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.

New Year’s Day: Kick Sugar With Me at the JCC in Manhattan

As most of you get ready for your holiday celebrations, I invite you to save the date if you live in or near New York City.
As we know New Year’s Day is when most of us feel compelled to turn over a new leaf.
That’s when a number of us wellness experts in New York City will be around to serve you — to help you become a better, healthier you.
Come hear me live from 1 pm to 2 pm Eastern at JCC of Manhattan so you can kick your sugar habit or other bad habits (or what I call babits™).
Here is more information about my program:
Break Your Sugar Habit & Turn Your Babits™ (Bad Habits) into Blessings to Get a Life that Rocks!
Would you like to release excess weight, get energy and boost your libido? You can do ALL that—and more—by quitting sweets and refined carbs. Get easy tips and exercises you can enjoy as you discover:
* The “5 Ds” to squash sugar cravings anytime
* The 2 types of foods that drive away your “sweet tooth.”
* The truth about sugar substitutes.
* The single biggest mistake people make when trying to change a bad habit
* 3 ways to save money on food.
Hope to see you there. If you come as a result of this blog post, you get a free gift from me so make sure to claim it!
Pre-register now, because the JCC in Manhattan is expecting lots of people.

Vision Boards to Success & More With Joyce Schwarz

Wouldn’t it be great to have your dreams come true in 2010?
Learn how to use vision boards, a technique that many of you have already heard about in The Secret.
Join me in an exciting end-of-year Gab With the Gurus Radio Show, on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 2 pm EST, with award-winning strategist and Hollywood celebrity coach Joyce Schwarz, author of the book, The Vision Board: The Secret to an Extraordinary Life.
Learn more about this show at my Gab With the Gurus Blog and about the exciting 22-hour virtual book party. You can listen to the show there, too, live at 2 pm ET, or later, at your convenience.

Dr. Mehmet Oz Speaks With Online Journalists

Doctor oz show images Dr. Mehmet Oz, in an effort to drum up support for “New Year, New You” episodes on The Dr. Oz Show, is on the phone now with a number of us online journalists.
Shows in early January will help Americans after they come back from the holidays, becuase this is, as he put it, “a teachable time in their lives.”
“The most novel thing that we focus on is that you will fail [on your diet],” Dr. Oz points out. ” “The question is how you’ll deal with the failure.”
“We give you tools to cheat and tips to get you back on track,” he adds. “We are flawed. We celebrate Americans where we are and [help you] get over emotional burdens.”
The first question (from yours truly) had to do with Dr. Oz’s daily routine.
* He wakes up at 5:45 a.m.
* Next comes a seven-minute yoga stretch.
* Then he has breakfast when he get to work. He advises eating within the first hour of waking and having a high-fiber, high-protein breakfast.
* Next, he recommends making sure that you begin [your work or everything] on time. “If you’re late, you’re out of control,” he points out.
* Finally, Dr. Oz goes to sleep “religiously” by 10:30 at night. “That’s an easily achievable goal [for] Americans” in the new year.
Stay tuned for other updates, because he’s still answering questions and I’m writing this up quickly.

Agave: What’s the Scoop About this Sweetener?

Agave_syrup1One of the most frequently asked questions I get is about agave, the honey-colored liquid that’s popular with many health-minded people.
Inevitably, the subject of agave comes up whenever I lecture or take on a new client.
Generally, these health-minded people have heard wonderful things about agave, especially that it’s low on the glycemic index.
You, too, as a health-minded person — I assume you are since you’re reading this blog — may want to know:
* Is agave safe?
* Can I use agave as a sugar substitute?
For those of you who are fans of agave, my short answer is this: I don’t recommend it.
Learn more about agave here.

