Crush Your Cravings

Crush Your Cravings

Stress & Cortisol Can Lead to Belly Fat & Weight Gain

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Join the Conversation: What’s your favorite way to relieve stress? Share your thoughts now.
Stressed out? Struggling with excess weight?
StressIf you’rve been stressed out and you’ve gained weight, you want to learn about cortisol, which is caused by stress and its role in both weight gain and infuriating belly fat.
Here are some answers to questions you may have about the stress-cortisol-weight gain connection.
How does too much cortisol make you gain weight?
We normally think of cortisol as being released from our adrenal glands in “fight-or-flight” situations when we don’t have control of a situation or it’s threatened.
It raises our heart beat and gives us a burst of energy. Yet, there is a second even result relating to cortisol, which is related to the ‘defeat’ response, which occurs when stress is prolonged.
“Although the stress pathways work together,” wrote a team of exercise science professors at the University of New Mexico, “they each can uniquely affect the function of bodily processes.
“The ‘defeat’ response {when stress is prolonged} can lead to enhanced lipogenesis (fat creation), visceral obesity (deep abdominal obesity), breakdown of tissues, and suppression of the immune system.”
In short, stress and your elevated levels of cortisol can make you fat.
More specifically, cortisol is a steroid hormone, which has the ability to move fat in your body from storage deposits directly into the fat cells located in your abdomen.
Plus, the more cortisol you secrete over extended periods of time, the more you engorge fat cells in your abdomen to create belly fat.
Not only that, but cortisol “also indirectly influences appetite by regulating other chemicals that are released during stress such as cortiocotrophin releasing hormone, leptin, and neuropeptide Y,” the New Mexico research team noted.
Does abdominal fat attract more abdominal fat due to stress reactions?
The short answer is yes! Another study, this one from a team of health psychologists at the University of California, San Francisco, researched 59 premenopausal women, about half of whom had a high waist-to-hip ratio (abdominal fat) and half, who had a low ratio.
Over four days, all the women were exposed to stressful test situations and had their cortisol secretions measured. Women with a high abdominal fat reported more chronic stress and “secreted significantly more cortisol” than women with lower abdominal fat.
The study authors concluded that “stress-induced cortisol secretion” contributes to central body fat and this fat distribution, in turn, “relates to greater psychological vulnerability to stress and cortisol reactivity.”
Physicians at the MedicineNet website label this cortisol-induced abdominal fat “toxic fat” because its buildup in this part of your body “is strongly correlated with the development of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes.”
What are proven methods to control cortisol and reduce belly fat?
It’s a one-two punch in the gut, so to speak. You need to manage your stress so cortisol doesn’t continues to inflate your abdominal fat cells, and you need to adopt a dedicated exercise program that not only burns calories, but also helps to manage stress levels.
“Many types of aerobic and anaerobic exercise have been shown to be effective interventions in reducing or managing stress,” observed Len Kravitz, Ph.D., an exercise science expert at the University of New Mexico.
“Some of the popular ‘mindful’ exercise programs such as yoga and Tai Chi are also recommended for stress management. medditation, progressive relaxation, deep breathing, and visualization are methods that can be effective in decreasing stress-induced symptoms. Also, eating right and getting enough rest should be incorporated in a stress management plan for life.”
Join the Conversation: What’s your favorite way to relieve stress? Share your thoughts now.

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An Apple Cider Vinegar Dose a Day Can Keep Your Cravings Away

