Protein Jelly 

Makes: 5 portions (approximately 110ml per portion)

Ingredients:

• 1 packet diet jelly
• 4 scoops BODIEz clear protein water powder
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup boiling water

Method:

• Place 1 cup of water in a blender with the protein water powder and process until fully disbursed
• The mixture will be very foamy, allow to sit for 60 minutes or until the foamy has gone
• Add the jelly crystals into a heatproof container and add 1 cup of boiling water whisking until the jelly is fully dissolved
• Add in the clear protein water and whisk until well mixed
• Allow to sit for 10 minutes until the foam has again gone
• Pour into serving bowls and set for 4 hours or preferably overnight before consuming.

Nutritional Value per portion:

• Calories: 56
• Total fat: 0g
• Total Carbohydrates: 0.1g
• Sugars: 0g
• Protein: 13.2g

Recipe Notes:

• Store covered in the fridge for a maximum of 7 days
• This recipe is not suitable for the freezer
• The picture shown uses aeroplane diet lite mango Passionfruit jelly crystals

Had a stressful lack of sleep night after a middle of the night ‘adventure’ to the local emergency department with a sick little man! It’s not an easy task to entertain a sick little busy 5 year old in a small waiting room so I used it as an opportunity for incidental exercise and spent over 30 minutes cutting laps pushing him around in a wheelchair. The things you do as a parent!

We head off for lunch as a treat for our well behaved patient after his x-ray and I had a much more successful experience in ordering having the beef and mushroom soup that was all sorts of delicious! It was so yummy that even Lachlan had a crack at my left overs.

It’s nice to have a positive and normal dining experience so quickly to feel better about social experiences of eating out!

Woke up this morning in the hotel room feeling refreshed. One of the main reasons I picked where we stayed was because it had a gym I could use. So this morning I got up and head off to the gym.

The environment was somewhat lacklustre with pretty crappy equipment but it was better than nothing. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill but it only had a maximum incline of 9 rather than the 15-20 incline that I have been using at the gym so the calorie burn was only 1/3rd of what I do at the gym.

I never thought these words would come out of my mouth but I miss going to the gym.

This next part is extremely confronting and terrifying to write about and share.

When I got back to the room I had a shower and obviously the mirrors are lower than the mirror in our bathroom at home as I was completely exposed to see the skin situation before me.

My boobs (or the things that used to be boobs) now have a life of their own are severely heading south. My apron is beyond offensive with the saggy droopy skin and the loose skin on my upper thighs really has no description except YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!

While part of me in quiet upset that my body looks so disgusting and deformed the other part of me is proud of me morphing into ET as it’s a physical and tangible result of my hard work.

I also need to prepare myself that things are going to get even worse and even more revolting until I get to a stable weight and can engage in the process of getting all my excess skin surgically removed.

When we got back to Renmark we met Mum and Lachlan at the Club for lunch. This was the first time I have ever experienced prejudice around mu ordering a smaller portion.

For once the kids menu had a grilled chicken and salad so I was over the moon to order that. I requested to order that and said I was more than happy to forgo the free drink, icecream and activity pack. She said that she needed to check with the head chef. The verdict was that regardless of my dietary requirements the only way I could order the kids meals was with an $8 surcharge. Regardless of the fact I didn’t want all the extras that they would save money on they wanted to charge the equal price of an adult sized schnitzel for two tiny grilled chicken tenderloins and a bit of lettuce!

Needless to say I didn’t order anything at all and just picked off of Mum’s plate instead. If they were trying to exploit my clinical need for a dietary requirement for a massive financial gain then they were not getting any money off me at all!

While we were there we ran into some locals who I have known my entire life. They were sitting at the the table next to me for 30 minutes and didn’t recognise me at all. Once they recognised Mum and realised it was me they were completely gobsmacked with the amount of weight that I had lost.
I think Lachlan must have missed me last night as he passed out on top me again for the second time this week and DAMN he is heavy.

I had 30kg passed out on top of me. It’s really hard to believe that I have lost twice that amount of weight off of my frame.

Tonight Jamie and I had a rare and treasured night off. We head off at about 10:30 AM towards Mildura for a mini getaway.

Before we left I asked Mum to take up address that she had had at her house so I could wear it out on our date night tonight. I tried it on and will frankly I wasn’t wearing anywhere as it resembled a black circus tent on me.

When we got to Mildura my first stop was target to find something nice to wear on date night. To my complete shock and disbelief I bought myself a gorgeous fit and flare dress from the ‘normal’ size section. Admittedly it was a little snug with the pleats not sitting right and way tighter than I am used to and it was a flattering cut BUT it was not from the plus size section.

I have been wearing plus sizes my entire adult life.
We got some Laksa for lunch and head back to the hotel room to have. Soup is my go-to order out but today it was an epic fail. Our romantic night away started with me sitting on the bathroom floor inspecting the toilet bowl. Once I had a lay down I recovered pretty quickly.

We then went out for dinner. It’s hard to order when out in small portions as most entrees and starters are heavily carb loaded so I ordered a lamb burger and deconstructed it.

My efforts were dismal but Jamie enjoyed my left overs.

