Guest Post: Nadia & Her Weight-Loss Mission

Hey guys! Please welcome Nadia’s eleventh guest post!
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“Perhaps it sounds ridiculous, but the best thing that young filmmakers should do is to get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all.” – Stanley Kubrick

Over the past weekend, I helped conceive, write, edit, punch-up, improvise, and act in a short film for the 48 Hour Film Festival. We had a director, many writers and actors, sound/music, editors, hair/makeup, and so on. It was quite a production (pun intended).

The thing is, the process of making a film of any kind is nearly 90% planning, and this contest is inherently counterproductive to that process. As a result, we had two failed scripts, two failed filming locations, and a lot of pressure to turn in a finished product on time. In the end, there was literally one minute left on the clock before the deadline.

I have yet to see the finished product, but given the number of people, the setbacks, the complications, and so forth, I believe it’s probably pretty good.

You know what’s not so good? My weight loss!

Ah, because on the set of a film, there is often very little healthy food in sight. In fact, it’s a common joke to ask where the Twizzlers are on any given student film project, as professional catering on major studio film and television productions often have a table full of candy, including the omnipresent Twizzlers. Our filmmaking process didn’t have much candy, but it did include meals such as McDonalds for breakfast, In and Out for dinner, greasy chicken tamales for lunch, Ralph’s sub sandwiches for dinner, and pizza in the middle of the night, plus salty snacks like potato chips and sweet snacks like cookies. Sure, I could have planned to pack a lunch, and in hindsight, I probably should have, but when you’re banging out a script at 2am with that kind of pressure weighing on your back, you really don’t care what you put in your stomach, so long as it fuels you and shuts it up.

The Cranky One has cited my amazing metabolism the last couple of weeks, but alas, I fear it has started to fail me. For you see, when I woke up this morning, I weighed myself….

…and I was at 142.6.

It’s been holding steady around 140.2 – I gained two pounds!!

Of course, this is not the end of the world. I’ve never been so obsessed with how I look or the number on a scale that two pounds would send me into an epic tizzy. But it does show that when you’re under high stress, eating foods high in fat without regard to portion size or anything, and you’re not working them off, you’re going to gain weight. Plain and freakin’ simple. I’m sure it didn’t help that most of those meals were meat based too!

So now, I put it to The Cranky One and you, the lovely readers – what should my next goal be? How can I prevent the pounds from creeping up on me, and what should I do to lose more? Whatever you suggest and whatever wins as the majority decision is what I will do.

I am serious about this challenge. I put my weight loss fate in your hands!

Best Meal:

Vegan Carnitas Taco from Pure Luck (Echo Park): The jackfruit is a mysterious Asian fruit that’s massive in size with the same consistency and texture as pork. I’m not actually a big carnitas fan anyway, but eating this fruit was something special. Top it off with avocado, pico de gallo, rice and beans, and pickle chips – lightly battered pickles! Yum!

I’m going to add a second meal here: dessert from Scoops, my favorite ice cream shop in Los Angeles.
[photo cred]
No, you’re not hallucinating — L.A.’s got lots o’ places that serve vegan ice cream! Sweet!

Located in Echo Park, Scoops offers crazy ice cream, sorbet and – VEGAN! – options such as Brown Bread, Vegan Cookies and Cream, Butterscotch, and so on. I had Salty White Chocolate (non-vegan) and Pomegranate and Pineapple (vegan) – it was marvelous! Plus, you can suggest your own flavors on a whiteboard that they’ll try making (I’ve seen suggestions for Watermelon and Lime, and Lavender and Vanilla).

Worst Meal:

See Friday, August 13th through Sunday, August 15th (dates of the 48hr Film Fest).

How I Worked Out:

Swimming a little, jogging a little, weights a little. I said last week I would put in 5 days of exercise, but given that I was awake for 40 hours straight, I only managed to work out three times this week. Curse you, hours in a day!

What Did We Learn?:

Filmmaking is an exhausting process. It takes time, effort, diligence, perseverance, and a can-do attitude (why do I sound like I’m applying for a job?). The point is, it takes a toll, and it’s no wonder we see actors, directors, and others in the film industry fluctuate so rapidly between their weight. If you were away from healthy food options for, let’s say a week, how would you fare? Let’s all be kind to those we see in the tabloids from now on, as they may just be suffering from “48 Hour Filming Syndrome.”

This Week’s Goal:

It’s up to you, the Cranky readers! Email Ana, tweet her, Facebook her – whatever it takes! She will fill me in on the details in this blog, and in the meantime, I will try to work off the weight I gained.

Start Weight According to Crappy Target Scale: 140.2

End Weight According to Crappy Target Scale: 142.6 (BLEH!)

Ask me and Ana questions on Twitter at @nahdeeeyah and at @feedmeimcranky1!

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Nia, congrats on your participation in 48-Hour Film Fest! This was definitely an interesting experiment in how to eat healthy when completely under the gun. Consider it practice for your forthcoming SNL days! I think the hardest part about eating healthy in any work setting isn’t so much lack of healthy food options — it’s kinda lame, but we can always pack our own food – it’s ignoring the peer pressure to eat like crap and ignoring the inevitable quips about your healthy food choices. 2-pounds is so easy to bounce back from, my dear! Give your body the healthy food it deserves this week, and I know it will repay you!

To see Nadia’s first update, click here; her second, click here; her third, click here; her fourth, click here ; her fifth, click here; her sixth, click here; her seventh, click here; her eighth, click here;  her ninth, click here; and/or her tenth, click here.

Alrite, so Nia asked you guys to offer up your own ideas on how she can tackle her 2-pound gain this week — thoughts?

<3,

The Cranky One

Tags: 48 hour film fest, echo park, los angeles vegan food, pure luck restaurant, scoops, vegan ice cream