Sugar Freedom Now Course: Join Us Now

Today, it’s my pleasure to share with you the new artwork for my Sugar Freedom Now Course.
This is the companion program to my new book, Beyond Sugar Shock, which you can pre-order now from Amazon and get in a few days!
Special thanks to talented Enrique Brooks, who was referred by my wonderful Facebook friend, Lynnis Woods- Mullins II.
What do you think of this new design? I’d love to hear what you think.
By the way, the next Sugar Freedom Now Course begins next Thursday, May 17.
If you act fast, you can join us this week and get in at the early bird rate. So join us now.

Tony Horton Dishes Great Tips & Info on Gab with the Gurus

Did you catch today’s Gab with the Gurus Radio Show with fitness guru Tony Horton?
Get ready to be motivated, encouraged, challenged, excited, and intrigued.
Tony — the founder of the amazing P90X and other programs and author of Bring It! The Revolutionary Fitness Plan for All Levels That Burns Fat, Builds Muscle, and Shreds Inches — shared lots of valuable information.
You’ll love our Gab with the Gurus interview!
Listen now — or whenever you like — to this amazing interview.
Listen to internet radio with Gab With the Gurus on Blog Talk Radio
Tell your friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc. to listen, too.

Label Added Sugars, Urges Coalition of Health Organizations Such as the Environmental Working Group and the American Heart Association

Exciting news for those of us who monitor our sugar intake — and urge you to do so, too — for the sake of your health, weight, and moods!
A coalition of health organizations, including the Environmental Working Group, the American Association for Health Education, the American Heart Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Defeat Diabetes Foundation are calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to clearly label added sugars on ingredients lists of packaged foods so that American shoopers find it easier to eat healthier.
“By showing ‘added sugars’ on the ingredients lists of foods, consumers will be better able to evaluate the foods they purchase,” the organizations wrote in a letter dated Feb. 23, 2012 to the Honorable Margaret Hamburg, M.D., FDA Commissioner.
“To ensure consumers have this important information, we feel that the term ‘added sugars’ should be listed as a single food ingredient with a paranthetical list of the specific ingredients that account for those sugars,” the letter contends.
The groups then go on to suggest that “added sugars should be listed by descending weight, in line with current regulations. The combined weight of the added sugars should be used to determine where added sugars rank on the food ingredients label.”
I cannot emphasize how great this would be!
Your life would be so much easier when you buy packaged foods. You’d find it easier to monitor your intake of sugar, which can cause you to age quickly, get heart disease, become depressed, and many other ailments. (You can read about sugar harms you in my first book, Sugar Shock.)
In short, if food labeling such as this went into effect, you wouldn’t be so easily deceived and duped by all those added sugars!
The welcome letter to the FDA Commissioner also cited the American Heart Association’s valuable national survey data that “overconsumption of added sugars contributes to obesity” and that the average American consumes 22.2 teaspoons of added sugars per day or the equivalent of 355 calories. (I believe for many, they consume far more than this.) The AHA recommends that women get only 100 daily calories from added sugars and men only 150 calories.
In addition, the letter states that while “a healthy, well-balanced diet contains naturally occurring sugars, the `empty calories’ from added sugars like high fructose corn syrup, sucrose and corn sweetener have a detrimental effect on our diets.”
Make sure to tell these organizations such as the Environmental Working Group, the American Heart Association, The American Association for Health Education, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), and Corporate Accountability International how much you appreciate their hard work on behalf of your health.
Read the complete letter here.
Then go to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Facebook page and show your support for labeling added sugars.
And tell us what you think, too.

Is Sugar as Toxic as Alcohol? Researchers Say Yes

In recent years, scientists have theorized that sugar can be as addictive as alcohol or tobacco.
You, of course, know how easy it is to get hooked on sweets — and how incredibly challenging and difficult it can be to break free of your sugar addiction.
(In fact, because breaking free from sugar is so tough, I’ve devoted an entire book to take you on a fun, empowering journey so you can easily let go of your addiction. Beyond Sugar Shock — which will be published in June and which you can pre-order now — is designed to hold you by the hand and guide you to what I call Sugar Freedom.)
So since sugar is addictive, should this commonplace but potentially harmful (even deadly) substance be regulated?
Acclaimed researcher Robert Lustig, M.D. and a team of UCSF researchers say yes.
They argue that sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to protect public health.
Indeed, Dr. Lustig, along with Laura Schmidt, Ph.D., Claire Brindis, D.P.H. and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), contend that sugar’s potential for abuse, coupled with its toxicity and pervasiveness in the Western diet, make it a primary culprit of this worldwide health crisis.
They maintain that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually worldwide from non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
The authors then advocate taxing sugary foods and controlling sales to children under 17.
According to their statistics, reported on CBS New’s HealthPop, worldwide sugar intake has tripled in the last 50 years, and the average person is taking in a whopping 500 calories from added sugar in processed foods alone.
So what do you think? Should sugar be regulated?
A special thank you: Photo credit is due here (flickr) and here (DailyBurn).
Post your ideas here on this Sugar Shock Blog and/or on my Facebook Smart Habits Fans page.

