Category: Talks & Appearances

Is Your Sugar Addiction Making You Crabby?

Are you moody, cranky and edgy for no apparent reason?
Well, it could be your sugar addiction that’s contributing to your embarrassing highs and lows.
Hurray to Well + Good NYC for pointing out this not-so-well-known fact about sugar’s effect on your moods.
Gratitude also goes to Well + Good NYC for interviewing me for this story, “Are you just cranky or addicted to sugar? A local expert explains the pernicious side of sweetness.
Do you live in or near New York City?
Please join me in my four-week course, which begins next Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the New York Open Center.
What are your questions or experiences about sugar, hypoglycemia or type 2 diabetes? We’d love to hear from you on the Facebook Smart Habits Fans page.

High Fructose Corn Syrup: Sour Surprise

Do you eat prepared, processed cereals, breads, pasta, yogurt, tomato sauce, crackers, frozen foods, pickles, canned vegetables or fruits?
If so, then you’re probably consuming a lot of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) without even knowing it.
Did you know that most people who eat processed, packaged foods are consuming a lot of sweeteners, especially high fructose corn syrup?
And did you know that when take in too many sugars, especially HFCS, you can gain weight, as well as develop heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and numerous other life-shortening illnesses?
Learn more about HFCS in a mere three minutes by watching the 3 Minute Ad Age interview I gave last year.
I just found out today that the video interview about HFCS is posted on YouTube so please spread the word to your friends and loved ones.
Find out more about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners by getting my book SUGAR SHOCK!
You also can learn more about HFCS by visiting the new blog, Sweet Disguise, which kindly featured my book and 3 Minute Ad Age Interview today.

In New York on New Year’s Day? Let’s Help Each Other

New Yorkers or people who live near New York City, will you be here on New Year’s Day?
Get tips to break free of your sugar addiction at the JCC in Manhattan on Jan. 1, 2010.
I’d be honored to have the chance to help you achieve extraordinary things.
Would you also be kind enough to help me for 2 to 3 hours on New Year’s Day?
I’m seeking 6 people to help warmly greet attendees at my lecture and/or visitors to my booth.
How will you benefit? In several ways. Read on.
For those of you who live outside New York City, I would be honored to serve you, too.
So please stay tuned, because on Mon., Jan. 11 at 8 p.m., I’m offering a free teleseminar/webinar to help you Break Free of Sugar & Other Bad Habits. (Details will come soon.)
Anyhow, for those of you who will be in New York City, here’s how you’ll benefit from helping me on New Year’s Day.

Grateful for You

It’s Connie here to tell you that I’m VERY grateful to you, dear readers.
I really appreciate your support so that I can continue to serve you.
Now that it’s the holiday season, I feel that I want to tell you how grateful I am.
Grateful, as www.Dictionary.com tells us, means you’re “warmly Or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received.”
YOU, dear readers, are so important to me.
Because of YOU and 1) your willingness to learn, 2) your open-mindedness, 3) your desire to have a happier, healthier life and 4) your spreading the word about this Sugar Shock Blog, my book SUGAR SHOCK! and my coaching services, I can continue to help YOU and many more to break free of this health-harming, mood-dampening addiction to sugar, refined carbs, artificial sweeteners and other bad habits
(or what I call babits™).
So thank you, YOU magnificent creature, YOU.
I love you, and as “Think Big” author Michael Port puts it, “not in a weird way.”
YOU Special One, I’m also here to remind you to remember that YOU are a wonderful, special, dazzling person with so great qualities.
So for the holidays through the end of the year, I invite you to remember to treasure your glorious body, which has been here for you no matter what.
When was the last time you thanked your body for all it does for you?
Let me gently suggest that you think twice before putting junk foods and sugar-filled, calorie-packed drinks into your body this holiday season, OK?
Before you slip a sweet “treat” into your mouth or nosh on fake, junk foods (that are artificially sweetened or filled with dyes and other additives), why not ask yourself, “What does my wonderful body really want?”I do hope that this post inspires you to treat your body like the temple it is. Wishing you all a fabulous rest of the year!

Sugar Addiction: Get Help to Break Free, Beginning Jan. 5 at the New York Open Center

With the new year coming soon, people often decide that it’s high time to break free of their sugar habit.
And I’m here to help you conquer your habit in early 2010.
Join me on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 6 pm, when you can get inspired and educated during a fun, often-interactive, life-changing free introductory class at the New York Open Center. which is the largest urban holistic center in the United States.
But that isn’t all. You also can sign up for the four-week course at the New York Open Center from Jan. 12 to Feb. 2.
Please note that you get a free gift if you sign up for the Jan. 5 or the 4-week program because of reading about it on this blog.
But first join us for a complimentary introduction on Jan. 5.
In case you’re wondering why you may want to consider kicking sugar, if you do so, you can:
* Lose weight
* Finally feel in control of their habit of consuming sugar and refined carbs
* Feel free!
* Get more energy on a consistent basis
* Become more productive
* Walk your talk by consuming only healthy foods and drinks
* Tap into your spirtuality
* Be unfazed when desserts and sweet snacks abound
* Feel exhilarated and excited about your many projects
* Relish moving your body in a way you’ve never done
* Enjoy more enriching, satisfying relationships
* Boost your libido
* Learn to calmly watch your sugar desires slide away
* And much more
New York Open Center – 04 – Meditation
Here’s the description of the four-week course at the New York Open Center:
Do you “need” a candy bar or soda just to get through the day? Are you yearning to lose weight for good? Would you like to improve your moods, banish brain fog, triple your energy and boost your libido? You can peel off pounds, gain energy and improve your relationships just by kicking sugar and refined carbohydrates. But removing culprit carbs can be challenging.
Join “Smart Habits Girl” Connie Bennett, author of the best-selling book SUGAR SHOCK!, who will show you that breaking free of your sugar habit can be fun, exhilarating and life-changing. In this four-week course, you’ll participate in empowering exercises, eye-opening discussions and coaching scenarios to discover how to identify your tempting triggers and well-meaning saboteurs; how to soothe and nurture yourself in healthy ways; how to use the “5 Ds” to squash your cravings; how to save money on food; what to eat; how to “say no with sass”; if you should quit cold turkey or phase out sweets; how to find hidden sugars; how to release your bingeing-self-loathing cycle; if sugar substitutes are safe; and how to find sweetness naturally.
Hope to see you there! Remember, if you sign up for the course because of learning about it on this blog, you get a free gift from me.

