Tag: lose weight

Reader Writes: “SUGAR SHOCK! Changed My Life.” What Are Your Questions?

Often, I receive emails from readers of my book SUGAR SHOCK! Whenever I do, I’m so touched and honored that I’ve been able to help people from around the country and world.
Here’s a comment I received tonight from Ben in Massachusetts:
“Sugar Shock! changed my life. I [finally] got off sugar. For the first time in my life, I only eat non processed foods and no sugar. I feel calm all the time and [I’m] constantly energized. I feel great. It’s easier to concentrate and exercise as well. …God bless you.”
Ben then asked a few questions, which I’m answering soon in a Frequently Asked Questions project that I’m completing.
What would you like to know about sugar’s dangers, quitting sugar or carbs? Please post your questions here.

Eat Your Way to Health & Weight Loss with Jimmy Moore & Dr. Ronald Hoffman

Food can be so healing. It can help you shed off pounds and more healthy.
Just ask low-carb blogger Jimmy Moore, who was able to peel off 180 pounds by selecting better foods, and acclaimed integrative expert Dr. Ronald Hoffman, who regularly helps patients to boost their moods and reverse various illnesses just by eating better.
Learn how to Eat Your Way to Health & Weight Loss tomorrow, Wednesday, at 2 pm EST, with both Jimmy and Dr. Hoffman, who are appearing on my Gab With the Gurus radio show. More info coming later when I feel better. (Snapped my jaw and am recovering).

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!

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.)

New Year’s Resolutions: 10 Simple Steps to Stick to Them

Now that it’s a new year, are you wondering how how to stick to your new year’s resolutions? I’m here to help you.
In particular, I’d like to serve you if you’re seeking to shed excess weight, to create smart habits and set aside such health-harming habits as over-consuming sugar, coffee or diet soda, as well as procrastinating, smoking, being habitually late, obsessively checking emails or nail biting.
First off, know that you CAN Break Free of Your Bad Habits (what I call “Babits™”) for good.
Wondering why you would want to do that? Well, take the case of sugar. Indeed, as I recounted in my book SUGAR SHOCK!, just after quitting sugar and refined carbs on doctor’s orders in 1998, ALL 44 of my ailments, from crushing fatigue to brain fog, completely disappeared! I was amazed!
You, too, can learn that licking sweets (pun intended) and other health-robbing substances, as well as unproductive habits, can help you to:
* Shed excess weight,
* Get consistent energy,
* Boost your moods,
* Calm you down,
* Become more spiritual and centered,
* Increase your passion and productivity,
* Reduce your risk of getting type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer or hypoglycemia,
* Manage these conditions, if you have them,
* Rev up your libido,
* Reduce your PMS symptoms,
* And so much more!
In short, removing sugar and other negative patterns can help you get a Life That Rocks!™, you leave room for positive activities to fill their place. Here are 10 smart steps, which can help you break free of your babits™ (bad habits) and allow you to replace them with smart habits.
1. Congratulate Yourself. To begin your journey to health and wellness, I invite you to pat yourself on the back. You may wonder why you would want to do that, especially if you’ve spent years abusing your body. You want to applaud yourself, because the mere fact that you’re beginning to look at your sugar addiction or other bad habit is big! The first step to break away from sweets, refined carbs and other babits™ is to NOT beat up on yourself. Granted, you may have gobbled or guzzled high-calorie nutrient-poor sugary foods and drinks over the years, but now is a time to be gentle with yourself, to treat yourself with compassion and to take pride that you’re taking the much-needed first step to treat your body with love and care. Go ahead: Lavish some praise and kudos on yourself now that you’re finally confronting the bad habit that’s been plaguing you—perhaps for years. Share your excitement in your journal or in a heart-to-heart conversation with a loved one. Then imagine that you’re at the starting line of a race like a runner athlete and that you’re ready to make a massive positive shift. Please also remember to acknowledge and celebrate your every little accomplishment. For example, when you make it through a meal without sugary foods, diet soda or caffeine—or if you at least consume less of them—take pride and applaud yourself. After all, each time you make healthier choices, you get closer to more energy, a trimmer body and a better life.
2. Move With Your Mind & Mantra. Before you begin to try to kick your sugar addiction or another babit™, it’s time to embark on Seven Smart Starter Habits (through Step #8) to cement your confidence that good health, inner calm and new patterns await you. That’s because whenever you seek to remove an old habit and replace it with a new one, your work begins before you even try to make changes. In other words, before you begin to “diet” or make important lifestyle changes, you want to convince your mind that you CAN succeed. Begin each day knowing in the depth of your being that you’ve already licked your unhealthy habit. To get both your subconscious and conscious mind to accept that you’ve succeeded—or are on the path to succeeding—create an easy-to-repeat phrase, affirmation or mantra such as “I, [Your Name], choose only nourishing foods and drinks, which keep me slim, toned and healthy.” Repeat your positive statement at least 30 times a day. Make sure to say it in the morning, right after you wake up, and in the evening, before you go to sleep. Repeating it about 10 to 20 times before meals also can help. Back in 1998, when I finally kicked sugar, repeating my mantra enabled me to succeed. Now, my clients find this technique effective, too.

Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction, etc. & Be Happy With Me in 2010!

Wishing you very happy new year to all you wonderful Sugar Shock Blog readers.
May your 2010 be the year in which you fulfill your fondest dreams and wishes.
Now, I invite you to start the year on a very happy, liberating note with me!
If you’re in New York:
* Please join me New Year’s Day, Jan. 1 at 1 pm, for my free inspiring talk where I help you to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction and other Bad Habits at the JCC in Manhattan (334 Amsterdam Avenue at West 76th Street).
* If you can’t make it then, then join me on Jan. 5 at 6 pm at the New York Open Center for another free motivating talk.
* You’re also invited to sign up for four-week program to help you break free of sugar shock, starting Jan. 12 at the New York Open Center.
* On Fri., Jan. 14, from 12 to 3 pm, you’re encouraged to come hang out with me at Willner’s Chemists at 100 Park Ave. in Midtown, when I sign copies of my book SUGAR SHOCK! (You’ll have a chance to have your questions answered.)
If you’re in another part of the country or world, please join us virtually or telephonically so that you can still get tips, tactics and tempting tidbits.
* On Mon., Jan. 4, I’m on call for you. You can call me anytime from 3 to 5 pm EST for a 15-to-20-minute complimentary Laser Coaching Session to plan strategies to achieve your dreams in the new year. To get details, subscribe to Motivating Morsels at http://www.SugarShock.com.
* Then, you’re invited to on Wed., Jan. 6 at 2 pm on my Gab With the Gurus Radio Show to learn how to be happy with author Gretchen Ruben. You can listen live or later.
* Next, on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 3 pm EST, you can attend a fun teleseminar/webinar with my friends from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.(You can listen later or you miss it live.) Sign up now for the IIN-sponsored call.
* Next, on Mon., Jan. 11 at 8 pm EST, you can join us from anywhere around the world for a complimentary teleseminar/webinar to learn how to make your New Year’s Resolutions a Reality. Sign up for my free Motivating Morsels ezine to get the call-in details.
* On Wed., Jan. 6 at 4 pm EST, one of my Break Free Group Coaching programs resumes. (This one is devoted to helping you to kick sugar. Sign up here.)
* You’re also invited to save the date. On Feb. 24, you can join the Great American Sugar-Out. Details coming.

New Year’s Day: Get Inspired in New York & Break Free

Dear Sugar Shock Blog readers, do you live near New York City?
If so, I invite you to join me New Year’s Day at the JCC in Manhattan for a very exciting New Year’s Day Fitness Fair.
In particular, from 1 pm to 2 pm, come have fun with me while getting motivated, educated and charged up to take positive actions in the new year.
Of course, as the new year rings in, this is an ideal time to begin to create a new, improved you.
One of the best ways to better yourself is to gently, compassionately look at yourself and how you’ve been treating your lovely body.
From 1 pm to 2 pm on New Year’s Day at my talk at the JCC in Manhattan, you will have an opportunity to have fun while beginning to kick your sugar habit or other bad habits (or what I call babits™).
My intention is to help gently guide you to look at your bad habits (babits™) and to engage in fun, uplifting, adventurcises™ (adventurous exercises) so you can get you can inspired to take some positive, life-changing actions in the new year.
Why study your babits™ such as over-reliance on sugar, caffeine and artificial sweeteners? Because if you set aside your babits™, you can get more energy, shed excess pounds, lift your moods, get along better with your loved ones, become more productive, accomplish more, boost your confidence and even rev up your libido.
Please do spread the word. Invite your friends and loved ones and my talk from 1 pm to 2 pm at the JCC in Manhattan. If you come as a result of reading this blog post, let me know, because you get a free gift from me.

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.