Week 9 - Recovery, Poo Socks & Reality Checks

Here we are, groundhog week haha.

Monday is usually my office day, but the older kids had a pupil free day before school went back, so I put Arlo in daycare and worked from home.

It was very frosty in the morning doing drop off, but I had to stop and admire my lemon tree because it is thriving! I have one near the door and two in the pool area and they are looking so healthy. I’m going to pick some and take them into the office soon.

Since the school holidays are nearly over, that means sports are back in full swing. I organised Nola’s soccer roster for lollies and oranges, and now we also need a parent representative each week in case there are any concerns. They’re called a club vested official. Since I’m the manager, I’m not allowed to be the CVO, so I have allocated that job out.

We also had Rocky’s little friend over for the day on Monday for a playdate. Oh my god, all I could hear was arguing about football rules with all the street kids as well. Our backyard is basically the playground, but the arguing was crazy.

I had to go outside and have a good chat to them all about getting along and being more gentle because they were playing tackle. Nothing like trying to work while a backyard football tribunal is happening outside.

I did a couple of laps up and down the driveway in my socks and sandals because it ended up being such a beautiful day after the frost.

Tuesday was my medical procedure day. I had an endometrial ablation.

I arrived around midday after I organised the children and dropped them to school. I went in for the surgery around 1pm, and when I woke up I was in so much pain. I’m talking pain like I have never experienced before. I honestly couldn’t believe it.

They ended up giving me fentanyl, Endone and Buscopan, and nothing helped for hours. Then my blood pressure was really low, so I couldn’t even get up.

In the end, I had more Endone and it eased the pain a bit, but when I got up to leave, I fainted and had to lay back down. Jason knew the nurse that caught me when I fainted..

He said, wasn’t really the right time to ask if she remembered me from school ha ha!

They said my blood pressure and heart rate are low because I’m very fit, which was really nice to hear, but at the same time it made it even harder for me to get up and feel normal.

I ended up getting wheeled out to the car around 8pm, then went home and slept for about 12 hours.

I woke up Wednesday with no pain, just a really bad headache. So I ordered myself my favourite coffee and croissant from one of the local cafes because I still hadn’t really eaten anything.

My gynaecologist said the procedure went really well and she didn’t find anything concerning inside. Her words were, “you are just as beautiful inside as you are on the outside.” LOL. I’ll take it.

I came home to flowers and chocolate from my Mum and the kids!

I had Wednesday off from my full-time job and honestly just relaxed in bed most of the day.

I ordered myself McDonald’s for lunch, and yes, I tracked it, but I honestly barely ate it.

Fun fact about me, I love McDonald’s. I don’t care what anyone says. I know it’s not exactly the pinnacle of health, but it’s the burgers. I’m not a big chip fan, but the burgers get me good.

I wasn’t going to attend the team meeting with the guys, but I did because I missed them and felt like I was missing out if I didn’t. Then I watched the replay of the support call, which went really well.

I missed everyone though, but my head was seriously super scrambled still from Tuesday, so I thought it was probably best not to sit there looking like a zombie in front of everyone.

Thursday was back to business. It was a normal day. Kids had school, Rocky had football training and nothing too out of the ordinary happened.

I did measure my height against Nola though and put it in a comparison picture with exactly one year ago. She has grown so much! I’m 5 foot 1 and I reckon she has to be about 5 foot now. I am not okay.

Friday was my office day and I lasted half a day before I felt so faint. I had to go lay in the first aid room and then get an Uber home.

My mother-in-law looks after Arlo at home on Fridays, so I snuck in while he was napping and went straight to bed.

I think my blood pressure is still really low. I’ve booked a doctor’s appointment for Monday, but my sense of reality was really off and I just felt like I couldn’t catch my bearings. I started sipping on Hydralyte and I think I’ll start having that every morning for a little while.

Friday evening, I cuddled up on the couch with the kids and we watched TV together. It was actually really nice.

Jason got an Uber and picked my car up for me while we were cuddling on the couch, which was very kind of him.

Saturday morning, Rocky got picked up by his best mate because they were going to Sydney to watch the Bulldogs and Warriors NRL game.

