Category: Catching Up With Connie

Have you Quit Sugar & Quickie Carbs: Share Your Sweet Success Story

Are you what I call a Sweet Success Story? Share your tale now.
Happy people Have you shed excess weight, eliminated your horrible headaches, gotten rid of your pre-cancerous condition, or done away with another pesky health problem by kicking or cutting back on sugar, refined carbs and other high-glycemic foods such as corn nuts, potato chips, and French fries?
In short, are you now slimmer, happier, and sexier?
In other words, have you discovered the power of life without all those super-sweet or quickie-carb foods?
Do you now Enjoy Living Sweeter Naturally™?
If you’re a Sweet Success Story, we may want to tell your story to inspire others.
As you may already know — or your friends do — quitting sugary foods and rapidly processed carbohydrates (what I also call “culprit carbs”) can speed you on your weight loss journey.
Not only that but cutting out the culprit carbs can help you overcome a variety of health challenges, as thousands of people — whom I call “Sugar Kickers” or “Carb Kickers” — have been gleefully sharing with me for 16-plus years since I quit the dangerous carbs on doctor’s orders.
Readers of this Sugar Shock Blog love inspiring tales such as yours.
We’d like to hear from you if you’ve had a drastic health improvement by cutting out sugar, quickie carbs, gluten, dairy or artificial sweeteners.
If you’re a Sweet Success Story — whether you lost weight, got more energy, improved your moods or got your diabetes under control — we want to consider sharing your tale here.
Remember, by sharing your story, you’ll be able to inspire, motivate, and encourage people from around the world.
Wondering what I mean? Read some motivational Sweet Success Stories shared here previously:
Fellow blogger Jimmy Moore. (Catch our interview on my Gab With the Gurus Show, too.)
Jaime Jackson
Felicia DesRosiers
Karly Pitman
Are you what I call a Sweet Success Story? Share your tale now. (Please submit info using the format used above, and we’ll get back to you.)
CB – pink shirtWho is blog founder Connie Bennett? Connie is a former pooped-out, fuzzy-headed, sugar-addicted journalist. After quitting sugar on doctor’s orders in 1998, ALL 44 of her baffling, crippling ailments (brain fog, PMS, headaches, etc.) vanished,, and she became “reborn.” Now, 16 1/2 years later, Connie is devoted to helping people Get a Sweeter Life that Rocks™. She is the acclaimed, energetic, charismatic Sweet Freedom Guide, Bounce-Back-to-Your Best Body™ coach, a transformational speaker, sugar and carb expert, blogger, certified health coach, certified life coach, EFT practitioner, Gab with the Gurus host, and bestselling author of Beyond Sugar Shock, which was endorsed Beyond Sugar Shock_RGBby Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Dr. Daniel Amen, JJ Virgin, and many others, and Sugar Shock, which was praised by such respected people as Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Christiane Northrup. She’s now planning the first Sugar World Summit, which will feature the biggest names in sugar and carb addiction, recovery, mindful eating, compassion, weight loss, etc. She is also completing her next book, The Bounce Back Diet™, which will help millions, who are blindsided by Crazy Cravings™ and overpowering emotions after the death of a loved one, a divorce or breakup, moving, losing a job, or another life-changing event. Get free gifts at www.Connie-Bennett.com

