Tag: weight loss

Overdosed on Halloween Candies? 6 Easy Ways to Rebound After Relapse

Please let us know how you’re doing. What are your favorite ways to get back on track?
Halloween_funny_pic_07-400x300If you’re like millions of Americans, yesterday, you overdosed on candies, in large part, because Halloween is a sanctioned National Sugar Overload Day.
For years now — ever since 1998, when I kicked sugar on doctor’s orders — on The Day After Halloween, I hear from frustrated, disappointed, Sugar Shocked people, who want to know how to Get Back on Track.
For instance, today, a determined Christie wrote to say:
“I’m ready to kick sugar again…..again!!! Ready to sleep better at night, have more energy during the day, and have the brain fog lifted!”
If you, like millions of Americans, pigged out on Halloween candies, you’re probably reeling from Sugar Shock — which means you may be feeling dizzy, headachy, sluggish, irritable or wiped out.
Since you’re not feeling so great, here are 6 easy ways to help you Rebound After Relapse™, as I call it,
1. Drink plenty of water. That, of course, you probably know. Add some lemon, too, if you can.
2. Ditch the Sweet Stuff or Hide it in Your Car Trunk. Please don’t keep leftover candies in your home. Temptation can lead to one bite, which, of course, can lead to many more.
Now, if you’d rather not be restrictive with your kids because you feel that they’ll then want more candies, then ration them out. Let your childreen have 2 small candies per day. Then hide the rest in your car trunk or another place that’s not easily accessible.
3. Treat Yourself to Nutritions Meals.
Given that yesterday you tricked yourself, today’s the day to treat yourself with nourishing meals. Think quality protein (free-range chicken, fish, etc.), healthy fats (like a little olive drizzled over your dinner), and quality carbs (a salad and veggies).
4. Savor Sweet Potato & Sweeten with Cinnamon.
If you find yourself craving something sweet today — which can be expected — try sprinkling some cinnamon on a cooked sweet potato or pumpkin. Not only is this combo yummy, but cinnamon, as a 2007 study showed, may lower your blood sugar after meals, (See the actual study here.) You also can add a dash of olive oil or flax oil, which makes your dish quite tasty. In fact, you can make this your dessert.
5. Sniff Away Your Cravings & Stress.
Since today, you may be feeling especially stressed since you ate a lot of sugar-filled candies, try dabbing on some lavender, which research shows can diminish stress, which is a prime trigger for food cravings. The various chemicals in lavender — such as Linalol, linalyl acetate, geranyle, eucalyptol, pinene, limonene, cineole, phenol, coumarins, and flavonoids — work together by “ stimulating smell receptors in the nose, which then send messages through the nervous system to the limbic system.” That’s “the part of the brain that controls emotions,” according to The Mayo Clinic.
6. Join fitness and nutrition expert JJ Virgin, for for another livestream event with top health experts.
JJ, whose new book, The Sugar Impact Diet, comes out next week, is following up her previous event on Thursday. Today, she’ll speak to cultured foods expert Donna Gates, along with nutritionist Christa Orecchio and Dr. Nalini Chilkov,, who will discuss sugar’s connection to cancer.
A very special thanks to YouOffendMeYouOffendMyFamily.com for this entertaining graphic.
Personal Note from Connie: As you may know, I’m home now with a nasty flu, but I really wanted to help you Get Back on Track after Halloween whille I rest.
Please let us know how you’re doing. What are your favorite ways to get back on track?