Pre-Order Beyond Sugar Shock and Win a Complimentary Strategy Session

Would you like to shed weight, get more energy, boost your libido and get along better with loved ones?
Well, if you quit sugar, all of that can happen — and more.
Since my next book, Beyond Sugar Shock, is coming out on June, I’ve decided to make you an an amazing offer so you can get help now.
Be among the first 100 people to pre-order my book, Beyond Sugar Shock, and win a 20-minute complimentary Strategy Session with me.
And if you’re among the first 50 people to pre-order Beyond Sugar Shock, you’ll get a full hour with me.
Get help to win your sugar battle now!
Just pre-order Beyond Sugar Shock now and get help.
Then e-mail me proof of ordering the book, and we’ll set up your free session. I will begin offering complimentary Strategy Sessions in January.
I forward to hearing from you, and thank you for your support!

Beyond Sugar Shock is On the Way – See the Cool New Cover from Hay House

Beyond Sugar Shock, the follow-up to my first book, Sugar Shock, is on the way!
Check out the exciting new book cover, which the talented people at Hay House (my publisher) created. Isn’t it stunning?
Beyond Sugar Shock
So, what’s the difference between my first book, Sugar Shock! How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life– and How You Can Get Back on Track. and my second book, Beyond Sugar Shock?
To begin, you need to know how you’re damaging your body. So Sugar Shock dished the dirt about sugar and refined carbs.
Now, this book provides a simple Mind-Body-Spirit program that shows you how to gently let go of your sugar habit for good.
How will you benefit by releasing your sugar habit?
You’ll shave off unwanted excess pounds, get energy, be happier, boost your libido and get a life that I call sweeterlicious — my word for sweeter, delicious, scrumptuous and luscious.
Learn more about Beyond Sugar Shock here.
By the way, I’m honored and pleased that Joshua Rosenthal, head of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, was kind enough to write the foreword.
Please help me get the buzz going about Beyond Sugar Shock!
Share this with your friends on Facebook, blog readers, followers on Twitter, etc.

Beyond Sugar Shock: Why I’ve Been Away a Lot — Coming Soon

You may have noticed that I haven’t been super active on this Sugar Shock Blog during the past few months.
That’s because I’ve been quite busy writing, rewriting, and wrapping up work for my next book Beyond Sugar Shock.
The subtitle is: The 6-Week Plan to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Get Slimmer, Sexier & Sweeter.
This book is the follow up to my first book, Sugar Shock! How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life– and How You Can Get Back on Track.
Earlier, I announced Beyond Sugar Shock here and also here. And here is my my recent post about it.
Hay HouseBeyond Sugar Shock, marks the culmination of more than 13 years of researching and helping sugar addicts. (Of course, I also learned a lot by quitting sugar myself in 1998, on doctor’s orders.)
Beyond Sugar Shock is coming to you, thanks to my publisher, Hay House, which is the international leader in self-help and transformational publishing.
This book is designed to help you if you’re a sugar addict of any size or shape — overweight, obese, or even slim.
It’s also for you if you’ve been plagued by headaches, anxiety, crazy cravings, brain fog, fatigue, low libido, severe PMS, or other unexplained symptoms.
Beyond Sugar Shock will provide you with a simple six-week program, which allows you to release your sugar addiction easily and effortlessly.
For instance, in Beyond Sugar Shock:
You’ll get simple, fun Mind-Body-Spirit techniques to break free of your sugar addiction.
You’ll undertake simple, interactive adventurcises™ (my word for adventurous exercises), which will drive you to important self-discoveries.
You’ll get several dozen ways to stomp out your sugar cravings.
You’ll discover your sugar color code. (Yes, we’re all different in our relationship with sweets, and this knowledge will empower you to make the right choices for you.)
You’ll detox gradually so that your body, mind and spirit won’t go into shock as you move beyond your sugar obsessions and towards a better life.
You’ll get healthy meal plans and tasty recipes from a nutritionist and exercise physiologist.
And much more.
Hay House is releasing Beyond Sugar Shock on May 1, but in the meantime, you can sign up for a pre-recorded Sugar Freedom Now Course, in which you’ll get to learn some amazingly simple techniques to help you break free.
In addition, stay tuned for some special programs.
Stay tuned for a sneak peek at the gorgeous cover! And I invite you to get excited and spread the word to friends.