Sugar World Summit Date Change — You’ll Learn the Sour Scoop & Break Free

Please note that the exciting first Sugar World Summit, was originally scheduled to begin today, two weeks before Halloween, has been delayed.
I’ll announce a new date shortly.
So please rest assured, those of you who’ve written to me concerned that you’ve missed out on the many exciting programs, which will feature the biggest names in sugar education and addiction, relapse prevention, mindful eating, compassion, etc.
The Sugar World Summit is still happening. In fact, my team and I are deep into planning it.
JJ Virgin Sugar Impact DietSo why did we delay the first Sugar World Summti?
A bit of history is in order.
Many months ago, I excitedly scheduled the first Sugar World Summit to begin today, exactly two weeks before Halloween, the biggest candy-eating day in the United States — a day I dub Halloween National Sugar Overload Day.
This Sugar World Summit was timed to coincide with my big comeback.
After three years, I’d finally recoveried from My Bittersweet Last Year with Mom, which had left me TAGGED (Traumatized, Abused, Gripped by Grief and Emotionally Devastated)..
Thankffully, I’ was now emerging healed and slimmed down after I’d suffered a horribly humiliating and humbling Carb Relapse.
Now emerging triumphant, I was ready now to help millions.
As we got deep into planning the first Sugar World Summit, the biggest names in the field — most of whom I’ve known for years, since before the release of my first book, Sugar Shock in 2006 — agreed to come on board. Our goal was to reach 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide.
But as I kept inviting more and more exciting speakers and reconnecting with health colleagues after three years, I learned about launches by other esteemed experts, all of whom I greatly admire and respect.
These are people I want to support. These are also people, who can help you. It became quickly obvious that the best thing to do was to get out of the way of my colleagues’ launches.
JJ VirginIn particular, after inviting my colleague, the acclaimed nutrition and fitness expert and bestselling author JJ Virgin, to participate in the Sugar World Summit, I discovered that she was launching a new book about sugar, JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet, at about the same time.
That made me immediately rethink the time frame for the Sugar World Summit.
FYI, this is a big week for JJ Virgin. She is now giving away copies of her new book (until they run out).
JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet is an important book, in which JJ takes an original, doable approach to cutting out sweets.
If you missed JJ’s book giveaway — she ran out of books — then go ahead and get her free Sugar Impact Diet 2-Week Cookbook so you can make tasty, sugar-free recipes.
By the way, I’m greatly, greatly indebted to JJ. For about a decade, she’s been supportive of me. Not only did she endorse both of my books, Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock, but she helped me get my Lyme disease quickly diagnosed years ago.
Sugar-savvy-bookBack to the Sugar World Summit. Since I wanted to support JJ and other colleagues, it became evident that I needed to move back this important event.
But delaying the Sugar World Summit turns out to be just what this event most needs. Now, the Summit will be much bigger, better and more well organized.
(In fact, I’m very gratefufl to Jeff Walker, the launch guru, whose amazing Product Launch Formula Live conference, which I attended earlier this week, helped me discover many innovative ways to spread the word for the first Sugar World Summit.)
So now I invite you: Learn more about the first Sugar World Summit and the amazing colleagues, who will participate in it.
At present, we’re honored to have received “yeses” from the following movers and shakers. Among those who’ve agreed to participate are:
Dr. Robert Lustig, ‎ pediatric endocrinologist and New York Times bestselling author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity & Disease. His “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” lecture has had more than 4.6 million hits on YouTube. Photo shown above.
Dr. Mark Hyman, chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine, medical editor at the Huffington Post, on the Medical Advisory Board at “The Doctor Oz Show,” and New York Times bestselling author of The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet..
JJ Virgin, P.h.D., C.N.S., celebrity nutritionist, fitness expert, New York Times bestselling author and author of the new book, JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet: Drop 7 Hidden Sugars, Lose Up To 10 Pounds, Just 2 Weeks
Dr. David Perlmutter, “Empowering Neurologist,” Linus Pauling award-winner and author of the # 1 New York Times bestselling Grain Brain.
Sarah Wilson, acclaimed Australian blogger, TV personality, journalist, author of I Quit Sugar and founder of the popular I Quit Sugar Community
Dr. Pamela Peeke, internationally recognized expert, physician, scientist and author of the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunger Fix: the 3 Stage Detox and Recovery Plan for Overeating and Food Addiction
Jimmy Moore, popular low-carb blogger, co-author with Dr. Eric Westman of Cholesterol Clarity. He shed 180 pounds and peeled off 20 inches by quitting sugar and going low carb.
Dr. Richard Johnson, a practicing physician, acclaimed clinical scientist and author of The Sugar Fix::What You Don’t Know about Fructose and HFCS Could Kill You.
Serge H. Ahmed, Ph.D., CNRS Research Director, Principal Investigator & Team Leader, Addiction, Compulsion and Dopamine Dysregulation Syndrome, Université de Bordeaux. He’s done fascinating research on addcition, sugar and cocaine.
Dr Pedram Shojai, former Taoist monk, physician of Chinese medicine and founder of founder of the popular site, Well.org,
Trudy Scott, nutritionist, food-mood expert and author of The Antianxiety Food Solution
Kristin Neff, PhD., Associate Professor, Human Development and Culture, Educational Psychology Dept., University of Texas at Austin and author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Roberta Ruggiero, founder of the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation and author of Do’s and Don’ts of Hypoglycemia. An Every Day Guide to Low Blood Sugar. (Because of Roberta, I’m here today helping others. More about her later.)
Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., CNS, leading nutritional expert and award-winning New York Times bestselling author, whose books include Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution and Get the Sugar Out, Revised and Updated: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet
High Voltage (Kathie Dolgin), author of the new book, Sugar Savvy Solution, and founder of Energy Up Voltage Approved, Inc. (EUVA), a nonprofit organization to fight teenage obesity and to prevent type 2 diabetes and other diseases, particularly among teenage girls.
Alexandra Jamieson, a mom and health coach, who helps women listen to their true cravings for pleasure to achieve the body and life they desire and author of the upcoming book, Women, Food and Desire;
“The Sleep Doctor” Michael Breus, Ph.D.
Naturopathic physician Dr. Alan Christianson;
And more… Stay tuned for more names.
Sign up now for this exciting Sugar World Summit.
Fat ChanceStay tuned to get the full and not-so-sweet scoop on how those those tempting sugary “treats” and quickie-carb snacks can damage you bigtime. Our experts will tell you how shoveling sugar and fast carbs into your poor body can make you gain weight and widen your waistline, get frustrating mood swings, find it tough to concentrate, mess up your precious brain, lose interest in sex, develop heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes, and even die at an early age.
Now, I urge you to begin to get educated by reading some books about sugar by some of my super-healthy, brilliant colleauges. For example, I invite you to check out Fat Chance by Dr. Robert Lustig; and the new books, Sugar Savvy Solution by High Voltage, and JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet.
Perhaps you’re wondering: “Why would I want to quit or cut back on sugar? It tastes so good!”
Here are some reasons to ditch the sweet stuff and fast-acting carbs. You can:
Easily shed your dreaded excess weight.
Fit into your skinny clothes;
Leave behind your depression and get filled up with good cheer, passion and enthusiasm.
Get enough energy to keep up with your kids or perform well on the job..
Tame Your Crazy Cravings™ (as I call them) for sugary, salty or fatty unreal foods.
Banish your annoying brain fog and concentrate with a razor-sharp focus.
Rev up your libido so you’ll be thrilled with your time alone in the bedroom with your beloved.
Ditch those awful, debilitating, tough-to-handle female ailments (either PMS or menopause, depending on your time of life.)
And much more.
Sign up now for the upcoming Sugar World Summit. And tell us what you’d like to learn during this event.
CB – pink shirt
About Sugar Shock Blog Founder: Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC is a former pooped-out, fuzzy-headed, sugar-addicted journalist and “Ex Sugar Shrew,” whose 44 baffling ailments completely vanished after kicking sugar and quickie carbs on doctor’s orders in 1998. Now, 16 years later, Connie is the acclaimed, energetic, charismatic Sweet Freedom Guide, a transformational speaker, sugar and carb expert, blogger, certified health coach, certified life coach, EFT practitioner, Gab with the Gurus host, and bestselling autho of Beyond Sugar Shock, which was endorsed by many health and empowerment luminaries such as Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Dr. Daniel Amen, JJ Virgin. Connie’s first book, Sugar Shock. which was published in 2006, was praised by such acclaimed gurus as Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Christiane Northrup. Now, Connie is planning the first Sugar World Summit, which will feature the biggest names in sugar and carb addiction, recovery, mindful eating, compassion, weight loss, etc. Connie is also finishing her next book, The Bounce Back Diet™: 22 Easy Ways to Rebound After Relapse; Ditch Sugar, Fat or Salt, and Shed Weight for Good. (Working title.) The Bounce-Back Diet — which was inspired by Connie’s embarrassing Carb Relapse after her mother’s traumatic terminal illness and death — can help millions worldwide to slim down and tone up although they’re walloped by Crazy Cravings™ and overpowering emotions following the death of a loved one, a divorce or breakup, moving or another life-changing loss. Make sure to sign up at the Sugar World Summit site to find out about the new dates and speakers.

