Kacey's Journey to Health

What is your favourite mid-week dinner?

I’m writing up the plan for next fortnight and I need ideas, so feel free to pop your favourites below 😀

𝟽𝟽𝟿 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢.

Another month bites the dust.
Here I was thinking that 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 cycle would be it, especially since we are having our consultation with the specialist at the end of the month.

I thought, ‘𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭’. I had my baseline scan yesterday, and as I lay there on the bed with Wanda (yep, I have named the internal ultrasound probe) poking and prodding around as I look up at the ceiling, I was quietly hoping for the sonographer to tell me that my period wasn’t going to come. But, with no words spoken and no evidence showing that I was indeed pregnant this cycle, all hope I had, was gone.

I went home and waited for my period to arrive.
It didn’t. I woke up this morning and decided to test.
Well, 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐨𝐥’ 𝐟𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞.

14 days until our consultation.

14 days until a decision is made about which path we will take.. will we do ovulation induction with hormone injections and a trigger shot? Or will we just go straight for IVF?

As someone who likes to plan everything and have a timeline, it’s rough. The unknown is a bitch and all I can do is have faith and hope that everything will pan out the way they’re destined to.

Here’s to a new cycle (which is due to start any moment now).

Suggestions, please -

• SUPPORT LOCAL •

During these times, it’s so important to support local businesses where you can. Whether that be buying online, purchasing gift vouchers or grabbing some bits and pieces from a bakery. Which is what I’ve done.

Husk Bakery are offering home deliveries - they’re kinda like the icecream truck (just without the icecream) and they have music and everything!

This morning I decided to grab two almond croissants and some pies (to pop into the freezer to put onto the meal planner for next week).
Flavour of the pies, you may be asking?
Chicken, Mushroom and Tarragon
Plain Beef

Yum! I honestly can’t wait to hook into these. If you’re Canberra local, get in touch with the team at Husk.

Poached egg, creamy garlic mushrooms and crispy chilli salmon for breakfast today - yum!

I decided to order some of these to give them a go.

We were due to start IVF in May (in Sydney) but due to Covid-19, our treatment has been postponed until sometime in the future as we would’ve been travelling interstate.

So now, we wait..

Time to get into the best shape possible. Starting with JSHealth Vitamins.

Day 1 of 4.

I put this on my Instagram earlier today but of course forgot to save the image before posting it (hence all of the text on the image).

So anyway, share your dinner suggestions in the comments below! ❤️

Today was the first day back at the gym in 4 months.
I’m finally ready to take control of my life again.
Was my anxiety kicking in? Absolutely - but I need to do this for me.

20th January 2020.

Tights: Active Truth

You’re welcome! 🤤

*TRIGGER WARNING*

In September 2016, my life changed.
Sitting and reflecting, it changed in a good and a bad way. The birth of my son was extremely traumatic - to say the least.. and it landed me in the dark world of post-partum depression.

It’s been an interesting three years.
At first, I struggled finding that bond with my son, I became a recluse and didn’t want to socialise. Then when I did socialise, all I did was over-think everything and have severe anxiety about my life in general.
I was in a dark place, and occasionally thought about ways to end my life.

Then late last year/beginning of this year, I began to find myself again. My life was on track, I had goals set for my health and fitness and I was well on my way to finding ‘me’ again. I loved life, that bond that I didn’t have with my son initially, began to shine through and I was happy and had faith that my life was going in the right direction.

Then in April this year, we found out we were pregnant.

I suddenly felt relieved. It was like it was the light at the end of an extremely long and dark tunnel and it made me appreciate and be grateful for the wonderful life I do have.

In May, my life as I knew it came crashing down around me and at about 6 1/2 weeks, it was confirmed that we had lost the baby.
I remember falling into my husbands arms, absolutely hysterical, all whilst asking him what was wrong with me and began finding every little reason under the sun to blame myself for what had happened.

The happy, loving, fun and motivated Kacey that had returned after three years of darkness, went straight back to that. I didn’t know what to do.

I literally lost myself.

Infertility is lonely and some days you feel like you have no one to speak to.

It’s taken 7 months, but I’m slowly coming back.

I have sat down and thought about what I want next year and how I can get it.. The first thing I want to focus on, is my fitness. Fitness for me wasn’t a chore at all, instead, it was an outlet. It helped with my mental health and allowed me to clear my mind.

2019 was a long, hard year with a few ups and many downs.

2020 is my year.

That feeling you get when you cook a pizza at home and take your first bite, and it tastes just like an Italian restaurant in Italy... uh, yep. I think I just died and went to heaven.

Disclaimer: I’ve never been to Italy but I just assume this is what their genuine pizzas taste like 😂

This is on our menu for next week - can’t wait! 🤤

A bit of a different post today.. my mental health hasn’t been great, since May. Yep, a smile can be deceiving that’s for sure. But the last few days I have hit an all-time low - with the diagnosis of my plantar fasciitis in the arch of my foot and my tendinitis in my thumb.
So as I’ve had a little bit of time to sit and reflect on life, I thought I would share this image.

It’s not your average ‘transformation’ image, that’s for sure. The image on the left was in January 2016 (yep, 3 1/2 years ago...). The image on the right was Wednesday morning.. I’ve gained quite a bit of weight but I think my body is ‘settled’ if that makes sense. I have been sitting around this weight for 2 years, it varies depending on the day, but give or take 2kgs, it’s the same. I can’t seem to shift it. But I’ve come to realise that this is me. Why does everything in the world come back to someone’s weight/size? Why can’t we all just look at each other the same way our children see us? As us. Not defining us by the number on the scale.. anyway, happy Saturday.

