Never Confuse a Single Defeat With a Final Defeat
How to Handle Defeat : Redefining it to positively change your perspective and focus in life. Get motivated, encouraged and inspired now.
Shareable Quote, Social Media, Sweet Stuff, Take Action!
Sweet Stuff
Beyond Sugar Shock, Connie Recommends, Get Fit for Life, Lose Weight Now, Sweet Stuff, Weight Loss Secrets
Overdosed on Halloween Candies? 6 Easy Ways to Rebound After Relapse
Please let us know how you’re doing. What are your favorite ways to get back on track?
Halloween_funny_pic_07-400x300If you’re like millions of Americans, yesterday, you overdosed on candies, in large part, because Halloween is a sanctioned National Sugar Overload Day.
For years now — ever since 1998, when I kicked sugar on doctor’s orders — on The Day After Halloween, I hear from frustrated, disappointed, Sugar Shocked people, who want to know how to Get Back on Track.
For instance, today, a determined Christie wrote to say:
“I’m ready to kick sugar again…..again!!! Ready to sleep better at night, have more energy during the day, and have the brain fog lifted!”
If you, like millions of Americans, pigged out on Halloween candies, you’re probably reeling from Sugar Shock — which means you may be feeling dizzy, headachy, sluggish, irritable or wiped out.
Since you’re not feeling so great, here are 6 easy ways to help you Rebound After Relapse™, as I call it,
1. Drink plenty of water. That, of course, you probably know. Add some lemon, too, if you can.
2. Ditch the Sweet Stuff or Hide it in Your Car Trunk. Please don’t keep leftover candies in your home. Temptation can lead to one bite, which, of course, can lead to many more.
Now, if you’d rather not be restrictive with your kids because you feel that they’ll then want more candies, then ration them out. Let your childreen have 2 small candies per day. Then hide the rest in your car trunk or another place that’s not easily accessible.
3. Treat Yourself to Nutritions Meals.
Given that yesterday you tricked yourself, today’s the day to treat yourself with nourishing meals. Think quality protein (free-range chicken, fish, etc.), healthy fats (like a little olive drizzled over your dinner), and quality carbs (a salad and veggies).
4. Savor Sweet Potato & Sweeten with Cinnamon.
If you find yourself craving something sweet today — which can be expected — try sprinkling some cinnamon on a cooked sweet potato or pumpkin. Not only is this combo yummy, but cinnamon, as a 2007 study showed, may lower your blood sugar after meals, (See the actual study here.) You also can add a dash of olive oil or flax oil, which makes your dish quite tasty. In fact, you can make this your dessert.
5. Sniff Away Your Cravings & Stress.
Since today, you may be feeling especially stressed since you ate a lot of sugar-filled candies, try dabbing on some lavender, which research shows can diminish stress, which is a prime trigger for food cravings. The various chemicals in lavender — such as Linalol, linalyl acetate, geranyle, eucalyptol, pinene, limonene, cineole, phenol, coumarins, and flavonoids — work together by “ stimulating smell receptors in the nose, which then send messages through the nervous system to the limbic system.” That’s “the part of the brain that controls emotions,” according to The Mayo Clinic.
6. Join fitness and nutrition expert JJ Virgin, for for another livestream event with top health experts.
JJ, whose new book, The Sugar Impact Diet, comes out next week, is following up her previous event on Thursday. Today, she’ll speak to cultured foods expert Donna Gates, along with nutritionist Christa Orecchio and Dr. Nalini Chilkov,, who will discuss sugar’s connection to cancer.
A very special thanks to YouOffendMeYouOffendMyFamily.com for this entertaining graphic.
Personal Note from Connie: As you may know, I’m home now with a nasty flu, but I really wanted to help you Get Back on Track after Halloween whille I rest.
Please let us know how you’re doing. What are your favorite ways to get back on track?
Clever Takes on the News, Connie Recommends, Sweet Stuff, Tantalizing Tidbits
Do you Multi-Task While Eating? It Makes Your Food Taste Bland
Do you multi-task at meal time?
If you eat while on the computer, watching TV or doing other things, this means there’s a good chance that you’re over-indulging, too. (So found a variety of studies, which link distraction with mindless bingeing. A review of 24 studies drew that conclusion in the April 2013 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.)
Now, more research published in Psychological Science reveals that doing mentally taxing tasks while you eat will make your food taste bland, too.
In other words, when you juggle too many things at mealtime, you just won’t enjoy or appreciate your food as much.