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Join the Conversation. Have you tried the following Cravings Calmer? Let us know if it worked.
If you’re like most women and many men, your overwhelming cravings for sugary, salty or fatty processed foods often taunt you.
At times, you may even feel that those chocolate donuts, onion rings or pretzels are actually calling out to you, “Eat me! Eat me!”
Of course, we both know that such thoughts are prepostrerous. Doesn’t matter.
In fact, for the past 16 years — since I reluctantly quit sugar and refined carbohydrates on doctor’s orders — many sugar or carb addicts have used this exact same language in bemoaning to me that they feel ruled by their urges for “bad foods.”
It’s time for good news. You do not have to be at the mercy of what I call your Crazy Cravings™.
Today, let me share one simple way to calm your cravings.
To begin, let me remind you of an old adage. It’s one many of us were told by our mothers or parental figues. It goes like this: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
Well, thanks to research, I’ve come up with a new twist on this idea. As I put it, “An apple cider vinegar dose a day keeps your cravings away.”
Apple cider vinegar, made from fermented apples, is high in acetic acid, which is why you get that sharp, tangy taste.
This acetic acid helps increase your satiety, which means you get fewer and less severe food cravings for hours after you have consumed apple cider vinegar with a snack or meal.
Let’s now look at a study, which backs up this assertion.
The Scientific Research
Swedish researchers at Lund University found that cravings were significantly lowered in a group of people, who consumed two or three tablespoons of vinegar in water, with a piece of wheat bread compared to group who did not. (Please note that I don’t recommend the bread, because it can rasie your blood sugar levels.) The study used regular vinegar, but apple cider vinegar is better because of its higher acetic acid level and more palatable taste.)
The Simple Steps
Apple Cider Vinegar1) If you feel a craving coming on, before a meal, drink a glass of water mised with one or two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Because the flavor is so powerful, it’s easier to drink when you add water. The apple cider vinegar I prefer is Bragg’s Liquid Amino.
2) If drinking the diluted liquid is still too potent for you, just add some apple cider vinegar to your salad or other food.
3) Repeat as necessary throughout the day if your cravings persist.
How It Works
The acetic acid in the apple cider vinegar acts on the body’s glucose and insulin responses. This, in turn, increases your satiety (your feeling of fullness).
That’s why you get fewer and less severe food cravings for hours after you’ve consumed apple cider vinegar with your meal or snack.
How It Works: Acetic acid in apple cider vinegar acts on the body’s glucose and insulin responses and this in turn affects satiety.
Join the Conversation. Have you tried the following Cravings Calmer? Let us know if it worked.
Are your friends gripped by cravings? Feel free to share this post. When you do, please include the following: Former sugar-addicted journalist: Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC is author of the bestselling book, Sugar Shock!, which has been praised by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Christiane Northrup. Her latest is Beyond Sugar Shock, which was endorsed by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and others. Connie is a certified life coach, certified health coach, experienced reporter, and host of the Gab with the Gurus Radio Show, which is available on iTunes. The former sugar and carb addict is now dedicated to helping people around the world to Break Free of their Addictions to Babits™. (Bad Habits).

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Stressed Out? Eat Dark Chocolate, Researchers Suggest

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Join the conversation. What is your favorite way to consume dark chocolate or cacao? Talk to us.
In recent years, one study after another has shown that dark chocolate can be healthy for you.
Cacao beansNow, new Swiss scientists have discoverd that it can be helpful to eat 50 milligrams of dark chocolate two hours before a stressful event.
In short, dark chocolate can soothe your stress!
Pretty cool, eh?
Specifically, the new study, which was published in the Journal of the American Colllege of Cardiology, reveals that dark chocolate blunted increases in cortisol and epinephrine.
Cortisol, as you may already know, is often called the stress hormone, and epinephrine — which is better known as adrenaline — is a hormone released by the adrenal glands and its major action, together with noradrenaline, is to prepare you for your infamous fight or flight response.
Of course, that fight-or-flight reaction helps us humans, as well as animals, to mobilize our energy rapidly so we can deal with threats to our survival.
Meanwhile, as resarchers have been finding for years, dark chocolate — but not sugar-laden milk chocolate or white chocolate — is healthy in at least 9 other ways, too.
For example:
Dark chocolate is nutritious, containing such goodies as fiber, iron, magnesium, copper, and manganese, as AuthorityNutrition.com points out.
It can lessen cravings for sweet, salty or fatty foods. That’s certainly good news for sugar addicts.
Dark chocolate is a powerful source of antioxidants. One study even called cacao a “super fruit” and found that it contains more antioxidant activity, polyphenols and flavanols than other fruits tested, which included blueberries and Acai berries.
Dark chocolate may lower your risk for cardiovascular disease;
And it may improve your brain function.
It can even boost enhance your coronary circulation.
It also raises HDL (the good stuff) and lowers LDL
Plus, dark chocolate has achieved recognition as an anti-depressant and mood leveler.
Dark chocolate may protect your skin aginst the sun.
Cacao-powderNow, please bear in mind that I’m not urging you to rush out and get sugar-filled chocolate!
Ideally, you want to eat dark chocolate hat has a high cacao content, is high in fat (yes!), and low in sugar.
To get some guidance on what to get, check out Mark’s Daily Apple’s wonderful review of the 5 best dark chocolate bars.
Now, if you’re really into being sugar-free, I highly recommend that you nibble on unprocessed cacao beans (it goes great with nuts).
Or you can use cacao powder to make a healthy smoothie.
In fact, every morning I add 2 or 3 tablespoons of organic cacao powder from either Navitas Naturals or Sun Foods in my sugar-free, super-healthy Cacao-Chia-Protein Smoothie. (Stay tuned, because I’ll post a recipe sometime.)
Anyhow, it’s exciting to discover that cacao also can help you deal with stress.
Join the conversation. What is your favorite way to consume dark chocolate or cacao? Talk to us.

