The 30-day trial (http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/read.php?2,37363) was an awesome experience. I do not want to stop now. I really do want to transform myself. Do you too? If yes, then please join me!

The method:
* high-fruit low-fat diet
- this is something I've tried in the 30-day trial. I observed some but not too dramatic imrpovements. Something tells me that it is worthwile to do it for a little longer.
* exercise
- I have to get of my bum. I discovered wobbly bits on my body, here and there. I want them to go. After buying some fitness magazine and seeing transformational photos of ladies who eat crap but exercise and look better than me, I decided that exercise does matter. So, I decided that I have to do something about it.

Other than the above, I cannot think of any other rules to follow. The diet and getting of my bum at the same time seems a lot already ha ha!

Please join me, and we will transfomr ourselves together!

One thing: Take photos of you now, so that there is something to compare with.

OK, I hope I will stick to the plan. Now that I announced it, I will have to follow it through lol!

Why 12 weeks? Because this seems long enough to really transfomr oneself.

week 1:
Starting tomorrow!

Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

Trial 1 inspired me and set me in place for trial 2!

I feel ready to do this.
12 weeks sounds great!
Looking forward to the support and motivation this trial will bring.
Everyone sharing and transforming together!!!!

This sounds like fun!!
Besides the eating, should we note what exercise we do each day and post our before (now) pics?

xxpeisi

Hi, Gosia, Loretta and Peisinoe,
I want to try too it will be fun to witness more changes as I didn't really in the short trial, well maybe there were some but the detox ( digestion) was bothering me too much so to appreciate the good side of it...

I will post also exercises : what kind, how many minutes... as much as I can.


My first day will be Tuesday April 17 - looking forward to sharing with you!!!!! xxx Cynthia

Gosia, this challenge couldn't have come at a better time for me. Thanks so much for starting this.

Yesterday, April 15, was my 90th consecutive day on high fruit low fat. I am pleased with the results so far and would like to do another 12 weeks for sure. I'm excited

Today, April 16th 2007, is my 91st day.

For my first 60 days, I did exercise a lot - for me. (I was very sedentary before). I mostly did stuff around the house, walked a lot, did some videos etc. Then from day 60-90, I slowed it down, partly at first for a need for my body to rest and then I simply got lazy.

Today was my FIRST day to hit the gym. My husband and I signed up over the weekend and I had a session with a personal trainer today. This is the PERFECT challenge for me!

Starting out: 25% body fat (my scale at home was OH so off!!!, 97 lbs, 4'11", and I have a ton more body measurements but my "trainer" has it. I'll have to get it another time.

Goals: I'd like to keep going on high fruit low fat, get my bf percentage down to the teens and work on some "problem" areas like my hips and thighs.

Today I mostly talked with the trainer and then did the elliptical machine for 20 minutes, which almost killed me, which is pretty shameful.

I ate 1/2 huge watermelon for lunch and plan to have the other half for dinner, with possible a salad somewhere in between.

I feel good so far.

Sarah
[goingbananasblog.com]

Hooray! Let's get transformed ha ha!

I am going to report the food and exercise on weekly, rather than daily basis, in order to condense my posts a bit. And, I would love to participate in sharing and learning from each other.

This week I am going to make an effort to actually do some exercise and perhaps even get to some form of routine. The first small step.

Please please do take photos. I did a few days ago and haven't changes since then, so I will use them. I am not going to show them just yet. I am not really keen on sharing them he he. But, if by some lucky chance (??), I really do get transformed, then I will share them then.

Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

Good plan! Way to go!

_________________________

Proverbs 15:17 (New International Version) "Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred."

Day one of anything new is always my favorite I just never seem to make it to day number The End. I'm ready to start over.

Hi All

I'll start with you guys also. I'm still trying to read the 80/10/10 book. I have some flax crackers in my house But I'll try to ignore them. I started so I'll post now. I hope I can keep up with you guys. I'm just starting to stand with a cane so I'm not doing any exercise maybe I'll try to sit on the floor and try to do SOMETHING.

4 pears
5 apples
2 grapefruits
4 bananas

green smoothies
romaine lettuce (1 head)
4 bananas
1 teaspoon flax
1 teaspoon psyllium husk whole
1 Tablespoon spirulina

PS Am I allowed to have flax,psyllium husk,spirulina

tadey

Alright ladies!!
Today, I am going to join you on the journey. It is the morning of April 17th here is sunny sweden, and I am making myself a banana-mango-clementine (with spinach) smoothie to prepare for the gym!!
1 medium banana
1/2 small mango
1 clementine
handful of spinach to help release sugars slowly

Alright... Now, I am not so shy about my body so let me be the first to post the BEFORE pics. I am thinking of taking them once a week from these angles (front, side and inbetween) in the same boxers and bra so that the only thing changing will be my figure. I want to mark when the progress is speeding up, slowing down, etc- based on what I am eating!
FRONT (you guys like the painting I did for my bathroom?)