The Sugar Shock Diet: Finished Editing!

I’m thrilled to announce that I finally finished editing my next book, The Sugar Shock Diet (formerly called Beyond Sugar Shock).
It’s kind of embarrassing to admit that I’ve been busting my bedtime bigtime to finally finish all my rewriting, etc.
So it’s time to recuperate! Desperately need to give my body and break and get some fun me time!
Wait, that’s not entirely true. Some interns and I are wrapping up the quite extensive bibliography.
Anyhow, I’m pleased to have time now to read and appreciate my friend Ann Louise Gittleman’s hot new book, Fat Flush for Life.
Check it out. It’s quite amazing!
Oops, forgot to say she’ll be on my Gab with the Gurus Show next Wed. at 2 pm EST. Join us! Stay tuned for details. I need to collapse!

Sugar Shock Readers: What Would You Like in My Next Book? (Last Call)

Attention, readers of my first book, Sugar Shock.
Amazon Sug Sh 51RDZ7DBVAL._SL110_ This is the last call for any ideas on what to include in my next book.
I’m now making last-minute changes and editing to my next book, The Sugar Shock Diet,which will be released next year by Hay House. (Here’s the original announcement.)
My next book will provide you a simple, six-week mind-body-spirit plan that will allow you to easily cut back on those quickie carbs so you can shed excess weight, boost your libido, increase your energy, and much more.
Please, dear readers of Sugar Shock, as I’m doing final rewriting and editing for Sugar Shock Diet, tell me what you’d like to see included.
What would make your life easier and sweeter?
Please tell us now, on this Sugar Shock Blog, and on the Facebook Smart Habits Fans Page what you’d like to see in this next book.

