George Costanza and Psycho

To quote George Costanza..."I'm back, baby, I'm back!"  While I have not lost weight and in fact have gained a couple of pounds, I feel great. Yesterday, I worked out for 30 minutes on the elliptical and will be lifting weights after work today  I'm also tracking my calories every day using the Lose It app on my phone.   I'm back on board with my accountability coach, which is crucial. So, life is good.

My short term goal is to lose as much weight as possible between now and when we fly to Orlando in a couple of weeks.  Debbie and I are attending a business event there and are really excited. My challenge will be to enjoy myself when in Florida, but not to indulge too much.  Another goal I have is to maintain steady weight loss through the holidays. I like what Fat2Fit Radio's Russ and Jeff teach.  They recommend eating healthy throughout the year, so that you can eat what you want on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Eating only salad on Thanksgiving just doesn't work. In fact, they recommend not giving up anything, but to rather eat in moderation.

Which is why I now eat chocolate.  I have a sweet tooth, but instead of denying myself chocolate and then eating a couple of pounds of it, I eat a couple of squares of high quality dark chocolate every day and just factor the calories into my daily budget. There is also evidence that dark chocolate is beneficial for the circulatory system.  Last night I had a mandarin orange and small square of Ghiradelli chocolate.  Nice...

Since this blog is not all about my narcissistic account of my weight loss, I thought I would mention something different. Yesterday I read that this year is the 50th anniversary of the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Psycho. This is a great film, especially compared to the crop of trashy horror movies of the past years (IMHO). Of note, Hitchcock was under contract to make a movie for Paramount following the huge success of North By Northwest. But the executives there were not at all interested in a movie about a psychopathic murderer in a seedy hotel where the lead actor (Janet Leigh) dies early into the movie. In fact, Paramount refused to pay for it or to allow it to be filmed at their studios.  Hitchcock himself paid the $800,000 cost, a paltry amount even in 1960, and he hired  Universal Studios for the filming location.  I've done the backlot tour at Universal and the Bates motel and house are my favorite part of the tour.  What is amazing about this film is that the audience becomes emotionally connected to the killer Norman Bates.  Remember the scene when Norman disposes of the body by sinking it inside a car? The audience gasped when the car stopped sinking and became increasingly agitated as Norman becomes agitated. Hitchcock wanted the audience to become emotionally complicit with the killer. Of course, Psycho went on to become a huge commercial success and ultimately cost $2.8 million to make, since it cost $800K for production and then Hitchcock was able to take out his $2 million fee after ticket sales.

Some Psycho trivia:

1) Chocolate syrup was used for the blood going down the drain in the shower scene.  Remember, the movie was filmed in black and white.

2) While the shower scene lasted only 45 seconds, 77 different camera angles where used.

3) When Janet Leigh's character is driving up the hill toward the motel, a studio floodlight can be seen and is in fact lit. It was inadvertently left in the scene. Hitchcock felt no one would recognize what it was.

If you are inclined and have the chance, rent a copy of  Psycho and enjoy!

Jeff