrapper
• Fold the wrapper over to form a triangle, press down one edge to seal the wonton with about 1/2-3/4cm seal
• Use your fingertip to push in the filling and comfortably seal the other side
• Dampen each of the points of the triangle and wrap them across each other to form a large tortellini shape
• Repeat with all the mixture
• To cook your dumplings:
• Steam, place in a bamboo steamer and steam for 10 minutes
• Deep Fry, for 2-3 minutes until golden and crispy
• Pan Fry, place dumplings in a frying pan with a lid with about 1cm of water and replace lid.  Cook over a medium heat until the water has evaporated and steamed the dumplings. Then add in 1 tablespoon oil and give the frying pan a cook shake and pan fry for about 3-4 minutes until the bottom is golden and crispy.
• Serve with your choice of dipping sauce.

Nutritional Value per dumpling:

• Calories: 44

• Total fats: 0.8g

• Total carbohydrates: 4.8g

• Sugars: 0.3g

• Protein: 4.4g

Recipe Notes:

• Store covered in the fridge for a maximum of 2 days either cooked or uncooked

• Can be frozen uncooked for a maximum of 6 months

• Recipe shown has a dipping sauce of sweet chilli sauce  and uses a dumpling press to fold

• Dumplings can also be steamed or poached by adding into a short or wonton soup

• Protein powder used in the recipe is Protein Supplies Australia Pure 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.

Like58

Tweet

Chicken & Vegetable Wonton Pies

Makes: 9

Ingredients:

• 18 wonton wrappers
• 250g chicken mince
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 1/2 small celery stalk, finely diced
• 1/2 small carrot, grated
• 1/2 small zucchini, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• Up to 2 tablespoons instant gravy powder

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees and place the silicon muffin trays on a baking tray
• Place the onion, celery and garlic in a saucepan with cooking spray and sauté for 1-2 minutes until the onion softens
• Add the chicken, carrot and zucchini into the saucepan and using a wooden spoon to break up the mince as it seals.
• Once the mince is broken up add the chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce and bring to the boil
• Gradually add the instant gravy powder until the mixture thickens to a pie filling texture
• Line 9 muffin tray wells with a wonton wrappers and spoon even portions of the mixture into the wontons
• Place another wonton on the top pressing down the filling into the base wrapper and then fold the base wrapper into the top wrapper to fully seal the pies
• 

• Brush with egg wash or milk and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown
• Allow to cool in muffin tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutritional Value per Pie:

• Calories: 81
• Total fat: 1.9g
• Total carbohydrates: 8.9g
• Sugars: 0.7g
• Protein: 7.2g

Recipe Notes:

• Store in an air tight container in the fridge for a maximum of 2 days
• This recipe is freezer friendly to be consumed within 6 months

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.

This morning getting ready for work in yet along new and slim lined clothes and I really noticed the dreaded bat wings. I know some people mention that they are quite small at this stage but to me they are so very noticeable and somewhat bothering. The excess skin is becoming a distinct issue due to chaffing and the distinct hang that I can see like red rag to a bull.

When I pull back the extra skin I can really see how thin my arms are and how good they would actually look without that dreaded hang and I also know that for the last 4 months the centimetres have remained exactly the same without any movement which I know is because these glorious wings.

I know that this is to be expected with a dramatic weight loss, I know I am doing the right exercises to minimise the impact as much as possible but all I can see of this excess skin that starts hanging from my elbow right the way down! Normally in summer I live in sleeveless tops but not sure I will have he confidence to do that now with this wing effect!!

I just need to suck it up and deal with it until I get to my goal and then I can go on the waiting list to get those little suckers chopped off permanently!!!