Mindful Eating Summit: Catch Up on All Interviews Tomorrow: Listen to Me Now, Too

Join the Conversation. What’s your biggest Ahah! from the Mindful Eating Summit?
Dr-susan-albers-host-mindful-eating-summitEarlier on this Sugar Shock Blog, I mentioned this fabulous Mindful Eating Summit,which is presented by mindful eating expert Dr. Susan Albers.
Susan has done a truly magnificent job with this event, which features top mindful eating experts such as Dr. Brian Wansink, Evelyn Tribole, and Margaret Floyd.
I was also one of those interviewed. If you missed it, catch it now.
Just listen below. (Alas, I couldn’t get Skype to work so we did an audio program instead of a video interview, but I invite you to listen to this short interview ASAP.
Please think about what point I made that most resonates with you to help shed light on what I call Your Crazy Cravings.
I also urge you to sign up now for the Mindful Eating Summit to catch all the interviews tomorrow (a replay of this wonderful event).
You’ll get help galore!
Join the Conversation. What’s your biggest Ahah! from the Mindful Eating Summit?

Why We Overeat: The Toxic Food Environment & Obesity

Join the Conversation. What is your biggest Ahah! from this video, “Why We Overeat: The Toxic Food Environment and Obesity”? Talk to us now.
Do you or your loved ones overeat? Have you or your family members been gaining unwanted excess weight? Are you concerned about our obesity crisis?
To gain insights into why two-thirds of people are getting fatter and fatter and sicker and sicker, I urge you to watch a video of this fascinating panel discussion, “Why We Overeat: The Toxic Food Environment & Obesity,” thanks to the Harvard School of Public Health and the Huffington Post.
I’m so excited that I came across this video while doing research for my next book, Tame Your Crazy Cravings™.
This program presented an illustrious panel, which included:
Walter Willett, Chair, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, and Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition
David Kessler, Former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco; and Author, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite
Dariush Mozaffarian, Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and
Michael Rich, Director, Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital
The modferator of “Why We Overeat” was moderated brilliantly by Meredith Melnick, Editorial Director for HuffPost Healthy Living.
This program has many fascinating points, and I urge you to watch through it for the entire time.
In particular, I urge you to pay attentiont to these fascinating comments from Dr. Mozaffarian:
“Now sugar, I agree that sugar is a problem, but sugar is no greater a problem and then totally unsweetened refined grains. And the worry I have about just focusing on sugar, it gives the refined grains, it gets them off the hook.
“So white bread, all refined cereals that have no added sugar at all, they say zero sugar on the panel, those are just as bad. And when we’ve looked at populations of hundreds of thousands of people, the weight gain associated with Skittles is exactly the same weight gain that is associated with Corn Flakes or white bread or a bagel. So to think that a bagel, that has no sugar, is different than candy is really misleading. …”
Also, I invite you to keep watching to check out the second video (at 59:00) from the HBO film, Weight of the Nation, .where you can discover which beverages contain the most sugar content, thanks to The WATCH Nutrition Clinic.
I’d love to hear what you think about this video.
Join the Conversation. What is your biggest Ahah! from this video, “Why We Overeat The Toxic Food Environment & Obesity”? Talk to us now.

