Most of Us Get Cravings

Chuckle or at least smile at this clever cartoon from the amazing Isabella Bannerman. Are you anything like this when cravings strike?

Why do Millions Have Collective Forgetfulness on Spooky Sugar Overload Day (Halloween)?

It’s that spooky time of year again.
Not because of neighborhood kids masquerading as ghosts, goblins and ghouls.
Halloween candyBut because of scary candies.
Beginning Halloween, through the end of the year — for a whopping two-plus months — millions tend to completely “forget” the fact that too much sugar can trigger harmful effects on your children’s health, including obesity, of course. .
On Spooky Sugar Overload Day – my phrase for Halloween — millions develop collective amnesia about how rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other crippling sugar-triggered ailments are skyrocketing.
And every year, at this time, I watch in astonishment at how cool, chic and accepted it’s become to hurl your neighbor’s kids into Sugar Shock.
For instance:
This year 74 percent of households in the United States are expected to hand candies to trick-or-treaters (80 percent of households with children will do so), according to the candy-promoting National Confectioners Association. http://www.candyusa.com/FunStuff/content.cfm?ItemNumber=5137&navItemNumber=4569
Of those sugar pushers, 72 percent of those households will give away two or even three) pieces of candy per trick-or-treater.
Let’s put this in simple terms: On Halloween night alone, the average child in your neighborhood may mindlessly scarf down between 5 to 50 teaspoons of sugar and hundreds of calories.
In short, Spooky Sugar Overload Season starts with Halloween.
Factor in all the sugar that most people will gobble up during Thanksgiving dinners, holiday parties, as well as Christmas or Chanukah vacations.
All this sugar gorging begs these questions:
Why has it simply become un-American NOT to hand out candies on Halloween?
Why is it outright weird NOT to give your neighbors’ kids sugar-filled treats, which will surely send them into Sugar Shock? (Think anxiety, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, temper tantrums, crankiness and much worse.)
Why is candy-giving expected even though just about everyone knows that too much sugar (candies) can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes and other diseases, which, in turn, can kill you?
Thankfully, a small but growing number of us are urging parents to give out safe, fun toys instead.
Unfortunately, though, it’s far easier to find candies than it is to locate sweet, sugar-free toys such as glow-in-the-dark insects, spooky fingers, Halloween-themed stickers or pencils, rubber worms, creepy fingers, action figures, kazoos and whistles, baseball cards, plastic animals, spin tops, and party favors like engine whistles, key chains, pen, and stickers.
Furthermore, let’s face it, these cool Halloween options cost more than sugar-filled, or high fructose corn syrup-laden candies.
Right now, I urge you parents to take charge. This Halloween, just become more mindful.
Every time you dish out candies, think about just two things.
You are an “enabler” – as drug addicts are to other drug addicts. Your neighbors and you could be paving the way for neighborhood kids to crave candies. For that matter, you could be addicting or re-addicting their parents, too. (A number of coaching clients confessed to me that they stole their kids Halloween candies!)
You could be contributing to soaring rates of obesity and other diseases in your neighborhood.
Do you really want to have that on your conscience?
Instead, why don’t you find ways to help your children and your neighbors’ kids to observe Halloween in a safer, healthier way?
For instance, you could:
Offer your kid(s) a healthy meal with ample protein, fiber and fat before she or he cavorts around the neighborhood.
Give away one candy per trick-or-treater. (Don’t let kids grab a handful of sweets.)
Hand out small bottles of water. That way, you’ll help trick-or-treaters stay hydrated.
When your child or children come home from trick-or-treating, have fun together doing high-intensity play or dancing for at least 10 minutes.
Hug your kids and figure out one or two other ways to give them lasting sweetness.
About the Author:
Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC, is a self-mocking former sugar addict and author of two bestselling books, Sugar Shock! and Beyond Sugar Shock.
Her first book, Sugar Shock! How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life– and How You Can Get Back on Track, was praised by Dr. Mehmez Oz and many others.
Her latest book, Beyond Sugar Shock: The 6-Week Plan to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Get Slimmer, Sexier & Sweeter, has been endorsed by numerous luminaries, including Wayne Dyer, Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Bernie Siegel, Joe Vitale, Marci Shimoff, Kathy Smith, John Assaraf, Colette Baron-Reid, Janet Bray Atwood, Donna Gates, Alex Jamieson, and Dr. JJ Virgin.
Connie is also a certified health coach, certified life coach, EFT practitioner, widely published jouirnalist, columnist, and and essayist (AOL News, eDiets.com, The Los Angeles Times, www.SheKnows.com, etc.), as well as an in-demand speaker, entertaining TV and radio show guest (“CBS News Sunday Morning,” “Oprah & Friends Radio,” “The Howard Stern Show,” etc.).
In 1998, Connie was a tormented sugar-addicted journalist, who secretly “used” candies galore just to make all her deadlines. When she was bombarded by brain fog, heart palpitations, severe PMS and 41 other baffling ailments, Connie finally turned in deperation to a doctor, who ordered her to quit sweets. Much to her surprise, all her ailments went poof!, and the journalist was reborn, filled with determination to spread the sour news about sugar.
Now sugar-free (mostly) for 15 years, Connie — now known as The Sugar Liberator — had helped thousands of people worldwide to break free of sweets and discover that Life is Sweeter Naturally™.
Get free gifts at www.Connie-Bennett.com. Then discover if you’ve been brainwashed to become a sugar addict by taking The Sugar shock Quiz at www.SugarShockBlog.com.