What’s more, scientists at the Institute for Psychological Research at Leiden University in The Netherlands discovered that when participants ate sour, sweet and salty substances while doing various tasks, they consumed more food and preferred stronger tastes.
In addition doing other things while eating makes your food tastes bland. Indeed, researchers found that an “increased task load reduces people’s taste perception by limiting attentional capacity to assess taste intensity and that people adjust their consumption accordingly.”
In short, the researchers believe that cognitive load may compete with sensory input for our attention.
But let’s focus on the good news, as pointed out by Scientific American’s Tori Rodriguez. Other studies have found you eat less when you pay mindful attention to your food and fully focus on the taste, armona and texture.
The important takeaway, as I see it, is that if you want to peel off the pounds, cut out multi-tasking at meal time.
Besides, as this new study reveals, you’ll enjoy your more, too.
So join me: Mindfully savor each morsel or swallow at each meal or snack.
Multi-Tasking at Meal Time: Why It
Special thanks to visual.ly for the above infographic.
Join the Conversation. Do you multi-task while eating? Do you end up eating more? Tell us your experiences.
Then join us in ending multi-tasking while eating.
Connie Recommends, Kudos Corner, Sweet Stuff, Tantalizing Tidbits
Fun Friday Tune: Dale Dale
I invite you to enjoy this sweet start to get you ready for the weekend ahead.
Enjoy boogying to this Fun Friday Tune, “Dale Dale,” along with choreographer, singer, songwriter, dancer Francesca Maria.
(By the way, “dale” means “go ahead,” “give it” or “do it,” according to this Wild104fm site. If you’re a girl and someone shouts “Dale” at you, it means they think you’re cute.)
You may be wondering about the sugar connection here.
Essentially, when you bring sweetness into your life — in this case, it’s energetically doing Zumba to an upbeat — you’ll get a life that’s sweeter without junky sweets.
Beyond Sugar Shock, Sweet Stuff, Weight Loss Secrets
Berries Benefit Your Brain
Do you regularly eat luscious strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries?
BerriesExciting new findings reveal that berries can boost your brain power.
Researchers writing in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, conclude that eating more blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and other berries may help prevent age-related memory loss and other mental status changes.
Berries benefit your brain in several ways. They’re already known for their high levels of antioxidants, which are compounds “that protect cells from damage by harmful free radicals,” found the researchers, Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Ph.D., and Marshall G. Miller.
Research also shows that berries alter the manner in which neurons in the brain communicate. “These changes in signaling can prevent inflammation in the brain that contribute to neuronal damage and improve both motor control and cognition,” said ACS, a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress.
This new study adds to the growing body of research, which has identified neurological benefits associated with consuming berries.
This sweet berry news emphasizes the fact that if you don’t eat refined sugar, you can still enjoy sweet foods — and benefit at the same times. Now that you have more reasons to eat berries, here are two ideas on how to consume them:
Try adding a modest portion (1/4 or 1/2 cup of blueberries, raspberries or other berries_ into a tasty, healthy, sugar-free Berry Cacao-Cado Protein Shake (as I did this morning).
Make your own yummy, sugar-free berry dessert, thanks to the new Dessert Bullet, as I shared earlier on this Sugar Shock Blog.
Join the Conversation: What’s your favorite way to eat berries? Share your thoughts now.
Special thanks to Natural News and reporter J.D. Heyes for the heads up about this new research.
Connie Recommends, Sweet Stuff
Pam Grout on E-Squared & The Power of Your Thoughts
The inspiring Pam Grout, author of the New York Times bestseller E-Squared: Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality, is my guest on this week’s Gab with the Gurus Showt.
Grout — the author of 16 books, three plays, a TV series, and two iPhone apps, as well as a contributor to People Magazine, CNNgo.com, and The Huffington Post andcreator of the GeorgeClooneySleptThere blog — will discuss what led her to create nine do-it-yourself energy experiments, which prove that you shape your life with your mind.
On this Gab with the Gurus Show, Pam Grout will share with listeners:
How there is an invisitible energy force or field of infiniite possibilities.
Why you can compare God to electricity.
How to let the universe do the heavy lifting or why “the how” is not up to you.
How your connection to the field provides accurate and unlimited guidance.
What she does every morning as a spiritual practice.
The importance of gratitude.
Why she wrote this book about energy and spirituality.
Some of the biggest myths about God.
The importance of making your dreams a reality fun.
How your thoughts and consciousness impact matter.