Confessions of a Health Expert: Special Thanks to Sean Croxton

We’d like to hear from you. What is your Big Confession? It feels great to do! Join us! Together, let’s move on to create a glorious life. Talk to us now.
Last week, before heading out of town to hang out with some fellow health experts, I made what I consider My Big Carb Confession.
I finally came clean about how for months after my Mom passed away, when I was walloped by grief, anguish and symptoms of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), I quit walking my clean carbs talk.
What a relief it was to finally admit that I’d had a relapse! That freed me up to plunge into my big plans.
Indeed, admitting to you that I had flopped has now unleashed a new enthusiasm and excitement in me to serve you. In fact, not only am I back to eating cleanly (and have been for a year), but I’m also working on an exciting new book to help you Tame Your Cravings™.
In case you missed My Big Carb Confession, here’s a summary of what I shared:
After my mother died, for months, I did lots of what I now call Heartbreak Eating™ or Heartbreak Bingeing™ of refined carbs, as well as salty cheeses and oily nuts. (FYI, this wasn’t just emotional eating. Heartbreak Bingeing — which is fueled by colossal,gut-wrenching, profound pain caused by huge loss, abuse, or even betrayal — is far more intense, frenetic, and frantic than emotional eating.)
Although I cavorted with carbs in a big way — shoveling in movie popcorn, onion rings, and corn nuggets — I did, however, continue to steer clear of my old sugary favorites, which I’d quit in 1998, as I reveal in my books, Sugar Shock.and Beyond Sugar Shock.
My Heartbreak Eating had led me to pack on 20 extra pounds. .
What’s more, for months, due to the intensity and ferocity of my grief, PTSD, and anguish, I kept ignoring what I know well, which is that processed carbohydrates quickly convert to sugar in your bloodstream, which is why, for years I’ve been calling them quickie carbs, fast carbs, culprit carbs and much-like-sugar carbs.
In short, all those fast carbs I’d been inhaling had been sending me flying in and out of Sugar Shock, or more accurately, Carb Shock. Hence my many symptoms of depression (and how!), mood swings, crying spells (lots of them), insomnia, and big brain fog.
Of course, grief over the loss of a loved one is tough enough to face, but when you eat crappy carbs, you exacerbate your many ailments, which is what happened to me.
Anyhow, for about a year, I’ve been back to eating cleanly, thanks to lots of healing work and workshops, including grief counseling, therapy, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), energy work and many cool tactics, which I’ve created or discovered to help me confront those Crazy Carb Cravings™.
I’m also happy to report that I’m close to my weight loss goal. I’ve shed 18 of the 20 pounds I gained doing Heartbreak Eating, and I’m now working off the additional inches to get back to my previous slim, toned figure.
Making My Big Carb Confession.was a huge deal for me. I was embarrassed to admit that I fell offf the wagon and that I was no longer doing what I encourage others to do.
Sen Croxton UW For months, I’d been thinking about coming clean about my carb relapse.
That’s why I need and want to thank the amazing Sean Croxton, whose Confessoins of a Health Blogger post finally gave me courage to make My Big Carb Confession.
I urge you to get on Sean Croxton’s mailing list. Sean is a passionate health and fitness professional, who is dedicated to revolutionizng the way the world thinks about health.
His Underground Wellness videos and Underground Wellness Radio are quite popular, and I encourage you to listen to these exciting programs, where you can catch Sean interview such top names in health and fitness such as Paul Chek, Mark Sisson, Dr. Robert Lustig, Julia Ross, and Cynthia Pasquella..
Anyhow, thank you, Sean, for inspiring me to join you in making My Big Carb Confession.
We’d like to hear from you. What is your Big Confession? It feels great to do! Join us! Together, let’s move on to create a glorious life. Talk to us now.

