7 Simple Steps to a Sweeter You by Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C.

Here's an article I wrote that I hope will help you. This piece is to inspire both sugar addicts and those who are immune (or relatively unfazed) by sugary temtpations.

7 Simple Steps to a Sweeter You
By Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C.

With the winter holidays here and the New Year on the horizon, it’s the ideal time to take stock of where you are and where you'd like to go. In other words, it's invaluable to take a probing look inward and make some moves in the direction of your dreams. Ask yourself:

•    Are you the kind of person you'd like to be?
•    Are you achieving your heart's desires?
•    How can you be kinder, better and sweeter?
•    What traits and skills do you need to develop or cultivate to get to where you want to go?

Or let’s put it another way: It’s time to do some internal housecleaning. Since we’re human, each of us can always find something about ourselves to improve.

My clients have found that doing this kind of assessing and goal setting helps them to build confidence, achieve inner joy and love themselves.

Here are 7 areas to explore that can lead you to personal growth and transformation so you become a person you like, admire and respect.

1) Take delight. Do you view the glass as half full rather than half empty? Do you feel joy, delight and glee when you view a sunset, when you see trees, when your child looks at you with adoring eyes, when you first bite into an organic apple, when you walk down the street, or when you’re immersed in a project? Make yourself to look at the bright side of things. No one wants to be around a killjoy so concentrate on fostering that part of you that's childish, innocent, sweet and fun. Become the kind of person people love to be around.

2) Listen with zeal. Do you pay close attention to other people when they speak? Do you care about their worries, goals and fears? Or are too wrapped up in yourself? There’s nothing more annoying than someone who cuts you off in the middle of saying something. Challenge yourself to really focus on what people are saying. That way others will want to share with you more. Besides, you’ll like yourself better, too.

3) Cultivate gratitude. Lately, giving thanks has been given good play—and not just around Thanksgiving. Being appreciative is something we should do on a daily basis. Have you thanked God or the universe lately for your loved ones, your home, your job, your friends, your innate skills and talents, your material possessions, etc.? If not, begin a gratitude journal or take stock on your computer every morning and/or evening.

4) Get enough zzz's. Lack of sleep seems to be an American hobby, if not an obsession, and I confess, I'm one of the worst offenders. Many of us seem driven by all that we have to do, whether it's answering e-mails, cleaning the house or catching up with a friend. But recent research suggests that sleep-deprived people may be more likely to be overweight. Not getting enough rest also may make you grumpy, brain foggy and unproductive. Even more frightening, sleep deprivation may increase your risk for heart attacks, strokes, colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

5) Enjoy quality carbs and real food. One of the most effective ways to become a healthy, energetic, kind, successful, loving person is to eat superior, nutritive carbs (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds) and turn your back on those health-harming culprit carbs. Are you a sugar junkie or a carb craver? Do you grab chocolate, soda or donuts just to get through the day? As my book SUGAR SHOCK!, explains, overeating sugary foods and refined, much-like-sugar carbs (processed breads, pasta, crackers, white rice, etc.) could send you into sugar shock and lead to more than 150 ailments, including obesity, depression, heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, mood swings, infertility, low libido, failing memory and premature aging.

6) Get moving. As we all know by now, physical activity can work wonders. If you’re feeling like a zombie—that is sluggish, listless and unmotivated, there’s nothing like getting off your derriere and dancing or just plain walking to energize you. It’s well documented, as the Mayo Clinic points out, that exercise improves your mood, combats chronic diseases and can even put the spark back in your sex life. So put on your sneakers now.

7) Break free of clutter. The road to self improvement doesn’t always have to be complicated. In fact, just getting rid of your “stuff” can give you a tremendous breakthrough experience. Cutting out clutter is one of those simple, but uplifting projects that can quickly bring you to a better place. It is exhilarating and exciting to discard excess documents, old clothes and undesirable doodads. (Guess I need to end this article now to wade through some piles of papers!)

Don’t these 7 Steps to a Sweeter You sound pretty easy? Don’t waste any time—pat yourself on the back because you’ve considered taking such important action. Now, start moving those goal-setting muscles and select one step to take each day of the week. I’m willing to bet that within three weeks, you’ll already become more happy, content and self-fulfilled. So get going—start building the foundation for a sweeter life and a sweeter you. 

Connie Bennett, M.S.J., C.H.H.C. is a former sugar addict and author of SUGAR SHOCK! (Penguin Group). Her book has been endorsed by many experts, including “Oprah” regular and bestselling YOU author Dr. Mehmet Oz, who says it “spills the beans.” Connie is a certified holistic health counselor, sugar-liberation expert, speaker, frequent TV and radio show guest ("CBS News Sunday Morning," "Oprah & Friends Radio," etc.) and founder of A Sweeter You Institute. She maintains the SUGAR SHOCK! Blog, hosts the weekly Stop SUGAR SHOCK! Radio Show and holds Sugar-Liberation Secrets seminars and teleseminars. Connie also is an experienced journalist and columnist, who has been published widely in print and on the Web. To learn if sugar has control over you, take the SUGAR SHOCK! Quiz at www.SugarShockBlog.com. Copyright © 2007, Connie Bennett, Stop SUGAR SHOCK!, www.SugarShockBlog.com

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