It's Happening!

Mango smoothie

Banana

Turkey slices 

Cashews

Dried mango 

Salmon

Hard cider 

Day 17

Banana

Mixed Berry Juice

Steak, Onions, Mixed Veggies

Salmon

A few bites of gross squash (RAGE)

Hard Apple Cider

I SAW INTERSTELLAR. I have so many thoughts. It was a lot like Contact, which is one of my most favorite movies ever. The acting was superb and the science was all pretty solid. I had feels. I'm still processing it. It was a really interesting look at what happens to Earth when it gets used up and what the risks of interstellar space flight might be. I've always been fascinated by the concept of time slippage and how time on Earth might pass differently than if you were traveling around anomalies like black holes and worm holes and they really rooted all of their scientific concepts for the plot of the movie in emotional human needs. 

I really don't want to say much more except for SEE IT and let me know what you thought in the comments!

Day 16

Eggs, Bacon, Onion

Tea, Almond Milk, Stevia

Apple

Cashews, Dried Mango

Mixed Berry Juice

Steak, Broccoli 

Day 15

Juice
Banana

Apple
Cashews and dried mango

salmon, brocoli, squash

white wine (too much white wine)
Pastry

GUYS. I learned something. Excessively drinking leads to bad dietary decisions. I'm not ashamed because as far as diet is concerned, it was not the worst day. I had eaten too little to begin with and I didn't get my break till 4pm and they closed the catering before I got there. So letting myself starve all day, basically, while being active, getting mad and anxious, going for drinks and not being super responsible resulted in pastry eatage.

And believe me I'm paying for it this morning. But I'm going to give myself a break and just make better decisions today.

End of week 2

This, on the whole, has not been my strongest week. It's ok because I learned some things and I'm not giving up, bud gaaahd. I'm annoyed that yet again todag I are outside of my guidelines. Today was a problem because I woke up late and was unable to prepare for the day in the way I needed to because I basically had to get up and rush out the door to work. I started at 9 and was supposed to get a half hour break at 1, but after work I had tickets to a dress rehearsal of the Christmas Spectacular and right after that, I had an hour to get uptown to see Dane Cook in the NY comedy festival, leaving no time for cooking or shopping at my go to eateries because the time was too short. I knew I couldn't reheat anything because I hadn't had time to pack a lunch before I left and I also couldn't live off of my morning juice, some nuts, and an apple till 11pm. To make matters worse, when I got to my break time, there was chaos on the floor and I didn't end up going on my break until 10 minutes into it. So left with that I had to grab the first protein that was available and shove it down my gullet. I ended up picking up a sandwich at lunch and gulping down hot soup between the two shows. Calorie wise, I think everything still probably turned out okay, but it definitely wasn't a Paleo day. I'll do better tomorrow.

Mango/Orange Smoothie

Turkey, cheddar, lettuce, mayo sandwich

Split pea soup

Paleo Lifehacks: Keeping Costs Down

So I did a vlog today instead of writing an article, so you'll get my info from the horses mouth!

I will, however, add my food log for Day 13 below. I ate my chocolate bar that I'd been saving since before Halloween. I'll post a review tomorrow. It was super good. I had no business "treating" myself due to my last few days of behavior on set, but hey. At least it was a Paleo delicacy. More challenges tomorrow.

I'm also not weighing myself because I know eating this way is going to work and I don't want to be so focused on the scale or be a person who weighs themselves every day or every week. I'm in it for the sake of wellness and confidence and I'm gonna hope that this new "system" works out for me. I am curious to know how I'm doing after two weeks, but the results should be telling in how my clothes fit as time goes on. Just gotta sit tight and keep choosing wisely.

Mixed Berry Smoothie
Cashews
Dried Cranberries
Banana

Eggs, Bacon, Pepper, Onion, Mushroom

Apple
Paleo Chocolate Banana Crunch Bar from Hu Kitchen

Chicken
Sweet Potato

Bill Lowe: The Pillow

It was just two days, but I really did have a great time with these guys. It's weird how you can come together for a project and just get on with people you've never really met before. There were times where we even got on too well and had to be chastened mildly so we could get our work done. But! For a few days, we made zee magics for the camera and we had a lot of laughs and that was just raw fun. 

Basically, my whole role takes place around the D&D table. Some of us had scripted in game characters. I was Sam-Dumb, the Barbarian, whom I decided was a gnome. While we were waiting for shots to get set up, some of us actually filled out our character sheets. You can have a look at mine here. It contains gems such as "Maximum Hit Points: Infinity" and "Flaws: Hybris... NONE." 