SASSY SIDE (this one goes to show all you girls who have problems with EDs in the past how sexy some full figured hips can be! Meow!

SIDE (I had to force myself not to suck in on this one. I guess this means I am a pear? Weight around the hips, lower abdomen and thighs)

PROBLEM AREA (I really want to tone this part up)


My height is 174 cms (5'8''), I weigh 63-64 kilos (138-140 pounds) and my measurements otherwise are as follows:
neck 30.5 cm - 12 inches
bust 86 cm - 34 inches
waist 67 cm - 26 inches
abdomen 87 cm - 34 inches
hips 90 cm - 35.5 inches !!
upper thigh 53.5 cm - 21 inches !!
calv 36 cm - 14 inches
upper arm 26 cm - 10 inches

So what I am looking to improve is basically all the junk in my trunk.

:::NOTE:::
If my pictures in this forum are offending anyone, please let me know and I will ask Bryan to edit them out of this post, and I can move them to my journal for people who are interested. I tried keeping them as tasteful as possible while showing my actual figure, and kind of mocked the before and afters they show in most magazines- so I think this should be ok. But just let me know if they make any reader uncomfortable and I'll fix it for you.

GYM SCEDULE TODAY
1 hour Yoga
30 minutes of running at 10 km/hour (6.7 miles an hour I think)
1 hour strenuous weightlifting, focusing on my arms and strengthening my back

I think it is great that we are doing this to give valuable info to other raw foodies who are curious! We are the pioneers ladies!!

Live it, love it, learn from it!!

xxPeisi

I have been toying with RAW food over the last 4 months or so but just recently purchased the 80-10-10 Diet book. My hubby and I are committed to doing 811 for the next 90 days to feel and see the transformation! We want to give this a real chance before making any alterations or assumptions.

These next 12 weeks are going to be exciting and trying. Thank you sparkler for sharing these posts with me. This comes at just the perfect time for me too!

It is a joy to do it collectively! It's actually what I have been doing, but it's fun and powerful to engage consciously and collectively!

This is a wonderful idea! Very motivating to have so many people doing it together and being supportive of each other.

Peisi, how nice to post your pics already! I'm not so brave to do it yet...I think I will wait until I have my good "after". LOL! I have the same problem area as you (I think most ladies do?). You're funny - "sassy side". I don't find the attire offensive at all. I think it enables you to see the most progress. I did my pics in my bra and undies, too.

I'm so excited to have all of you to share this with! Peisi, kudos to you - you're already looking good in your before pics! You shoulda seen mine from before the last 90 days. LOL I still haven't taken my pic today but plan to do it by tomorrow morning. I haven't decided if I'll post it yet or wait til the end of the challenge.

Today so far I've only eaten 7 bananas, which is not very much for me. Usually I eat a much bigger lunch. I am planning a nice big salad tonight and a lot more fruit.

In the middle of the afternoon during my dd's nap, I forced myself to go to the gym in honor of this challenge even though I really didn't want to. (See, you guys are good for me!) Once I got there I was glad I went. I did 15 minutes warm-up on the treadmill (fast walking) and 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. That's a little more than I did yesterday. Hurrah! Hopefully in the next few days my "trainer" will help me add in more than just cardio, but for now I'm sticking to what I'm comfortable with.

Hey Piano Gal, are you a concert pianist? I'm a "piano gal" too.

Sarah
[goingbananasblog.com]





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2007 09:31PM by Sparkler.

I would like to join you guys as well. I have been reading the high fruit-low fat-research trial thread and have been experimenting with it for the last two weeks, so I feel ready to do it for real now

I am fifty years old and have been eating 100% raw for the past four and a half years but something has been lacking. I still haven't got to the stage where I feel that I have loads of energy and don't need so much sleep anymore and my body has been trying to tell me for ages that the next step is letting go of my fat addiction. I can feel how eating fat immediately robs me of my energy en makes me tired the day after and it gives me problems with my teeth as well.

So, what I'm hoping to gain from this 12 week trial is:

- More energy/needing less sleep
- Heal my problems with teeth
- More even fat distribution (I'm a skinny pear shape at the moment)
- I don't want to lose weight but would like to see if it's possible to put some on by eating loads of bananas

As for exercising, I walk my dogs for an hour every day, at quite a rapid pace. I cycle everywhere I go. And I will start doing the 5 Tibetans and jumping on my rebounder again. I'm not much of a gym person so I hope this will be sufficient.