Join us for The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign

Join the conversation. Please tell us what you’re doing as part of The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign. How will or are you being kind and sweet to others?
When was the last time you did something really kind and sweet for someone else with no expectation of getting anything back in return?
Have you noticed that when you give freely to other people or organizations that you tend to forget or at least ignore your pressing problems? Plus, you feel so good for being so generous.
Now, for those of you who ned to weight , your frustrations about about the number on your bathroom scale won’t seem all that important when you’re focused on giving.
Plus, if you’re a sugar or carb addict, your plight will fade away or at least greatly diminish when you do something sweet for someone else or several something elses.
In fact, being kind and sweet makes you feel so good that it’s a lot easier and more enjoyable to eat healthy, wholesome, unrefined, natural foods that don’t contain a lot of sugar, gluten, salt, fat or other additives.
Anyhow, I’m so excited to invite you to join me for The 31 Days of Kindness Challenge.
Although I’d love to be able to claim this fabulous idea as my own, I can’t.
This great suggestion for The 31 Days of Kindness Challenge. comes from speaker/communicator Ryan Avery,, who is co-author with Jeremey Donovan of Speaker, Leader, Champion: Succeed at Work Through the Power of Public Speaking, featuring the prize-winning speeches of Toastmasters World Champions.
Ryanaverys31daycahllengeFYI, please note that I’m personalizing the experience. Although I plan to do kind and sweet things every day for 31 days (and probably longer) and I’m printing out Rya’ns list, I won’t t follow his guidelines exactly. Rather, I’ll use them as suggestions.
Ryan-Avery-Keynote-Speaker-300x300Furthermore, with Ryan Avery’s blessing, I hope, for my fans, I’d like to rename this The 31 Days of Kindness-and- Sweetness Campaign, because you’ll be focused on giving or doing something kind and sweet instead of stuffing your face with something sweet.
Now, let me tell you how I plan to kick off tomorrow, day one of The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Chaallenge.
At last, I’ll write a thank you letter to the amazing pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig for the valuable work he’s done to raise people’s sugar consciousness and to improve the health of the planet.
More importantly, though, along with my thank you note, I plan to make a donation to his Institute for Responsible Nutrition, whose mission is to reverse childhood obesity and type 2 obesity.
Institute for REsponsible Nutrition rewbztj9dvkvr8ifs30aThis is something I’ve been planning on doing for a while. In fact, my envelope (without a stamp attached yet) has been ready for weeks. So tomorrow, thanks to Ryan Avery’s polite nudge, I’ll finally do this.
As you probably already know, the remarkable Dr. Lustig is acclaimed for his powerful Sugar: The Bitter Truth lecture, which has had nearly 5 million views on YouTube.
You can watch Dr. Lustig’s lecture below. (By the way, Dr. Lustig will be participating in my upcoming Sugar World Summit. Stay tuned for details.)
In addition to watching the video below, I urge you to get Dr. Lustig’s remarkable, bestselling book, Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease.
So will you join me in The 31-Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign?
To participate, first get guidance from Ryan Avery, who offers great ideas on how to join in.
Then, will you join me by kicking off your involvement in The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign tomorrow by making a tax-detuctible donation to Dr. Robert Lustfg’s important Institute for Responsible Nutrition?
Join the conversation. Please tell us what you’re doing as part of The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign. How will or are you being kind and sweet to others?

Did NSA Leaders Forget to Google “Platform” Before Stomping on Michael Hyatt’s Brand? – Resolved!