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Need a Vacation? Take a Nap

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Join the Conversation. When did you last have a nap?
2738888912_0fe1a1c130_zIf, like me, you badly need of a vacation but can’t seem to find the time or resources to get away, try the next best thing: A nap.
When you take a quick snooze, you’re in the company of such famous nappers as Winston Churchill, Salvador Dalí, Albert Einstein, Lyndon Johnson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Thomas Edison, who all enjoyed afternoon naps.
In fact, according to the AARP, John D. Rockefeller allegedly said: “A little rest now and then helps a man to accomplish more.”
Meanwhile, short naps — along with suffficient sleep at night, an anti-inflammatory diet and daily exercise — help Dr. Andrew Weil feel “positive, energetic, and ready to tackle the challenges that life presents.”
Celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz — who, incidentally, was recently grilled by senators for extolling weight-loss supplements on his Dr. Oz Show which didn’t pass scientific muster — also believes in napping.
Not only did Dr. Oz admit that he regularly takes an afternoon siesta, but he hailed napping as The 10-Minute Fix that Cures Exhaustion.
Napping has many benefits. It:
Improves your attention, concentration, memory, performance and alertness.
Boosts your moods.
Enhance your workplace performance.
Reduces accidents and mistakes.
Boosts your creativity.
Improves your health.
Helps you lose weight.
Reduces stress.
Now I’m not suggesting that napping will make up for being sleep-deprived, but it’s a start. However, you really want to get ample zz’s at night, too.
Did you know, for isntance, that being sleep deprived can boost your appetite and can trigger funk food cravings?
By the way, when you nap, don’t fret if you can’t actually doze off for 10 minutes. One study found that asleep or not, a short period spent resting in bed is just as relaxing.
For some tips on napping, turn to Michael Hyatt, who helps leaders leverage influence.
Let’s have some fun now!
Check out these amusing photos of cats napping it up, thanks to the Daily Mail.
Join the Conversation. When did you last have a nap?

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How Losing a Cell Phone Can Free You & Boost Your Creativity