I don't have any scales, but I'll try to get some measurements and weigh myself tomorrow and hopefully get a friend to take some before pics.

Looking forward to sharing experiences on this,
Love, francis

Woo-hoo, Peisi, way to go. I wish I was as brave as you. I agree, you look pretty good. I am a bit like you. By cooked-fooders standards, I am OK, but I know that I have some junk in my trunk.

I put my trucksuit on today as an incentive for me to get sporty ha ha. I hope this will work! I am planning to visit a gym today. Yesterday I did not exercise at all. I was working till 9pm, marking students' assignments. How can a busy person find enough time to exercise? I guess I will just have to find this out!

Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

4 bananas
3 grapefruits
1 canalope
1/2 a pineapple

Green smoothies- spring-mix 3 bananas

Gosia- I am gonna do the same as you and post what I eat, my exercise and pics every week instead of writing down a bunch of info every day.

Everyone, thank you for the compliments! I wanted to put my pics up because I thought it might help others feel less shy and also to help the noobies take an interest in the trial!!

Off to work now,
good luck all you raw pretties!!

xxpeisi

hey gosia one of the best things i invested in while i was working nights at a hotel desk job was a set of strap on wrist and ankle weights. these had little 1lb removable weights in them so i could use 1 to 5lbs per strap

starting with 1lb per ankle ..while i was working id swing and extend and hold my leg up under my desk ... over the months id work up to 5lbs then strap another one on till i was up to 10lbs per leg ...it sounds easier then it is lol (if you dont want to invest in the weights ive also strapped belts around heavy books slipped my toes under the belt at top and did it this way lol ok im cheap ) after awhile you will be swinging an holding without thinking about it .. kinda like a kid kicking their legs under the table (didnt we get introuble for this in school lol???)

my calves got really strong and as a result which helped me build my quads (thighs) and glutes (bumm) by doing walking lunges while holding heavy stacks of books (the stronger i got i started using sacks of potatoes from the hotel kitchen)

everytime you get up from your desk to go get something or do something you could do the lunges with a sack of oranges (like frutarian1 uses !) or something of the like. (I promise the sack of oranges wont disturb you while you are working they are very respectful hehe)

you will find over some time your junk in the trunk will tone up and if you cant make it to gym for any reason you will still get your workouts in



these are similar to the wrist/ankle weights im talking about
[www.thefitwoman.com]


here is an example of a walking lunge [www.exrx.net]

ps; you might look kinda goofy doing these things but i worked alone save for the odd hotel client coming down for an extra pillow



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2007 01:09PM by Jgunn.

Y'all should get before and after bloodwork too. A standard CBC and lipid profile could reveal some promising, and objective, results.

-Erin
Raw Done Light
dogma-free RAW
Gazpacho For The Soul

Hello!!
My name is hanna from AZ...and I really appreciate the excitement and enthusiasm of this 12 week program.
I've been needing such support as this to help me climb this mountain of healthy living. I'm 5'5 and 190 lbs. I just lost 10 lbs be staying off bread and sugary drinks...Halaluyah for this! I'm jumping on the band wagon and going to start this program with all you wonderful women! Theres always been a desire to go alllll raw in my heart and I know that the father above has placed a strong desire in my heart to eat healthy and stop filling my body with FDA processed foods. I've never been this excited and motivated. I know its been a answer to prayer for strength and support and here I've found it!!

all smiles....hana

Hello!
I wanna transform myself too!!! I think this will be awesome. I eat a mostly fruit diet but I tend to slip up on the weekends. Hopefully by signing up I will feel the pressure to stick to it! I think this will be great because my company promotes eating fruit and this will be a wonderful way to practice what I preach. Right? I look forward to doing this with everyone else. I will post some pictures as soon as I look like Adrianna Lima. Ha ha.

Don't forget...

Be cute. Eat fruit!! (My company slogan)

I'll start tomorrow! Can't wait!

hi everyone! I am so happy many have joined in to do the trial with us!! Very inspiring.
I decided to post food intake and exercises only once a week - let's stay every Sunday morning, so that it stays manageable and not too time consuming.

Love to you all,

Cynthia

I wonder how is everyone doing. I have been through a very low point. I lost all my motivation. I do get like this sometimes. I feel I've had enough of everything and do not feel like continue. I question everything.

I have not started an exercise routine yet, but I did visit a gym and am planning to book on Monday. My diet has not been too low in fat, on some days quite the opposite. I even had some cooked, ended up feeling like starving and eating bananas in the middle of the night or I could not sleep. I can't live without fruit ha ha.