Join the conversation. Should a worldwide organization use the same name as a wildly popular book and programs by a famous speaker/author? Speak up now.
At its annual conference in San Diego this week, the National Speakers Association — which has been advancing the speaking profession since 1973 — announced that it was changing its name to “Platform.”
Huh?
Wait a minute!
As I sat in the audience at this year’s NSA conference — which was really fabulous, by the way — this name change completely confused me.
More accurately, I felt very sorry for Michael Hyatt, the wildly acclaimed blogger, speaker and New York Times bestselling author of the fabulous book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. which, incidentally, is a must read for any speaker or author.
I sympathized with Michael — former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers — because for years, he has contributed his brilliance, mined his creativity and allocated his hard-earned resources to invigorate and popularize the word, “Platform.”
For those of you not in the know about platforms, having one is imperative these days if you have a book, product, or talk. Learn about it from Michael Hyatt. (I also recommend that you read Seth Godin’s brilliant book, Tribes.)
As you may have guessed by now, I am a BIG fan of Michael Hyatt, which is why I’m posting off topic today.
Not only do I follow Michael’s blog and posts on his Facebook page, but I also often consult and implement his ideas from Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. I’ve even traveled across country to attend one of Michael’s conferences, and I plan to fly to another one later this year.
Now you can understand why I”m so appalled and dismayed by the National Speakers Association’s name change to “Platform.”
How can the NSA do this to Michael Hyatt, who is, in effect, The Platform Man?
To begin with, Michael has a big platform of very engaged, loyal followers like me. Those of us in his tribe avidly read his thoughts on Facebook; follow him on Twitter;, check out his emails; and travel to attend events where he’s keynoting.
And consider this: Michael’s platform — at least on Facebook (41,770) and Twitter (224,000) — is far bigger than that of the National Speakers Association, which has only 16,824 fans in its private Facebook group and only 11,600 followers on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Michael Hyatt also runs his fabulous Platform University, of which I’m a member.
Furthermore, he hosts the acclaimed Platform Conference.
Michael also offers services to help speakers, authors and people like you and me build our platforms. By the way, stay tuned for my new, classier look, which soon will be unveiled on my website and blog, thanks to Michael’s Get Noticed theme.
PlatformNSASo why the heck is the reputable National Speakers Association — which prides itself on authenticity, originality and even ingenuity — stomping on the toes of Michael Hyatt, who, as a sought-after speaker, is essentially one of their own?
Frankly, I’m disappointed and surprised by this questionable move by the National Speakers Association.
Platform-Infographic-5701Indeed, this ill-advised name change puts me in an extremely awkward position.
I’m not yet a full-fledged member of NSA, but I’m a member of the amazing NSA Academy so I can develop skills to become a better speaker, which, in turn, will help me build my platform.
Plus, I greatly respect the many talented, remarkable NSA speakers, some of whom are bestselling authors with remarkable platforms of their own.
Furthermore, I’ve been eagerly looking forward to getting my NSA speaker certification.
Meanwhile, I certainly appreciate the NSA conventions, which, as I witnessed this week and in previous years, are classy, professional events.
But none of this changes the fact that NSA taking the name “Platform” is NOT a classy move.
More to the point, this name-change is completely lacking in integrity, a trait that many NSA members seek to possess. (See Kathleen Ann Thompson’s clever blog post about this.)
Not only that, but the NSA name change violates the organization’s own code of ethics, as Stu McLaren observes.
In short, my loyalty lies with Michael Hyatt, who expressed his astonishment in a Facebook post.
By the way, I even urge you to see the helpful infographic (to your left) that Michael created to help people like us build our platforms.
Frankly, I’m barffled. Didn’t the NSA name- rebranding committee — whose members were praised in the video below — do their homework or due diligence, as platform builder and blogger Daniel Decker asks?
Didn’t at least one member of this illustrious name-change committee do a Google search on the word “Platform” before stomping on Michael Hyatt’s brand and look?
Dian’t at least one committee member hear of Michael Hyatt?
It’s super easy to discover, as Mike Kim so eloquently blogs,.that Michael Hyatt “owns” the word, “Platform.”
Go ahead. Do a Google search now for the words, “Platform and Michael Hyatt.”
As of today, you’ll get a whopping 157,000 hits!
Isn’t t the NSA name change, in fact, brand theft, as Andy Traub suggests?
As you can tell, a number of us in Michael’s tribe are up in arms.
Sure, the concept of a platform has been dicussed for years in publishing and speaking circles and books that predate Michael’s have addressed this subject — but of all people today, Michael Hyatt is the go-to guru about the value of building your platform.
In fact, Hay House, publisher of my most recent book, Beyond Sugar Shock, even recommends that ALL of its authors or wanna-be authors read Michael Hyatt’s book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World.Likewise, my next publisher, Balboa Press, which has a partnership with Hay House, greatly respects Michael.
Of course, despite my background as an objective journalist, I make no claims to this being a measured post such as those by Ryan Avery or Stu McLaren.
What it comes down to is this: How can a speakers’ organization, which touts the value of crediblity and not stealing others’ material, in effect, create a name and logo that are uncannily similiar to one used for years by Michael Hyatt — whether they did so knowingly or not?
Now, I urge you: Put yourself in Michael Hyatt’s place. How would you feel if one day some organization took the name you’ve been spending years to brand?
I’d certainly be concerned if an organization with similiar goals to mine changed its name to Sugar Shock or Beyond Sugar Shock.
Therefore, as a Michael Hyatt fan, I urge the leadership of the National Speakers Association to:
Issue a formal apology to Michael Hyatt.
Totally abandon the name “Platform” as its new name.
Do due diligence and extensive research to ensure that it won’t again pick a brand that is already taken by another person or organization.
Make this entire name-change process more public and enlist feedback from ALL members of NSA and the Academy.
Please weigh in with your ideas. I’d love to hear what you think, but first, watch the video below where the name change (theft?) to Platform is announced at the recent National Speakers Association conference.
Join the conversation. So do you think the NSA name change is right or not? Speak up now. Also please share your comments with NSA leadership.