Sugar Addicts in the San Francisco Bay Area: Let Me Liberate You Sat., April 13

Connie celery_clean copySugar and carb addicts, get help to free yourself from your potentially deadly habits on Sat., April 13 at 7 pm at Book Passage in Corte Madera.
Indeed, it’s now my honor and privilege to personally guide, coach, educate and empower sugar and carb addicts in the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday, April 13, which is, coincidentally, two days before a momentous time for me.
Yes, on April 15, I will have gone 15 years sugar-free (mostly)! Bear in mind that I wasn’t perfect, and not beating up on myself too much or slipping is one of the keys to my success. (You’ll find out how you, too, can be imperfect but still triumph over your sugar addiction.)
The program at Book Passage is being presented, thanks to the remarkable organization, Left Coast Writers, a fabulous group that supports new and established writers.
Please note that this appearance at Book Passage is my first talk and book signing since the publication of my book, Beyond Sugar Shock: The 6-Week Plan to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Get Slimmer, Sexier & Sweeter.
The reason that I didn’t do any book signings or give any solo talks in 2012 (other than one appearance as part of a group of authors) is because I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my terminally ill Mom before she passed away. Recently, I lost her. (In fact, I moved from the East Coast to the West Coast to be near her and be of service to Mom before she passed away. (One of our most fabulous moments during our last year together was when two boxes of books arrived from my publisher, Hay House, and my mother raved, “Absolutely terrific” and “Beautiful.” I have a video of the special occasion.)
Anyhow, during my first Beyond Sugar Shock appearance on April 13, I’ll give you insights and simple starter secrets so you can:
Activate the positive power of one of procrastination. (Huh? Trust me — it’s a simple, calming tool.)
Quickly decode and then welcome (really!) your annoying sugar cravings.
Remember the sour scoop about sugar (that it can lead to cancer, type 2 diabetes and even kill you early) when you’re overcome by must-have-sugar-now! feelings.
Pick yourself up after you’ve “slipped” and fallen off your less or no-sugar plan, especially after emotionally trying times.
Dissolve your desire for dangerous sweets but still enjoy tasty chocolate treats. You’ll even find out how to get recipes for healthy choco-goodie and get to savor tasty sugar-free desserts.
Stop being duped by innocent-looking, seductive foods that are actually sugar traps.
Laugh at my — and your — silly-on-sugar behavior. (You’ll chuckle at my former Sugar Shrew ways!)
In short, in our time together, you’ll get to Turbocharge your Sugar-Free Power.
The event on April 13 takes place at:
Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista Blvd
Corte Madera
For those of you who don’t know my background, here’s a short bio:
Bestseller Beyond Sugar Shock BSThe Sugar Liberator Connie Bennett is transformational speaker and author of the international bestseller Beyond Sugar Shock: The 6-Week Plan to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Get Slimmer, Sexier & Sweeter. The Hay House book has been praised by a Who’s Who of health and empowerment experts, including Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Christiane Northrup, and Dr. Daniel Amen.
Connie’s second book is the eagerly awaited follow-up to her acclaimed bestseller, Sugar Shock! How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life—And How You Can Get Back on Track, which has been praised by America’s Favorite Doctor, Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Connie’s sour-to-sweet journey began in 1998, when she was pummeled by 44 ailments, including crushing fatigue, brain fog, horrible headaches, rollercoaster mood swings, and severe PMS. When Connie’s new doctor blamed every single symptom on her excessive sugar habit and ordered her to quit consuming her cherished sweets, she reluctantly complied. Much to her surprise, all her ailments vanished, and Connie became energetic, focused, and free.
She succeeded, because while shedding her dangerous habit, Connie created cool tools to ease her dreaded and difficult transition and turn it into a positive, fun-filled, life-changing adventure. Since 2001, Connie has been coaching, guiding, and inspiring thousands of people worldwide on how to easily triumph over their carb addiction so they can discover that Life is Sweeter When Sugar Doesn’t Seduce You.™
Now, Connie runs her popular Sugar Freedom Now Retreat (virtual, recorded, and live), which is the companion program to Beyond Sugar Shock. She is also host of the Gab with the Gurus Radio Show, for which she interviews top names in a variety of fields from health to the Law of Attraction. Connie studied at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC), the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Get free gifts to help you reach Sugar Freedom at www.Connie-Bennett.com