I experience fear. Fear of plunging in. Fear of unknown. Fear of change. Fear of letting go. Fear of new diet. Fear of gym. Fear of failing. Fear of succeeding. Aaaa!!!

My week 1 hasn't started yet officially.

I look forward to inspiration from you, you lovely people.

Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

I want in on this too. Its about time I get up and exercise...change my life around. I'm not 100% raw, but I want to be!

Gosia,
did you try to write everything down on a calendar(just an exemple)? It did work for me, for the first trial and also before. That way, you can see how often you're off, or how well you follow your goals, at a glance you can see many things...

love,
Cynthia

Gosia,

You're the one that's an inspiration to all of us, oh fearless leader of this Trial. I've followed your website for a couple of years and it has always helped me.

Anyway, I don't really feel qualified to give you advice but wanted to let you know that I shared your fear of the gym. It was so very intimidating to me. I have NEVER worked out in a gym prior to this. My first day in, I had all kinds of silly fears. Is my outfit stupid? Do I look dumb? Will people stare at my jiggly belly fat? What if those scary "machines" are too big for short people like me to use? What if I can't figure out how to turn any machines on, or adjust them to my height? Where do I put my keys and stuff when I'm working out? Will my trainer gossip about my psycho raw diet to the rest of the people who work there so they will all talk about me behind my back and watch me when I am working out?

So, you probably have different fears, but I do want to encourage you to get past that first scary gym hurdle. My 3rd time in I *almost* felt like a pro. Haha. Plus I looked around and realized that just about everyone in there was imperfect like me and we were all in there with similar goals - to make ourselves better. That made me feel less intimidated.

Oh - and one more thing, I find that on days/weeks where I have done well with my exercise goals, my eating automatically becomes better, cleaner, easier. I think it's partly psychological (I've worked out today, therefore I don't want to mess up my progress by falling off the diet path) and partly physiological (something about that lovely seratonin that is released from the physical act of working out, makes me happy and calm and able to handle my diet goals almost effortlessly sometimes, and also, working out hard as I'm sure you know, makes you CRAVE fruit sugar carbs like crazy).

You can do it, Gosia!

Sarah
[goingbananasblog.com]





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2007 03:34AM by Sparkler.

Hey guys!!

I want to give support to people who fear the gym!
Serious athletes, body builders and trainers do not think poorly of anyone making the effort to improve their physique!
And others at the gym who judge you are usually very insecure in themselves and NEED to think these things to give themselves the confidence to continue. It isn't such a mature thing to do, but guys!! Don't let it get to you!!! Be proud that you got yourself to the gym and focus on all the good things you are doing for your body!! Not what some meat-head jock thinks (haha).

I train in smelly old yoga pants with holes in them and a weird DIOR shirt my mother-in-law brought me from Thailand!! I look pretty silly, but I get the job done!! Training helps me from slip ups, I can definately say! I haven't had a cooked day in almost 5 months.

However, I do eat an organic cooked vegan meal once a week or every two weeks, and I don't feel bad- mentally or physically- for it. You shouldn't either Gosia!! I find that feeling guilt on a 95% raw diet is only detrimental and leads to more slip ups. Focus on the positive things girls (and boys?)!!

Day 5 and still going strong!
much love,
xxpeisi

Gosia
If you have decided to book the gym on Monday, thats great, go for it!
Just thought i would share what i do these days with you.

I used gyms on and off for years.
I favoured the ones with steam rooms, saunas and a pool to vary my routines.

These days i have a large trampoline in the back garden.
I bought it for my daughter but i use it more than she does.

Rebounding is so much fun. I love it. Its an aerobic workout, gets the lymphatic system working and can be as gentle or as vigorous as you wish.
I noticed the difference in my general fitness and tone within a few days of using it
I use it most days.
I dont have to pay a subscription or spend time and money traveling to the gym!

I also bought a few exercise dvds from the charity shop (which cost very little)
There are some excellent ones available these days which target 'problem areas' so if I dont have much time available or feel a little less energised I pick out a section from the video and do that.
At least i feel that i have done something and it keeps me motivated.

I break this up with a yoga routine and meditation so that i dont get bored.
And some days i just choose to do nothing!!!!!

It may just be an option for you to explore if you choose to.

Im so pleased that everyone is so enthusiastic about this challenge.

I have had a difficult time over the past week. As I have not been sleeping well for a few weeks now. I have added some steamed veggies to my evening meal and that has helped.
I have also added more greens.

Big hugs and raw motivation to all 'fellow transformers'
Love Lorretta