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Join the conversation. Have you ever lost a cell phone? For how long?
Wow, what a fascinating experience it’s been to not have a cell phone for a whopping three-and-a-half weeks (right after I took the photos in this post).
My adventure into being iPhone-less was quite inadvertent.
Like millions, I cling to my cell phone with dedication and consistency.
Like you, I call and text friends and colleagues.
I jot down appointments on my calendar.
I use my cell to check the time, too.
But I only talk into the speakerphone and never hold the phone up to my head. (See the link between chatting on your cell and brain cancer.)
Anyhow, my cell-phone reliance came to a screeching halt three-plus weeks ago.
I lost my cell phone sometime after taking this shot of the sun peeking through a trees.
My timing for losing my cell phone has been fascinating. I’m on deadline for my next book. More about the project shortly, but suffice it to say that I’m one of those people who really focuses during crunch time and, more than ever, I limit distractions. However, I do take ample me time, which becomes super-important when you have to crank out a book.
Anyhow, after going through some initial cell-phone withdrawal symptoms — seriously! — see 7 Lesson I Learned Because I Lost My Cell Phone — AgainI I’m now kind of liking not being so tied to my cell phone.
Although for nearly a month, I’ve been optimistically waiting for my cell phone to reappear — looking in the couch, my car, etc. — I’ve experienced three unexpected bonuses.
I feel more free. It may sound strange, but knowing that I cannot call someone when I’m out and about gives me a glorious dose of freedom. Not using my cell has made me realize how often I called people while taking a walk,e tc.
I’m much more present and appreciative. When I’m out and about — whether it’s for a walk or to the movies — I find that I appreciate views better, be they leaves, flowers, ocean or even the mall. In short, everything is richer and fuller.
I’m much more creative. This has been such a blessed benefit. When I take needed breaks (even to go to physical therapy for my inured knee), I’m getting greeat ideas really often. They just come to me out of the blue. So cool! So incredibly wonderful!
Anyhow, I’m still hoping my cell phone will show up, but I’m wondering if the Universe has plotted for me to be without it until I finish my next book.
So I’ve concocted a wild plan — I am now bribing myself!
I can’t get a a new cell phone once I finish my next book!
Rather than feeling deprived, I’m entertained by this off-the-wall pledge, which I’ve now pursusing almost as a badge of honor.
Plus, I’m motivated in a huge way to finish this book and get back to posting more often.
Anyhow, stay tuned for info about my book. I’m coming to you soon with a poll to test out several titles.
In the meantime, join the conversation.
Talk to us. Have you ever lost your cell phone? For how long?

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7 Lessons from Staying Sugar-Free for 16 Years

