Week 0 (Again) - Oztag, Tathra & 9.2kg Down

Yes, you read that correctly.

Week ZERO.

Again.

I have officially decided to restart my STRIP count so that I line up with Cohort 5.

Does it make sense considering I've already been blogging for 20 weeks? Probably not.

Do I care? Absolutely not 😂

Wesley managed to stop and start his STRIP phases while keeping all his weeks numbered correctly, but apparently I just want to be different for fun.

Anyway, welcome to Week 0, round two!

Monday morning started bright and early with a Red Bull and check-ins.

It was my office day, which means I get up early, get my coaching work done and then head into the office for my government job.

Before leaving, I also managed to squeeze in my meal prep.

My current go-to is sweet potato mash, vegetables and lean beef mince cooked with no oil and chipotle seasoning.

Simple, delicious and easy to repeat.

I made nine meals, but unfortunately ran out of sweet potato mash.

So I quickly chucked some of my low-carb potatoes into the air fryer.

Worked a treat.

Honestly, meal prepping doesn't need to be complicated. Sometimes you just need to make do with whatever you've got.

Anyway, here's me in my office attire.

Oztag season also officially started!

The kids play on Mondays on the other side of Canberra, so Jason and I will take turns taking them.

Jason took them this week, and Rocky managed to score TWO tries!

How bloody good!

Meanwhile, I came home from work to an absolute bombsite of a house.

Jason had been home with Arlo and the older kids because school hadn't started back yet.

And apparently the house had experienced some kind of natural disaster while I was gone.

So while they were all at Oztag, I cleaned up and made dinner.

What did I make?

Absolutely no idea.

Something delicious, I'm sure. OH Chicken burgers, I remember now!

After that, I sat down and went through our calendar for the month.

And holy shit.

I honestly feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of everything we've got coming up.

Also, someone once asked me why I don't use a pencil in my calendar.

I honestly don't know.

Whiteout and pen is my jam.

Apparently I enjoy making life more complicated than necessary.

Tuesday was BUSY.

Check-ins, work, more check-ins, more work.

You know the drill.

I managed to get out for a walk at lunchtime, which was lovely.

And here's a cute photo of the boys playing out the back.

All the neighbourhood kids were out playing in the street, and Jason and Arlo were entertaining themselves in the backyard.

Nothing too exciting to report.

Just a very full day that disappeared before I knew it.

Wednesday morning I woke up and FINALLY saw something I'd been waiting for.

I was back to my pre-surgery weight!

66.6kg!

LOOK AT THIS GRAPH.

Honestly, it's horrendous 😂

Between surgery, swelling, fluid retention and recovery, my weight graph has been doing absolutely whatever the fuck it wants.

But finally, here we are.

Back to where I was before surgery.

I was SO happy.

Now, I know the number isn't everything, and I've been really careful not to let recovery-related fluctuations mess with my head too much.

But I'm not going to pretend it wasn't nice to see that number again.

Wednesday was also a pretty big day for Nola and Rocky.

They decided to scooter to school with one of our neighbours for the very first time!

Jason has ridden with them before, but this was their first time going without us.

Their friend is a little older and has a phone, so he kept me updated along the way.

Look at them.

SO CUTE.

Honestly, where have my little babies gone?

After work, I went for a walk around the lake with one of my friends.

It was such a beautiful afternoon, and I ended up clocking over 14,000 steps.

Which felt amazing after weeks of recovery and reduced movement.

I also wore a shirt that I have a photo of myself wearing just before my breast surgery.

And OH MY GOD.

Look at the difference!

I look so much more petite.

It's actually incredible seeing how much a change in breast size can affect your overall proportions.

I'm still healing, but I'm really happy with how everything is looking.

Thursday started with some very cute daycare photos of Arlo.

Seriously, how cute is this child?

I am completely biased, obviously.

Thursday afternoon meant more Oztag!

The kids play twice a week, and honestly, they are getting so good.

Nola scored a try this time!

So we've had Rocky scoring two tries on Monday and Nola getting one on Thursday.

Proud mum moment.

After getting the kids into bed with Jason, Mum and I headed out to see Nat's What I Reckon live.

If you haven't come across him on Instagram, please do yourself a favour.

He's hilarious.

And Mum and I had the BEST laugh.

Honestly, sometimes you just need a night out where you laugh until your face hurts.

Friday I only worked until 11am because we were heading away for Rocky's football trip to Tathra in New South Wales.

Now, I recently won a grazing box, so I organised to pick it up for the drive.

LOOK AT THIS THING.

Oh my god.

It was delicious.

And no, Friday was not a nutrition adherence day.

Between the grazing box, travelling and our dinner later that night, I was outside my targets.

But it was a weekend away with the family, and I'm not going to beat myself up over one day.

Anyway, we arrived at the BIG4 in Tathra, and our cabin was BEAUTIFUL.

Honestly, so nice.

We were right across from the pool, which was perfect for the kids.

After checking in, we headed down to the beach, where all the families met up for some beach football.

Kids versus dads.

Which was absolutely hilarious.

Jason even managed a spectacular try where he launched himself into the sand.

Very athletic.

Very dramatic.

I think he was quite proud of himself 😂

After that, we ordered pizzas and hot chips, and all the families sat together for dinner.

The kids were having the best time.

We even let them stay up until about 10pm.

