Food Diary Time: Soul-Searching Food Journal™ to Help You Now

At the end of the day, have you completely lost track of what you ate? Are you at a loss as to what sweets, culprit carbs or fatty snacks you’ve put in your mouth? Do you wonder why you’re packing on the pounds or feelingsluggish and unfocused?
Well, research shows that if you keep a food journal, you stand a greater chance of losing weight and achieving better health.
Indeed, people who’ve happily peeled off the weight — “Highly Successful Losers™,” as I call them — report that one of their Smart Diet Habits™ is to “Keep Track of Your Favorite Lab Rat™.
In other words, watch yourself as if you were lovingly monitoring the intake of your ailing beloved pet.
When you Keep Track of Your Favorite Lab Rat™, you don’t mindlessly shove nutrient-lacking non-foods into your mouth.
You begin to think before you eat, because you know you’ll be writing down whatever you put into your mouth — and will preferably (I hope, for your benefit) share it with an accountability partner.
To help you out, I’m sharing a food diary that I’ve created.
Feel free to share The Soul-Searching Food Journal™ with your friends, co-workers, gym buddies, bosses, hairdressers, fitness trainers, loved ones and even frustrating frenemies. In short, spread the link love, as some like to say. (Of course, please provide the proper credit though, as indicated below.)
The Soul-Searching Food Journal™ — © Copyright – Connie Bennett, Smart Habits Coach & Author, SUGAR SHOCK!

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.

SUGAR SHOCK! Fan Writes

Thankfully, I often hear from fans of my book SUGAR SHOCK! But yesterday, I was honored and grateful for this amazing remark […]

Sugar Addiction Begone! Kick Sugar With Me This Month

If you’re like many Americans, you want to shed your excess weight so you can fit into your favorite slim outfit, have the trim, toned, sexy body you crave and be healthy.
Just imagine how you’d feel if you had more energy, more cheerful moods and more satisfying relationships.
Envision what your life would look like if you were more productive, thinking more clearly and experiencing a boost in your libido.
All of the above can happen if you eliminate sugar and refined carbs.
But losing weight, getting more energy, concentrating better, becoming happier and having a bigger sex drive are just a few of many benefits you can gain from eliminating sugar, as I pointed out in my book SUGAR SHOCK!
In fact, when I quit sweets and refined carbs on doctor’s orders in 1998, a whopping 44 ailments disappeared and I felt reborn!
But, let’s face it, cutting out sugar or those “culprit carbs” can be challenging for most people.
Let’s face it, you didn’t develop a sugar habit overnight. So let me educate, inspire and guide you to become joyously sugar free.
Kick sugar cartoon Join me Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 6 pm for my fun, interactive, life-changing free introductory class, “SUGAR SHOCK! Breaking Free of Your Sugar Habit” at the New York Open Center. the largest urban holistic center in the United States.
On that one night, you’ll get some tips and tactics to begin to break free of your sugar habits.
But, as you can imagine, since you’ve probably had a lifetime of being overly attached to sugar, one hour with me is isn’t enough to change your destructive patterns for good.
That’s why I’m also teaching a 4-week course at the New York Open Center, which begins next week, from Jan. 12 to Feb. 2.
In this four-week course, I’m sharing proprietary techniques that I developed and which worked for me when I removed sugar from my diet in 1998.
In addition, you’re getting dozens of tips that have helped my clients. Plus, you’ll receive many ideas from a variety of health experts, who kindly shared them with me.
For instance, in my 4-week course at the New York Open Center, you will:
* Discover the 10 reasons people fail when making New Year’s resolutions or when breaking a sugar addiction or other bad habits (what I call babits™).
* Get 7 Smart Starter Strategies so you can conquer your sugar habit for good.
* Find out 5 ways to save money on food and beverages in this economy but still make healthy choices.
* Find out why this course has the wrong title! (But we had to name it “SUGAR SHOCK! Breaking Free of Your Sugar Habit” so you’d know what you’re getting.)
* Receive 50 simple, effective tips and tactics to squash your sugar cravings.
* Get a helpful, comprehensive sugar-free shopping list and sample meal plans.
* Discover what 3 empowering questions to ask yourself whenever sugary foods “call out” to you to stop your destructive cycle.
* Find out how you can use “failing” or being human (i.e., imperfect) to your advantage.
* Have fun discovering tasty, sugar-free desserts.
* Taste delicious sugar-free treats from 2 local chefs.
* Find out which 3 foods can drive away your “sweet tooth.”
* Get educated about 20 cutting-edge research studies, which reveal the dangers of sugars and refined carbs.
* Receive a list of more than 100 ways your sugar habit is killing you.
* Learn how you can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, cancer, infertility, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
* Be trained as a “Savvy Sugar Sleuth” so you easily unmask sugar’s many disguises and read food labels in the grocery store.
* Get invited to one complimentary teleseminar. (This is one of many bonuses you get by signing up for my 4-week course.)
* Learn to identify 10 surprising foods that contain hidden sugars.
* Get inspired by successful “Sugar Kickers,” whose sour-to-sweet tales you can listen to at any time via complimentary audio downloads.
* Determine how your sugar habit is harming your health, weight, moods, relationships, work, spirituality and ability to get things done.
* Uncover your 5 “W’s” that drive you to sweets and refined carbs.
(And many more.)

