So why do we crave chocolate or sugar?  I was just thinking of this today!  After coming away from Valentines Day, that just so happens to be my daughters birthday, so that means birthday cake too, I just keep thinking how can sugar have such a hold on me?

Well, my friend and coach Holly Rigsby must have been thinking the same thing.  Today when I saw her e-mail come through I just had to smile!  It was all about craving sugar, and why we crave it.

Check out her blog post from today so you can see what I mean:

Do You Crave Sugar?  by Holly Rigsby, author of Fit Yummy Mummy

Top 2 Reasons you Crave Sugar

1. Sugar Cravings exist out of Habit

You must have satisfied this craving in the past – following a meal with something sweet. Then suddenly it becomes a part of your mindset. After every meal must come dessert. The good news is ALL Habits are learned, so this habit cam be unlearned as the result of practice and repetition.

2. Sugar Cravings exist because you EAT Sugar

What?  If you eat simple, refined carbohydrates or high sugar foods everyday, your body will remain in “crave” mode.

Sugar takes your Hormones for a Roller Coaster Ride. Take a peek at what is happening inside your body when you choose to foods high in refined sugar.

Eating simple sugars causes a spike in your blood sugar for these foods are quickly absorbed into the blood stream.

This in turn gives you the temporary sugar high ~ it feels good…however, your body does not like this imbalance and a series of hormonal responses take place.

** Insulin Increases
Your body produces an increased amount of the Insulin – a storage hormone. Insulin’s job is to remove excess sugar from the bloodstream and store it in the muscles and in the liver.

** Glucagon Goes Away
In order to facilitate this rush of insulin, glucagon – a release hormone…responsible for releasing More Fat…good right? NOT when you eat too much sugar. This helpful fat loss hormone is diminished.

What does this hormone game mean to you?

Each time you consume simple sugars and refined carbohydrates, you are doing nothing more than locking in fat.

But wait…the ride doesn’t stop there…

About 30-45 minutes after the sugar rush, you wind up with residual low blood sugar….your blood sugar levels hit bottom. You Crash!

This rapid drop in blood glucose levels starves the brain of its primary fuel and you experience symptoms such as:

* Energy slumps during the day – especially in the afternoon
* Cravings for sweets
* Cravings for stimulants (tea, coffee, cigarettes)
* Irritability of mood swings
* Poor concentration or fuzzy thinking

Your body reacts once again for at this point your energy level bottoms out, you have trouble thinking clearly and you end up with cravings.
You will inevitably crave sweets as these foods will raise blood sugar the quickest, getting you out of your slump.  The blood sugar High/Low cycle repeats – again and again and again…just like getting on an endless hormonal roller coaster ride.

This is what is happening inside your body every time you eat sweets, simple sugars, refined carbohydrates.  The only logical way to stop the cravings…..is to get off the ride!

You said it Holly!  If we keep giving our bodies the sugar and refined carbohydrates, we are staying on the roller coaster that we hate so much! We are causing our bodies to store fat.  So the best cure to beat the sugar cravings, is fight them, and do not give your body sugars!

Trust me, this is hard to do, but it is well worth it!

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I just had to share this with you….

It’s about that time of year.  This is when folks slowly start dropping off from their workout program, or cheating on their diet.  And for a lot of folks, weekend eating – particularly SuperBowl weekend eating – is to blame.

When some folks binge eat, they go looking for a “detox diet”, thinking that will reverse all their mistakes.  But I’m not here to recommend that…no way.

Instead, I have an amazing article – perhaps his best article ever – from fitness expert Craig Ballantyne about a simple 7-Step Detox
Diet that you can easily follow everyday…

…so that you never need to do an extreme 7-day or 2-week cleanse. Here’s Craig to tell it like it is:

I just got back from the SuperBowl and got a chance to sit in the front row right in the endzone. It was really cool, and I also got a chance to see “The Who” live in concert at half-time.  But, while I was there, I had a few extra “non-compliance” meals than normal, so it got me thinking about detox diets.

I have a pretty strong opinion about detoxing, and I put together a simple 7-step detox diet plan that you can easily follow so that you never have to do a 16-day detox ever.

You see, my biggest “beef” with the entire theory of “detoxing” is this… It is simply NOT possible to EVER detox your body.

Why?

Because it’s such a vague statement. What does “detox” mean? How do you measure “detoxification”? What do you even define as toxins? And when do you officially become “detoxed”?

