After a bit of a slip up last night, I’m feeling amazing and back on track today! This morning I went off on some rampages of appreciaion, watched some inspiring clips from 'What the Bleep', and laughed at Ellen and her 'Spa' scenes. My head feels clear, I’m inspired to continue, and my body feels clean and less ‘swollen’, especially in my abdomen. How exciting!
This morning was all about the green drinks. I started off with Body Ecology’s Vitality Supergreen and an hour later made green smoothie (green apple, spinach, celery, zucchini). I LOVE how delightfully refreshing and tasty this one is! Delish. 
This afternoon I whipped together a mix of greens, cultured veggies, red onion, and cucumber, and even added a bit of red grapefruit to spice things up a bit!
Last night, I ended up investing in the Divas cravings and emotional eating support package. I want to support myself as best I can! I want to this to be an easy, fun experience! I plan to love myself all of the way through it... I’ve skimmed through some of the materials and they’re all incredibly supportive and inspiring. I’ll be sure to share the tips and tricks that I find the most helpful.
I’m about to tune into my ipod as I go for a stroll in the sun! And tonight is going to be awesome – floor hockey game, Body Ecology’s FREE Detox training (How to Naturally Cleanse and Detoxify Your Liver & Gallbladder This Spring:
http://app.streamsend.com/public/hcws/ikx/subscribe), and my new favourite show, Modern Family!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
down and back up! Day 2.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
day 1 cont'd: Raw Detox
As 6 o’clock rolled around, I was ready for an inspiring distraction. On almost 22 hours of fasting, I actually felt really good! Some hunger signals here and there (which were actually wonderful to experience!) and on the whole, I was very comfortable and enjoying my water.
I decided to watch the documentary Food Inc, and although the overall tone was a bit grim, I loved the take home messages at the end! Here are a few of my faves:
- You vote with every meal you make. Demand good, wholesome food and that’s what will be delivered. You can vote to change this system, 3 times a day...
- Buy from companies that treat workers, animals, and the environment with respect.
- When you go to the supermarket, choose foods that are in season, buy foods that are organic. Know what’s in your food. Read labels. Buy foods that are grown locally. Shop at farmer’s markets. Plant a garden (even a small one).
- You can change the world with every bite.
Definitely an eye-opening documentary and worth checking out!
By 8:30pm I was ready for my first meal, post-fast. The Raw Diva Detox suggests a mono-fruit meal. So I combined that idea with what I know from following the Body Ecology Diet and I chose a low-sugar fruit: blackberries! Yummy! 
After eating a bowlful, I decided I wanted something else.. I asked myself how closely I wanted to follow the guidelines.. and opted for more nourishment. I wanted something to mix with cultured veggies. I ended up cutting up a cucumber and mixed them together. 
I still wanted more. And I recognized that this was more in my head than my gut.. and I ended up eating veggies on 2 romaine leafs. I questioned in my head, ‘am I eating too much?’.. I didn’t want to blow my first day.. and then realized I was being WAY too hard on myself! I just ate some of the healthiest meals EVER! There’s no perfect way to do anything! I’m choosing to do this detox my way. And the point of the detox is to inspire me! This is an experience. I'm staying awake for it.
I’m going to allow anything to show up. For me, this is all about learning, feeling good, trying something new, listening to my body, and figuring out what works for ME.
I love knowing what to do (even when I'm not doing it)!
I’m SO excited that I’m on this journey! And no matter what happens, I’ll learn from the experience and be able to figure out what I really do want in my life. This experience has already clarified a lot for me. I love giving my body a ‘break’ from food. I know green drinks are going to be key to my success. I love that I’m taking good care of my body!
final prep and day 1: Raw Diva Detox!
So far so good!
I initially started my fast as of 6pm last night. I celebrated with a Beatles dance party in my kitchen, handstands, yoga moves, rebounding, and stowed away my pots, pans, and crockpot. I spent time cleaning and honouring my incredible Santevia water filter, knowing its product would be my ‘meals’ for the next 24 hours.
I had a date with my parents and brought them a delicious smoothie (spinach, zucchini, celery, strawberries, blackberries, frozen cranberries, stevia, and water). 
I ended up enjoying the treat with them, so I restarted my fast just after 8:30pm. No problem, my body feels to be in a different time zone these days. I usually go to bed and wake up about 3 hours later than the average.. so this was perfect.
I hopped into bed at 11:30pm - early for me, and soaked in all of my excitement for the week ahead. My good-feeling thoughts kept rolling in (for about 4 hours!) and I just basked in it all. I loved every moment. Allowing everything to show up.. and completely at peace, knowing I would sleep until my body was ready for the next day.
I woke up at 10:30am, dozed off again, and before I knew it, it was 11:45am. Wow! That’s a record! What an incredible sleep!.jpg)
This is the second fast I’ve done (I remember doing a 30 hour famine in high school), and I find it a completely fascinating experience! I love observing all of my thoughts around food. How many times I think about ‘what can I eat next’ and how often I reach for the fridge door. I put a bit of masking tape on door, to remind myself of the fast!
Stay tuned for another update later today!
Monday, March 22, 2010
welcoming raw.