SUGAR SHOCK! Defined

Since gingerbread cookies, eggnog, candy canes and chocolate geld (coins) abound at this time of year and you’ll undoubtedly often be offered those and other tempting sweets this month, I invite you to start a process of self-discovery.
That’s right, in my opinion, December is not the month to kick your sugar habit (unless you insist!)
Instead, I encourage you to learn what shock is and then do what I call “sugary soul searching” so you can learn if this applies to you.
We’re revisiting the definition of SUGAR SHOCK! — which I gave here on this blog, in October 2006 — because my new Facebook friend Terri nudged me by asking, “What do you mean by Sugar Shock Connie?? I love how it sounds!!”
So here’s my definition of sugar shock, which is also included in my book of the same name. (You can get a sneak peek of my book SUGAR SHOCK! here.)
Please bear in mind that sugar shock is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide, including some one-quarter to one-half of the U.S. population.
SUGAR SHOCK!™ defined – A mood-damaging, personality-bending, health-destroying, confusion-creating constellation of symptoms affecting millions of peoople worldwide, who often turn to processed sweets and much-like-sugar carbs, which send their blood sugar levels wildly soaring and plummeting.
The term SUGAR SHOCK! is intended to encompass the often-misdiagnosed and maligned condition of reactive hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), as well as other blood sugar disorders, from insulin resistance to diabetes.
Considerable research reveals that repeatedly overconsuming sweeteners, dessert foods, and culprit, quickie carbs (such as white rice, French bread, chips, etc.) wreaks havoc on your blood sugar levels, overstimulates insulin release, triggers inflammation, and could contribute to more than 150 health problems, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome, severe PMS, failing memory, depression, mental confusion or “brain fog,” mood swings, Candida, sexual dysfunction, infertility, wrinkles, acne, and early aging.
Victims of SUGAR SHOCK! also may experience such baffling symptoms as excessive fatigue, headaches, dizziness, cold sweats, anxiety, irritability, tremors, crying spells, drowsiness or the opposite (sleeplessness), forgetfulness, heart palpitations, nightmares, blurred vision, muscle pains, temper outbursts, suicidal thoughts, and more.
Ultimately, this insidious SUGAR SHOCK! roller-coaster effect brought on by eating too many inferior carbs hampers sufferers’ ability to function at full throttle–or even half throttle.
Does this sound like something you or a loved one is going through? Would you like to learn more about sugar shock?
Grab a sneak peek now of my book SUGAR SHOCK! now.
Or just get your copy of SUGAR SHOCK! now to read during or after the holidays. This book is ideal to read in January so you can break free of your habit to lose weight, get energy, focus better, become happier and, of course, healthier.

New Yorkers in Sugar Shock: Hear Me Speak Sept. 10 at the New York Open Center Open House

New Yorkers, would you like to get more energy, lose weight, improve your relationships and boost your libido?
Well, learn how you can do that on Thursday, Sept. 10 when I speak at the New York Open Center’s Open House. I am one of 9 speakers featured that evening.
On Sept. 10, you’ll get some ideas on how to begin to break free of your sugar habit.
Then, in the new year (2010), I’m teaching a four-course week at the New York Open Center, beginning January 12.
If you sign up for the class as a result of reading about this on this blog, please let me know here, and I’ll give you a special gift.
Plan now to attend the New York Open Center’s open house on Sept. 10.

Britney Spears: Does She Have Low Blood Sugar & a Sugar Addiction?

Britney Spears may be a victim of the blood sugar blues, according to the National Enquirer, which attributes a source stating that she collapsed while rehearsing..
The 27-year-old singer suffers from low blood sugar, according to the Enquirer source, who revealed that Britney’s father has been trying to keep her condition a secret.
I’m baffled. Why would Britney’s father want to keep it hush-hush that the singer has low blood sugar?
Having low blood sugar or hypoglycemia is not a condition you want to hide, and you shouldn’t be ashamed of it.
Millions of Americans have low blood sugar, including Nichole Richie, as I also mentioned back in 2007.
In fact, more people have low blood sugar than have diabetes, but many experts believe that low blood sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes.
The good news for people with low blood sugar is that you can have a perfectly normal life, but you will need to take good care of yourself.
If you have low blood sugar, you should quit sweets and refined carbs, eat frequent meals and get plenty of rest, among other things, as I explained in Sugar Shock! (I learned all of this myself in 1998, when I was deep in the throes of my sugar addiction and suffered from many confusing ailments, including feeling faint and low on energy.)
If Britney Spears does have low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, this might explain her alleged interest in sweets, diet pills and alcohol.
Back in 2007, I posed the idea on this Sugar Shock Blog that Britney might be a sugar addict. I even posted a press release about it. I raised the issue again here.

Bid Bye-Bye to Your Sugar Habit! Break Free With Me & Begin to Get a Beach Body in Only 4 Weeks, Starting June 8

Are you tired of feeling trapped and imprisoned by your out-of-control habit of eating candies, cookies and crackers?
Do you feel discouraged, overwhelmed and frustrated because—no matter how many different diets or programs you’ve tried—you still haven’t overcome your “addiction” to sweets and processed carbs?
Do you feel aggravated because your weight packs on rather than peels off?
Are you scared that type 2 diabetes or heart disease are out to get you because you eat so poorly?
Are you at wit’s end as to how to stop your debilitating, dangerous behavior?
Are you agonized because every time you commit to stop sweets—always with the best of intentions—you inevitably fail and end up packing in piles of potato chips, pasta and pretty desserts?
If you answer yes to any of the above questions, I can help you—and in only 4 weeks.
You do not have to suffer! You can easily, quickly, permanently rise above your unsavory, sad sugar situation!
As my clients will happily attest, you can dispose and discard your sugar habit (or obsession) as you would old, rotten, disgusting food!
You CAN have a wondrous future.
Hope lies in store for you.
Impatient to kick your sugar habit and get going? Just sign up now to Break Free and Soar With Glee.
Now, I invite you to get your imagination going. See yourself not being a prisoner to your destructive food