We obviously weren't looking to create characters by the rules, but the jokes on everyone's sheets were genius and I'm only sad that they never really get featured. We'll just chalk it all up to our very rich character development rituals. My personal favorites for other people included:

• Alignment: Bi
• Alignment: Pilates
• Languages: Horse Whispering and Horse Yelling. 
• A caster's health points: 180

I seriously should have take more pictures of our stuff. It was great. 

One of the great privileges of working on this was getting just be an actor. Often times on webseries sets, you have multiple jobs. Frankly, at the Renaissance Faire we all chipped in when and where we could to get the whole job done. That was definitely the case for other people on this set, but I really just had to show up, get dressed in my costume, have my make and hair done, do some line throughs, and get the scenes shot relatively unscathed. I say relatively because for some reason after we punch in to my close ups, I always have a tendency to somehow FORGET my lines. How silly is that? It was just really nice to be able to focus on character and exploration and being present when the cameras got rolling while not trying to do a million other things at the same time, which I always seem to be doing on my other projects. It was so refreshing and such a gift to get to focus on what I enjoy doing most for the last few days and it was just a nice bonus that the other people on set, both cast and crew, were so much fun. Plus, on my second day, our Costume Designer, Elise VanderKley, gave me Princess Leia buns. MY WILDEST ON CAMERA DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE. I can die happy now. 

So please take a moment to visit the Bill Lowe (the pillow) Facebook page. You can watch the season one videos on YouTube and follow the show on Twitter to keep abreast of all Pillow type uploads and news. I'm sure there will be more as they ramp up to release season two! I'll certainly be linking my episodes here and on my Facebook page (which you should Like on the side bar here because I link a lot of cool stuff there guys!). 

I did not manage to eat any better today, so I just got it out of my system and had the ice cream I've been craving on my way home. Bah. Tomorrow will be a better day and a day to get on track once more. The good thing is that I have a lot already cooked, so I don't have to really try very hard. 

Mixed Berry Juice

Banana

Green Tea with Honey

Corn Chips & Hummus

Organic Apple Cider

Pizza

Icecream

Day 11

Today was not a complete disaster in that I didn't let one treat take my whole day down. I was on set and all I wanted to do was snack but I managed to keep it minimal and then divest myself of a substantial and sadly not Paleo lunch. Although, I have a better plan for what I'll eat tomorrow based on what I saw other people get today. We had a really fun time at the shoot but there's more work to be done this week, so I'm going to keep this short, look over my lines, and hit the hay.

Mango/Orange Smoothie

Tea with stevia

Apples

Turkey, Cheddar, Greens, and Some sort of Dressing on a Roll

Sweet Potatoes
Chicken Breast

Day 10

Eggs, onion, mushroom, and pepper

Bacon

Espresso, almond milk, and stevia

Cashews

Ahi Tuna/Avacado/Mixed Greens Salad with Balsamic

Sashimi of Salmon, Tuna, and Yellow Tail

Pickled Ginger

White Wine

White Wine

I made it through the day relatively well, considering I had social obligations in the evening. I probably didn't need TWO glasses of wine, BUT IT HAPPENED and white wine was on my Paleo approved list of alcohols. The fish was wonderful and fresh and I have to give a shout out to my friend Steven who gifted me such a wonderful dinner and introduced me to some of his awesome family members along the way. The Tuna, in every incarnation, was glorious. Everything was so glorious that I didn't take a picture for the blog until it was almost too late. So here. Have this tuna with ginger and a flower.

I also spent time preparing for this week by doing a bit of shopping and preparing some snacks/fruit for the first day of the Bill Lowe (the pillow) shoot. Food is supposed to be provided but I'm not sure whether it's stuff I can eat, so we'll see! Just want to make sure I can stay on track. I also had to pack up some options for costumes so the designer can choose what she wants me to wear. She sent some drop box images and it doesn't seem too hard bring her stuff that fits the mold. The character is a nerdy girl who plays a lot of D&D and is a bit snarky. 

What a stretch. Heh!

But yes! I'm off to bed to get some beauty sleep now so I can be ready for my closeup in the morning.

Day 9 Log

Mixed berry smoothie 

Chai tea with almond milk and stevia

Cashews, dried mango

pistachio, cranberry, and agave bar

Bacon, eggs, onions, peppers, mushrooms

Sweet Potato and Cinnamon

Man, at first I was surprised to find how not hungry I was this morning but by the time it came to making dinner- GOOD LORD I WAS RAVENOUS. 

I also baked up some chicken and more sweet potatoes for use this week while memorizing lines for the webseries I'm shooting. You can check out the first season of Bill Lowe (the pillow) in the meantime. It's a lot of fun and it is written and produced by my friend Sketkh Williams. I'm super excited to be cast in season two, plus it means I get to spend the next 4 days purely on my craft, which is just good for the soul.  

Honestly, it's just nice to have a nice evening in after a cold cold COLD commute in the rain.