End of Week Eight

I’ve hit a wall.

My progress seems to have halted. No big changes this week, and no measurable weight loss. I’ve been regularly adjusting and altering my workouts so my body doesn’t get bored, and I’ve done a little bit of tweaking on the cardio routines and weight routines. For a while I was afraid I was overdoing the cardio. Maybe I should go back to what I was doing before because that was working better, I think.

Nothing new on the relocation project. I’ve been doing a lot of employment research through the Oregon and Washington State Film offices. My husband and I had a good discussion about locations, and after this week’s horrible hurricane tragedy in the Southeast, we’ve almost decided that the Atlantic is just a little bit too violent for comfort. We were checking out areas that don’t get hurricanes as often, but they do hit once in a blue moon, nonetheless. He told me that Washington, DC got hit by one when he was a little boy, and all he could remember was really bad rain and wind.

I will send money to the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity to help. But I won’t move there.

So, in light of all the people who have lost everything, in some cases even their lives, I will end this entry here. There are things in this world far more important than my fitness progress.

End of Week Seven

Whoa – I think I’ve uncovered my hipbones!

Sorry I’m late on this one, but this week’s been pretty crazy at work. There’s been a lot of personnel shifts at the office and I’m having to take up the slack on a lot of projects as upper management tries to figure out who’s going to end up where.

Speaking of ending up somewhere else, my husband and I have been analyzing our living situation. We’re coming to the painful conclusion that we have to find a way to make more money. We’re both working our butts off, but because the cost of living in LA has become so impossible, either I’m going to have to take on a second job or we’re going to have to move out of Los Angeles; maybe even move out of California altogether. Neither of these options sounds very appetizing .

For example, we are renting a 3-bedroom, 2-bath house that’s about 1475 square feet (give or take a few feet) and we’re paying $1660 a month on rent. That does not include utilities – and the electric bill last month was almost $400, because it’s been so God-awful hot and we’re having to run the air-conditioning day and night. The house doesn’t have central air – it has three window / wall units spread throughout the house which are not only not very efficient in keeping the temperature down, but they also suck up a lot of power.

So, out of curiosity, I looked around in some so-called “less expensive” areas to see if we could get an apartment or townhouse rental that might help lower our monthly expenses. I was horrified to find that rental rates have gone through the roof! I found a modest ground-level two bedroom apartment with less than 1400 square feet, only one bathroom, and on-street parking for $2300 a month!! That’s criminal! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg – rentals in trendy or popular areas of LA can be up to $4000 a month for an even smaller apartment!

The whole reason for this is because real estate prices are through the roof. I read an article that said only about 11% of the Los Angeles metro area population can afford to buy a house right now, and I think that figure is high. A house in my neighborhood recently sold for over $700,000 – and it was a crappy little two-bedroom fixer-upper with bad plumbing, sub-standard wiring and a dirt yard. That doesn’t make any sense at all.

So my husband and I are trying to explore our options, which at the moment seem rather sparse.

End of Week Six

I’m coming along… I’m a day late on these because my day job has been keeping me busier than my paycheck would indicate. Isn’t that always the case, though? Sometimes I wish I didn’t have such a militant work ethic and that I could actually bring myself to do exactly the amount of work that I am being paid for. Boy would they be surprised.

The trip to Vegas didn’t seem to have too bad of an effect on my progress, though. I didn’t actually lose the usual 2.25 pounds to which I have become accustomed, however I am still seeing steady toning and I’m increasing my strength and stamina by leaps and bounds. I weighed in at 149 – meaning I have lost 13 total pounds in six weeks, which is only two pounds shy of being exactly on target. I figure that since the most significant loss seems to happen between weeks six and nine, I should be just right.

The best part is the fact that the guys in my company warehouse are starting to have trouble looking at my face during conversations. I have even caught members of management looking at unauthorized body parts when they think I’m not paying attention. Nobody has actually gone right out and made a comment (sexual harassment issues and all), but I get a little ego boost every time I see one of the guys at work checking out my butt. Makes me feel good to realize that it’s starting to be worthy of that kind of attention.

If I keep going like this, in six weeks they’re break a sweat when I walk into the warehouse. Heh.

End of Week Five

No photos this week… I DID work out (I swear!) but I was in Las Vegas with my husband, so the workout routine and photo thing got a bit scrambled. I did find out that TheHotel at the Mandalay Bay has an absolutely awesome gym facility. They don’t have a rowing machine, but that’s the only thing they’re missing. Free water and towels (each machine had a fresh towel in the water-bottle holder), 15" LCD TV's on every single machine with a headset plug.. plus shampoo, conditioner, lotion, mouthwash, ionic blow-dryers and styling products were available in the locker room. For free. Feminine products, too, as well as cotton balls and Q-tips. Very nice.

We ate VERY well. My husband is not a fan of Las Vegas buffets, so we avoid that kind of overeaters paradise. We tend to migrate towards the high-end restaurants… thank heavens we only go to Vegas once a year, because spending over $400 for a single meal is not something we can afford to do very often!