Broke Your Diet? Give Yourself Compassion to Get Back on Track

Have you broken your diet?
Have your circumstances — whether due to to hearbreak, stress, trauma or grief — led you to ditch your resolve to eat eat cleanly so you can shed your dreaded excess weight?
Now that you’ve blown your diet, are you beating yourself up now for letting yourself go and mindlessly shoveling in unhealthy, sugary, fatty or salty unreal foods?
Woman shoveling plate in front of mouthPlease take a brief time out.
It’s time to hit the pause button.
Beating up on yourself after you blow your diet won’t make your life or your body better.
Instead, at this time, the first step you want to take to Get Back on Track is to Shower Yourself with Compassion.
Yes, it’s time to cut yoruself lots of slack.
Yes, you blew your diet. Yes, you gained weight. But probably had some darn good reasons for falling off the diet wagon.
It’s imperative to give yourself compassion after you blow your diet.
A year and a half ago, I learned a lot about the power and health ramifications of mindfully giving yourself loving-kindness, acceptance, empathy, and compassion after you blow your diet or do anything else self-destructive or counter productive.
Self-CompassionNewJacketIn fact, I decided to learn more about the power of compassion by attending a fabulous fsix-day workshop on Mindful Self-Compassion for Professionals with renowned self-compassion researchers and advocates Kristen Neff, Ph.D., and Christopher Geremer, Ph.D.,
You see, I needed to become compassionate myself, because I, too, had blown my clean way of eating.
You can read My Carb Confession here, where I reveal that I had a major relapse while healing from My Bittersweet Last Year with Mom.
At the time, after gaining 20 extra pounds, I was absolutely mortified.
I even hid out, especially from fellow health experts, because it was agonizingly difficult to admit that I’d fallen off the wagon since Ii’m a recognized sugar and carb expert, who has eating cleanly since 1998 (well, for the most part).
You derive many benefits from giving yourself self-compassion, according to Dr. Krisin Neff:
You reduce your anxiiety, depression, stress, desire for perfectionism, body shame, and fear of failure.
You also increase your life satisfaction, happiness, self-confidence, optimism, curiosity, creativity, and gratitude.
If you’ve blown your diet or are beating up on yourself for other self-destructive behaviior, I highly recommend that you check out Dr. Neff’s book, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself.
Stay tuned for more tips and tactics to help you Rebound After Relapse.
Join the Conversation: Have you had a diet relapse? If you like, share when and why, too.
About Connie: Since 1998, after kicking sugar and fast carbs on doctor’s orders and bidding 44 ailments farewell, Connie Bennett achieved acclaim as a health expert, Sweet Freedom Coach and author of the bestselling books, Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock. But in 2012, after the grueling, year-long traumatic terminal illness and subsequent death of her mother, Connie did massive Heartbreak Carb Bingeing™. The upshot? She gained 21 pounds. Oops! Now, Connie’s back to help you, too, Rebound After Relapse™. Sign up for Connie’s mailing list to get tips so you can Bounce Back After Relapse™. And stay tuned for Connie’s upcoming book and companion program.

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?

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.

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?

Join us for The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign

Join the conversation. Please tell us what you’re doing as part of The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign. How will or are you being kind and sweet to others?
When was the last time you did something really kind and sweet for someone else with no expectation of getting anything back in return?
Have you noticed that when you give freely to other people or organizations that you tend to forget or at least ignore your pressing problems? Plus, you feel so good for being so generous.
Now, for those of you who ned to weight , your frustrations about about the number on your bathroom scale won’t seem all that important when you’re focused on giving.
Plus, if you’re a sugar or carb addict, your plight will fade away or at least greatly diminish when you do something sweet for someone else or several something elses.
In fact, being kind and sweet makes you feel so good that it’s a lot easier and more enjoyable to eat healthy, wholesome, unrefined, natural foods that don’t contain a lot of sugar, gluten, salt, fat or other additives.
Anyhow, I’m so excited to invite you to join me for The 31 Days of Kindness Challenge.
Although I’d love to be able to claim this fabulous idea as my own, I can’t.
This great suggestion for The 31 Days of Kindness Challenge. comes from speaker/communicator Ryan Avery,, who is co-author with Jeremey Donovan of Speaker, Leader, Champion: Succeed at Work Through the Power of Public Speaking, featuring the prize-winning speeches of Toastmasters World Champions.
Ryanaverys31daycahllengeFYI, please note that I’m personalizing the experience. Although I plan to do kind and sweet things every day for 31 days (and probably longer) and I’m printing out Rya’ns list, I won’t t follow his guidelines exactly. Rather, I’ll use them as suggestions.
Ryan-Avery-Keynote-Speaker-300x300Furthermore, with Ryan Avery’s blessing, I hope, for my fans, I’d like to rename this The 31 Days of Kindness-and- Sweetness Campaign, because you’ll be focused on giving or doing something kind and sweet instead of stuffing your face with something sweet.
Now, let me tell you how I plan to kick off tomorrow, day one of The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Chaallenge.
At last, I’ll write a thank you letter to the amazing pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig for the valuable work he’s done to raise people’s sugar consciousness and to improve the health of the planet.
More importantly, though, along with my thank you note, I plan to make a donation to his Institute for Responsible Nutrition, whose mission is to reverse childhood obesity and type 2 obesity.
Institute for REsponsible Nutrition rewbztj9dvkvr8ifs30aThis is something I’ve been planning on doing for a while. In fact, my envelope (without a stamp attached yet) has been ready for weeks. So tomorrow, thanks to Ryan Avery’s polite nudge, I’ll finally do this.
As you probably already know, the remarkable Dr. Lustig is acclaimed for his powerful Sugar: The Bitter Truth lecture, which has had nearly 5 million views on YouTube.
You can watch Dr. Lustig’s lecture below. (By the way, Dr. Lustig will be participating in my upcoming Sugar World Summit. Stay tuned for details.)
In addition to watching the video below, I urge you to get Dr. Lustig’s remarkable, bestselling book, Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease.
So will you join me in The 31-Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign?
To participate, first get guidance from Ryan Avery, who offers great ideas on how to join in.
Then, will you join me by kicking off your involvement in The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign tomorrow by making a tax-detuctible donation to Dr. Robert Lustfg’s important Institute for Responsible Nutrition?
Join the conversation. Please tell us what you’re doing as part of The 31 Days of Kindness-and-Sweetness Campaign. How will or are you being kind and sweet to others?