Superfoods to Supercharge Your Life with David Wolfe

As you may remember, I am a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), where I studied with many of the top names in holistic wellness and nutrition, including Andrew Weil and Deepak Chopra.
I am excited to let you know that IIN is hosting a webinar on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 3 pm ET with acclaimed superfoods expert, David Wolfe.
In this webinar, “Superfoods to Supercharge Your Life,” David will share information about the health benefits of superfoods such as goji berries, cacao, noni and blueberries.
David Wolfe — who appeared previously on my Gab With the Gurus Radio Show — is one of the world’s top authorities on natural health, beauty nutrition, herbalism, chocolate, raw foods and organic superfoods. He is the author of several bestselling books, including Eating for Beauty, The Sunfood Diet Success System, and Naked Chocolate.
Sign up for this webinar now to find out how adding just a few superfoods into your daily routine can help you:
* To lose weight
* Increase your energy
* Get clearer skin
* Boost your immunity
* To protect against cancer, heart disease and other illnesses
In this webinar, you’ll also learn about the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s curriculum and how you, too, can learn from such recognized experts as David Wolfe, Dr. Andrew Weil and Deepak Chopra.
Register now for “Superfoods to Supercharge Your Health” with David Wolfe, Thursday, December 17 at 3PM ET.
Space is limited, so I recommend that you register immediately for this exciting webinar.
Please note that if you can’t attend the webinar on Thursday, you can still register and download a recording of it later. If you do contact IIN, please make sure to tell them that Connie Bennett referred you.

SUGAR SHOCK! Defined

Since gingerbread cookies, eggnog, candy canes and chocolate geld (coins) abound at this time of year and you’ll undoubtedly often be offered those and other tempting sweets this month, I invite you to start a process of self-discovery.
That’s right, in my opinion, December is not the month to kick your sugar habit (unless you insist!)
Instead, I encourage you to learn what shock is and then do what I call “sugary soul searching” so you can learn if this applies to you.
We’re revisiting the definition of SUGAR SHOCK! — which I gave here on this blog, in October 2006 — because my new Facebook friend Terri nudged me by asking, “What do you mean by Sugar Shock Connie?? I love how it sounds!!”
So here’s my definition of sugar shock, which is also included in my book of the same name. (You can get a sneak peek of my book SUGAR SHOCK! here.)
Please bear in mind that sugar shock is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide, including some one-quarter to one-half of the U.S. population.
SUGAR SHOCK!™ defined – A mood-damaging, personality-bending, health-destroying, confusion-creating constellation of symptoms affecting millions of peoople worldwide, who often turn to processed sweets and much-like-sugar carbs, which send their blood sugar levels wildly soaring and plummeting.
The term SUGAR SHOCK! is intended to encompass the often-misdiagnosed and maligned condition of reactive hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), as well as other blood sugar disorders, from insulin resistance to diabetes.
Considerable research reveals that repeatedly overconsuming sweeteners, dessert foods, and culprit, quickie carbs (such as white rice, French bread, chips, etc.) wreaks havoc on your blood sugar levels, overstimulates insulin release, triggers inflammation, and could contribute to more than 150 health problems, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome, severe PMS, failing memory, depression, mental confusion or “brain fog,” mood swings, Candida, sexual dysfunction, infertility, wrinkles, acne, and early aging.
Victims of SUGAR SHOCK! also may experience such baffling symptoms as excessive fatigue, headaches, dizziness, cold sweats, anxiety, irritability, tremors, crying spells, drowsiness or the opposite (sleeplessness), forgetfulness, heart palpitations, nightmares, blurred vision, muscle pains, temper outbursts, suicidal thoughts, and more.
Ultimately, this insidious SUGAR SHOCK! roller-coaster effect brought on by eating too many inferior carbs hampers sufferers’ ability to function at full throttle–or even half throttle.
Does this sound like something you or a loved one is going through? Would you like to learn more about sugar shock?
Grab a sneak peek now of my book SUGAR SHOCK! now.
Or just get your copy of SUGAR SHOCK! now to read during or after the holidays. This book is ideal to read in January so you can break free of your habit to lose weight, get energy, focus better, become happier and, of course, healthier.

Free Shopping List, Free Sugar Shock Quiz & Free Talks in New York

You don’t need to feel imprisoned by your addiction to sugar or refined carbs!
Rest assured, help is here. To help you break free of your sugar habit, I’ve been compiling lots of goodies to give you.
Did you know that when you visit my Sugar Shock website, you can get all kinds of FREE STUFF?
For instance, you can get a free shopping list.
You can take the free Sugar Shock Quiz.
You can download a sneak peek of my book SUGAR SHOCK!
You also can sign up for my free, weekly Motivating Morsels ezine (formerly called Stop Sugar Shock Minute).
And to help you get in a lighthearted mood about skipping the sugar, you can learn to Say No With Sass!
And if you need to find a nutrition-savvy M.D. or naturopath, you can get help to Find a Doctor.
Plus, you can chuckle at cartoons. (The one to your left is part of a larger one.)
So get your FREE STUFF now.