Tag: sugar

My Carb Confession Triggered Your Tales of Relapse — Join the Conversation

Talk to us: Have you had a relapse? Were you embarrassed to admit it to others as I was? Let us know.
Recently, with great embarrassment and perhaps a bit of shame, I made what I call My Carb Confession.
Bittersweet_banner_final (2)I revealed that after the death of my mother and what I call My Bittersweet Last Year with Mom, for a number of months, Crazy Cravings™ pestered and pounded me while I was assaulted by grief, depression, anxiety, trauma, and the enormity of my loss..
As a result, I caved in and ate lots of crappy carbs (corn nuggets, movie popcorn, chips, etc.). The upshot? That led to a 20-pound weight gin. Aargh!
In short, for months, I’d become a Carb Fraud! But in the midst of my grief, I just didn’t pay attention.
For a while now, I’ve been really nervous, reluctant and hesitant to share My Carb Confession,.even though for over a year, I’ve been back to eating cleanly.
After all, I’m an author and speaker, who’s known for badmouthing sweets and quickie carbs.
But you were so supportive when I finally revealed my carb relapse.
Wow!
Little did I realize that My Carb Confession would resonate with so many of you.
So, I just wanted to say, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, for your kindness, consideration, and wonderful emails.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to share my profound gratitude.
I’m so relieved that you still respect me and my work to help you achieve Sweet Freedom.
FYI, as you may have read, I”ve now achieved Sweet Success. I finally shed all 20 pounds I’d gained during my trying times after my Mom passed away. My slim body is almost back!
Plus, now that my injured knee is healed and my sprained ankle are feeling better, I’ve been toning up doing weight resistance and high intensity workouts.
And, of course, I’m back to eating very cleanly — crappy carbs and My Crazy Cravings™ have gone bye-bye!
Again, thank you for supporting me during My Carb Confession.
By the way, stay tuned for some new tips and tools so you, too, can Rise Above Relapse™, as I now call it.
Have you had a relapse? Were you embarrassed to admit it to others as I was? Let us know.

Confessions of a Health Expert: Special Thanks to Sean Croxton

We’d like to hear from you. What is your Big Confession? It feels great to do! Join us! Together, let’s move on to create a glorious life. Talk to us now.
Last week, before heading out of town to hang out with some fellow health experts, I made what I consider My Big Carb Confession.
I finally came clean about how for months after my Mom passed away, when I was walloped by grief, anguish and symptoms of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), I quit walking my clean carbs talk.
What a relief it was to finally admit that I’d had a relapse! That freed me up to plunge into my big plans.
Indeed, admitting to you that I had flopped has now unleashed a new enthusiasm and excitement in me to serve you. In fact, not only am I back to eating cleanly (and have been for a year), but I’m also working on an exciting new book to help you Tame Your Cravings™.
In case you missed My Big Carb Confession, here’s a summary of what I shared:
After my mother died, for months, I did lots of what I now call Heartbreak Eating™ or Heartbreak Bingeing™ of refined carbs, as well as salty cheeses and oily nuts. (FYI, this wasn’t just emotional eating. Heartbreak Bingeing — which is fueled by colossal,gut-wrenching, profound pain caused by huge loss, abuse, or even betrayal — is far more intense, frenetic, and frantic than emotional eating.)
Although I cavorted with carbs in a big way — shoveling in movie popcorn, onion rings, and corn nuggets — I did, however, continue to steer clear of my old sugary favorites, which I’d quit in 1998, as I reveal in my books, Sugar Shock.and Beyond Sugar Shock.
My Heartbreak Eating had led me to pack on 20 extra pounds. .
What’s more, for months, due to the intensity and ferocity of my grief, PTSD, and anguish, I kept ignoring what I know well, which is that processed carbohydrates quickly convert to sugar in your bloodstream, which is why, for years I’ve been calling them quickie carbs, fast carbs, culprit carbs and much-like-sugar carbs.
In short, all those fast carbs I’d been inhaling had been sending me flying in and out of Sugar Shock, or more accurately, Carb Shock. Hence my many symptoms of depression (and how!), mood swings, crying spells (lots of them), insomnia, and big brain fog.
Of course, grief over the loss of a loved one is tough enough to face, but when you eat crappy carbs, you exacerbate your many ailments, which is what happened to me.
Anyhow, for about a year, I’ve been back to eating cleanly, thanks to lots of healing work and workshops, including grief counseling, therapy, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), energy work and many cool tactics, which I’ve created or discovered to help me confront those Crazy Carb Cravings™.
I’m also happy to report that I’m close to my weight loss goal. I’ve shed 18 of the 20 pounds I gained doing Heartbreak Eating, and I’m now working off the additional inches to get back to my previous slim, toned figure.
Making My Big Carb Confession.was a huge deal for me. I was embarrassed to admit that I fell offf the wagon and that I was no longer doing what I encourage others to do.
Sen Croxton UW For months, I’d been thinking about coming clean about my carb relapse.
That’s why I need and want to thank the amazing Sean Croxton, whose Confessoins of a Health Blogger post finally gave me courage to make My Big Carb Confession.
I urge you to get on Sean Croxton’s mailing list. Sean is a passionate health and fitness professional, who is dedicated to revolutionizng the way the world thinks about health.
His Underground Wellness videos and Underground Wellness Radio are quite popular, and I encourage you to listen to these exciting programs, where you can catch Sean interview such top names in health and fitness such as Paul Chek, Mark Sisson, Dr. Robert Lustig, Julia Ross, and Cynthia Pasquella..
Anyhow, thank you, Sean, for inspiring me to join you in making My Big Carb Confession.
We’d like to hear from you. What is your Big Confession? It feels great to do! Join us! Together, let’s move on to create a glorious life. Talk to us now.

