First 10

The first 10 days of my 24 day challenge are down and my weight is down too!  I have lost 6.4 pounds since last Monday.  I feel amazing.  That means I have 14 days to lose the remaining 6.6.  I totally got this!

Ground Turkey Chili

I'm not a big ground turkey fan.  I much prefer ground beef, but this recipe looked good so I went for it.  Start off by sauteing one chopped onion and five minced cloves of garlic in 1T of olive oil.

Add 2lbs of ground turkey after about 3-5 minutes of sauteing the onions and garlic.

While you are browning the turkey (Is it called browning?  It's browning with ground meat, but turkey is more of a white color.  Whiting the turkey?) chop a red bell pepper, 2 jalapenos, and a green bell pepper.

The ground turkey should look like this once browned?  Whited?  Geez.

Dump the rest of the ingredients in:

1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes, no salt added

1 (15oz) can petitie diced tomatoes, no salt added

3T tomato paste

1/2t hot sauce

1 (15oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

The bell peppers and jalapenos

Salt

Pepper

3T chili powder

2t oregano

1/8t cayenne pepper

Let simmer for about an hour.

And there you have it!  I topped ours with green onions because green onions make everything better. 236 calories per cup of chili.  It was very hearty and filling!

I'm going to complain...

I'm going to complain for a second.  Stop reading if you don't want to hear me complain.

I know we all know that as a society we love and honor the "skinny girl," and I honestly I have no problem with this.  Models are pretty skinny most of the time.  High fashion goes on skinny people.  Magazine covers are for mostly skinny people.  I'm not talking regular skinny, I'm talking REALLY skinny.  And I'm totally fine with this.  Chances are I will never wear anything "high fashion."  I mean who wants to wear a nude jumpsuit with feathers sticking out the butt anyway?

So...just so we are completely clear here, I have NO problem with this.  We all look different.  I am in no way skinny shaming anyone.  In all actuality, most of the time I am sitting here wishing I looked like them.

Here is where I start to have a small problem with things.  I need a dress for a wedding.  I shop at places like Gap, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor.  I haven't taken a gander online at their websites in awhile because I haven't been in need of anything.  Yesterday I looked online to see what dresses they had and this is what I found...

Banana Republic

  

I'm pretty sure these models are in sizes xxs or 00 and I'm still not sure that the dresses are small enough for them as they seem to be just about falling off of them.


Gap

 

Do we see how photo shopped this girls arm is??  This already size 00 girl that Gap decided needed SMALLER arms???  I'm pretty sure her thighs are photo shopped as well.

Another weird arm photo shop...


Ann Taylor

I mean this girl is adorable and all, but she is about the size of my 8 year old niece.

So obviously all of these women are very beautiful, however I have NO IDEA how these dresses will look on me or really anyone over the size of 00.  I'm not rioting for size 10 or 12 models.  I'm saying, maybe show me a size 4 guys?  I can guess from there.

I just don't understand why we are photo shopping beautiful women to be smaller.  God help the future little girls of America.

Sweet potato nachos

I made sweet potato nachos last week for dinner and they were a HUGE success!!   A super easy and delicious recipe.  I got two sweet potatoes and used a mandolin to slice them to about 1/4 inch thick.  I tossed them with olive oil, paprika, and garlic powder.  Threw them in the oven at 425 for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway.

While the sweet potatoes were baking, I cut up some jalapenos, cilantro, and green onions.  I also made the taco meat using extra lean ground beef and a packet of taco seasoning.  You can use ground turkey if you would like, I just prefer beef.  You can also make your own taco seasoning.

When the sweet potatoes came out they were nice and crispy.

Layer the nachos with whatever your heart desires and enjoy!  For mine I used 4 ounces of taco meat, shredded lettuce, avocado, salsa, cilantro, green onions, and jalapenos.  They were definitely a hit at my house!

Acai Bowls

I have recently become obsessed with trying to figure out what these are, and how people make them.

I kept seeing them on pinterest and google when I typed in, "healthy or clean breakfast."  So I did some sleuthing...

I read an article about acai bowls on the Huffington Post (they called them breakfast porn).  I learned that this specific dish originated in Brazil, but became popular in Hawaii.  Who doesn't want island food for breakfast??  This tasted amazing and I felt like I was on vacation.  I definitely recommend it! 