Worth every penny.

I lost a total of about $50 playing blackjack, and my husband ended up about the same. We didn’t really gamble – we’d rather go to the really exciting eateries or see shows. And the hotel room was exactly what the doctor ordered – a bed big enough to need pillows as landmarks, a plasma screen TV in every room (including the bathroom), thick towels and bathrobes, creamy soaps in the tubs and sinks, and a fabulous view of the strip. Lots of relaxing. Excellent food and drink. We were pampered like movie stars. We only stayed for three days – otherwise we would have had to take out a loan to pay another night at the hotel. I have a savings account that I add a little bit to every paycheck for this very purpose.

But I didn’t take my Tuesday photos. Suffice it to say that I didn’t gain any weight – I may not have lost much, but I didn’t gain anything.

Except a much more peaceful state of mind.

You were right.

So… I’m in a better mood. I ended up forcing myself to go to the gym, and although it was a slow start (I was still seething for no particular reason when I got changed into my gym clothes), after about 15 minutes of sweating, I started to feel better. It ended up being a pretty productive workout, and I gave my abs an extra blast, just for good measure.

The capper, though, was when I weighed myself before I left. 152 pounds fully dressed. I’ve lost ten whole pounds!! In only four weeks, or one-third of twelve weeks. Which means I’m exactly on schedule, since my goal is to lose 30 pounds in twelve weeks.

So I’m in a better mood. And I’m planning on going to that Hollywood schmooze-fest thingie tonight, although I’m still a little hesitant to go out at 10pm on a weeknight. I may be relatively useless at the office tomorrow. I’ve had an extremely productive day at work today – I’ve spent the entire day picking up the pieces of projects that other people dropped the ball on. It seems that every time something gets screwed up, they pull me in to make it all better. Not like I don’t have my own projects to attend to or anything…

I won’t be growling at anyone tonight, but I still hope to make it as early as I can. Fridays in my office are often pretty overwhelming, and we’re two people short this week to boot. I’ll have to have a couple of Red Bulls to get through the day with both eyes open.

But then I get more work done in a single day when I’m half-asleep than most people do all week when they’re wide awake. Heh.

Grrr

I’m in a bad mood today. I don’t know why. Things that I usually blow off are supremely infuriating, and things that usually make me laugh are simply annoying. I have a million things at work being thrown my way and under normal circumstances, I would field everything as it comes and keep plowing forward, but today it’s all just piling up and I can’t seem to make headway on anything. Plus the day’s dragging and all I want to do is jump in my car and leave.

Most of you will say “go work out it’ll make you feel better.”

Maybe that’s true, but if the gym’s too crowded or parking is difficult, I’m almost afraid that I won’t be able to control my impulse to throttle someone. Which would be bad. And I don’t really want to go home and be snarky with my husband – he doesn’t deserve that. He hasn’t done anything. I’m just in a bad mood.

Maybe I’ll blow off the gym and go shopping. I don’t actually have to buy anything – just walking around and having mindless visual stimulation, plus doing a little bit of brisk walking without having to deal with the truly awful gym hip-hop soundtrack or the guys that leave a lake of sweat behind on the machines might do me some good.

I also have a Hollywood networking thingie to go to tomorrow night – but the darn thing doesn’t start until 10pm. On a school night. Who thought of that? I should go – it’s a good opportunity to schmooze and get my name & face in front of some voiceover and acting agents and managers… but it’s just so darn late. I sincerely hope my lousy mood improves by tomorrow so I will be in a better frame of mind. If not, I’ll end up going and sitting in some corner with a snarl on my face and growl at anyone who might come up and try and talk to me. Then I’ll leave at 10:37 and drive the 20 miles home, grumbling and disappointed, chain smoking all the way.

But for today, I just have to make it until 5:30…

End of Week Four

So here’s the latest photo, end of Week Four! Say goodbye to back fat!

I’m still having some issues regarding waist lard and tummy blubber, though. They all say that it’s impossible to “spot reduce” and that only cardio will melt those pounds away. But they seem to be sticking more tenaciously than other fat pockets are, and even though I am steadily losing weight, it’s going much slower on the belly and waistline than it is anywhere else. That spare tire is stubborn! And I can’t possibly up my cardio workout – I’m already doing a full hour and fifteen minutes of cardio five times a week, and I increase the intensity each new week:

25 mins – Recumbent Bike or Treadmill (5 days/week)
25 mins – Rowing machine (5 days/week)
25 mins – Elliptical trainer or stair machine (5 days/week)
Plus weight routine (upper body & abs M-W-F; Lower body T-Th)
Yoga stretch to finish

I’m also getting some lower back pain while rowing on the Concept2 rower at the gym. The trainer says that I need to strengthen my abdominals (maybe that’s why the tummy won’t firm up as quickly as I want??) in order to better support my back. But I do abdominal exercises three days a week. Maybe I’m missing something. Anyone out there with a good six-pack, post a comment and give me your ab-tips!