Tag: low carb

Choose My New Book Cover

Please help me choose the cover of my new book, I blew my diet! Now what? Vote now for your favorite of four awesome designs from the talented Pete Garceau.

Did You Have a Relapse? 10 Ways to Bounce Back after You Blow Your Diet

Join the Conversation. Have you had a relapse? What worked best for you? Share your challenges or successes here, on this Sugar Shock Blog, or on Facebook.
As I reluctantly admitted last year, after my mother died, while I was reeling from grief, despair, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome), and more, I had a carb relapse that went on for some 10 months, and I packed on 21 pounds.
Bestseller Beyond Sugar Shock BS
For the past two-plus years — after I Bounced Back After Relapse — I’ve thought long and hard about how and why people relapse.
Now, I’m determined to show you how not to blow your diet as I did when trauma, abuse, gut-wrenching grief and emotional devastation over loss or betrayal strike.
Since people often want to know, “How do you bounce back after a relapse?” — as someone just asked me today — I’ve assembled pointers to help you get you back on track.
Here are 10 Ways to Bounce Back After You Blow Your Diet.
1. Be gentle and compassionate with yourself.
If you slip on your diet, this is not the time to berate or belittle yourself. Instead, use your relapse as a reason to lavish yourself with kindness, understanding and sympathy. The research is mounting on the benefits of giving yourself compassion. (More about that in a future post.)
2. Accept that you’re human — and therefore imperfect.
People with food issues often expect themselves to do everything perfectly, especially “dieting,” as I’ve discovered from coaching many people. Ironically, the word, “diet” even has “die” in it.
Of course, it’s impossible to be perfect, of course. Expecting yourself to eat “right” all the time sets you up for failure. So give yourself a break.
Since you’ve had a relapse, use this as an opportunity to claim your humanity. That means accepting — and even embracing — your imperfections. Plus, you want to forgive yourself. Doing these things can be quite freeing.
3. Consider this a great time to start over.
Instead of seeing your diet relapse as a disaster, regard it as an opportunity to start over. A so-called “mistake” such as this could be just the catalyst you need to reinvigorate you.
After all, aren’t you especially motivated when you begin a project? Besides, your determination can kick into high drive especially if you want to avoid or manage your low blood sugar, type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease or another illness.
4. See your slip as a Life Lesson.
In the wake of a relapse with French fries, popcorn, onion rings or other quickie carbs, sugar or other junk foods, you can use your slip as a wake-up call. Often, people begin to succeed — as I did back in 1998 and again in 2012 after my big relapse — when they’re so fed up with their self-destructive ways that they’re ready to fully commit to kicking their self-abusive habit.
5. Study your body’s reaction.
There’s nothing like a harsh dose of reality to make you realize that eating junk food doesn’t only add inches to your hips. Study yourself dispassionately like a lab rat to discover what damage you caused by your diet relapse. Ask yourself the following questions:
Am I more tired than normal?
Am I excessively moody?
Am I finding it tough to concentrate?
Am I having brain fog?
Do I have a headache?
Am I having a tough time sleeping?
Am I depressed for no good reason?
How else am I NOT my best me?
6. Record the results of your binge for at least 4 days.
Rather than beat up on yourself for blowing your diet, take notes on how bad you feel after your sugar or carb spree. Keep a journal for at least four days.
Make sure to document the emotional, physical and spiritual ramifications of your relapse. Write about your problems with over-reactivity, anger, brain fog, depression, irritability, nervousness, aches, pains, outbursts at your kids and fights with your honey..
When you carefully monitor your reactions, you’ll easily remember these awful repercussions so that the next time you’re tempted to succumb to donuts, candies, chips or other nutrient-poor foods, you’ll probably pause and then muster up the ability to say no to that junk food.
