Hi, everyone.

Sorry I haven't been around much. I'm really trying to blog more consistently but that doesn't always happen.

WW is still going well. I really like the meetings, even though they're virtual. I feel so uplifted by them and the people in them. 

Today I took my friend Cecilia out for lunch to celebrate her birthday. We went to Blaze Pizza, because they make those cute little mini-pizzas, and I ate one (half at the restaurant, half later) and it was all delicious, but my stomach is unbelievably upset now. Also, the super-rich greasiness of it led me to binge on mandarin oranges later, which is the weirdest thing possible. I mean, I guess six or eight little cups of those things is not a binge per se, but it was more than I wanted to eat, and I haven't felt out of control around food in a long time. I think, the next time I go back, I will be getting a salad. I feel miserable physically and I also feel a bit sad because I know today I made a choice that doesn't support my goals. Still, Cecilia was happy, and I'm glad she's my friend, and I was glad to celebrate her. 

I'm proud of my progress overall, though, and I feel like I will make up for this in the next few days. It's just a blip. And it's something I've learned about myself: maybe say no to pizza next time. And for now, I'm practicing not beating myself up or becoming morose over something like this. And drinking lots and lots of water. 

Until next time,

Simone 

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Sunday, 23 March 2025
(The Third Sunday in Lent)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton 
Weight: 300.2 lbs. (136 kg) 

 Hi, everyone!

Feast of St. Patrick fit check

There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. 

In the last few days, I've pivoted from intermittent fasting to Weight Watchers (WW) as my primary means of weight loss. I made this decision a while back and started the transition on Friday of last week. 

I came to this decision for a number of reasons, but the main one was that, while I felt good doing IF, it's not a sustainable long-term solution. Five or ten years from now, I do not still want to be bound by that way of eating. To use the super cliche dichotomy everyone's heard, a diet and a lifestyle change are not the same thing. I feel that, at least for me, IF was more of a diet, while WW is more of a lifestyle-- one that is designed to adjust with you as you lose weight and even once you're in maintenance. 

I did really well on IF-- I lost about seventy pounds on it, felt really good, had some big wins, and it was a really great tool for that part of my journey. It served me well, but now it's time for the next stage of the journey. 

So far, I really like it. Tracking is much easier and less taxing in my executive function than I would have guessed. It almost feels like a game. I also really enjoy the meetings. Even though I live in the Valley of the Shadow of Meth without a car, and don't have access to much of anything in person, I've gone to a few of the virtual meetings, and I really enjoyed them. The coaches are nice, everyone seems supportive and helpful, and you learn good tips. 

Anyway, I don't want to make more out of this than it is-- just a pivot from one tool to another. I just wanted to let you all know. 

Today was a good day! Plenty of energy, higher-than-usual well-being, no more shark week, and I even decided to walk home from school! As much as I needed the break this past week, I was excited to be back on campus and see people. 

Still very convinced that beans on toast is the most elite breakfast. Change my mind. 

Until next time,

Simone

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Monday, 17 March 2025
(Monday in the Second Week of Lent)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: The Girl from the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray 
Weight: 306.9 lbs. (139.2 kg) 

 Hi, everyone!

I've had another really good day today-- I even cooked! I mean, I kind of made it up as I went along, but still, I cooked! 

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Sunday, 16 March 2025
(The Second Sunday in Lent)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: The Girl from the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray 
Weight: 308.0 lbs. (139.7 kg) 🦈

 Hi, everyone!

Today I had the best day, in terms of productivity and executive function but also just general well-being, that I've had in a while. I discovered a new safe food, and, my fellow Americans, we have been sleeping on the most elite breakfast: baked beans on toast. It's vegan (if you use plant butter on the toast and make sure to buy beans that aren't cooked with ham or bacon), it's pretty quick, it's easy, and it's full of protein! I had that, some canned pear slices, and a vanilla protein shake, and it was basically the perfect meal. So that is for sure going in the rotation. 

Spring break is coming to a close, and I got a lot less done around the house than I meant to, but I feel okay about that. You also may have noticed my weight-- very cool, but I'm not going to get too excited about it, since it was the day after a 24-hour fast and a lot of what I lost is probably water weight, and will probably be back tomorrow. But it's still cool to see numbers like that, and I know it's just a preview of what I'll achieve in the future! 

Until next time,

Simone

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Saturday, 15 March 2025
(Saturday in the First Week of Lent)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: The Girl from the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray 
Weight: 308.8 lbs. (140 kg) 🦈

 Hi, everyone!

