✅ Morning Weigh-In + Record (Weight Journey / Identity Momentum) : (Starting weight is 361.9 lbs. – today’s weight of 312.9 lbs. = 49.0 lbs. total weight loss, and this includes 27.7 lbs. since the introduction of the AI Diet!)
For over a hundred days now, I’ve been living on a plant-based, whole foods diet — mostly potatoes and vegetables, with some egg whites for protein, and a gallon of water every day. That rhythm has carried me through and changed me. But in Victoria, I drifted. I stopped drinking the water, I didn’t have my usual snacks with me, hunger crept in, and one slip led to another. Before I knew it, I had turned it into a kind of vacation from my diet.
My original plan had only been to enjoy a few cafés, maybe sip an Americano with almond milk — simple, fun, but safe. Instead, one choice opened the door to another, and the whole week took on a life of its own. Looking back, I’ve decided not to frame it as failure. I’m calling it a cheat week. A pause, not an ending. And today marks the return. That choice alone lifted a weight off my shoulders.
This evening, my daughter and I went for a drive. We ended up at Starbucks — she got a Ribbon Crunch and I had a Mocha Coffee. Over our drinks, she told me she’s worried the videos she’s been uploading for her channel aren’t good enough. I told her she should just keep putting them out there, to build views and subscribers. If she doesn’t like them later, she can always delete them or remake them when she’s got a fancier camera. That thought seemed to free her, and she liked it.
We also started brainstorming together. With Halloween coming, I suggested she could sell bat stickers or even make “Bat Bath Balms” — little bath bombs with wings sticking out of them. She loved the idea, and for a moment I could see her eyes light up with possibility. It felt good to pass on not just encouragement, but the spark of creativity and entrepreneurship.
Later, I let our rooster, Valentine, out for a stretch. Usually he comes home before dark, but tonight he didn’t return. Maybe he’s lonely, wandering next door to visit the hens. They’ve always come back before, so I trust he’ll strut in by morning. Still, it made me pause. Even in something as small as a rooster’s routine, I see a reflection of Becoming. Sometimes we wander, sometimes we lose our rhythm, but there’s a homing instinct in all of us — and it always leads us back.
This evening I cracked open the fortune cookie that came with my meal yesterday, and inside it read: “Now is a good time to explore.” (see photo to the right). It felt like a little wink from the Universe, perfectly matching the theme of my day. I had slipped off my diet but reframed it as a pause, ready to return stronger. I had encouraged my daughter to experiment with her channel and even tossed out playful Halloween business ideas. My son’s RC boat is charging for a trip to the lake — another little adventure waiting to happen. Even our rooster, Valentine, wandered off to explore before coming home again. The message was clear: wandering isn’t failure, it’s part of Becoming. Exploration and return go hand in hand.
I missed putting out my long video this past Sunday! That weekly rhythm has been part of my Becoming — but life got in the way. Instead of seeing that as defeat, I’m choosing to reframe it. Today I started work on my Coffee in Victoria video. I plan to upload it tomorrow, with a “short” of it on Thursday or Friday. It’s my way of recompensing for the miss, of returning to cadence. And by next Sunday, I’ll be back in step again. Return is the theme, in diet, in discipline, and in creativity.