7. Reaffirm and recommit to your ‘Whys” and ‘Whats.”
Immediately after your binge or slip — however minor — realign your thoughts. Think about why you want to quit sugar or refined carbs in the first place.
Is your doctor telling you to clean up your eating, as mine did years ago, because if you don’t, you’re headed toward type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease or another potentially fatal illness?
What health benefits will you gain from eating better and cutting out sugar or fast carbs?
How will your life change on other fronts if you’re eating well?
Review your list again and again. You’ll find — as I have at two major points in my life — that your strong Whys-and-Whats lists will help you to break free from your carb or sugar addiction for good.
8. See yourself free.
Speaking of free, now envision that you’re liberated. Woo-Hoo! See how exhilarated you’ll feel by saying no to junk food. Keep watching your delicious success as if you’re catching your favorite TV show.
Do it now. It’s fun and freeing! See yourself back on the healthy-eating track. You’re succeeding and your addiction is lying back there in the dust! Yes!
9. Create a Power Phrase or mantra.
Now, verbally proclaim your success, too. You don’t have to say it in public, but you can quietly or inwardly affirm: “I choose and eat only healthy, nourishing foods and drinks, that peel off my extra weight, give me energy, and make me happy. I am free.”
Or create your own Power Phrase. Share your ideas here for what Power Phrase works for you.
Repeat your Power Phrase over and over — preferably while looking in the mirror.
As you probably know, visualizing success is a powerful Law of Attraction tool that’s discussed in the bestselling film and book, The Secret.
10. Reframe Your Relapse as a Spiritual Springboard.
Now that you’re getting back on track with your food, you’ll have a better perspective on your relapse. Most people I’ve coached have discovered that falling so low has infused them with a new-found spirituality, and feeling of joy and inner peace. They’re more determined to treat their bodies with respect and reverence, because after all, we’re spiritual beings. The same can happen to you, too.
I hope that this post, “Did You Have a Relapse? 10 Ways to Bounce Back After you Blow Your Diet” will help you get back on track.
Have you had a relapse? What worked best for you? Share your challenges or successes here, on this Sugar Shock Blog, or on Facebook.
And remember that eating healthy foods and drinking nourishing beverages help you to enjoy a life full of good health, joy, and peace of mind.
As you struggle to get back on your feet, kick your soda habit or get more sleep, remind yourself that life is much sweeter without all those refined sweets and other unhealthy habits.
Connie Bennett, MSJ, CHHC, CPC, ACC is author of SUGAR SHOCK! (Berkley Books) and Beyond Sugar Shock (Hay House), and Crush Your Crazy Cravings™ (upcoming). Connie is a The Sweet Freedom Guide, the Crazy-Cravings Crusher, a motivating speaker, and host of the Gab With the Gurus Radio Show. Connie has appeared on numerous media outlets such as “CBS News Sunday Morning,” “Oprah & Friends Radio,” and “The Howard Stern Show,” and she has contributed to many publications and websites such as The Chicago Tribune, ediets.com, and the Huffington Post. Connie is certified health coach, a certified life coach, a journalist and columnist.
Connie’s sour-to-sweet story began in 1998, when she quit sugar and refined carbs on doctor’s orders, and her 44 baffling ailments vanished, including horrible headaches, crippling fatigue and brain fog. Now, Connie pokes fun of her not-so-sweet past by jokingly dubbing herself an “Ex-Sugar Shrew!.” She has helped thousands of people worldwide break free of their sugar or carb addiction and from the depressing, debilitating aftershocks of overloading on sugar and culprit carbs.
© Copyright 2015. Connie Bennett, Sugar Shock Blog.
You are welcome to reprint this story if you use the above credits and this additional information: This post, “Did You Have a Relapse? 10 Ways to Bounce Back After You Blow Your Diet” by Connie Bennett, CHHC, ACC, CPC, was originally published on the Sugar Shock Blog. Please make sure to notify us that you’ve used this.

