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Leadership Team
Each of these people has generously volunteered their time to help support these lists and make them safe for you. These notes are to give you a sense of your leadership team. Please understand that they are not able to respond to you personally outside the list itself. We now have more than 10,000 interacting every day on our lists (smile). I love and respect this group of leaders and know you will love the groups.
Warmly,
Kathleen
Mentors
Kathleen
Albuquerque, NM
A few years ago, we set up the online support groups. We had 2 of them. It seems to be a system that works (smile). Now this whole system provides a way for folks to make a connection and talk about healing.
I am the pinch hitter for the groups that are waiting for their own liaison. My groups change from time to time. Come on over and check things out!!!
Allison
Albuquerque, NM
In November, 1998, I was 39 years old, but I felt as if I were 80. All day, I was running on
nervous energy. At night, I was bone tired. I had to eat every couple of hours to avoid
bloodsugar crashes. And my problems weren't just physical. I'd been depressed to
varying degrees ever since I was 13. I hated myself. I felt unloved - I thought even God
had it in for me and the world was out to crush me. I had voices in my head telling me I
was stupid, ugly, a loser. I didn't dare be happy, because I thought I'd be punished. I had
drama going on in my head all the time. I'd tried group therapy, self help books and
workshops, and even Prozac, but nothing worked.
My massage therapist told me I needed more protein, and suggested the Zone diet, so I
bought the book. I noticed that the only way to eat what I felt was an adequate amount of
food was to stick to protein, vegetables and whole grains. Since wasn't trying to lose
weight, I figured I'd eat sugar on special occasions, and eat this new way the rest of the
time. I changed my eating habits. I felt awful for a week, and then I began to feel much
better. Then came a party at a friend's house. I ate sugar, junk food, and drank
champagne. Wow! I'd never realized how bad sugar made me feel when I was eating it
regularly. But the connection between feeling awful and eating sugar was really clear
when I ate it after not having it for a while.
Shortly after that, I read about Potatoes not Prozac in Christianne Northrup's newsletter.
Wow, this sounded like the answer to the question I'd been asking myself for years: What
on earth is wrong with me? I rushed out to the bookstore to check the book out. I was
skimming chapter three, and I saw something that changed my whole life. There was
everything I hated about myself, listed as symptoms of low beta endorphin. These things
weren't personality traits, they were symptoms of an imbalance!
I switched from the Zone to PnP. Back then, the Community Forum was the only on line
resource available, and I began to hang out there. I've been there ever since. I go there
just about every day forinspiration.
My life has totally changed since I found the program. I have a positive attitude most of
the time. I feel hope. I don't take everything personally. I actually finish creative projects
now. I don't have voices in my head. My compulsive shopping stopped, without my even
having to try. I knew I had truly found radiancewhen one day I found myself feeling
grateful to be alive. Life had always felt like a burden before, something I had to
endured.
Since then my life has changed in ways I never dreamed
Elaine
Fremont, CA
Hi! I'm Elaine. I was born and raised in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. I married my high school sweetheart in 1975 right after graduating from college as an elementary school teacher. I taught Kindergarten through 4th grade in Cleveland until we moved to Fremont, California in 1993. I am currently teaching first grade in San Jose. While living in Cleveland, we had two boys, one of whom died in 1996. My youngest son is now in his 20s which is totally amazing. He is married and has a daughter. How on earth did I get old enough to be a grandma? But of course, I love it. It is one of the best things I’ve ever done. Starting this program is another.
Through the years, I dieted all the time. I bought books and magazines practically every week for "the one" that would work once and for all. I even dieted when I weighed very little. Talk about distorted image, YIKES! I tried Optifast before Oprah. I did Weight Watchers several times. I went to dieticians and just about every other thing that ever came out. The one thing that never occurred to me in all of those years was that sugar was the issue. I wouldn't give it to my children for their first several years, but never thought that it was MY problem. Many people on the lists say they knew, not me…I was oblivious. I ate ice cream and chocolate my whole life…instead of meals, with meals, etc. I was an equal opportunity eater, though. I loved everything. I love meat, veggies, and carbs, although bread was never my thing. But with all of that, my biggest downfall was chocolate. I used to say if it wasn't chocolate, it wasn't worth eating. I binged often. A great deal of my life was about food. Reading about it, making it, buying it, buying cookbooks and of course, eating it.
My health was bad. I had asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and of course too much weight. This was really scary as my mother died at a very early age. I knew I needed something that would really work for me.
In February of 2000, I clicked on an ad on another website that took me to the Radiant Recovery site, which was a much smaller community then. I found out about PnP, bought it, and knew that this was about me, and also my son. It was our story and I could do this for myself even though it was too late for him. This was truly going to be my last diet and it has been, all this time. I can't imagine ever eating a different way or not being in contact with those who I have met here and those I am yet to meet.
I went through the steps and found all the things Kathleen promised and more. I am still and will always be a work in progress, but with this program, the possibilities are endless. AND, it all starts with breakfast.
Gretel
Chatham, NJ
Hi, I'm Gretel. I'm married with three young adult children, one son and twin daughters. I began recovery from alcoholism 21 years ago when a doctor told me I'd never see them graduate from high school, that I had the body of a 70 year old woman (I was 50 at the time) and 70 year old women die. Today I am 73 and feel more like 50, LOL.
Then 12 years ago my sugar consumption was so high I began having hangovers that rivaled any I'd ever had from alcohol and was suffering mild depression. A friend suggested I read Kathleen's book, Potatoes Not Prozac. I immediately identified with being sugar sensitive and began following her program in 2000 at age 60.
To say my life has been totally transformed feels like an understatement. I now have a body that accurately reflects my age, I even look younger than my actual 71 years so I'm told, LOL. And I'm still very much alive!