Well, thanks to the hormones, I've been in my feelings all day. I didn't get much done today, but I did take a shower (a very high-difficulty executive function task for me) so I'm proud of that. A full-day water-only fast during Shark Week is rough. But I did it! I have a feeling it's going to be an early night for me. I'm totally wiped. 

Until next time,

Simone

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Friday, 15 March 2025
(Friday in the First Week of Lent)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: The Girl from the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray 
Weight: 312.2 lbs. (141.6 kg) 🦈

 Hi, everyone.

Not blogging for the past two days was sort of a conscious decision on my part. Tuesday was the birthday (and death anniversary) of someone very close to me, and I normally take that day each year to myself and don't worry about much except self-care. That ended up being two days this year, and I'm fine with that. I also didn't weigh myself either day, because on days when I'm one thing away from a full-on menty b, I don't want to give myself that one thing in the form of the scale. 

Also, (GENTLEMEN AVERT THINE EYES) my period came today-- EIGHT DAYS early!! What's up with that?? I mean, that would explain why my weight hasn't budged in a week and the uptick in desire to write slightly emo poetry, but seriously? Eight days? Ughhhhh...

In general, though, I am not super hungry, craving anything too badly, or feeling like I'm not eating enough. I am going to make an effort to get a little more fat (read: avocado toast with a big glug of olive oil) in my diet, because I don't think I'm getting enough. The protein shake situation continues to improve-- vanilla protein powder, oat milk, the oat milk creamer, and the chai spice blend is a good combination. I'm going to keep experimenting-- maybe with some different berries or fruit. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to know!

Tomorrow is a water fast, and I feel ready for it. I'm also hoping to do some housework and take a shower tomorrow. 

That's all I have for you today. 

Until next time,

Simone

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Thursday, 14 March 2025
(Thursday in the First Week of Lent)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: nothing right now (finished On Second Thought) 
Weight: 313.9 lbs. (142.5 kg) 🦈

 Hi, everyone!

I had an absolutely glorious day today, doing pretty much nothing. Yeah, I know, I'm going to have to get some homework and some housework done during this break. But today I gave myself permission to luxuriate-- it was well-deserved, I think. Tomorrow I'll actually do some stuff, including a shower, some housework, and some reading for school, especially for my sacramentology class. 

Oh, remember that midterm I was sure I had bombed? Yeah, about that. I just got the Canvas notification, and I got a 94%! Apparently, my professor was feeling charitable-- thank goodness!

Still not having a hard time figuring out what to eat, feeling deprived, or hungry. Obviously, I'm craving certain things, but that's to be expected. I'm pretty proud of myself. 

Until next time, 

Simone

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Monday, 10 March 2025
(Monday in the First Week of Lent)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: nothing right now (finished On Second Thought) 
Weight: 313.4 lbs. (142.5 kg) 

 Hi, everyone!

Forgot to weigh in this morning. Forgot to blog today. It's already way past my bedtime so I'll catch you tomorrow.

Until next time, 

Simone 

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Sunday, 9 March 2025
(First Sunday in Lent)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins
Weight: unknown 

 Hi, everyone!

Well, the taste-testing operation was, on the whole, a pretty significant failure. 

The kettle corn was really good, but that was about it. All of the dairy substitute products (including the yogurt I thought I liked when I tried it before) have bad textures (namely, way too hard/dense) and a violently offensive aftertaste that can only be described as "stale coconut farts." The Hippeas had kind of a funky aftertaste, although not nearly as bad as the Babybel rounds or the "cream cheese." 

To reward myself for surviving such indignities, I decided to invoke my right to order in once per week today, and I ordered in from the only vegan place in town. I got a grilled buffalo chickpea flatbread with vegan mozzarella (that did NOT taste like tropical toots,) roasted corn, little bits of tomato, chickpeas, pickled onions, and green onion. Y'all, look how gorgeous this thing was: 

Until next time,

Simone

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Saturday, 8 March 2025
(Saturday after Ash Wednesday)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins
Weight: unknown 

 Hi everyone! 

It's a Friday in Lent, so just water today. It's also officially spring break! Apparently, I need the break, because I got home around noon today and took an unplanned nap from 2 PM to almost 9 PM. Probably not the best thing for my circadian rhythm, but I'm not mad about it. 