Sugar World Summit Date Change — You’ll Learn the Sour Scoop & Break Free

Please note that the exciting first Sugar World Summit, was originally scheduled to begin today, two weeks before Halloween, has been delayed.
I’ll announce a new date shortly.
So please rest assured, those of you who’ve written to me concerned that you’ve missed out on the many exciting programs, which will feature the biggest names in sugar education and addiction, relapse prevention, mindful eating, compassion, etc.
The Sugar World Summit is still happening. In fact, my team and I are deep into planning it.
JJ Virgin Sugar Impact DietSo why did we delay the first Sugar World Summti?
A bit of history is in order.
Many months ago, I excitedly scheduled the first Sugar World Summit to begin today, exactly two weeks before Halloween, the biggest candy-eating day in the United States — a day I dub Halloween National Sugar Overload Day.
This Sugar World Summit was timed to coincide with my big comeback.
After three years, I’d finally recoveried from My Bittersweet Last Year with Mom, which had left me TAGGED (Traumatized, Abused, Gripped by Grief and Emotionally Devastated)..
Thankffully, I’ was now emerging healed and slimmed down after I’d suffered a horribly humiliating and humbling Carb Relapse.
Now emerging triumphant, I was ready now to help millions.
As we got deep into planning the first Sugar World Summit, the biggest names in the field — most of whom I’ve known for years, since before the release of my first book, Sugar Shock in 2006 — agreed to come on board. Our goal was to reach 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide.
But as I kept inviting more and more exciting speakers and reconnecting with health colleagues after three years, I learned about launches by other esteemed experts, all of whom I greatly admire and respect.
These are people I want to support. These are also people, who can help you. It became quickly obvious that the best thing to do was to get out of the way of my colleagues’ launches.
JJ VirginIn particular, after inviting my colleague, the acclaimed nutrition and fitness expert and bestselling author JJ Virgin, to participate in the Sugar World Summit, I discovered that she was launching a new book about sugar, JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet, at about the same time.
That made me immediately rethink the time frame for the Sugar World Summit.
FYI, this is a big week for JJ Virgin. She is now giving away copies of her new book (until they run out).
JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet is an important book, in which JJ takes an original, doable approach to cutting out sweets.
If you missed JJ’s book giveaway — she ran out of books — then go ahead and get her free Sugar Impact Diet 2-Week Cookbook so you can make tasty, sugar-free recipes.
By the way, I’m greatly, greatly indebted to JJ. For about a decade, she’s been supportive of me. Not only did she endorse both of my books, Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock, but she helped me get my Lyme disease quickly diagnosed years ago.
Sugar-savvy-bookBack to the Sugar World Summit. Since I wanted to support JJ and other colleagues, it became evident that I needed to move back this important event.
But delaying the Sugar World Summit turns out to be just what this event most needs. Now, the Summit will be much bigger, better and more well organized.
(In fact, I’m very gratefufl to Jeff Walker, the launch guru, whose amazing Product Launch Formula Live conference, which I attended earlier this week, helped me discover many innovative ways to spread the word for the first Sugar World Summit.)
So now I invite you: Learn more about the first Sugar World Summit and the amazing colleagues, who will participate in it.
At present, we’re honored to have received “yeses” from the following movers and shakers. Among those who’ve agreed to participate are:
Dr. Robert Lustig, ‎ pediatric endocrinologist and New York Times bestselling author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity & Disease. His “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” lecture has had more than 4.6 million hits on YouTube. Photo shown above.
Dr. Mark Hyman, chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine, medical editor at the Huffington Post, on the Medical Advisory Board at “The Doctor Oz Show,” and New York Times bestselling author of The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet..
JJ Virgin, P.h.D., C.N.S., celebrity nutritionist, fitness expert, New York Times bestselling author and author of the new book, JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet: Drop 7 Hidden Sugars, Lose Up To 10 Pounds, Just 2 Weeks
Dr. David Perlmutter, “Empowering Neurologist,” Linus Pauling award-winner and author of the # 1 New York Times bestselling Grain Brain.
Sarah Wilson, acclaimed Australian blogger, TV personality, journalist, author of I Quit Sugar and founder of the popular I Quit Sugar Community
Dr. Pamela Peeke, internationally recognized expert, physician, scientist and author of the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunger Fix: the 3 Stage Detox and Recovery Plan for Overeating and Food Addiction
Jimmy Moore, popular low-carb blogger, co-author with Dr. Eric Westman of Cholesterol Clarity. He shed 180 pounds and peeled off 20 inches by quitting sugar and going low carb.