The answer is, “You don’t.”  It’s impossible.

After all, every single second of every day your body produces carbon dioxide, which is a toxin.  And if you have deep belly fat, research shows that this “visceral fat” is constantly releasing inflammatory toxins into your blood.

Every second. The more fat you have, the more toxic you are.  Plus, every breath you take includes pollutants.  And even the water that you drink may contain “toxins”.

So….what’s the real deal on detoxing?

Listen, while every “expert” is out there arguing about tiny little details and “gurus” are trying to sell you on detoxing so they can sell supplements, the TRUTH is that you really just need to know a few steps to avoid getting toxic in the first place.

In my opinion, the #1 factor in living a “low toxin life” is simply to keep as much garbage out of your body in the first place, rather than depending on a 3-day, 7-day or even 16-day detox to be healthy.

So what do I do to prevent “toxin build-up” in the first place?

Well, I live the Turbulence Training Lifestyle of course, including my “7 Step Detox Nutrition Plan”:

1) Start each day with a blender drink of berries, spinach or other greens, raw nuts (such as walnuts – rich in healthy fats), and other
ingredients packed with antioxidants and healthy fats.

2) For lunch, have a large green salad with spinach, beans, broccoli, peppers, avocado, onions, etc.

3) Eat an organic apple a day. Certain fruits (i.e. apples, peaches, cherries, and strawberries) and vegetables have a higher exposure to pesticides, and you should choose organic when possible.

4) Eat RAW snacks only – of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Try using this one simple rule and limit all of your between meal snacks to
raw fruit, raw vegetables, and/or raw nuts and I promise you’ll drop the pounds because you’ll be full on a smaller number of  calories.

5) Drink Green Tea (2-3 cups) and filtered water (3 liters) instead of beverages that contain calories or chemicals.

6) Limit animal protein intake to only 2 servings per day. On most days, I’ll one of the following: an “after workout” chocolate milk,
organic eggs in the morning, or occasionally I’ll have high quality meat at dinner.

You don’t need to be a full vegetarian to live a longer life, but you should probably avoid eating meat 5 times per day, like people
in Chicago.

(Hey Chicago, don’t get mad at me for that…it was a born-and-raised Chicago native who told me 5 servings of meat per day was the
average Chicago meat consumption.)

7) Minimize or completely eliminate alcohol intake.

While research does show that for men, up to 2 drinks per day may help cardiovascular health (and for women, up to one drink per day), I’m not about to recommend you start drinking.

After all, if you go above those limits, you start to destroy your health…and you risk addiction. Alcohol killed my father, and I
don’t want to see the same thing happen to you. Tread cautiously with the booze.

So that’s it. A simple 7-Step Detox Diet Plan.

By the way, it goes without saying that you should avoid:

- cigarettes
- trans-fats
- excessive amounts of sugar
- refined grains
- and 7-11 nacho cheese

Right? Of course.

And you should be exercising to lose the belly fat…using proven methods, such as interval training – which is proven to beat long,
slow cardio when it comes to burning dangerous belly fat.

Plus, you should be using Turbulence Training resistance supersets to burn more calories and sculpt your body.

If you’ve never used Turbulence Training, you can try it out today for less than the cost of a Superbowl hot dog.

Click here to get Turbulence Training for less than 5 bucks:

Turbulence Training

Simply follow those 7 nutrition guidelines and use the short TT workouts to cut out as many toxins from your body – without detoxing.

Stay strong,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

PS – I also believe you should avoid toxic relationships… …so you need to take a hard look at the people you surround yourself with in life.

Do you have the right work friends? Are you in the right relationships? Do you spend enough time with the right family members? Or are they toxic too?

Remember – you need social support for success in life and in fat loss…so surround yourself with positive people, like the good folks on the TT Member’s forum.

If you need to dump the toxic folks and get positive social support, we’d love to see you on the forum and help you out. You will get a free 3-month TT membership access to the forum when you try out Turbulence Training for only $4.95 today:

$4.95 Turbulence Training

Please click that link to get started losing fat & getting rid of the toxic baggage in your life.

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Here are the before and after shots.

I have to say that I am pleased.  I still have work to do, but remember this was all in 30 days!  I lost 4 inches off of my belly in 30 days!  I call that incredible!  Plus, I feel so strong!  Dax kicked my butt, and I am so glad!!