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

Taking a Quick Time Out to Write My Next Book to Help You

Join the Conversation: Have you ever written a book or wanted to write a book?
I’m taking a few days away from emails and the Internet during this Easter weekend and post-Passover time to work on my next book.
At present, I need to get back to writing, but let me briefly share that this book is the follow-up to my first book, Sugar Shock, which Dr. Mehmet Oz praised, and Beyond Sugar Shock, which was published by Hay House and was endorsed by many health and empowerment gurus such as Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Dr. Daniel Amen, Brian Tracy, Dr. Christiane Northrup and many others.
For my third book, I’m not going through a traditional publisher.
Instead, I’m taking the self-publishing route, and Balboa press Logo_MainI’ve signed up with Balboa Press, which is a division of Hay House.
My publishing contacts at Balboa Press are being so incredibly nice to me — I couldn’t be happier! — and they’re helping me implement some very innovative things. (More later.)
What’s really nice about self-publishing with Balboa Press is that I can speed up the timeline and schedule my book when I want it to come out.
I’ll announce the publication date soon, but it’s a pub date that may make you chuckle. Seriously!
Right now, I have to get back to writing my next book, but right now, let me share my fondest wish and deepest desire for this book — my mission is to help and serve people worldwide. Stay tuned.
Join the Conversation: Have you ever written a book or wanted to write a book?

Do you Multi-Task While Eating? It Makes Your Food Taste Bland

Do you multi-task at meal time?
If you eat while on the computer, watching TV or doing other things, this means there’s a good chance that you’re over-indulging, too. (So found a variety of studies, which link distraction with mindless bingeing. A review of 24 studies drew that conclusion in the April 2013 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.)
Now, more research published in Psychological Science reveals that doing mentally taxing tasks while you eat will make your food taste bland, too.
In other words, when you juggle too many things at mealtime, you just won’t enjoy or appreciate your food as much.
What’s more, scientists at the Institute for Psychological Research at Leiden University in The Netherlands discovered that when participants ate sour, sweet and salty substances while doing various tasks, they consumed more food and preferred stronger tastes.
In addition doing other things while eating makes your food tastes bland. Indeed, researchers found that an “increased task load reduces people’s taste perception by limiting attentional capacity to assess taste intensity and that people adjust their consumption accordingly.”
In short, the researchers believe that cognitive load may compete with sensory input for our attention.
But let’s focus on the good news, as pointed out by Scientific American’s Tori Rodriguez. Other studies have found you eat less when you pay mindful attention to your food and fully focus on the taste, armona and texture.
The important takeaway, as I see it, is that if you want to peel off the pounds, cut out multi-tasking at meal time.
Besides, as this new study reveals, you’ll enjoy your more, too.
So join me: Mindfully savor each morsel or swallow at each meal or snack.
Multi-Tasking at Meal Time: Why It
Special thanks to visual.ly for the above infographic.
Join the Conversation. Do you multi-task while eating? Do you end up eating more? Tell us your experiences.
Then join us in ending multi-tasking while eating.

Fun Friday Tune: Dale Dale

I invite you to enjoy this sweet start to get you ready for the weekend ahead.
Enjoy boogying to this Fun Friday Tune, “Dale Dale,” along with choreographer, singer, songwriter, dancer Francesca Maria.
(By the way, “dale” means “go ahead,” “give it” or “do it,” according to this Wild104fm site. If you’re a girl and someone shouts “Dale” at you, it means they think you’re cute.)
You may be wondering about the sugar connection here.
Essentially, when you bring sweetness into your life — in this case, it’s energetically doing Zumba to an upbeat — you’ll get a life that’s sweeter without junky sweets.