For the past week and half, I’ve been tuning into some incredible online calls with WISH – Women’s International Summit for Health. It truly was a buffet of self-empowerment: health, fitness, money, spirit,… they covered it all with amazing speakers!
One of the most inspiring calls for me was with Mimi Kirk, A 71 year old raw foodie (who doesn’t look a day over 50!), voted sexiest vegetarian over 50 in the US! I loved hearing her success story, her joy for life, seeing her young, fun-loving pictures, and just feeling her brilliant energy! What an inspiring story.. and it all started for her at the age of 30 (perfect!).
I love being open to change and exploring new ideas.. and tweaking my diet is always exciting to me. I feel like my body is still finding a true comfort zone when it comes to eating. I want a genuinely healthy relationship with my food. I want to feel excited EVERY DAY, knowing that I continue to nourish my body - as best as I know how!.. and with a background in Physical and Health Education and Holistic Nutrition, I’ve got a LOT of material to work with!...
Earlier this month, I blogged about my interest in learning more about raw food.. and my WISH came true with the call from Mimi!
Before the call, I read that she started on her raw adventure with a '7-day Raw Diva Detox'. I checked it out online and it was created by the fabulous Tera Warner, who is the same woman who created and pulled together WISH! I read more and discovered that the 7 day detox is EXACLY what I’m looking for! I love the vibe, the philosophy, the success stories, the support, the flexibility, the love. Amazing. And even found out the Divas are in Montreal.. only 2 hours from me!
The detox starts you off with 5 preparation days. At first, I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t start the detox right away. I’ve always been about immediate gratification.. And that’s exactly why the prep days have been so valuable!! Over the past 4 days I’ve been wrapping my head around the detox, the foods I’ll be eating, exploring the raw food world online and in my city, recipes, time to get excited about the week ahead, clean out my fridge and cupboards, etc.. the timing has been perfect.
I feel like this is the start to an incredible shift in my life! I have been a foodie for quite a while.. and this program has success written all over it for me! I am excited and feel so READY to pull everything together, creating my own perfect program (infused with love!.. and cultured veggies!). I am going to enjoy every step of the way.
I’ll be blogging about my experience throughout the week. Day 1 starts on Tuesday. It will be an incredible way for me to share my beautiful journey, stay accountable, and connect and inspire others!!
Please feel free to contact me if you’re interested in following the detox along with me.. or you can always refer back to my blog for any tips, tricks, and inspiration that I share along the way!
Stay tuned.. this is going to be incredible!
Monday, March 15, 2010
new batch of cultured veggies
It was time for me to start another beautiful and delicious batch of cultured veggies (I usually start when I have 1 big jar remaining). I prepared cabbage (2 greens and a red), kale, and carrots to get cozied up in their jars for a week.
When I'm making my cvs, I love creating a good-feeling atmostphere. I had my favourite tunes blasting in the background as I danced around my kitchen, shredded veggies, filled my green bin with scraps, reflected on my amazing connection with Unleash Gratitude, and played 'wouldn't it be nice if..' in my head.
After listening to Donna Gates' call with WISH (Women's International Summit for Health) a couple nights ago, I felt even more invigorated and inspired by the Body Ecology Diet. An incredible leader in probiotics and fernmented foods. It truly is SUCH an amazing system of healing that will change the world... one gut at a time! 
For more pics, see my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/loveinspiringlove#!/album.php?aid=191568&id=307278863973
what are YOU doing with your life?
I quit my government job in January to create my own inspiring work. Since then, 'what are you doing with your life??' is one of the most common questions I’m asked. Most of the time, I respond, "I am LOVING life!"
The question often comes from a place of interest and excitement – and I love that! It feels good to me.
A few people have asked from a place of worry and fear (wanting to know exactly WHEN everything is going to 'be in place'). That’s ok too. I allow others to feel as they choose. I understand that some people feel uncomfortable when it comes to uncertainty.
My focus is on my excitement for this opportunity to truly love life and LIVE LIFE. I just KNOW that everything is already perfect (because I'm in such a good feeling place)!
I am happy! I keep learning to love myself more, I love knowing that contrast provides clarity, I have fallen in love with my life, I love knowing what to do (even when I’m not doing it), I love choosing what’s best for me, I’m excited about all of the new opportunities and connections that keep coming my way.. life has never felt better to me! I know that I have SO much to look forward to on this exciting life journey!
Right now I don’t have the specifics on the who? what? when? where? and how?..
But I DO know how it will all FEEL!.. and the more I practice these incredible feelings, the more I attract incredible experiences into my life! 
Thursday, March 11, 2010
inspiring cafe gratitude
This is my life experience right now.
"I am having the experience that I am in the midst of a LIFESTYLE change... I can see that something has shifted, like a marriage between how I care for myself now and always. I used to experience a real BEGINNING to the week and a real ENDING to the week and now it seems to be all ONE LIFE, all MY LIFE.
It reminds me of when I realized that WORK and PLAY didn't need to be separated, that my work could be my play and my play could be my work. A bit like time alone and time with others. LESS SEPARATION is what I am present to, a THINNING OF THE VEIL in all areas of my life."
- Terces, Cafe Gratitude
www.cafegratitude.com
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