I also ordered some groceries today, including some plant-based things I've never tried before that I'll be trying. Tomorrow’s plant-based taste test will include: 

• My usual KOS vegan chocolate protein shake but with vanilla coconut yogurt instead of the soy yogurt, in hopes that will help with the aftertaste
• Nacho Vibes Hippeas (I’ve heard a lot of vegan kids really like them, so that’s promising.) 
• Vegan Babybel rounds
• Boomchickapop Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn Popcorn 
• Triscuit Whole Grain Vegan Crackers (I thought Triscuits were vegan by definition, but the more you know…)
• Philadelphia Plant-Based Cream Cheese (I have high hopes for this one. I've heard universally good things.) 

Hopefully at least some of them will be winners so I can keep shopping at Kroger/Aldi/Giant Eagle and not have to surrender my entire net worth to Thrive Market for a membership and their overpriced bougie food. 

I also bought, but have not yet received, the vanilla version of my current protein powder, because I want to see if that's any better. When I get the vanilla stuff, I have an idea of trying it with coconut yogurt and some vanilla non-dairy creamer and maybe some chai spices? That might be good. Enough cinnamon and clove will cover a multitude of evils in the taste department.

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Friday, 6 March 2025
(Friday after Ash Wednesday)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins
Weight: 314.0 lbs. (142.0 kg)  

 Hi, everyone!

So, today was my first full plant-based day. Here's what I ate: 

• A burrito from the student union at school (rice, black and pinto beans, guacamole, roasted corn, some kind of chipotle spice blend) and it was delicious
• The chips that came with the burrito (just classic Lay's-- definitely vegan; I double-checked)
• Cinnamon applesauce
• A few Saltines

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Thursday, 6 March 2025
(Thursday after Ash Wednesday)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins
Weight: 312.9 lbs. (141.9 kg)  

Hi, everyone! Just got out of the shower and I'm headed to bed pretty soon here. 

So today was Ash Wednesday, which was a full water fast for me, and Lent has officially begun. 

Yesterday, Shrove Tuesday, I intentionally ate as much dairy as I possibly could, but that backfired on me, because I ended up throwing up from overeating. (Although, bright side: I felt sick to my stomach for a lot of the day today, which made the fast much easier. Can't get tempted by food when you're disgusted by food!) 

Tomorrow is my first day of eating vegan. I think I'll probably get a burrito bowl at school (rice, beans, guacamole, corn, maybe some salsa, just no cheese or sour cream) after class and Adoration, just to make things easier. It's like $5, which isn't bad, and it's filling. Then when I get home, I'll probably have a protein shake or something. Maybe some pasta and red sauce. I don't know. 

For now, it's well past my bedtime, and I need to sleep.

Until next time, 

Simone

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Wednesday, 5 March 2025
(Ash Wednesday)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins
Weight: 316.0 lbs. (143.3 kg)  

 Hi, everyone!

I know it's been a minute-- I'm sorry. Things got wild with midterms being last week, plus I think I might have gotten some kind of food poisoning or some other GI nonsense in the middle of the week. I'm fine now, but that was a rough couple of days. 

As far as how I did on that one oral midterm I was worried about-- well, let's put it this way: as the person who took the exam before me left the room, the professor told him he did amazing and had nothing to worry about. As I left after my exam, she said, and I quote, "You were really fun to talk to!" 😬 Yeeeeeahh. So that was a thing.

I've water fasted all day today (not for any particular reason; just because I wanted to) and I feel pretty good. I really like the clarity that fasting gives me-- it makes my brain feel so...unfoggy. I have epilepsy and a brain injury (which is what caused the epilepsy,) and I deal with a lot of neurological crap, and I've noticed that intermittent fasting helps. (Not to mention, it's clearly great for weight loss, too.)

Ash Wednesday is this week! Obviously, I'm making a lot of spiritual preparations for Lent, but I'm also doing some practical things to get ready for the dietary shift. For example, I've already bought all the ingredients for my vegan protein shake (KOS protein powder, oat milk, soy yogurt, bananas) and started getting used to making and drinking it instead of the Fairlife Core ones (which contain dairy) that I was drinking before. Here's what else I need to do: 

• Total fridge clean-out (partly to get rid of dairy/make room for new stuff and partly because I haven't cleaned my fridge in a while and miiiiiiight have some science projects starting in there.)
• Buy and try out a bunch of vegan products that Kroger carries (I will for sure keep you updated on this.) 
• Use up the last little bit of parmesan cheese I still have. 
• Restock pantry staples like applesauce, canned tomatoes, legumes, corn, soy-flavored ramen noodles, and plant-based canned soups.

Sunday, 2 March 2025
(Quinquagesima Sunday)
Location: Ohio (home)
Reading: On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins
Weight: 316.0 lbs. (143.3 kg)