7 Lessons I Learned Because I Lost My Cell Phone — Again!

Join the Conversation. Have you ever lost your cell? What did you do? How long did you go without it? Talk to us now.
I lost my cell phone a few days ago.
Thankfully, this is the first time in several months that my iPhone has gone missing for so long.
But more than a year ago, while my poor mother was being ravaged by cancer and I was helplessly watching her dying — a very painful time — I lost my iPhone repeatedly. Every few days, I couldn’t find it. A few days after she passed away, I even lost it twice in one day. I was that upset.
(In fact, after losing my iPhone the last time, I finally bought a new one, but then the old one surfaced while I was moving. Alas, I still can’t access photos of my Mom in her final days, because in my grief, I spaced out and punched in the wrong pass code too many times.)
Back to my cell phone that went M.I.A.. this week.
This week, apparently my joy, excitement, and desire to serve others distracted me.
Somehow, my cell phone went missing while I was getting more and more thrilled that so many big names have agreed to participate in the Sugar World Summit.
I am so excited!
This virtual Sugar World Summit — which I’ve scheduled to begin exactly two weeks before Halloween — or what I call Sugar Overload Day — will present world-renowned experts on sugar, carbs, stress, emotional eating, mindfulness training, addiction science, cravings, weight loss and more.
In this Sugar World Summit, our gurus won’t just tell you The Sour Scoop. They’ll give you some Sweet Solutions, too, as I announced here.
Back to my missing iPhone. I haven’t bought a new cell phone yet, because I keep thinking it’ll turn up, but searching my car, desk, bedroom, kitchen and living room hasn’t helped.
I’m also waiting to talk to a friend of mine, who has an uncanny knack for helping me find missing things. (She’s off dealing with some personal issues.)
Anyhow, It’s been very strange to be phone-less.
No calling friends or family members while on a walk.
No calling friends while parked in my car.
No calling business colleagues if I get a hot idea.
No digging up phone numbers of important people.
No tweeting cool stuff, something I started doing recently.
The case of my MIA Cell Phone is intriguing me. In fact, NOT having my iPhone has taught me five main things.
1. I multitask far, far too much — like most of you? There’s no need to be on my cell phone while going for a wonderful walk along the ocean, when I can focus fully on waves crashing against the shore.
2. I’m entirely too reliant on my cell phone. This is not a necessary appendage!
3. I’m also entirely too dependent on my iPhone camera, on which I’ve taken the some beautiful sunset photos. (See one here that I previously downloaded to my computer.) But why don’t I buy a real camera instead, as I’ve been planning?
4. I need to totally unplug more often. Although I turn off my cell several times a day, that time without it is very cleansing. Darn am I being productive!
5. I need to get more in touch with nature and less attached to my cell.
6. By disconnecting from electronics, I’m reconnecting to my purpose, passions, and peace of mind. This is perhaps my biggest lesson. I’m really enjoying the calm of not being so attached to my cell phone. It’s a welcome relief during this time of book deadlines and Sugar World Summit planning.
7. While I’ve been without a cell phone, I’ve become quite creative in the kitchen. Instead of chatting on the phone with friends, I’ve been concocting a variety of culinary dishes (all sugar-free, of course) that taste pretty good, if I may say so myself. (More later about that.)
So now I have an idea. I was thinking about giving in and buying another iPhone, but today it hit me that I’m going to give myself a Cell Phone Challenge.
You see, I’m on tight deadline now for my next book — I’ll tell you more shortly — and I decided not to let myself buy another iPhone phone until I’m finished writing the book. Now that may be another three weeks or more, but how’s that for incentive to finish the book?!
If I finish the book, I get a cell phone!
If not, I have to go without my iPhone. Dislosure: I do, however, have a helpful land line.
Join the Conversation. Have you ever lost your cell? What did you do? How long did you go without it? Talk to us now.
Special thanks to the TeleComBlog.com and to Matt Klassen. Forgive me if I shouldn’t have used this art from your story. I’ll take it down if you ask.