To start, you need these little frozen packets.  I knew I would have to go to whole foods for this nonsense and that's what took me so long to make one.  These were in the freezer aisle.  They aren't cheap, but I was at whole foods, so I figured as much.

Run the packet under hot water for a few seconds and dump it in your blender along with a half a banana (I will probably use half a frozen banana next time since my bowl was a little more liquidy than I would have liked), 1/4 cup of almond milk, and 1/2 cup of frozen fruit of your choice.  This time I used 1/4 cup of blueberries and 1/4 cup of strawberries.  By the way, Costco has amazing frozen fruit in bulk.  

Next up is toppings!  I topped with the rest of the banana, a few blackberries, some shaved coconut, a teaspoon of chia seeds (you can get these really cheap at the produce stand on the corner of coursey and airline), and 2 tablespoons of this wonderful find.

I LOVE granola.  Love it.  You make think granola is healthy, but it usually is not.  It's almost always loaded with sugar.  It's another whole foods find and it was delicious.  Not as crunchy as granola, but the taste was awesome.

List of ingredients looked good to me.  And look at that....7 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein per serving!

And voila!  Mine may not look as good as the ones on the internet, but not too shabby for my first try. This was the finished product.  It tasted as good as it looked.  It was about 300 calories and filled me up.  It's definitely a breakfast you can play with and make your own!

Zoodle Spaghetti

It finally happened!  I got a Vegetti.  I've been wanting one for awhile now and I finally got one and was ready to attempt Zoodle (zucchini noodle) Spaghetti!

I started out with these delightful chicken meatballs.  The ingredient list is very short.  Chicken..onions..bell pepper.  That kind of think.  I pre-heated my oven to 375 and stuck those guys in there for 12 minutes.  I got these from Alexanders.  I am pretty sure you can get them in bulk at Costco as well.

I used this marinara from Trader Joe's.  No sugar added.  It's Jon's favorite sauce and it is definitely delicious.  I just dumped it in a pot to heat.  When the meatballs came out I dumped them in there as well.

Now the exciting part!  My vegetti!  You can get your very own vegetti in 2 days from AMAZON.  

After making numerous jokes to myself (Jon wasn't home yet) about putting the large zucchini in my vegetti and wondering if my vegetti was self cleansing or dishwasher safe.  Also, how I was a little nervous to put something in my vegetti for the first time.  Ok, I'm done.  It was actually super easy and made plenty of "pasta" like noodles.  I tasted them raw and they were good, but decided to saute them to soften them a bit.

I heated up a little coconut oil.  If you haven't tried coconut oil I definitely recommend.  It makes everything taste better!

And went to sauteing my zoodles...

The finished product looked something like this and it was delightful!  I am super excited to use my vegetti more.  As you can see the only problem is that the zucchini let out a little water, but it really wasn't that big of a deal and everything still tasted great!  Enjoy!

Pro-Activity

Is that a word??  Probably not, but just go with me on this one.

Today I started a 24 day challenge.  I wasn't going to say anything until I could give you guys some results, but I just felt so good this morning that I decided I needed to write this.  I got on the scale this morning for the first time since I started taking fertility meds.  I knew I had gained weight, but it really didn't hit me until the weather got cooler.  I'm going to be pretty transparent with you guys here and share what happened.  I was feeling good early last week.  I had some energy, even though I had gotten some bad news and I decided that with the cooler weather approaching I should clean out my closet and dresser.  As I said, I knew I had gained weight, but there is truly nothing like trying on your pants from last winter and not being able to button them.  I stood in my closet while sobbing and throwing a very large majority of my clothes into garbage bags to donate (2 FULL BAGS, and I'm not done yet).  It was super depressing, but it aided in making the decision that we truly needed to take a break with all of this.

