We talk a lot about detoxing and cleansing the body here on Live Lighter, and even went so far as to detox TV in January. We’ve also touched on how subconscious beliefs sabotage our efforts to change – that’s why I’m psyched to take Debbie Ford’s 21 day consciousness cleanse!

Ms. Ford talks about waking up one day without our old fears, doubts, unmet needs, limiting beliefs and perceptions that keep us locked in our repetitive, destructive patterns. I don’t know about you, but that sounds great to me!

Debbie has written The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse: A Breakthrough Program for Connecting with Your Soul’s Deepest Purpose. But what’s it all about?

She says:

“It’s a practical program that promises to alter the quality and direction of your life and support you in not only obtaining your goals for the new year, but, more importantly, creating a new loving and nurturing relationship with yourself and with the power that sources you. This program will enable you to take back your power from the outer world, turn inward and reconnect with your inner guide and your highest self. Instead of being guided this year by your head and what you think you should do, you will be inspired and directed by your heart’s deepest desires.”

But you don’t have to buy the book to participate in what she describes as “a detox diet for the soul”. Check out Oprah.com to access 21 links (1 per day) for excerpts from the book, exercises and even meditations!

Here’s a 1:28 minute video with Debbie sharing some of the testimonials from her program:

Special thanks to Emmanuel Lopez from Motivatorman.com for notifying me of Debbie’s new break-through consciousness cleanse program.

I’m starting the 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse tomorrow! Will you be joining me on this soul journey? In case you missed it, click here when you’re ready.

February is the month of Love; it’s also American Heart Month. Since pomegranates are loaded with healthy antioxidants which may improve heart health, POM Wonderful wants us to create some fabulous heart art for a chance to win awesome prizes!

Pomegranates have been listed by Shape.com as one of the top 15 healthy foods to have in your kitchen at all times. Between the juice and seeds, the antioxidants (including tannins and anthocyanins) have been shown to increase blood flow and reduce levels of harmful cholesterol.

I’m psyched to enter POM Wonderful’s Heart Art Contest!

All we have to do is create an original, heart-themed work of art. According to the contest rules, we’re free to use any medium but our finished pieces must include the POM Wonderful logo. As an option, we may include any POM Wonderful packaging.

To finish entering the contest, we take a pic of our art, sign in or register to their POM community and upload the pic along with a title and description of our masterpiece.

Easy and fun, right? But what’s up for grabs?

The Grand Prize is a POM Wonderful gift basket which includes a Flip Video, $100 American Express gift card, $250 donation to the American Heart Association in the winner’s name, and more!

The Community Prize includes a whack of POM products like a backpack, POM juice, POMx coffee and POMx bars.

Click here to find out how winners will be determined and here for the official contest rules.

Contest ends at the end of the month on February 28th, so we’d better get our creative juices flowing! Ooo… I feel something brewing…

It’s a little weird, I know. You don’t normally associate carrot muffins with Valentine’s Day. BUT, there is a special ingredient in this healthy recipe that IS tied to this celebration of love.

I’ll give you one guess as to what this secret love ingredient is… It usually comes in a heart-shaped box at this time of year…

That’s right – chocolate!

Not only does dark chocolate have a whack of antioxidants and other health benefits, it also contains substances which affect our brain chemistry in a very good way:

• Releases feel-good endorphins, our natural opiates which reduce pain and decrease stress.
• Produces serotonin, neurotransmitters that act as our natural anti-depressants.
• Contains phenylethylamine which increases blood pressure and affects blood-sugar, causing excitement and alertness, similar to what we experience as love.
• Has anandamide, a chemical which works on our dopamine receptors leading to feelings of well-being. It resembles the active ingredient in marijuana (THC) and stimulates the feeling of euphoria.
• Includes theobromine, another chemical which mimics caffeine and stimulates the nervous system. It also has properties that can lead to mental and physical relaxation.

Chocolate Carrot Love Muffins

Makes: 12 muffins

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It’s coming up to the big day of Love. For some, Valentine’s Day is full of meaning, joy and abundance. For others, it can be a painful reminder of love lost. This post is dedicated to everyone who’s ever wondered, “How can love be so fickle?”

If you’re looking for something a little more feel good, please check out these past Live Lighter Valentine’s Day posts: Get Your Love On and Be Healthy and Romance, Chocolate and Health.