Ok, one more, just for fun….

Thanks again Dax!  The Meltdown 2010 has been such a blessing in my life.  I am so thankful that you care enough to help us change our lives!  Thank you!

Don’t forget to check out London Personal Training Studio to hear more about my journey on Meltdown and others.

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Here you go, and keep in mind, losing weight was not the goal for me, it was inches

Weight 100lbs ( lost 4 pounds)
Chest 28.5″ ( lost 3 inches)
Waist 25″ ( lost 4 inches)
Arms 9.75″ ( stayed the same)
Hips 29″ ( lost 2.5 inches)
Thigh 17″ ( lost 3.25 inches)

Awesome!!  I am so happy with my results!

I will never forget something that Dax said early on when a few people had gained a pound or two.  He said, who cares if you gain 15 pounds!  If you look in the mirror, and you are the leanest you have ever been, the strongest you have ever been, and the hardest you have ever been, are you going to care what the scale says?  Right on!!

Thanks again for all of your support!

Pick up a copy of my lifesaver book, the Elimination Diet Cookbook, and don’t forget to check out Dax at London Personal Training Studio

I will have pictures tomorrow!

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So in the 31 days, I have completely changed my eating.

I am now eating only the Elimination Diet.

I no longer drink coffee.

I drink much more water.

I get more sleep.

I wake up happier.

I consistently work out.

Oh, and I can now fit back into the pants that I was about to toss out the window!

All I have to say to Dax is Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!  Dax Moy has been wonderful!

I also would like to say Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you to my wonderful husband who did this with me.  We made it!

We were both shocked to death that we finished this challenge!

Well, measurements will follow!  Thank you for reading my posts and helping me keep myself accountable.

Day 31 COMPLETE!

For more information on Dax Moy or Meltdown 2010, go to London Personal Training Studio

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Like I have said a million times before, I never thought I would make it this far, ever!  Not only have I made it, but my husband has made it too!

I am so excited to have such a great jump start to get me that much closer to where I would like to be.  I am forever grateful for all that Dax was willing to take us all on and coach us.

Not only that, but coach us during detox.  Do you have any idea what detox does to people?  It is not pretty!  Talk about crabby

Thanks again Dax!

Day 30 complete!  See you on day 31!

For more information on Dax Moy or Meltdown 2010, go to London Personal Training Studio

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Because we are so close to the end, Dax has been encouraging us to keep on going strong.  No walking through the finish line here, we have to give it our all 100% of the time.

Dax said something today that really hit home for me.  He said, remember that person that we looking at you in the mirror at day 1?  Well that person is dying to come back out.

That made me realize that just because this challenge is almost over, I need to keep going.  I can not go back to what I did before, or I will be back to where I was when I started.  I can not let that happen!  I will not let that happen!

Thanks for the reminder Dax!

Day 29 complete!  See you on day 30!

For more information on Dax Moy or Meltdown 2010, go to London Personal Training Studio

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I feel so great! I can’t say it enough, but I am so glad that I got the chance to do this program.  Dax has been such a great coach.  No whining here   If you try to take short cuts, then guess what, you are not doing the program, and you are not going to see the results that you are looking for, or that Dax said that you would.

He made that every clear from the start, and I am glad.  I would normally take short cuts here and there, and have always wondered why I never fully reached my goals.  Well…hmm..I wonder why.  Probably because I never gave it my all.  I needed to be all in mentally, physically and with my diet.

If you are looking for a change in your life, you will be very pleased with this kind of change.  Thank you Dax!

Day 28 complete!  See you on day 29!

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I just can not see going back to eating the tings that I used to eat, and drinking the things that I used to drink.  That would be crazy!  This is truly a lifestyle change.  Don’t let the word diet fool you, because it is not.

We will also continue to be active with workouts, and anything  else we can do.

We are now great examples for our children, and hopefully this will help them learn how to take care of their bodies.

Day 27 complete!  See you on day 28!

For more information on Dax Moy or Meltdown 2010, go to London Personal Training Studio

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This program has made me able to get up earlier in the morning, so I am now able to have enough time to spend some time in the morning reading and praying.  Not only am I feeling better physically, but spiritually as well.

This has been such a wonderful change for me!

Day 26 down!  See you on day 27!

For more information on Dax Moy or Meltdown 2010, go to London Personal Training Studio

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