Now, I need to say this.  More for myself than for you.  I feel like some people may be reading this and thinking to themselves, "Geez, Kaitlyn is putting her weight ahead of treatments to have a baby?  How vain can she be?"  Let me just say, this is not the case.  It is so much more than that.  Yes, I worked hard to lose weight years ago and it is really discouraging to have the scale creeping back up.  But you must understand (and there probably isn't any way for you to understand unless you've been through it), it's not just about the number on the scale.  It's about feeling like yourself.  It's about feeling like your body is yours.  I have heard a lot of new mother's say things like, "I liked being pregnant, but I'm really happy to have my body back and for it to be mine again."  Imagine feeling that way, but without any of the rewards of your body "not being yours."  You have to be careful about what you are eating and drinking, how much caffeine you are taking in, high impact exercise at certain points in the month, making sure you are taking pills on the days you should be, and going in for shots on the days you should be, and having 3-4 sonograms a month (and not the belly kind with an adorable baby growing inside of you).

I got on the scale today to see the damage.  13 pounds since last winter.  I can handle that.  I'm only one 24 day challenge away from being back to last winters weight.  With the challenge, coming off of all the meds, and training for my second half marathon, I should have a pretty winning combination.  Now I have a goal...13lbs in 24 days.  Lofty?  Yes.  Doable?  Absolutely.  I have no doubt in my mind that it can be done.  I intend to keep you guys in the loop on my progress with everything.  

Sometimes a little pro-activity is all you need to feel better about yourself!  If you feel like you're struggling with your weight and self confidence, but you don't know what to do, message me about the challenge.  Being pro-active and having a plan can make a world of difference.

A kaitweight update

Anyone reading this is probably friends with me on facebook.  So, anyone who is reading this probably knows what we are going through.  I don't mind doing a little shameless plugging here, and once again, ask you all to sign up for the Baby Steps Infertility Awareness 5k under Team Mitchell!  You don't even have to show up or run!

SIGN UP HERE!

I've been a little MIA because of all the treatments.  They are taxing in so so many ways.  I won't talk too much about that on here.  This will probably be the only time it's brought up on the blog.  Why?  Because this is a health/fitness/weight loss blog, and to be quite honest the subject of infertility is a real bummer.  And my blog is NOT a bummer.  

I will say (only because it relates to weight loss) that one of the ways this process is so taxing is what these lovely drugs do to your body.  I have been being pumped with fertility meds on a monthly basis for about 8-9 months.  Starting with Clomid, on to Femara, HCG trigger shots...the list goes on and on.  

A little cut and paste from the internets about the HCG trigger shot (my least fave of all the meds):

HCG is a natural hormone that the body produces during pregnancy and because of this, most of the potential side effects of the trigger shot are very similar to those related to early pregnancy. Common side effects include mild abdominal cramps, swelling, breast tenderness and nausea.

You read that right yall.  They give women who are desperate to be pregnant a shot that then gives them all the symptoms of pregnancy.  I get to have horrible heartburn for two weeks and then not be pregnant.  Seems kind of cruel to me.  Another fun fact about this shot is that it will give you a positive pregnancy test until it's out of your system, but I digress.  

On top of that there are two weeks each month where I am not supposed to do anything high impact.  Like running.  Or tennis.  So, that just about covers everything I like to do.  This is seriously what I looked like when I was told that...

 

Oh I forgot to tell you guys!  I am actually currently expecting!!  I'm expecting an emotional breakdown at any moment.  And this pooch that appears to be a baby bump?  It's actually an estrogen baby.  I bet you guys have to be wondering why I'm always glowing if I'm not pregnant?!?!  I'm actually sweating.  It's called a hot-flash.  And it sucks.  I don't mean to make light of a serious situation, however, if you can't laugh about it things can really start to be a bummer.  On to the good part....

No more meds!!  No more drugs!!  No more estrogen baby!!  At least for a few months while we take a break and I take some much needed time to be myself again and get back in the routine that I love!  Back to my happy place.  Back to running and tennis.  I played a singles match last night and was in SUCH a good mood after.  I am already starting to feel like myself again.  Oh, and just so you know the Louisiana Marathon and 1/2 are 15 weeks away.  Takes 12-14 weeks to train.  It's the weekend before my 30th birthday.  Just so you know....

And with that, I'm signing off.  I'll be talking to you guys soon!  

By the way, if you are struggling with infertility please feel free to message me about it.  I don't have a problem talking to you and letting you vent or ask questions.  This process can make you feel very alone, but trust me when I say YOU ARE NOT!!  Every single person I have talked to about this is either struggling with it themselves or knows someone who is or has struggled with it.  I promise you aren't alone.