For those of you interested in the answer to this age-old question, continue reading. But first, let’s get into the mood with a little Alicia Keys, “Fallin’”:

Why Love Can Be Fickle

How can we fall in and out of love? This is actually a very easy answer.

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There’s a lot of hype about the benefits of eating a live or raw food diet. This post defines living food, it’s health benefits and why some say that it’s not as healthy as some would have us believe.

Living food is all-natural and uncooked.

We know about the powerful health benefits of natural food, but what’s wrong with cooked food?

In general, food heated over 46°C (116°F) destroys it’s enzymes and alters the molecular structure of the food, creating toxic elements which must be eliminated or stored to protect the body from damage. It’s this internal damage that causes the external effects we label as aging.

What’s the difference between live and raw foods?

Live foods contain high concentrations of “active” enzymes. Raw food, on the other hand, has sleeping or “dormant” enzymes. These unactivated enzymes are awakened when raw foods are sprouted, like nuts and seeds, which then become “living food”.

What’s so great about enzymes?

Enzymes are catalysts which activate chemical reactions. In food, they’re called digestive enzymes because they facilitate digestion and food absorption.

Living food proponents contend that enzymes are the “life-force” or “energy” of food. Cooking food, in effect, kills or suffocates the potency of food.

One major criticism of a living food diet is that these enzymes are destroyed by stomach acid which render them useless to us since nutrient absorption takes place in the small intestine. Proponents maintain enzymes are merely deactivated in the stomach and reactivated when they reach the small intestine.

Health benefits of living food

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The 2010 TV Detox officially ended on Sunday and now that we’ve had time to catch up on some of our shows, it’s time to reflect on what we’ve learned from during our 31 days of detoxing.

Anything come up for you? Take some time right now to think of at least one revelation from your TV detox.

If you’d like to hear what I jotted down on my list, I vlogged it on YouTube:

If you’re using Internet Explorer, you may see a white box rather than the video. I’m looking into how to fix this but for now, please access the video directly from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQToWL1TtCk.

Special thanks goes to Emmanuel Lopez – Motivatorman for contributing his video production (lighting was poor – my apologies!) and original music score for this video! Please visit http://motivatorman.com/ to learn more about Emmanuel’s varied talents as an award-winning illustrator, motivational specialist and social media consultant.

For all of you readers out there:

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Celebrities look great all the time. It’s their job. And they pay good money for coaches to whip them into shape. So tell me, would it be easier to meet your health and fitness goals if you had your very own personal coach by your side throughout the entire day?

Your personal health coach would be there to remind you of healthier choices, push you just enough so you can improve a little each day and kick your butt into high gear when you’re slacking.

That’s why I’m excited about my new M2 personal health coach (given to me as a Christmas gift from my thoughtful, wonderful and beautiful cousin. Thank you, Tina!).

The folks over at MyTrak have designed a health solution that fits on your hip and tracks your movement throughout the day. It’s interactive and customized, so you go online and set up your profile. After a few questions about your current state of health and your goals, you’re ready to rock and roll!

Here is a 2:48 minute video introducing the M2 personal health coach:

I registered and configured my M2 on January 15, so it’s only been about 20 days since my personal health coach has been by my side. I’m aiming for a more intense lifestyle!

Stay tuned for an upcoming M2 review post where I share my experience with it and the MyTrak online community.

What do you think of the M2 so far, Readers? Do you think it’ll help you achieve your health & fitness goals?

Are you happy? Or do you feel stuck in a reoccurring nightmare which you call your life? This post is in honour of Groundhog Day and several lessons learned from the inspiring 90’s movie named after it.

This past weekend I attended a private movie screening of Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray as Phil Connors, a cantankerous weatherman stuck in a time loop where he relives the same day (one he was dreading to begin with) over again.

(This movie screening was hosted by motivational specialist, Emmanuel Lopez – Motivatorman, and included a lively discussion afterward concerning the lessons presented in the movie. For another movie message, read his latest post, Tip #326: The Power of Acknowledgment – Groundhog Day.)

The day, place, people and main events remain the same and no matter what Phil does (including several suicide attempts) he cannot break free from this frustrating cycle.

Sound familiar?