Did White Bread Make this Bird Fat? Sugar Shocker

Lately, one of my favorite things to do is watch the ocean waves and sunsets.
But today, I couldn’t stop watching a bird that weighs far more than his flying coutnerparts.
This sight is not uncommon in an area where obviously nutritionally illerate- passers-by feed these poor birds scraps of white bread and other processed scraps..
White bread or refined starches such as white rice, white pasta and other foods from white flour — act much like sugar once your body starts to digest them.
In short, as Michael Pollan so eloquently put it in Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual,”The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.” Pollan was quoting some cross-cultural grandmotherly advice, which suggests, as he put it, that “as far as the body is concerned, white flour is not much different from sugar.”
It’s “little more than a shot of glocse,” Pollan explains.
Is it any wonder that this bird is overweight — or is it obese?
By the way, this bird also was somewhat lazy — it let me get very close before it darted (barely flew) off to a nearby rock.
On the other hand, his or her fellow birds do lots more flying and swooping.
So sad that we’re harming these poor birds.
Join the conversation. What do you think? Is this bird fat because we humans made it that way? Post your comment here.

Carbs Can Kill Your Brain: Learn How Now

What is your biggest A-Hah!? Share your comments here now.
Are you hooked on carbs such as chips, pasta, and breads (even whole grains)?
If so, you must learn to today’s Gab with the Gurus with renowned neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter, author of the landmark new book, Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar — Your Brain’s Silent Killers.
Listen at any time to discover:
How “our sweet tooth is our undoing,” as Dr. Perlmutter puts it.
How Alzheimer’s disease is related to a high carb diet.
How your brain can regenerate itself.
How you can power up with fat, not carbs.
How many carbs you can exist on per day.
How we’ve been brainwashed to believe in “whole grain goodness.”
How you can find gluten in beauty products and why you want to avoid them.
How aerobic exercise allows your brain to grow new cells.
And so much more!
Listen now or at any time.
More Health Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Gab With the Gurus on BlogTalkRadio
Join the conversation.
What is your biggest Ahah after listening to Dr. David Perlmutter talk about about Grain Brain?

Sweet Sunsets to Savor

Are you feeling anxious, stressed out, frazzled?
Rather than let your worries overcome you, I invite you to instead take a quick antidote.
Breathe in two times. Now, take 15 seconds to relish these sunset photos I took recently.
As I mentioned last week, Sweet Sunsets to Savor is a new Sugar Shock blog feature, for which I’ll post some shots I’ve taken during the previous week.
You may be wondering what the connection is to health and wellness. A lot.
By giving you soothing photos to enjoy, you’ll come closer, I hope, to realizing that that seductive sweets, cunning carbs, and other junk foods just don’t have the entirement of nature in all its splendor.
Sunset 12-4-13 015As youi gaze at these photos, I encourage you to come up with your own meaningful connection.
What I’m finding intriguing about my new hobby is that as I did with sugary foods, I’m becoming more and more hooked on my special time on the beach at sunset.
But watching sunsets is a darn healthy addiction!
Sunset has become my favorite time of day, one that feels splendid and sacred. What a huge relief watching calm sunsets are, after my utteerly grueling Bittersweet Last Year with Mom.
Photos 12-11-13 053
Remember you can catch more Sweet Sunsets to Savor here.
Photos 12-11-13 046
Question: When was the last time you took time out to watch a sunset? Where was it? What happened to you when you watched it? We’d love to hear your sunset stories.

It’s Easy to Get Duped by Food Labels

If you’re trying to cut out sugar or curtail your consumption of it to shed weight, manage your hypoglycemia or type 2 diabetes, or reduce your risk of heart disease, you need to read food labels if and when you buy packaged foods.
That’s because many foods may contain sugar, even if you don’t think they do.
And if you rush while shopping at the supermarket, you’ll never know about the hidden sugars.
After 15 years of being mostly sugar-free, you’d think I would have known better to catch sweetened foods.
But darn, I forgot to t follow my own advice last night, because I was really hungry and hurriedly snapped up a few items so I could hurry home to cook my dinner.
Sure enough, I got duped by tasty-looking crumbled goat cheese, which I’d been eagerly looking forward to adding to my salad..
It wasn’t until I got home and was close to opening the package when I realized my oversight.
My crumbled goat cheese contained sugar. In fact, it had 4 grams or 1 teaspoon, enough to cause havoc in my sugar-sensitive body.
Of course, if I’d taken a moment to read the label while still at the grocery store, I would have quickly caught the sugar and been able to buy unsweetened goat cheese instead.
No wonder people get so confused when buying packaged foods.
No wonder people eat lots of added sugars without even realizing it.
Tell us about your food label challenges. When did a food label deceive you?