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Join the Conversation. Have you thought about quitting sugar or processed carbohydrates? Name 3 reasons why.
Heart-shaped foodSixteen years ago today, I reluctantly gave up sugar and processed carbohydrates on doctor’s orders. Although ditching sweets was the last thing I wanted to do, I had no choice, because I felt utterly awful most of the time.
On any given day, I was pummeled by many of 44 inexplicable ailments, including throbbing headaches, ferocious PMS, scary heart palpitations, vicious cravings, embarrassing crying spells, and erratic mood swings.
At the time—remember this was 1998—people didn’t realize that sugar is toxic, that it can trigger heart disease and cancer; and that it can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
Despite many challenges along the way, I finally succeeded in mostly removing sugar from my life.
My sucess in letting go of my sugar and carb addiction is due to:
The encouragement of my doctor, Dr. Keith DeOrio.
Lots of support from the amazing Roberta Ruggiero, founder and president of the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation and author of Do’s and Don’ts of Hypoglycemia;
Nancy Appleton’s fabulous book, Lick the Sugar Habit;
Ann Louise Gittleman’s empowering Get the Sugar Out;
The late William Dufty’s landmark book, Sugar Blues;
My determination and desperation, because I dreaded continuing to feel so bad;
My creating own tools and tactics, which I share in my book, Beyond Sugar Shock.
Quitting sugar and refined carbs was the most empowering, life-affirming, health-promoting thing I’ve ever done. Quitting the sweet stuff made me feel reborn. All 44 of my symptoms vanished — seemingly miraculously.
As I reflect on my 16 years of being sugar-free, I realize that I’ve learned many things. Here are 7 Lessons from Being Sugar-Free.
1) Being a Sugar and Carb Addict was a Big Blessing.
It’s taken me a while to reach this conclusion, but if I’d never hit rock bottom as a sugar addict, I never would have discovered the joy, peace and calm that I now derive from treating my body with the respect, love, and appreciation it deserves.
In short, because I once flopped so badly by mindlessly, quickly shoving processed carb crap into my face, I now relish putting nourishing foods into my treasured body.
2) To Strive for Perfection is Pointless.
It’s absurd to try to be totally sugar-free all the time, because sugar, high fructose corn syrup, agave, barley malt and a host of other sweeteners are hidden in thousands of processed foodstuffs, from crackers to cocktail sauce.
Even the finest of chefs tend to slip the sweet substance into their culinary creations. Rather, it’s best to aim for 80 or 90 percent sugar-free.
3) It’s a Must! Always Pack Healthy Snacks or Mini-Meals.
One of the biggest discoveries I’ve made over the years is that it’s absolutely imperative to plan ahead at all times.
Whenever I leave home, especially when I’ll be stuck on an airplane, in a meeting or out socially, I need to have a selection of healthy foods with me to ward off the blood-sugar blues, which can lead to overeating the wrong foods.
Some of my favorite snacks include cans of salmon, flax crackers, protein power, and nuts. (Stay tuned, because I’ll share more great sugar-free treats in the future.)
4) Remember: If I Don’t Eat Right, I’ll Suffer Big Time.
One of the reasons I’ve been able to stay sugar-free is that I remember how bad it can get. Cheating just isn’t worth it. It’s simply inevitable that I’ll feel horrible eating either sweets or processed carbohydrates (what I call fast carbs or quickie carbs).
For instance, eating lots of movie popcorn or corn nuts, will give me such annoying ailments as brain fog, lethargy, anxiety, depression, digestive problems, crying spells, and cravings for more of the same fast carbs.
There’s simply “no escaping the terrifying change that occurs against my will,” as I shared in Sugar Shock. “After eating quickie carbs, I become an untamable, irascible “Sugar Shrew,” a fuming, disagreeable “Sugar Monster”; a sobbing, pitiful “Sugar Crybaby”; and finally, a listless, lethargic “Sugar Zombie…
“…Alas, my dreadful, dramatic sugar-induced transformation is inevitable. As predictable as the moon rising. As sure as the swallows coming home to Capistrano at the same time every year. As expected as the crowds flocking to Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s for an annual blowout sale.”
And I’m not unique. Millions around the world suffer from mammoth physical and/or emotional turbulence after eating sweets or fast carbs.
5) When Stressed Out, Temptation Will Strike—A lot.
Over time, I’ve come to realize that if I’m under extreme stress, deadline pressure or emotional turmoil, my calm resolve will be shaken. Sure enough, at that point, fast carbs such as movie popcorn will entice me. More about that later.
6) Falling off the Wagon Is Okay; Perhaps Even Expected.
You just can’t apply the same standards towards food that you do for alcohol. Unlike booze—which you can totally skip and never drink another drop again—you always have to eat.
This means that whenever and wherever you go, sugary or quickie-carb nonfoods will abound. At times, they’ll strive to land in your stomach—or so it may feel.
What’s more, we’re human beings, which means we’re not perfect. Rest assured that there’s a tremendous freedom in accepting that despite our best efforts, at times, we just won’t eat right. That’s okay. It’s what you do afterwards that counts.
7) Real Food Tastes Sweeter & Tastier than Junk Food.
When you let go of sweets and fast carbs, you’ll discover your taste buds. Real food, you’ll find, is scrumptious and delectable as opposed to the bland, super-salty, excessively sweet or ultra-fatty taste you get when you turn to quickie-carb foods.
Plus, when you lovingly create your own dishes, you’ll be delightfully surprised at how you’ll savor the flavors.
Learn More About Me. I’m a former sugar-addicted journalist, who quit sugar on doctor’s orders in 1998. Now 16 years into sugar sobriety, I’ve created many cool tips and tools to help thousands worldwide release their over-attachment to sweets and quickie carbs. I’m also a speaker and best-selling author of Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock: The 6-Week Plan to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Get Slimmer, Sexier & Sweeter. Get Sugar Shock Blog updates in your mailbox.
Join the Conversation. Have you thought about quitting sugar or processed carbohydrates? Name 3 reasons why.
Special thanks to Getty Images for the photo above. Please note that I’m not sure if can use this so please forgive me and notify me if I can’t use it, if you have the rights.

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Would You Like to Help Me?

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Since I’m in pain now due to my knee injury and need to take time off to heal, I need help more than ever.
Do you have proven skills and experience in any of the following: Research, Writing, Journalism, Taking notes during my Gab with the Gurus Show, managing telesummits, and event coordination?
FYI, these will be modestly paid duties.
In addition, if you have sugar or other challenges, we may be able to swap or set up some kind of a way for me to help you, too.
Interested?
Just write back to me here. I ook forward to hearing back from Sugar Shock Blog readers.

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