Mayor Bloomberg’s Soda Ban

While I was knee-deep planning and working many hours to launch of new book, Sugar Shock, New York City came up with a controversial plan to ban jumbo-sized sugary larger than 16 ounces in restaurants, movie theaters, concession stands, and food carts.
I’ll share by thoughts shortly about this much-talked about plan. (Unfortunately, I couldn’t post earlier, because I was busy spreading the word about Beyond Sugar Shock.)
For now, I urge you to watch this TV interview with Bloomberg.
Then, make sure to tell us your thoughts about his plan.
But before you watch, you need to know that a 20-ounce bottle — which people guzzle in one sitting — contains nearly 17 teaspoons of sugar.
Also, your soda addiction can put you at risk for obesity, as well as the Big Preventable Big Killers such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Weigh in now with your thoughts about Mayor Bloomberg’s Soda Ban.

The Most Important Blog Post I Ever Wrote

Dear Wonderful Visitors to this Sugar Shock Blog,
This is the most important post I’ve ever written.
As you no doubt know, obesity has skyrocketed among adults and youths alike; and children are on a track to die before their parents if they don’t change their unhealthy ways.
At the same time, coronary heart disease, cancer, stroke, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease have become our nation’s top killers. You probably know — or love — someone who has suffered from one or all of these.
But all of the above diseases are largely preventable.
I call them The Preventable Big Killers. And ALL of these potentially fatal illnesses — and many more — can be caused by overdosing on sugar and/or refined carbs.
Think this doesn’t include you? That’s what I used to believe.
But the average American — and person in any civilized country is consuming (either consciously or unconsciously) HUGE amounts of sweets and quickie carbs on a DAILY if not many-times-a-day basis.
Each of you may be taking in roughly 170 to 228 pounds of sweeteners per year and another 200 pounds of sugar’s sinful sisters, which I dub “culprit carbs.”
And every day, it seems, the news gets more frightening.
One of my favorite recent studies revealed that sugar can make you dumb!
More research suggests that it can make you violent.
Your sweet tooth even can trigger type 2 diabetes, even though your doctor may vehemently deny it.
Simply put, millions worldwide are in Sugar Shock.
For the past decade, it has my personal mission to inspire and empower sugar
and carb addicts worldwide.
I want to help them (you?) Get a Life that Rocks™, as I like to put it. (I began coaching people to Sugar Freedom in 2002, four years after I reluctantly quit sugar on doctor’s orders after being waylaid by 44 debilitating ailments.)
So I invite you now: Help me to help transform the lives of millions of sugar and carb addicts around the world!

Sugar: A Sour Addiction

Attention, sugar addicts and those of you struggling with weight issues:
You must check out this fascinating, provocative new YouTube video featuring Robert Lustig, M.D and Elissa S. Epel, Ph.D.
Share your Ahahs! on my Facebook fan page.
By the way, if you feel hopeless after seeing this video, rest assured that you can break free! I’m dedicated to helping you do just that.

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.