New Year’s Day: Kick Sugar With Me at the JCC in Manhattan

As most of you get ready for your holiday celebrations, I invite you to save the date if you live in or near New York City.
As we know New Year’s Day is when most of us feel compelled to turn over a new leaf.
That’s when a number of us wellness experts in New York City will be around to serve you — to help you become a better, healthier you.
Come hear me live from 1 pm to 2 pm Eastern at JCC of Manhattan so you can kick your sugar habit or other bad habits (or what I call babits™).
Here is more information about my program:
Break Your Sugar Habit & Turn Your Babits™ (Bad Habits) into Blessings to Get a Life that Rocks!
Would you like to release excess weight, get energy and boost your libido? You can do ALL that—and more—by quitting sweets and refined carbs. Get easy tips and exercises you can enjoy as you discover:
* The “5 Ds” to squash sugar cravings anytime
* The 2 types of foods that drive away your “sweet tooth.”
* The truth about sugar substitutes.
* The single biggest mistake people make when trying to change a bad habit
* 3 ways to save money on food.
Hope to see you there. If you come as a result of this blog post, you get a free gift from me so make sure to claim it!
Pre-register now, because the JCC in Manhattan is expecting lots of people.

Connie’s Confession: I’m a Health Hypocrite! Help Each Other

Normally, I don’t reveal my vulnerabilities here, on this Sugar Shock Blog. Nor do I share a personal plight, but today, I feel a need to confess to you that I feel like the ultimate Health Hypocrite.
Sure, I eat healthy, wholesome, real foods. Yes, I religiously avoid sugary foods and carbs — and have since 1998 with only a handful of very minor infractions. I don’t even smoke anymore. (Inhaling two packs of cigarettes is a thing of the past.) What’s more, I’ve been shunning caffeine since a doctor suggested I do so more than a decade ago. And I don’t even chew sugar-less gum or eat candies with artificial sweeteners anymore. In addition, I’ve triumphed over my diet soda slugging. Plus, I’m huge exercise aficionado. But feeding my body well and moving just aren’t nearly enough.
Sleep My body craves — as does yours — ample sleep. We desperately need those zzzzzz’s.Otherwise, I’m headed for sniffles, sneezing, coughing and congestion.
Well, lately — especially in the last week — I haven’t walked my talk. Despite the fact that I know about the wonders of a good night’s sleep and I’m even mentioning it as a “Smart Diet Habit” in my next book, I skimped on sleep myself last week. Now that I’m a health coach, I’m not going to indulge in self-blame. Rather, I’m going to use this realization as an opportunity.
The irony is that lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about and striving to do excellent self-care, because of my training as a health counselor and life coach and because I’ve been completing Cheryl Richardson’s fabulous book, Take Time for Your Life, which was required reading for my life coaching program through iPEC.
I even just bought Cheryl Richardson’s latest book, The Art of Extreme Self-Care, this weekend at this remarkable Hay House ouse Movers & Shakers conference. Both books have motivated me to think a lot about how we all will benefit if we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to treating ourselves with respect and reverence, even it it means we have to let go of current projects and disappoint people.
Well, despite my commitment to treating myself right, last week, I neglected my needs when it came to snoozing. You see, I felt compelled to help you you a lot this month.

Conquer Your Sugar Addiction With Me, Starting Jan. 5, at the New York Open Center

Since the new year is coming soon, if you live near New York City, I invite you to plan now to break free of your sugar habit so that you may be able to:
* Lose weight
* Finally make peace with sugar and refined carbs
* Feel free
* Get more energy on a consistent basis
* Become more productive
* Walk your talk by consuming only healthy foods and drinks
* Tap into your spirtuality
* Be unfazed when desserts and sweet snacks abound
* Feel exhilarated and excited about your many projects
* Relish moving your body in a way you’ve never done
* Enjoy more enriching, satisfying relationships
* Boost your libido
* Learn to meditate away your sugar desires
* And much more
New York Open Center – 04 – Meditation Reserve your space now for Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 6 pm when you can get inspired and educated during my free introductory class at the New York Open Center.
Now, sign up for the four-week course at the New York Open Center from Jan. 12 to Feb. 2.
Let me know if you’ve signed up for this program, because I have special gifts for people who’ve enrolled to help you get through the holiday season.