Dr. Richard Johnson, a practicing physician, acclaimed clinical scientist and author of The Sugar Fix::What You Don’t Know about Fructose and HFCS Could Kill You.
Serge H. Ahmed, Ph.D., CNRS Research Director, Principal Investigator & Team Leader, Addiction, Compulsion and Dopamine Dysregulation Syndrome, Université de Bordeaux. He’s done fascinating research on addcition, sugar and cocaine.
Dr Pedram Shojai, former Taoist monk, physician of Chinese medicine and founder of founder of the popular site, Well.org,
Trudy Scott, nutritionist, food-mood expert and author of The Antianxiety Food Solution
Kristin Neff, PhD., Associate Professor, Human Development and Culture, Educational Psychology Dept., University of Texas at Austin and author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Roberta Ruggiero, founder of the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation and author of Do’s and Don’ts of Hypoglycemia. An Every Day Guide to Low Blood Sugar. (Because of Roberta, I’m here today helping others. More about her later.)
Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., CNS, leading nutritional expert and award-winning New York Times bestselling author, whose books include Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution and Get the Sugar Out, Revised and Updated: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet
High Voltage (Kathie Dolgin), author of the new book, Sugar Savvy Solution, and founder of Energy Up Voltage Approved, Inc. (EUVA), a nonprofit organization to fight teenage obesity and to prevent type 2 diabetes and other diseases, particularly among teenage girls.
Alexandra Jamieson, a mom and health coach, who helps women listen to their true cravings for pleasure to achieve the body and life they desire and author of the upcoming book, Women, Food and Desire;
“The Sleep Doctor” Michael Breus, Ph.D.
Naturopathic physician Dr. Alan Christianson;
And more… Stay tuned for more names.
Sign up now for this exciting Sugar World Summit.
Fat ChanceStay tuned to get the full and not-so-sweet scoop on how those those tempting sugary “treats” and quickie-carb snacks can damage you bigtime. Our experts will tell you how shoveling sugar and fast carbs into your poor body can make you gain weight and widen your waistline, get frustrating mood swings, find it tough to concentrate, mess up your precious brain, lose interest in sex, develop heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes, and even die at an early age.
Now, I urge you to begin to get educated by reading some books about sugar by some of my super-healthy, brilliant colleauges. For example, I invite you to check out Fat Chance by Dr. Robert Lustig; and the new books, Sugar Savvy Solution by High Voltage, and JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet.
Perhaps you’re wondering: “Why would I want to quit or cut back on sugar? It tastes so good!”
Here are some reasons to ditch the sweet stuff and fast-acting carbs. You can:
Easily shed your dreaded excess weight.
Fit into your skinny clothes;
Leave behind your depression and get filled up with good cheer, passion and enthusiasm.
Get enough energy to keep up with your kids or perform well on the job..
Tame Your Crazy Cravings™ (as I call them) for sugary, salty or fatty unreal foods.
Banish your annoying brain fog and concentrate with a razor-sharp focus.
Rev up your libido so you’ll be thrilled with your time alone in the bedroom with your beloved.
Ditch those awful, debilitating, tough-to-handle female ailments (either PMS or menopause, depending on your time of life.)
And much more.
Sign up now for the upcoming Sugar World Summit. And tell us what you’d like to learn during this event.
CB – pink shirt
About Sugar Shock Blog Founder: Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC is a former pooped-out, fuzzy-headed, sugar-addicted journalist and “Ex Sugar Shrew,” whose 44 baffling ailments completely vanished after kicking sugar and quickie carbs on doctor’s orders in 1998. Now, 16 years later, Connie is the acclaimed, energetic, charismatic Sweet Freedom Guide, a transformational speaker, sugar and carb expert, blogger, certified health coach, certified life coach, EFT practitioner, Gab with the Gurus host, and bestselling autho of Beyond Sugar Shock, which was endorsed by many health and empowerment luminaries such as Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Dr. Daniel Amen, JJ Virgin. Connie’s first book, Sugar Shock. which was published in 2006, was praised by such acclaimed gurus as Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Christiane Northrup. Now, Connie is planning the first Sugar World Summit, which will feature the biggest names in sugar and carb addiction, recovery, mindful eating, compassion, weight loss, etc. Connie is also finishing her next book, The Bounce Back Diet™: 22 Easy Ways to Rebound After Relapse; Ditch Sugar, Fat or Salt, and Shed Weight for Good. (Working title.) The Bounce-Back Diet — which was inspired by Connie’s embarrassing Carb Relapse after her mother’s traumatic terminal illness and death — can help millions worldwide to slim down and tone up although they’re walloped by Crazy Cravings™ and overpowering emotions following the death of a loved one, a divorce or breakup, moving or another life-changing loss. Make sure to sign up at the Sugar World Summit site to find out about the new dates and speakers.