The Sugar World Summit Begins October 17: Save the Date

Join the Conversation: What expert would you like to hear in the first Sugar World Summit? Let us know now.
Sugar-World-Summit_w_Date.fw_Save the date Friday, October 17, 2014.
That’s when the frist Sugar World Summit — a virual event — will take place to educate, entertain and motivate you to Take Back Your Sugar Power.
The Sugar World Summit begins Friday, October 17 — exactly two weeks before Halloween, or what I like to call Sugar Overload Day.
Dr. Lustig During this once-in-a-lifetime virtual event, you’ll have access to world-renowned anti-sugar pioneers, scientists, researchers, New York Times bestselling authors, educators, and wellness gurus, who specialize in weight loss, emotional eating, compassion, mindful eating, and cravings.
We’re also planning a few surprise celebrity guests.
Sign up below now to get exciting details delivered directly to your in box.
In this Sugar World Summit, you’ll get both The Sweet News and The Sour News.
You’ll not only find out about sugar’s dangers, but you’ll also discover sweet, simple tools to help you let go of your addiction to sugary foods and much-like-sugar carbs (or what I call auickie carbs or culprit carbs.).
Among those who’ve already agreed to participate are:
Dr. Robert Lustig, ‎ pediatric endocrinologist and New York Times bestselling author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity & Disease. His “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” lecture has had more than 4.6 million hits on YouTube. Photo shown above.
Dr. Mark Hyman, chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine, medical editor at the Huffington Post, on the Medical Advisory Board at “The Doctor Oz Show,” and New York Times bestselling author of The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet..
JJ Virgin, P.h.D., C.N.S., celebrity nutritionist, fitness expert, New York Times bestselling author, whose new book, JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet: Drop 7 Hidden Sugars, Lose Up To 10 Pounds, Just 2 Weeks, is being published days after the Sugar World Summit.
Dr. David Perlmutter, “Empowering Neurologist,” Linus Pauling award-winner and author of the # 1 New York Times bestselling Grain Brain.
Sarah Wilson, acclaimed Australian blogger, TV personality, journalist, author of I Quit Sugar and founder of the popular I Quit Sugar Community
Dr. Pamela Peeke, internationally recognized expert, physician, scientist and author of the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunger Fix: the 3 Stage Detox and Recovery Plan for Overeating and Food Addiction
Jimmy Moore, popular low-carb blogger, co-author with Dr. Eric Westman of Cholesterol Clarity. He shed 180 pounds and peeled off 20 inches by quitting sugar and going low carb.
Dr. Richard Johnson, a practicing physician, acclaimed clinical scientist and author of The Sugar Fix::What You Don’t Know about Fructose and HFCS Could Kill You.
Serge H. Ahmed, Ph.D., CNRS Research Director, Principal Investigator & Team Leader, Addiction, Compulsion and Dopamine Dysregulation Syndrome, Université de Bordeaux. He’s done fascinating research on addcition, sugar and cocaine.
Dr Pedram Shojai, former Taoist monk, physician of Chinese medicine and founder of founder of the popular site, Well.org,
Trudy Scott, nutritionist, food-mood expert and author of The Antianxiety Food Solution
Kristin Neff, PhD., Associate Professor, Human Development and Culture, Educational Psychology Dept., University of Texas at Austin and author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Roberta Ruggiero, founder of the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation and author of Do’s and Don’ts of Hypoglycemia. An Every Day Guide to Low Blood Sugar.
Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., CNS, leading nutritional expert and bestselling author of 30 books, including Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution and Get the Sugar Out, Revised and Updated: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet
High Voltage (Kathie Dolgin), author of Sugar Savvy and founder of Energy Up Voltage Approved, Inc. (EUVA), a nonprofit organization to fight teenage obesity and to prevent type 2 diabetes and other diseases, particularly among teenage girls.
Sign up now for this exciting Sugar World Summit so you won’t be left out in the cold this holiday season with all those tempting “treats,” which can trick you into weight gain, mood swings, low libido, heart disease, and more.
So why would you want to quit or cut back on sugar? Well, you could: :
Easily shed your dreaded excess weight.
Leave behind your depression and get filled up with good cheer, passion and enthusiasm.
Have enough energy to keep up with your kids or perform well on the job..
Tame Your Cravings™ for sugary, salty or fatty unreal foods.
Banish your horribly annoying brain fog and begin to concentrate with a razor-sharp focus..
Rev up your libido so you’ll be thrilled with your time alone in the bedroom with your beloved..
Ditch those debilitating female ailments (either PMS or menopause, depending on your time of life.)
And much more.
Connie-headshot (2)Connie Bennett is a former sugar-addicted journalist. After kicking sugar on doctor’r orders in 1998, all 44 of her ailments vanished. Connie is now known as The Sweet Freedom Guide, and she is a transformational speaker, blogger, certified health coach, certified life coach, Gab with the Gurus host, and bestselling author of Beyond Sugar Shock, which was praised by many experts such as Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and Dr. Daniel Amen. Her first book, Sugar Shock. was praised by Dr. Mehmet Oz. Connie’s next book will be out later this year.
Join the Conversation: What expert would you like to hear in the first Sugar World Summit? Tell us know now.

Taking a Quick Time Out to Write My Next Book to Help You

Join the Conversation: Have you ever written a book or wanted to write a book?
I’m taking a few days away from emails and the Internet during this Easter weekend and post-Passover time to work on my next book.
At present, I need to get back to writing, but let me briefly share that this book is the follow-up to my first book, Sugar Shock, which Dr. Mehmet Oz praised, and Beyond Sugar Shock, which was published by Hay House and was endorsed by many health and empowerment gurus such as Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Dr. Daniel Amen, Brian Tracy, Dr. Christiane Northrup and many others.
For my third book, I’m not going through a traditional publisher.
Instead, I’m taking the self-publishing route, and Balboa press Logo_MainI’ve signed up with Balboa Press, which is a division of Hay House.
My publishing contacts at Balboa Press are being so incredibly nice to me — I couldn’t be happier! — and they’re helping me implement some very innovative things. (More later.)
What’s really nice about self-publishing with Balboa Press is that I can speed up the timeline and schedule my book when I want it to come out.
I’ll announce the publication date soon, but it’s a pub date that may make you chuckle. Seriously!
Right now, I have to get back to writing my next book, but right now, let me share my fondest wish and deepest desire for this book — my mission is to help and serve people worldwide. Stay tuned.
Join the Conversation: Have you ever written a book or wanted to write a book?