Connie’s Super Cacao-Chia-Moringa Shake to Begin the Day

Lately, Facebook friends and other fans have been intrigued when I said I start my day with a Super Cacao-Chia-Moringa Shake.
For the past week or so, I’ve been creating and revising this tasty concoction, adding or subtracting ingredients. Now, people have been repeatedly nudging me to share my recipe.
First a bit of background. Recently, I’ve been recovering from adrenal fatigue (worked too hard and didn’t play enough!), and I’m now doing all I can to boost my energy, concentrate better, improve my stamina, be in my best shape ever, and write a fabulous book (my next book, The Sugar Shock Diet) to help many.
To that end, I’m now on Day 24 of detoxing, thanks to the program outlined in Dr. Jeffrey Morrison’s exciting new book, Cleanse Your Body, Clear Your Mind. (He recently appeared on my Gab with the Gurus Show. I’ll be reposting as soon as I hit Day 30.)
6-24-11 283Anyhow, these days, my goal is to cram lots of superfoods and healthy ingredients into my first meal of the day.
My breakfast helps me remember that we eat to live and to thrive, remember?
So here’s the healthy way I now start the day. Usually, I’ll work out right afterwards, too, and it’s easy to prepare this Super Cacao-Chia-Moringa Shake.
It fills you up, too, and doesn’t send your blood sugar bouncing all over the place.
Here are the items that go into my breakfast shake:
— 2 T. The Ultimate Life, Ultimate Meal. What’s really wonderful about this powder is that it contains no gluten, no soy protein or fiber, no whey, no nuts, no MSG, no corn, no yeast, no dairy, no maltodextrin, sugar, honey or fructose, no colors, no preservatives, no fillers, and no animal products. (This is very hard to find in protein and health powders.)
– 2 T. organic cacao nibs. Adding these gives your shake a chocolate burst–plus you get the superfood benefits. Love these nibs!
– 1 tsp. Ribose (Just started to add this today to use before an intense workout – the one I use is Ribose from Jarrow. (As the description indicates, “Ribose is one of the necessary building blocks for the formation of ATP; the `universal’ energy molecule in the body.* Physical stress can deplete ATP stores in cardiac and skeletal muscles.* As the rate-limiting substrate in the synthesis of nucleotides; including ATP; ribose plays a vital role in replenishing ATP; thus; enhancing energy production; improving muscle recovery;and thus Muscle Edge.
I also add to the shake:
– 1 tsp. Psyllium Husks Powder (I’m using this because I’m now detoxing. I use the one from Yerba Prima)
– 1 T. ground Nutiva organic chia seeds (or whatever brand you can find.)
– 1 T. ground plain organic flax seeds (I like the Spectrum that you can find at Whole Foods.)
1 tsp. Glutamine Plus from Daily Benefit
1 tsp. It’s Moringa powder (*The Moringa plant has been called “The Miracle Tree.” I just started taking this today and am noticing a difference. Believe it or not, but I started adding this today, because my intuition told me to include this superfood, which I learned about months ago. See info below to learn more about this amazing product of nature.)
A big dash of Simply Organic cinnamon
Some clove powder if I’m in the mood for that
About 10 frozen organic strawberries from my friends at Vital Choice. (Or, I may use a combo of strawberries and blueberries that I’ve bought fresh and frozen.)
Sometimes I’ll add a tiny pinch of green powdered stevia from Navitas Natural . (Sometimes no sweetener at all. I never use the white powder though. It always has to be naturally sweet.)
About 8 ounces Water (after my Brita water filter has purified it)
Coconut milk (about 1/3 cup/Soy Free/Dairy Free/Unsweetened from SoDelicious. (I may also or instead of the milk take a tiny taste, about 1/4 tsp., of refrigerated Organic Coconut oil.)
(At the beginning of the day, I also take two or more Ogganic Royal Maca but do NOT put this in the shake because I don’t want it to ruin the taste.)
Blend until all ingredients are ground up and your shake is thick and creamy. Then enjoy!
FYI, I also save about a third of it in the fridge to finish when I get back from working out.
Let me know what you think of this recipe. What other great super ingredients would you add?
Moringa-Oleifera Now, let here’s more info about Moringa oleifera, which has been hailed as the most nutritious leafy green in the planet today.
As I mentioned, I began adding it to my shake today. It did not make it taste extra green-y, which was nice.
* Please bear in mind that these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease.
According to my new friend, Jude Ken-Kwofie, founder of It’s Moringa, “just one scoop of our moringa dried leaf powder in your favorite meal or beverage helps you achieve your recommended 5 to 9 daily servings of vegetables.”
Moringa can be used by people in average or poor health, Jude says. Some reported health benefits of Moringa include:
Increases and sustains energy naturally
Gives a feeling of general wellness
Nourishes that body’s immune system
Promotes healthy circulatory system
Increases the natural defenses of the body
Heightens mental clarity
Provides nourishment to the eyes and the brain
Promotes metabolism with bio-available ingredients
Promotes natural serum cholesterol
Known to enhance weight loss
Promotes healthy digestion
Acts as an antioxidant
High alkalinity helps balance your body’s pH level
Has natural anti-aging benefits
Anti-inflammatory support
Supports the normal sugar levels of the body
Jude tells me that It’s Moringa products contain a high concentration of chlorophyll, which is also known as the “blood of the plant” and gives plants their green color. Chlorophyll, which is rich in magnesium, is also known to fight infection, cleanse the body of unwanted toxins, promote the healing of wounds, improve the body’s circulatory, immune, digestive, and detoxification systems. Due to its similarity to hemoglobin, chlorophyll is easily absorbed into human blood, which transports nutrients effectively and efficiently to every cell of the body. Incorporating chlorophyll into one’s diet, Jude says, is equivalent to consuming the energy of life. It’s Moringa products reportedly contain 4 times (4X) the chlorophyll content of wheatgrass.
What appeals to me about It’s Moringa and why I chose to become an affiliate even though other companies also sell this superfood is that this particular company donates 10 percent of its sales to support malnutrition around the world. In fact, did you now that one third of all childhood deaths are caused by under-nutrition? Sad to think about that given our country’s obesity problem.
Anyhow, to fight malnutrition, It’s Moringa has partnered with Vitamin Angels or www.vitaminangels.org and Nourish America or www.nourishamerica.org..
So, what do you think of my Super Cacao-Chia-Moringa Shake? Let me know know what you think aftter you try it out.
Is there anything else I should add?