New Book on the Way: What is Your Biggest Carb Challenge?

Please forgive me for not posting more lately, but I’m on deadline for my next book, which will help you if you would like to lose weight or kick your sugar addiction.
I’ll share more later, but this exciting book will help you with your annoying cravings.
Unfortunately, I can’t share more now, because I’m headed out the door to a cool conference.
More later…
In the meantime, tell us: What is your biggest challenge relating to food, sugar or carbs?

The Sugar World Summit Begins October 17: Save the Date

Join the Conversation: What expert would you like to hear in the first Sugar World Summit? Let us know now.
Sugar-World-Summit_w_Date.fw_Save the date Friday, October 17, 2014.
That’s when the frist Sugar World Summit — a virual event — will take place to educate, entertain and motivate you to Take Back Your Sugar Power.
The Sugar World Summit begins Friday, October 17 — exactly two weeks before Halloween, or what I like to call Sugar Overload Day.
Dr. Lustig During this once-in-a-lifetime virtual event, you’ll have access to world-renowned anti-sugar pioneers, scientists, researchers, New York Times bestselling authors, educators, and wellness gurus, who specialize in weight loss, emotional eating, compassion, mindful eating, and cravings.
We’re also planning a few surprise celebrity guests.
Sign up below now to get exciting details delivered directly to your in box.
In this Sugar World Summit, you’ll get both The Sweet News and The Sour News.
You’ll not only find out about sugar’s dangers, but you’ll also discover sweet, simple tools to help you let go of your addiction to sugary foods and much-like-sugar carbs (or what I call auickie carbs or culprit carbs.).
Among those who’ve already 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, whose new book, JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet: Drop 7 Hidden Sugars, Lose Up To 10 Pounds, Just 2 Weeks, is being published days after the Sugar World Summit.
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.
Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., CNS, leading nutritional expert and bestselling author of 30 books, including 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 Sugar Savvy 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.
Sign up now for this exciting Sugar World Summit so you won’t be left out in the cold this holiday season with all those tempting “treats,” which can trick you into weight gain, mood swings, low libido, heart disease, and more.
So why would you want to quit or cut back on sugar? Well, you could: :
Easily shed your dreaded excess weight.
Leave behind your depression and get filled up with good cheer, passion and enthusiasm.
Have enough energy to keep up with your kids or perform well on the job..
Tame Your Cravings™ for sugary, salty or fatty unreal foods.
Banish your horribly annoying brain fog and begin to 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 debilitating female ailments (either PMS or menopause, depending on your time of life.)
And much more.
Connie-headshot (2)Connie Bennett is a former sugar-addicted journalist. After kicking sugar on doctor’r orders in 1998, all 44 of her ailments vanished. Connie is now known as The Sweet Freedom Guide, and she is a transformational speaker, blogger, certified health coach, certified life coach, Gab with the Gurus host, and bestselling author of Beyond Sugar Shock, which was praised by many experts such as Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and Dr. Daniel Amen. Her first book, Sugar Shock. was praised by Dr. Mehmet Oz. Connie’s next book will be out later this year.
Join the Conversation: What expert would you like to hear in the first Sugar World Summit? Tell us know now.