Exclusive Interview with Jenna Norwood, creator of Supercharge Me! 30 Days Raw

[Guest guest]

August 17, 2007 Exclusive Interview with Jenna Norwood

Creator of Supercharge me! 30 Days Raw

 

Raw Network of Washington: What is " Supercharge Me! " about?

 

 

 

Jenna: " Supercharge Me! " is about my personal journey to fitness via a

vegan raw food lifestyle. The whole thing was inspired by my desire to

be a Las Vegas showgirl for Halloween. I guess we all have our dreams. I

tried on the costume and was very discouraged by how I looked in it. I

had tried other diets, but nothing had really worked for me. I had

previously seen some people really transformed on raw food, so I thought

I would give it a try. In the film, I take you on my journey to the

Optimum Health Institute in San Diego, where I get my raw food detox

initiation. You get to see what the process is like from many angles.

 

Raw Network of Washington: Why did you decide to film your experience?

 

Jenna: Originally, I had no intentions of filming my detox experience,

but just before flying out to San Diego, I thought it might be

interesting to document what happened and make a film that was the

opposite of Morgan Spurlock's " Super Size Me, " which I loved. I had some

previous experience with film production, but nothing as ambitious as

this. I got a crew of two together and we flew out to San Diego. I wish

there had been a movie like " Supercharge Me! " when I was thinking about

trying raw food. In fact, I searched everywhere for a film or video on

the subject and couldn't find anything. I really didn't know what I was

getting into.

 

Raw Network of Washington: What was life like as a " junk-food

vegetarian " and did you have any expectations of what life would be like

being raw for 30 days?

 

Jenna: I've been a vegetarian since I was 14 years old, but not for

health reasons. I just couldn't stomach eating animals. But I was

definitely a junk food vegetarian and it became a miserable lifestyle

for me. I was very controlled by my food cravings, which were really

more like food addictions; primarily to white flour and sugar. I ate

mostly pizza, pasta, french fries and sweets. There was very little

actual food in my " food. " Over the years, I gradually gained weight and

I felt myself getting more sluggish, stressed and achy. I felt like my

body was breaking down much too early. I didn't know what to expect

from the 30 days on raw food, but I was optimistic.

 

Raw Network of Washington: What were the most challenging parts of

being raw for the first 30 days and how did you deal with those times?

 

Jenna: Going raw at a raw food detox center made it a lot easier for me

because I didn't have to think about what I was going to eat each day

and there was a lot of support around me. That being said, Burger King

and China King were directly across the street and my bedroom window had

a great view of their neon signs. I could even smell the french fry

fumes wafting into my bedroom window sometimes. It wasn't always easy. I

just kept thinking about that showgirl costume and how I wanted to get

the best possible results from the detox.

 

Raw Network of Washington: Were you ever tempted not to be raw during

this time?

 

Jenna: I was tempted at times, especially when other people at the detox

center would talk about the cooked foods they missed. We finally made a

pact not to talk about those foods so we wouldn't tempt each other. The

power of suggestion is so strong!

 

Raw Network of Washington: You lost weight and looked so vibrant after

only 30 days--was there a certain point or experience during this time

that prompted you to continue to eat raw foods (after the initial 30

days), if so, please describe.

 

Jenna: My cooked food cravings were completely gone after the 30 days,

so I wasn't even interested in other foods. I loved the results I was

getting and I wanted to keep improving. I definitely didn't want to lose

the wonderful positive effects I was experiencing.

 

Raw Network of Washington: How long have you been raw and what is your

life like now?

 

Jenna: I've been mostly raw most of the time since the 30 days we

filmed. After about a year, I started eating some cooked food to see if

I could do 80% raw and 20% cooked, as some people do. The problem for me

was that I made the mistake of choosing the wrong foods for my 20% and,

before long, my cooked percentage climbed so high that I was eating

mostly cooked junk again. All my health issues came back, not to mention

the weight. I finally managed to climb out of that abyss by going back

to raw.

 

Nowadays, my life is all about sharing this knowledge with people. More

than two years ago, I founded Raw Sarasota, a raw food Meetup group in

Florida, which is now one of the largest in the world. I teach classes

at Whole Foods to show people how to make quick, easy and delicious raw

foods. I've almost finished my raw recipe book. I'm on the Executive

Board of the Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota and I'm traveling

around to film festivals, special events and colleges with the movie. I

couldn't be more thrilled with the direction my life has taken. It's

hard to believe how busy I am. I know I wouldn't have the energy to do

all the things I'm doing if I were still eating the foods I used to eat.

 

Raw Network of Washington: " Supercharge Me! " won an award at the first

ever Hollywood Raw Foods and Lifestyle Film Festival--what was that like

and what are your plans for the film?

 

Jenna: It was thrilling to win the " Best Motivational Film " award at the

Raw Film Festival in Hollywood. It was such an honor! " Supercharge Me! "

also won " Best Documentary " at the Tofino Film Festival in British

Columbia. It's great to know that people enjoy the film. When I started

this, I set out to make a film that was educational, entertaining and

inspiring and that's the feedback I'm getting. I'm VERY grateful to be

able to do this work.

 

Raw Network of Washington: We understand " Supercharge Me! " is not yet

available to the general public--when/how will it be available?

 

Jenna: " Supercharge Me! " is not yet officially released, but the

limited edition " pre-release " version will be available for sale to

those who attend the screening coming up on August 17th and the

after-party. We're working on a final version, which should be complete

in 6-8 weeks. I'll let you know when it's officially released.

 

Raw Network of Washington: Will you be doing other documentary

work--what are your future plans? (does not have to include film).

 

There's another related topic I would like to feature in a documentary

and plans are already underway for that. It's pretty exciting! I look

forward to completing my raw recipe book, which will have more than 100

quick, easy and delicious raw food recipes. And I'm eager to travel

around the world as much as possible to meet others who are on this

path, or even just considering it.

 

Raw Network of Washington: Is there anything else you would like to

include?

 

Jenna: I can't wait to come to Seattle for the first time! I look

forward to meeting the raw and raw-curious folks and seeing all the

beautiful Seattle sights. It was an honor to be invited. See you soon!

 

To meet Jenna in person, please purchase tickets at:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/17473

<http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/17473>