My Big Fat Raw Experiement

So tomorrow I will begin Penni Shelton's "Big Fat Raw Experiment". She will be advising a group of us guinea pigs as we embark on a 10 week journey into cleansing and weight loss through eating raw foods.

The backbone of my meal plan will be:

32 oz green smoothie every morning
Big raw green salad at lunch
20 oz raw juice in the evening

I will also be trying some of the raw recipes from Alissa Cohen's book, the Pure Jeevan e-book, the Raw Fu website and, of course, from Penni's website. I am going to try to eat high raw for the duration of the experiment.

The timing is perfect because I was already toying with the idea of doing 101 consecutive days of yoga starting June 1st. Now I've decided to go for it and to combine a high raw diet with the yoga.

My weekly workout schedule will be:

Bikram - 4x per week at the studio
Baptiste - 2x per week at home w/ dvd
Bikram or Baptiste - 1x per week at home w/ dvd or cd

I had such a great visit with my family but I ate and drank a little too much. And I got my ankle tattoo, so I haven't been doing yoga. I guess that I should be happy that I only gained back 5 pounds because it could have been a lot worse. ;))

Today's Weight: 207.5

Here are my starting measurements taking fully clothed and wearing a bra:

Bust (around fullest part): 42"
Waist (around smallest part): 37"
Hips(around fullest part): 48"

I promise that I will post before pictures in the next couple of days.

MC Day Eight

The cleanse is still going well. I didn't have lemons to make my lemonade yesterday morning so I bought the MC Lemonade premade from Umeke Market. They clearly used bottled and not fresh lemon juice. As a result I felt kind of tired and cranky and wanting to eat all day. Weird. Today I made my own lemonade and I feel fine. Proof positive that it DOES matter that you use the correct ingredients and not cut corners.

I didn't do yoga last night because I was feeling so low energy. My skin kind of smells funny today. Probably detox or build up of dead cells. I plan to do yoga tonight - so the sweat will help flush it out. I am also going to begin dry brushing every morning so that my skin can better release all the toxins that have built up.

I did some research on the internet and I found a tattoo similar to what I want to get when I go to SF. I will be sure to post it once it's finished. I hope to lose12 more pounds so that when I gain back a few from having food in my system again, I'll still be at or very close to 40 pounds down from my highest weight. ;))

My recent progress:

Day Seven (5/7/09) - 204.0

Day Eight (5/8/09) - 202.5

That makes 15 pounds lost in the last 8 days!!!

TOTAL OF 33.5 POUNDS RELEASED!!!!!!

MC Day Six

Still doing great. SWF every morning. Green/peppermint tea mixture when I get to work. MC lemonade throughout the day. Monday I went to Jamba Juice during lunch and got a 2 oz wheat grass shot and a 16 oz carrot juice. I won't do that every day, just when I feel like I need a pick-me-up. Yesterday I had 4 oz of Kombucha, Gingerade flavor. YUM. I am actually really liking the taste now. Or maybe I am just glad to have something different from the lemonade.

I did Bikram's beginner series at home the last 2 nights. It's a totally different experience from going to the studio. It's a lot less intense without the heat. But I am also able to focus better without the distraction of the mirror or the other students. No dizziness or fatigue. Overall I feel really, really good.

My progress over the last few days:

Day Four (5/4/09) - 207.0

Day Five (5/5/09) - 206.5

Day Six (5/6/09) - 204.5

That makes 13 pounds lost in the last 6 days!!!

TOTAL OF 31.5 POUNDS RELEASED!!!!!!

MC Day Three

OK. I totally backslid on both my eating habits and my yoga program over the past couple of weeks. It started because my blender gradually stopped working and I could no longer make green smoothies that were palatable to drink. (I've got my eye on a couple used Vita Mix machines on ebay to replace it, though.) Then I had friend and family visitors back to back so what little free time I have was spent going out to eat, going out drinking, and doing fun tourist stuff. Unfortunately, most of my good intentions went out the friggin window.

Not to worry, I am back on track. In fact I am on Day Three of a 15 day Master Cleanse. I want to wipe the slate clean. I also want to get down below the 200 lb mark before my trip. I know that it's doable I just need to focus. I am doing the Salt Water Flush every single morning. I will do yoga at home w/ Bikram's audio cd in the evening at least 10 out of the 13 days left before my trip.

I didn't begin with the yoga right away because I thought it would be better to give myself a few days to get into the swing of the fast before adding exercise. The first couple of days are the hardest and I wanted to make it a little bit easier to stick with.

I'd also like to incorporate a couple swim sessions next weekend and I'm scheduled to get body wraps on Day 7 & Day 14 as well.

Here's my progress so far:

Day Zero (4/30/09) - 217.5

Day One (5/1/09) - 214.5

Day Two (5/2/09) - 212.0

Day Three (5/3/09) - 209.0

That's 8.5 pounds lost so far on this cleanse!!!


I am drinking plenty of the MC lemonade and pure water. I am also having green tea once a day and herbal teas as needed. I feel good physically but have a very short fuse emotionally. Things just seem to annoy me a lot more than usual. But I think that's because I am used to stuffing my emotions with food and can no longer do that.

When I am finished I plan to get back to my green smoothie routine and will most likely eat a high raw diet. The month of May is my new beginning into Raw Foods. I've built the foundation of yoga and now it's high time to quit slacking and commit to eating well once and for all.