Diabetes News

This morning I felt a compelling need to write something that will empower sugar addicts everywhere. So I was inspired to write this article for you.

So is that chocolate donut calling out to you? Does that French toast tempt you? Are you convinced that the scrumptious-looking brownie is beckoning you?

Hogwash. No offense, but it's time for a reality check.

Look, I don't mean to sound callous, but it's simply preposterous to think that those foods are deliberately whispering out to you or that they have your name on them! Yet, these are exactly the phrases that I frequently hear from people overly attached to sweets.

Whoah! It's time to squash those desires right now!

Now before you get angry at me and claim that I don't understand your feelings, you need to know that I am an ex-sugar addict myself so sweets used to capture me often, too. In other words, I deeply empathize deeply with your plight. But now, I'm here to show you the way out of this sugar trap.

So here are 4 sure-fire techniques to squash that temptation right as it confronts you. When those sugary foods "call out" to you:

1. Pinpoint the source of your hunger. Are you really famished for those nutrition-lacking pieces of red licorice that you gaze at so longingly or do you instead long for love, tenderness, joy, friendship, laughter, sympathy, a good workout, a session of spirituality, a better job, or improved communication with your significant other? In other words, are you completely malnourished, because your heart and soul aren't getting the things you most cherish and need? When I kicked sugar back in 1998, asking myself such questions helped me to turn away from sweets time and time again. Just become conscious in the moment as to the reason(s) for your so-called "hunger," because powerful knowledge like this can lead you to right, healthy actions. Or, you can think of this in another way, as the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) (where I studied) suggests. When sugary temtations are about to get the better of you, ask yourself, "Do I really yearn for "primary food" instead?
2. Get really angry at your habit! At this point, I suggest that you get furious at your pitiful reliance on sugary foods. I'm not suggesting that you become hateful at yourself; just become outraged at your behavior and the fact that you lean on sweets so much when you're blue, lonely, moody, etc. Now go ahead -- get downright repulsed and revolted by your heinous, destructive habit and how you let these sweets strip you of your dignity and force you to do demeaning activities such as digging into your garbage pail to retrieve uneaten candies. (Sound familiar?) Get really livid at how low you have gone. (I'm not a therapist, but I'm telling you that tapping into your fury -- which is what I once did -- can have a potent, effective, life-affirming result.)

3. Claim your power. Realize that you are in control. It's totally up to you what you stick on your fork. You can consciously make better selections as to what you'll feed yourself and how you'll spend your time. Stand in your own corner. Stick up for yourself and choose to treat your body and soul with respect, dignity, admiration and even encouragement.

4. Choose nourishment instead. Armed with the valuable information that maybe you're really not hungry for sweets but instead need a strenuous workout, a fun time out with a friend or some tenderness from your significant other, you can make a better, more positive, healthier choice. Pick a more healthy, nurturing activity to substitute for pigging out on sweets or refined carbs. Now go do it!

Remember, if it's been your pattern to turn to sweets for solace, at times you may feel that sugary foods have control over you. But you need to remind yourself that this is just not so!

You alone have the final say as to what you put into your mouth -- not your sugar-pushing relative or insensitive, sugar-addicted friends or loved ones. You can choose health by saying no to this potentially damaging white powder (or food using it).

Take back your power now and decide that you just do not have to cave into temptation. Chooose to nourish yourself in other ways instead.

As someone who has been where you are, I bring you abundant hope. You can win out in your battle against processed sweets and refined carbs. In fact, you have many easy tips and tactics on which you can rely. These are just four of many that you can use to break free from your sugar habit.

Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. is a former sugar addict and author of SUGAR SHOCK! (Berkley Books), with Stephen Sinatra, M.D. She now helps thousands of people worldwide to break free of their debilitating sugar habit. Connie is the founder of the 21-Day, Stop SUGAR SHOCK! Countdown Dietâ„¢; a certified holistic health counselor; and an experienced journalist, who has contributed to eDiets.com, The Los Angeles Times, and many other media outlets. To get more simple strategies to squash sugar's temptations, grab a sneak peek of her book SUGAR SHOCK!  If you'd like to reprint this article, please contact me first for permission.

With Mother's Day coming soon, I thought the following article was appropriate. Enjoy.

Sugar Addicts: Did Mom Turn You Into A Sugar Junkie? 5 Tips to Avoid The Same Fate

By Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C., with Lisa R. Delman, M.A.

You may have inherited your mom’s smile. You may share her love of clothes. Perhaps you both sneeze when you’re around daisies.

But you may also take after your mother in another way. You may have become “addicted” to candies, cookies, soda or chocolate just like her.

In other words, did mom unknowingly turn you into a sugar addict?

But we’re not here to lay guilt trips on poor mom. Rather, we want to tell you how to break free from a destructive habit that your mother may have passed onto you—and mother’s mother may have passed onto her. And so on. (If you're getting impatient, learn about one way now to cut through the emotional clutter and make peace with mom.)

After all, your relationship with your mom is the first one that you have, and it profoundly influences the course of your life.

Here are 5 ways to escape the sugar trap that your mom may have unintentionally given to you:

1. Do “Sugary Soul Searching.” In other words, think about how your sugar habit began. (For example, did mom and dad take you out for ice cream as a reward when you were good? Did your mom buy huge bottles of soda and keep them around your home all the time? Did you get chocolate if you finished your dinner? Did you catch mom in the kitchen secretly polishing off last night’s dessert? Did she prepare special desserts just for you and get hurt if you didn’t want any?)

2. Think about how your mom used to relate to sweets. Or maybe still does. (Does your mother serve special treats to show her love? Does she use desserts to lay a guilt trip on you? Perhaps she offers edible “goodies” to make peace with members of the family?)

3. Do a special visualization meditation in which you see, feel and hear yourself discussing topics with your mother that have been on your mind for years. Make sure to envision yourself opening your heart to her.

4. Have a conversation with your mother in which you discuss your mutual connection to sugar and chat about other matters of the heart. (You can talk with her whether or not she’s alive.)

5. Write a letter to your mom to achieve closure and a new more meaningful connection. In your own words, you’ll share feelings that you’ve kept inside for years. (You won’t be mailing this letter, but writing it will help you to forgive her, as well as to release your anger, sadness and frustration.)  The power of writing such a letter cannot be overestimated. Putting thoughts and feelings on paper has helped thousands of women worldwide.)

Naturally, many of us would like to have better relationships with our mothers (whether she’s alive or not).

By resolving past grievances and resentments with mom, you can more easily let go of your frustrating attraction to sugar and other unhealthy behaviors and feelings.

Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. is author of SUGAR SHOCK! (Berkley Books, 2007). She is a certified holistic health counselor and former sugar addict, who now has a healthy relationship with her mother. Lisa Delman is author of Dear Mom, I’ve Always Wanted You to Know (Penguin Group, 2005). She almost lost her mom to heart disease, and the shock drove her to write 11 cathartic letters to her. Since then, Lisa developed “The Letters From the Heart Project” and has taught thousands of women around the world to write a powerful, letter to mom to help release pent-up emotions and to honor the most important relationship of your life. Learn how to write a powerful, moving letter to mom now.