Basketball Great LeBron James Ditches Sugar, Quickie Carbs & Dairy for 67 Days

LeBron james_20k_011513 (2)
Hurrah to a leaner LeBron James, who’s now drawing attention to a cleaner way of eating, thanks to his strict, off-season diet.
HIs slimmer physique came about because he ate “no sugars, no dairy, no carbs.” (Well, that’s not exactly true, because vegetables contain carbs and fruits contain natural sugars.)
“All I ate was meat, fish, veggies and fruit. That’s it. For 67 straight days,” James told reporters at the unveiling of his new LeBron 12 sneaker.
The athlete’s meals — photos of which he’s posted on Instagram — look qjuite tasty.
For one lunch, as he shared, he ate arugula salad with chicken, strawberries, mango, cashews and olive oil or lemon oil vinaigrette dressing.
James stuck to his diet while vacationing in Greece, and he even turned down a personalized cake offered to him, because it contained sugar.
The 6-foot-8-inch Cleveland Cavaliers forward, who is entering his 12th NBA season, says he lost weight to be in top shape for training camp and to test his “mental fortitude.”
While we don’t know exactly how much weight James lost, it’s probably between 10 to 20 pounds.
James was quite disciplined and determined even though, as he joked, “I had a cookie monster chasing me a few times in my dreams.”
You can watch James below discuss his diet, starting at 2:44.
Join the conversation: Are you ready to try a diet like this?

Share Your Sweet Success Story to this Sugar Shock Blog

Have you shed weight, eliminated your horrible headaches, gotten rid of your pre-cancerous condition, or done away with another pesky health problem by kicking or cutting back on sugar, refined carbs and other high-glycemic foods such as corn nuts, potato chips, and French fries?
Kicking those rapidly processed “culprit carbs” is one of the most effective ways to lose weight and overcome a variety of health challenges, as thousands of people — whom I call “Sugar Kickers” or “Carb Kickers” — have been gleefully sharing with me for more than a decade.
We’d also like to hear from you if you’ve had a drastic health improvement by cutting out gluten, dairy or artificial sweeteners,
If you’re a Sweet Success Story — whether you lost weight, got more energy, improved your moods or got your diabetes under control — we want to read your tale her.
By sharing your story, you’ll be able to inspire, motivate, and encourage others.
Wondering what I mean? Read some motivational Sweet Success Stories shared here before:
Fellow blogger Jimmy Moore. (Catch our interview on my Gab With the Gurus Show.)
Jaime Jackson
Felicia DesRosiers
Karly Pitman
Want to tell your story? Contact me now.

You Can Retrain Your Brain to Prefer Healthier Foods!