Which, if you have children, you know is basically midnight in parent time.

Saturday morning I woke up wanting one thing.

Coffee.

When we go away, I absolutely love finding a little cafe, walking there and enjoying a nice coffee.

It's one of my favourite things.

Unfortunately, it was raining.

So Jason and Rocky headed out to get coffees instead.

And when they came back, my almond latte was COLD.

Not because it had gone cold.

Because he'd ordered me an iced one.

Hahaha.

But honestly, it was actually really nice.

Thankfully, the rain cleared just in time for Rocky's football carnival.

He played so well and even kicked a fantastic conversion!

Unfortunately, they lost.

And I swear the other team cheated.

They weren't converting their tries, but somehow the scoreboard kept giving them the extra points.

Make it make sense.

Rocky was really upset afterwards, which broke my heart a little.

But Jason gave him a good pep talk, and we reminded him how well he'd played.

Meanwhile, Arlo found a golf buggy.

And that was it.

His new favourite thing.

He sat on that thing playing for AGES.

After football, we headed back to the cabin, and Arlo had a nap.

When he woke up, I decided to go for a walk.

I also needed some thongs and shorts because apparently I'd packed for a holiday without thinking about what I might actually need to wear.

Excellent planning.

And then I realised Rocky had left his Crocs at the football oval.

So off I went.

Twenty minutes walking to the oval.

Twenty minutes walking back.

All to rescue a pair of Crocs.

Honestly, motherhood.

At least I got a lovely walk out of it 😂

That afternoon, Arlo had a big swim in the pool.

He absolutely loved it.

Then here's a cute photo of him chilling on the couch before we headed out for dinner at the club.

Now, does anyone remember my favourite pokie machine?

More Chilli!

I put my $20 in and had a bit of fun.

I still don't really understand how to play it.

I just press things and hope for the best.

Anyway, after dinner I left Jason and the older kids at the club and took Arlo home to bed.

And then I got to sit down and read my book.

Absolute heaven.

Sunday morning started at 6am.

Because Arlo.

Obviously.

Here's us watching Disney while I was fresh out of bed.

And by fresh, I mean looking like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Meanwhile, Arlo was going through every drawer in the cabin and decorating himself with whatever he could find.

Then he discovered the doorstopper.

And apparently that was the most fascinating object he'd ever seen in his entire life.

Forget the toys we packed.

Doorstopper.

Ten out of ten entertainment.

After that, I FINALLY got my warm coffee.

I walked down the road and ordered myself a proper hot coffee.

Justice was served.

And then it was time to pack up and head home.

Honestly, the whole weekend was just beautiful.

The kids had the best time.

Rocky got to play football with his mates.

We spent time with other families.

There were beach visits, swimming, laughs, walks, coffees, good food and lots of little memories.

It was just so wholesome.

My cup is full.

My family is happy.

And honestly, that's all I could ask for.

Now, before we get into my check-in, I want to talk about something pretty exciting.

As you all know, I've been in recovery following my surgery.

I've had a maintenance break, reduced my movement, stopped training and spent the last few weeks allowing my body to heal.

And now I'm moving into my next STRIP phase.

Which brings me to something that I'm actually really proud of.

When I started Week 0 of this whole journey on 24 May, I weighed 75.8kg.

Today?

66.6kg.

That's 9.2kg down!

And honestly, I'm pretty fucking proud of that.

Because that didn't happen in a perfectly controlled environment.

That happened while juggling three kids, two jobs, school holidays, sporting commitments, illness, surgery, recovery, family events, meals out and everything else life throws at us.

And look how far I've come.

I know I still have goals I want to achieve.

Another 10kg is what I'm aiming for, and I want to continue developing the muscle I've worked so hard to build.

But I'm not starting from scratch.

I'm starting from a place where I've already put in months of work.

And I think that's a really important distinction.

This next phase isn't about making up for time spent recovering.

It isn't about punishing myself for having a weekend away.

And it definitely isn't about trying to lose 10kg as quickly as humanly possible.

It's about getting back into my routine, being consistent with my nutrition, progressing my movement and eventually getting back into training when I'm cleared.

I'm excited.

I'm motivated.

And I am SO ready to see what the next chapter brings.

Weekly Check-In

Week: 0 (Round Two 😂) Phase: STRIP Starting weight: 66.6kg Total loss since 24 May: 9.2kg Nutrition adherence: 5/7 Weekly average steps: 11564 Training: Recovery / walking only Average body weight change: New baseline established. Weekly comparisons resume next week.

Things I'm proud of this week

• Finally seeing my pre-surgery weight again

• Reaching 9.2kg down since May

• Getting back into meal prep and my STRIP routine

• Getting out for more walking as recovery progresses

• Making beautiful memories in Tathra with the family

• Not letting non-adherent day define the week

• Recognising how far I've already come rather than only focusing on what's left
  

Things I want to work on next week

• Get back into my usual nutrition routine now that we're home

• Keep meals simple, nutritious and repeatable

• Continue tracking consistently

• Keep listening to my body as surgery recovery continues

• Gradually rebuild my normal daily movement without overdoing it

• Wait for clearance before jumping back into the gym

• Focus on consistency rather than perfection
  

Anyway.

Here's to Week 0.

Again.

Because apparently we are making up our own rules now 😂🤍