When we finished we went on our own mini pub crawl walking between venues. In the process of walking slightly over 5km (in heels) I re-introduced alcohol for the first time since surgery and had a few vodka, lime and sodas.

It was lovely to get dressed up and have some time out just the two of us wearing my new NORMAL sized dress!

Mum, Lachlan and I had a busy day today despite a very disrupted sleep for everyone involved. We head off at 9.30am to have coffee with one of Mum’s friends at the play cafe, had a lovely positive chat about my sleeve journey.

We then head off to do a spot of shopping and then realised it was 2pm and I had been very wayward with my nutriton and fluids and felt very flat and low on calories so topped up quickly until we got home and 3pm I had a knocked together quickly but still yummy and healthy lunch.

While we were out at the shops I bought myself a couple of discounted items. I bought a dress that I tried on for Karla’s wedding in a December. In December I couldn’t even get the biggest size over my boobs or bum. Today I bought a size smaller than I couldn’t fit into and if anything it’s a bit baggy in places!

I’m not really in a great place at the moment slightly overwhelmed with the long road that I still have in front of me and I often feel disheartened that even thought I have achieved so much already so quickly that the end goal still seems almost unachievable, unrealistic and so bloody far away! 

I feel like I am stuck in a long and dark tunnel  but these little glimmers of light do give me hope and keep leading me towards the end of the tunnel!

Balancing busyness with monitoring nutriton and fluid is actually a real struggle. I had a frantic and busy morning heading to work with just having a coffee.

Left work at around 10.30 got home to a flurry of getting ready, packing and heading off on our road trip.

I knew I would have to eat in transit as we would be in the car for nearly 4 hours. I had a mini wrap at around 1pm and then off we went.

I was hoping to have a nibble to get my protein levels up but it didn’t happen as Jamie was asleep and I couldn’t reach or open my little packed snacks while in transit.

I stil didn’t feel hungry at all I just knew I needed to eat!

When I arrived at Mum’s place she showed me a top she had bought me, both of us said it was a great top to put aside for when it fits. I tried it on and it bloody well fits and looks respectable! It’s a size Large…what the?!?!? 

Maybe just maybe that damn number on the clothes is starting to reduce too!

Weigh in Wednesday 

This week – 0.9kg

Since surgery – 43.8kg

Total – 62.7kg

Well I have finally broken my stall but I’m not gonna lie I am more than a little disappointed that I didn’t crack 1kg given my 6 high calorie workouts in the last week.

Yes, yes I know muscle weighs more than fat but there is no chance in hell I have had muscle action that quickly. They are still yelling at me too much!

Tonight I’m getting ready to go away for a few days which means I will lose my gym mojo but I will do what I can while I’m away and kick back into gear when I’m back home again!

Well I did it! 

I am officially a gym member. I signed up for 6 months to give it a good crack. I have also schedule my first PT session to help me set up a program on how to use the equipment to beat achieve my goals. I will see where to next after the session but I’m pretty determine to push myself every session a little bit more even I don’t even remotely enjoy the gym yet!

This morning I had a lovely catch up with an ex-work colleague, who is also a dear friend, for a coffee. I haven’t seen her since she left work in April. I was actually a little nervous about if she would notice any changes. 

Not sure why I was worried she was so complimentary with how far I have come and was saying the biggest changes she could see was in my legs. Not sure if that’s because it’s the first time in the 5 years I have known her that she have ever seen me in a pair of pants. Either way a reflection through someone else’s eyes is so important to get a true gauge of how I am tracking. So I will take it!

Another work week and another powerhouse productive day!

I have decided in the cold weather I am having calorie creepage in the form of my beloved coffee, so I need to regroup and cut back on my coffee/caffeine intake. On the weekend I bought myself a cute little teapot and Cup and off I went to the T-bar before work to stock up on some tea.

Much to my surprised I really quite enjoyed the light freshness of it. It’s a delicious warm substitute for coffees.

Off i travelled to the gym tonight after Lochie was asleep and pushed myself more and more on the treadmill hitting incline 20 and knocking out 444 calories on the treadmill alone. My phone was even in tune with how I was feeling autocorrecting my text message from “treadmill” to “roadkill”.

Chicken Zucchini Balls

Makes: 20 balls

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 medium zucchini
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 egg yolks
• 500g chicken mince
• 1 cup breadcrumbs 

Method: 

• Roughly chop the onion, celery, zucchini and garlic and place in a food processor with the egg yolks and process until you have a smooth paste
• Add the paste into a mixing bowl with the chicken mince and breadcrumbs and using your finger tips to massage the mixture until well combined
• Roll the mixture into 20 even sized balls, approximately heaped tablespoons mixture each 
• Cook your preferred method until cooked through. Options include; pan fry in cooking spray (as seen in picture), oven baked, air fryed or simmer in your choice of sauce.

Nutritional Value per Ball:

• Calories: 63
• Total fats: 2.2g
• Total carbohydrates: 4.9g
• Sugars: 0.4g
• Protein: 6.2g

Recipe Notes: 

• Store covered in the fridge for a maximum of 2 days
• This recipe is freezer friendly to be consumed within 6 months
• Can be frozen cooked or prepared and uncooked

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.