Join the Conversation: Does this news excite you, too?
If you find it hard to say no to candies, cookies, chips, it may be because your brain is addicted to them, according to a new study.
In short, your brain is actually hooked on junk food, which, of course, leads to weight gain and obesity and other harmful dieases.
But promising news came out recently, which reveals taht you you can literally ‘reprogram’ your brain so that you not only break your food addictions, but you actually develop a preference for healthier non-fattening foods so you lose weight.
For my part, I’m simply thrilled by this exciting news.
You may wonder, though, is this just too good to be true? Not so!
Some definitive proof this is possible came from a September 2014 study by scientists at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to show how the brains of volunteers had been altered during a six-month experiment, during which they forsake high caloric foods for low caloric ones.
Thirteen overweight or obese adults between the ages of 21 and 65 were placed in either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group received 19 hour-long support group sessions during the 24 weeks in which they were taught how to use portion-controlled menus and recipe suggestions designed for high-satiety. The foods consumed in this plan were low-glycemic index carbohydrates along with high fiber and high protein (known as the idiet.) FYI, these are the foods I recommend, too, as you can discover in Beyond Sugar Shock.
These foods” have “a slower digestion profile and reduction fluctuations in blood glucose that could reduce hunger,” according to the study. The control group received no such counseling or support.
What’s intriguing is that before the experiment began and six months later, on its completion, all study participants underwent the fMRI scans as they were shown 40 food and 40 non-food images. The foods were half high caloric and half low caloric.
While being scanned, the volunteers rated the desirability of the images they saw on a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 being undesirable and 4 being extremely desirable. Those who had gone through the six months of intervention measured significantly less response in the striatum region of their brains (an area governing reward processing) when shown the high caloric foods and more responsivity when shown the low caloric images.
It was as if the brain charges they previously got from these foods had been disconnected. They also achieved significant weight loss, whereas the control group lost little weight and still had no control over how their brains craved certain unhealthy foods.
One of the study co-authors, Sai Krupa Das, Ph.D., who is with the United States Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center, observed how the weight loss program they used with high-fiber, low glycemic foods worked hand in hand with behavior change education to bring about the remarkable changes in weight and brain activity related to cravings.
“The weight loss program is specifically designed to change how people react to different foods, and our study shows those who participated in it had an increased desire for healthier foods along with a decreased preference for unhealthy foods, the combined effects of which are probably critical for sustainable weight control,” according to Dr. Das. “To the best of our knowledge this is the first demonstration of this important switch.”
Sources: “Training your brain to prefer healthy foods.” Tufts University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-09-brain-healthy-foods.html.
“Pilot randomized trial demonstrating reversal of obesity-related abnormalities in reward system responsivity to food cues with a behavioral intervention.” Deckersbach T. Et al. Nutrition & Diabetes. September 2014. http://www.nature.com/nutd/journal/v4/n9/full/nutd201426a.html
iDiet program. https://www.theidiet.com/content/food
Join the Conversation: Does this news excite you, too?

Confessing is Cleansing & Empowering

Join the Conversation. When was the last time you confessed something that embarrassing? We want to hear from you. Post your thoughts here.
Last week before heading out of town, I finally made My Big Carb Confession about how, for months after losing my mother and reeling from My Bittersweet Last Year with Mom, I stopped walking my clean-carbs talk.
Bittersweet_banner_final (2)Although in my grief, trauma and anguish, I NEVER had sugar as I had in 1998, suddenly, Crazy Carb Cravings™ pounced on me, and I mindlessly shoveled in movie popcorn, corn nuggets and onion rings.
This week, I wrote a follow-up post to thank prolific blogger and podcaster Sean Croxton for inspiring me to make my Confessions of a Health Expert.
Now, this morning, after continuing to eat only wholesome foods and beverages and cranking up my workout routine, I lost yet another pound.
This was exciting news. I finally hit my previous weight, the one before Mom became terminally ill. Woo Hoo!
Evidently, confessing about my carb relapse so publicly has been quite cleansing.
First, in a post on this Sugar Shock Blogg, I made My Big Carb Confession.
Then, over the weekend, without planning to do it, fueled by courage, I spontaneously admitted to some 100-plus fellow health experts that I’d had a carb relapse. (This was at an amazing event presented by JJ Viirgin, one of the nation’s foremost fitness and nutrition experts and bestselling author of The Virgin Diet.).
Of course, confessing is an important part of most religions, but owning up to my carb “sinning” in such a public way, first on this Sugar Shock Blog and then to other health experts has unleased a tremendous enthusiasm, passon and power in me.
Not only did I shed more weight, but at long last, I finished the preface to my next book, How this Book Came to Be: My Tale of Trauma, Temptation and Triumph.
I’ve been working on this very challenging section of the book for more than a year, and I’ve rewritten it at least dozens of times.
Stay tuned for a blog post to learn How to Break a Weight-Loss Plateau (something I experienced).
And keep a lookout for news about the upcoming Sugar World Summit, which will feature world-renowned experts in health, wellness, sugar and addiction.
Join the Conversation. When was the last time you confessed something that embarrassing? We want to hear from you. Post your thoughts here.