Here’s to mental health.

If you’re interested, please contact me.

Okay, so let’s play a game of ‘never have I ever...’. Well, never have I EVER owned a pair of jeans.. until now! Yesterday I went into my local Kmart Australia to get some new clothes for myself.. and ended up walking out with jeggings! I’ve decided that I’m going to start dressing my body for how it is, not just choosing frumpy clothes because I’m bigger and can’t be bothered making an effort. Reality is, I’m a size 18/20 (sometimes 16 and sometimes 22, all depends on the store I buy clothes from), BUT, I’m confident and I’m happy with where I’m at. There are reasons I have gained some weight and those reasons are valid, but I don’t even care about weight anymore. I love me. I love how far I’ve come in my 25 years of life. I’m a mum and a wife, and I couldn’t be happier with life.

All of my food from today - details are on the images themselves 🙂

Happy Monday!

Oh. My. God! Well, I’m tooting my own horn here but I bloody nailed my first ever roast chook and veggies last night. I popped some butter under the skin ontop of the breast, then smothered that baby with olive oil, salt, pepper and Mingle Seasoning. I roasted the veggies in a seperate pan because I’m fussy and like my veggies crispy (this is done by rolling them around in some olive oil and popping some salt on top). Anyway, once the chook was in the pan, I popped some water in there too - this made sure it stayed nice and moist. Served this with some gravy and peas.

Whenever I go to friends houses for lunch or dinner and I’m asked to bring a salad... this right here, is my go-to.
Pumpkin & haloumi salad.
It’s so quick to whip together and my god it tastes amazing. Roast some pumpkin pieces, toast some pine nuts and whack it all together. Spinach, roast pumpkin, purple onion (optional), pine nuts, grilled haloumi and finish with a balsamic glaze. I always take the glaze with me as some people prefer to dress their own salads.

Banana Mocha protein smoothie.

So simple and easy to make - not only that, but so yummy.

1/2 frozen banana.
1 scoop Milk Chocolate 100% whey protein from Elite Supps
300ml milk of choice.
4 ice cubes
1 teaspoon coffee, dissolved (obviously)
Blend and serve on ice.

Let’s be honest, I actually find it quite hard to get photos from pre-op days because I literally avoided the camera like the plague. I was NEVER in photos, if I was, it was a selfie and half my face was cut off because I thought it made me look slimmer (uh, what?!) So, the photo on the left was one I absolutely loved at the time it was taken. It was Sky Fire 2015 down at the lake with friends (and my beautiful girl). I wasn’t even aware of how big I actually was.. It was only a few weeks later when I started thinking about and looking into weightloss surgery.
The image on the right, was taken last weekend at Australia Day celebrations. Again, with my beautiful girl (just a few years older). Come the end of the day, the one thing that I keep reminding myself is that my children see me as me. As their mum. Not what I look like, how squishy (or as my daughter says, ‘soft’) my belly is or what colour my hair is. I’m still mummy. I’m still me. I always will be.
Happy Friday beautiful people.

Isn’t it funny? I never (in my wildest dreams) would’ve ever considered posting a photo of myself first thing in the morning with no makeup on except the smudged mascara from overnight.

However, when I put these photos together, I couldn’t believe how much better I look now with bare skin. The image on the left actually came up in my ‘Facebook’ memories from 4 years ago - January 2015 after I’d had my makeup professionally done (and I thought I looked amazing! 🤢).

Anyway, happy Tuesday ya’ll.

Baked potato for dinner last night - I didn’t have much time so I ended up steaming the potato in the microwave rather than ‘baking’ it.

Obviously served with the essentials -
Sour cream
Spring onion
Purple onion
Bacon
Cheese

Yum!

Today, I donated plasma for the first time. Same sort of system as donating blood, but it’s a bit more in depth and a little longer in the chair. Come the end of the day, I don’t mind staying a little longer, knowing I am going to be saving lives. I’m a part of the . Donate now! It’s so easy to do and almost everyone can donate. Redcross

Flashback Friday - the image on the left was on this day, 5 years ago. I was about 34 weeks pregnant with my daughter and weighed roughly 105-110kg. Image on the right was taken today, not pregnant, and 103kg.

Homemade fried rice & satay chicken. Yum!

One tip I have to cook chicken (or any meat) with marinade, is to line the sandwich press with baking paper, pop your chicken/meat on, pop some more baking paper on top and bam.. you have somewhat clean, easy cooking without the sticky clean up (except for a few little bits of marinade which may slip out the sides).

TRANSFORMATION THURSDAY - teeth edition.

I had heard about this particular brand using only natural products and an LED light to activate the product to help with teeth whitening, so I thought I’d take advantage of the Black Friday sales a few weeks ago and buy myself a kit.

The product requires you to use the mouth guard for 10 minutes each day, for 6 days for the initial treatment. Then once per fortnight after that. Well, I guess the results speak for themselves.

Now before you all ask, no.. this image isn’t edited at all. It is taken at around the same time in the morning, in the same location, 6 days apart.

Oh and just to add, I’m in no one sponsored or affiliated by this company. However, I’d love to be! 😂

HiSmile has my vote! 🤙🏻