Listeners will be invited to conduct their own nine. 48-hour experiments to prove there really is a positive, loving, totally hip force in the universe and then report back here on their successes.
Tune into this Gab with the Gurus show live at 5 pm PST, or later, at your convenience. Please spread the word about this show to your friends and colleagues..
More Health Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Gab With the Gurus on BlogTalkRadio
Connie Recommends, Sweet Stuff
Make Yummy, Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free Sorbet, Thanks to the Dessert Bullet
Do you you crave ice cream or sorbet but are frustrated because you just can’t find any frozen desserts that are s healthy — I mean, really healthy as in organic, no sugar, no dairy, no gluten, no agave, no added sugars and no artificial sweeteners?
Wouldn’t it be nice to easily, quickly get delectable, healthy frozen dessert that’s:organic, sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, low in calories and carbs and containing no artificial sweeteners, honey or other sweeteners?
I know that’s a pretty tall order, but you can actually quickly make this delicious dessert all by yourself, thanks to the amazing new contraption, the Dessert Bullet.
For instance, to your left is a photo I took of last night’s after-dinner dessert, Organic, Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Raspberry Sorbet. (I added some unsweetened shredded coconut. Oh, and I placed the dessert on top of my wonderful Zeolite Earth Energy Plate from VibesUp )
I just love my new culinary gadget. Yesterday, I went to a local Bed Bath and Beyond to get my Dessert Bullet. (I didn’t want to wait it to arrive via mail even though it comes with a cookbook.)
Photos – 1-14-14 002Now, you can see today’s Frozen Blueberry Dessert, which I enjoyed for a late afternoon snack after having an organic hard-boiled egg. All I used to make this dessert were frozen blueberries (1 cup). Then I topped the dessert with some cinnamon, shredded coconut and some cacao nibs.
I love this invention! It’s great for those of us, who seek to eat healthily but are frustrated, because we can’t ever have sorbet or ice cream when dining out.
Wow, I can even make chocolate ice cream with this recipe! (I would divide it up into three portions so as not to take in too many carbs at once.)
Full Disclosure: I’m NOT being paid by the Dessert Bullet to mention this product, which I purchased last night at Bed Bath and Beyond in my area. I just like to share great products from time to time with readers. Learn about another great find, too, the NoOodle and The Miracle Noodle.
Join the Conversation: If you buy this incredible gizmo, what will you make first?
Get Inspired, On a Lighter Note, Sweet Stuff
Sweet Sunset to Savor
Here’s another Sweet Sunset to Savor.
Isn’t getting hooked on watching sunsets a lot more enticing than dessert foods or quickie carbs?
Please spread the Sunset Love.
When was the last time you watched a sunset? How did it make you feel?
Sweet Stuff
Sweet Sunsets to Savor
Are you feeling anxious, stressed out, frazzled?
Rather than let your worries overcome you, I invite you to instead take a quick antidote.
Breathe in two times. Now, take 15 seconds to relish these sunset photos I took recently.
As I mentioned last week, Sweet Sunsets to Savor is a new Sugar Shock blog feature, for which I’ll post some shots I’ve taken during the previous week.
You may be wondering what the connection is to health and wellness. A lot.
By giving you soothing photos to enjoy, you’ll come closer, I hope, to realizing that that seductive sweets, cunning carbs, and other junk foods just don’t have the entirement of nature in all its splendor.
Sunset 12-4-13 015As youi gaze at these photos, I encourage you to come up with your own meaningful connection.
What I’m finding intriguing about my new hobby is that as I did with sugary foods, I’m becoming more and more hooked on my special time on the beach at sunset.
But watching sunsets is a darn healthy addiction!
Sunset has become my favorite time of day, one that feels splendid and sacred. What a huge relief watching calm sunsets are, after my utteerly grueling Bittersweet Last Year with Mom.
Photos 12-11-13 053
Remember you can catch more Sweet Sunsets to Savor here.
Photos 12-11-13 046
Question: When was the last time you took time out to watch a sunset? Where was it? What happened to you when you watched it? We’d love to hear your sunset stories.
Announcements, Beyond Sugar Shock, Blood Sugar Blues, Catching Up With Connie, Gab with the Gurus, Sweet Stuff, Take Action!
Dr. Robert Lustig Appears on my Gab with the Gurus Show
Dr. Robert Lustig, anti-sugar advocate & author of Sugar: The Bitter Truth talks about the link between proccessed food, obesity & disease in his new book.