Are You a Mosquito Magnet? The Surprising Secret to Stop Them from Biting You

Are you one of those people, who tend to attract mosquitos, who bite you often?
I urge you to read this post to discover how to eat to keep the mosquitoes away.
Mosquito-vector-graphicsFor years, every summer, mostly beginning on 4th of July weekend, I used to be a major magnet for mosquitoes.
Lately, come to think of it, those biting critters have been leaving me alone.
But it wasn’t until this morning, when I received a fascinating email from the empowering Dr. Sara Gottfried that I realized why those annoying mosquitoes have been letting me be in peace.
Dr. Gottfried, as you may already know is a wife, mother of two girls (ages 8 and 13), friend, scholar, seeker, yoga teacher, Harvard-trained MD with 20+ years of experience, and author of the amazing New York Times bestselling book,The Hormone Cure:The Hormone Cure: Reclaim Balance, Sleep and Sex Drive; Lose Weight; Feel Focused, Vital, and Energized Naturally with the Gottfried Protocol.
Anyhow, Dr. Gottfried — who’s s enjoying the holiday week in in rural Idaho at a ranch with her family, doing horseback riding, river rafting, hiking, and fishing — is happy to find that she’s “rarely getting bitten by mosquitoes.”
Guess why both Dr. Gottfried and I are being left along by the mosquitoes?
As Dr. Gottfried points out, her friend Alan Christianson told her recently, mosquitoes pick their subjects based on several things, including the level of ketones in your blood and sweat.
In other words, if you’re eating lots of sweets or refined carbohydrates — or what I call quickie carbs — those mosquitoes will like us.
But, on the other hand, as Dr. Gottfried explains, when “you restrict carbohydrates past a certain threshold (usually 25 to 100 grams of carbs per day, but this varies person to person), you produce more ketones and your body odor smells less fruity.”
In other words, as Dr. Gottfried concludes: “Ketones repel mosquitoes”” Not only that, but they may be Nature’s best mosquito repellent.”
That led Dr. Gottfried to restrict her carbs to see if thatt kept the mosquitoes from swarming. Sure enough, it worked.
A hah!
Lately, I, too, have been restricting carbs — not to repel mosquitos, but to shed the remaining pounds I’d gained after my mother passed away. (More about that later.)
Now, we all have one more reason to stay away from those compelling carbs — the mosquitoes won’t like us!
Thanks to Dr. Sara Gottfried for the heads up on this fascinating simple mosquito repellant!
FYI, here are some other ideas to be unappealing to bugs.
You also can increase your garlic intake to keep the bugs at bay.
You can eat other foods, especially one of my favorites, apple cider vinegar, which also help you repel mosquitoes.
You can douse on — or burn a candle — of citronella, which also keeps the bugs away.
Join the conversation. What have you done to keep the bugs away? Talk to us. We’d love to hear your experiences.
Special thanks to Vector Graphics for this fabulous artwork. If I’m supposed to pay, please forgive me, but I didn’t see any requirements to do so. http://www.vectors4all.net/preview/mosquito-vector-graphics.jpg