This movie is enlightening (and funny as hell!) for it’s many inspiring messages but the one that’s most significant to this post is it’s mirror of reality: tomorrow never comes.

Think about it: when tomorrow does come, it’s today!

This is a great representation of the wisdom passed on by sages: the past is gone, the future is unknown and today is all we have, that’s why it’s called a gift: the Present.

How does focusing on today help us get what we want?

Although it remains Groundhog Day for Phil Connors throughout the movie, the way the day plays out changes in response to his behaviour, attitude and words. He affects his world everyday based on his choices.

The lesson here is to make daily choices that will bring you closer to the future you want.

“Be, do and say today what you want to experience tomorrow.”

Every day is a new day. You have a chance to change what you do today, for a different tomorrow. You may not see these changes right away, but they will come.

Once you develop a consistent, daily practice of what you want to see in your tomorrow, you’ll wake up one day with exactly what you want!

The trick to getting what you want
(Warning for those who haven’t seen Groundhog Day: do not read this next paragraph.)

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This is it, TV Detoxers! We’re coming to the end and this is the last check-in of The 2010 TV Detox. Let’s review our challenges and successes and gear up for the weekend as we wrap up this new year’s resolution alternative.

Let’s hear how you did this week, TV Detoxers!

For me, if you’ll remember from last video I said my intention was to detox ALL of my TV time. It was… interesting. If you have 1:05 minutes, I vlogged it on YouTube:

If you’re using Internet Explorer, you may see a white box rather than the video. I’m looking into how to fix this but for now, please access the video directly from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uZB_zH-abw.

Special thanks goes to Emmanuel Lopez – Motivatorman for contributing his creative content consultation, video production and original music score for this video! Please visit http://motivatorman.com/ to learn more about Emmanuel’s varied talents as an award-winning illustrator, motivational specialist and social media consultant.

For all of you readers out there:

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Do you believe in the healing powers of nature? Do you believe we have the right to choose what we put into our bodies?

Last week, raw food advocates celebrated a major victory here in Canada with the acquittal of Michael Schmidt, Ontario dairy farmer and milk co-op owner, who was charged with selling and distributing unpasteurized (raw) milk.

In Canada, it’s legal to consume raw milk. Basically, anyone who owns a cow has the  choice whether or not to kill harmful bacteria (along with the beneficial micro-organisms and enzymes) through the pasteurization process before they drink it. You become an outlaw when you sell it to others for consumption.

The raw milk vs. pasteurized controversy rages but when you sift through the research, you’ll find there are benefits and risks to consuming both raw and pasteurized milk.

(Randolph Jonsson has created a well-written and thoroughly researched website dedicated to enlightening folks about raw milk. He proudly announces his passion for raw milk and yet manages to present the information in an objective and respectful manner.)

For the pro-choicers out there, Mr. Schmidt’s case is a legal loop hole gone right.

From healthzone.ca:

Art Hill, professor and chair of the University of Guelph’s Department of Food Science, said the ruling, which provides a legal way for Ontarians to consume raw milk and for farmers to sell their farm-fresh product, will likely prompt changes in the dairy industry.

“This ruling signals that it is time to create a system where the sale of raw milk is legalized, but controlled,” said Hill. “We have to work now at finding ways to make raw milk available as safely as we can.”

Hill noted the sale of raw milk is not uncommon in other jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom. About half of U.S. states have legislation that allows consumers access to raw milk, either directly from farms or at grocery stores.

Mr. Schmidt fought the law and won because he runs a cow-share program which essentially entitles consumers part-ownership in the cows he raises and milks. The article says that current legislation fails to account for this instance; however, health ministries in Canada have said they may appeal the decision down the road.

Agencies like Health Canada are against legalizing the sale of raw milk because of the potential risks of food poisoning from pathogens like salmonella. Proponents say that not all raw milk is created equal; that in hygienic, knowledgeable farms, the risks are minimized and the health benefits (as well as the taste) are incomparable to processed milk.

Mr. Schmidt and his supporters were pleased with the court’s ruling. Not only did it save his farm and business, but according to the Ontario farmer, this win was for the freedom to choose what we consume. (Source: YouTube)

What do you think: Is this a step in the right direction? And, just for curiosity’s sake, do you drink raw milk?