Nola had soccer and played a really good game. Jason surprised us and showed up to watch, and Arlo loved the hot chips there, obviously.

We got home in time for Arlo to nap and I did some work.

In the afternoon we put the footy on. The boys had no idea, but Jason and I, plus his friend’s parents, had paid for them to do the guard of honour when the teams ran onto the oval.

I got lots of videos and I saw him on TV! He goes for the Warriors and they all high-fived him as they ran out. In the video it’s so funny because he looks at his hand like he is never going to wash it again.

Saturday was an early bed night. I think I was in bed by about 8:40pm. It has been so busy in the community and it’s honestly amazing, so I checked Skool before turning in for the night.

Sunday was a nice slow morning for us. We were meeting Rocky at football because he stayed with his friend the night before and they were meeting us there.

I made French toast for the family. I ate mine plain because I like it that way, Nola had Nutella and Arlo had plain.

No wonder I’m lightheaded all the time though, I feel like it’s from picking up after Arlo. He has actually been much better with throwing his food on the ground, but I wasn’t quick enough this time.

It was crazy sock day for football. Rocky wore poo socks. Only one other kid wore crazy socks. Great commitment from the team haha.

I made my meal prep as well, which I’m so excited about. I’m back on the light jelly train with protein yoghurt and kiwi fruit. That’s my favourite combination.

This week I’m also doing sweet potato with mince, and I’ve got Greek yoghurt and cheese to put on top. Very excited for this one.

My mum and her partner came over for lunch, which also meant a house clean because of course you have to clean for guests. Does anyone else have a robot vacuum mop? It is the best thing ever.

I got roast chickens, rolls and salad for everyone because I’m making everyone be healthy haha. Mum brought cakes over though. I did not have any. I tracked my lunch and that was enough for me.

Arlo had some of Nan’s cake and LOVED it! He only had a few tiny mouthfuls!

I had a very important task I needed to do too on Sunday.. I asked Keiran for a body fat assessment. I knew it would be high, but I wanted to use it to help set expectations for my STRIP phase.

If I want to get down to around 12-15% body fat, I need to lose more than I originally thought. Originally I thought I had about 10kg to go, but after looking at it properly, it’s closer to 19kg.

And honestly, that is where I want to be.

This is the life I want to live, this is the body I want to achieve, and I want to maintain it. So that’s what I’m going to do.

It says it could take around 20 weeks at 1kg a week, but let’s be honest, it’s not always going to be 1kg a week. So I’m giving myself more like 24 weeks from now. Maybe I can line it up with this new cohort haha.

This is also a reminder to anyone reading that 24 weeks is not the magic timeframe where you must achieve your goal. Some people will. Some people need longer. It depends on your body, how much weight you have to lose and what life throws at you during that time.

We had our amazing welcome call on Sunday. It was so great. I loved all the questions and I can’t wait to watch everyone achieve their goals.

My darling partner was on dinner duty. He used the leftover roast chicken from lunch and made a creamy chicken pasta for the family.

I didn’t feel the best, so I wrote the rest of this blog and then went to lay down to rest.

Gosh, I can’t believe this is week 9.

After talking to Keiran today and re-estimating what I want my goal to be, it feels a bit heavy writing this knowing that I’m actually adding a lot more weeks to this STRIP phase than I initially planned.

But I’m not going to give up because I have a goal I want to hit.

Week: 9

Nutrition Adherence: 6/7

Weekly Average Steps: 3,000, bed rest and I did not wear my watch all week

Training: 0/4, not allowed

Average Body Weight Change: +800g

The things I’m most proud of this week are:

• Honestly, just making it through the week

• Listening to my body

• Not forcing training when I wasn’t allowed to

• Still tracking and staying aware through a recovery week

The areas I need to improve next week are:

• Go to the doctor Monday to talk through how I’m feeling, not really an improvement but definitely important

• Start walking where I feel like I can

• Keep recovery as the priority

• Not mentally spiral over a week that was clearly not a normal week

This week was medical procedures, low blood pressure, Hydralyte, couch cuddles, kids’ sport, poo socks, roast chicken, goal reassessing and me trying to remember that recovery is still part of the process.

Not a normal week, not a gym week, not a high-step week, but we survived.