I got involved in the Radiant Recovery community right away, posting on the forum when there was only a forum, then helping with the email lists as they began to develop. I am an active participant on the recovery list for those who want to give up alcohol/drugs in connection with this program. I feel addressing the underlying sugar sensitivity is a big first step in helping to balance a whacked out biochemistry, thereby reducing cravings and promoting relapse prevention.
I went back to school to learn web design and have used that skill to help maintain the Radiant Recovery website and work with Kathleen to publish the weekly newsletter. All this serves me well in my retirement, keeping me excited about being part of a community that is vibrantly focused on healing and growth. I take all the classes that Kathleen offers because I love that she cares enough to continually research and present to us information that will contribute to our recovery.
I attend the weekly chats because I love the connection each week with Kathleen directly where she presents cutting edge information and with others who are committed to strengthening their program.
Karen
Kent, England
I first read PNP shortly after it was published but didn't finish it. I thought the whole science bit was fascinating but did it apply to me? No way! I carried on being depressed, eating sugar, drinking wine and feeling life was awful and thought no more of the book.
A few years later, browsing through magazine a book with a bright pink cover caught my eye. It was a review of the UK edition of SARP. I'd just eaten a family sized tub of ice-cream for lunch and was wondering what to do until it was time to begin the evening bottle of wine.
The write up referred to those who were eating sugar and depressed - well that was me! I bought the book and didn't even make the connection with the book I dismissed all those years earlier. I was hooked - not only did the book describe my many symptoms and me but offered a simple solution to the problem. I began with breakfast, which wasn't quite as easy I thought it would be so I joined the online groups.
I shared my difficulties and confidently predicted I'd be sugar free within a few weeks. It didn’t turn out quite like that. Step 3 turned out to be quite a challenge. I had to rearrange my life just to get 3 meals in, had to learn to shop, to cook, to plan ahead. And, biggest of all, I gave up drinking the wine every evening. I couldn't have done this without the support of the online groups. Eventually I progressed to be ready to detox - life was better than I thought it could be. For years I had struggled with depression and anxiety and things had improved. I began to be happy.
And then I had a bad accident and after a short spell in hospital I was home recovering and found myself back at the beginning. For me those were very dark days indeed. I was barely able to work or even move and had little joy in my life. I had begun to drink again. Even doing breakfast was a struggle. I was on the verge of giving up the programme completely when hope arrived by email. The Radiant Recovery Community came to my rescue - literally. A plan was set out and all I had to do was follow it. I gave up the wine, settled down to breakfast and hope returned. Hope that my life could be rebuilt. Second time around was quicker because the foundation was still there. I eventually detoxed from sugar completely.
Today my life is better than anything I imagined it could be, and every day I feel gratitude for the community that rescued me during some of my darkest moments. I am delighted to be able to serve here to share experiences and offer hope.
Kath
Perth, Australia
I have been doing the food since 2000, when a friend loaned me her copy of Potatoes Not Prozac. We were rebuilding our lives after a series of floods in 1999 through our wheatbelt country town in Western Australia. My depression and constant illness even before the floods had been a major drain on those who loved me, and on my effectiveness as a wife, and mother to our little 4 kids, let alone as a contributor to the church, school, or community. Doing the food has brought healing to my body and my mind. My life is now far beyond what I had allowed myself to hope could be mine for real.
Now I live in Perth, with my family of 4 young adults all doing the food with me, and my very patient non SS DH who does the food with us regardless. Ashleigh, our cat, puts up with us, and talks to other pets of radiant people on the radiantpets list. She also helps me to look after our little granddaughter when she comes to visit.
Who would have thought that spending a bit more on our food, but more wisely, could actually save us money overall? It has significantly reduced our medical and pharmaceutical bills, and we are much happier healthier people with energy and humour and joy. Teenage mood swings and other 'typical' problems are a rarity in our household!
I am becoming less timid, and feeling inadequate is becoming a thing of the past. I am again using the Nutrition and Food Science degree I had gained before our children arrived. Somehow doing the food has made it possible to *know* the things I learned. Now I can apply the healing, to myself, and compassionately with my clients. My involvement in RR has significantly informed and shaped the outlook I had after my theoretical and clinical training. My ongoing learning in this area is informed by the practicalities and experience born of my own growth and of voluntary work I have done, with people on low incomes in rural Western Australia.
Now living in the city, I really appreciate the abundant availability of fresh vegetables to buy. Colourful and flavoursome, they add texture and variety to the foods I can prepare. And they make a wonderful colourful decorations in baskets in my kitchen while they are waiting to be cooked! My vegetable garden is a growing pleasure to me.
I enjoy cooking, adapting recipes to become healthy, yummy and program friendly. I have cooked for church camps, and school canteens, and continue to enjoy cooking for myself and my family. It is my joy to share my experiences with others on the journey.
Kitty
Colorado Springs, CO
I've done a lot of programs and read a lot of books over the years. Some of them worked for a while. But most of the time I was struggling and had these
big energy slumps in the afternoon. Finally I let up, and gained back the
weight I lost, and let my exercise program (which I loved) lapse. I wasn't
sure what was wrong.
But when I read a review of Potatoes Not Prozac and read the words "sugar
sensitivity", I had a very strong feeling this was about me. When I read the
book, the pieces fell into place and it just blew me away. Though I haven't
had problems with depression for about 15 years, I recognized many of the
other symptoms of sugar sensitivity in myself.
I read the book and found the web site in December, 1998, and became
actively involved in the community when I joined YLD in August of 1999. I am
one of the people who answers technical questions (e.g. about the email
groups or the web site).
Mel
England
My bookshelf was groaning with self help books, I’d read them all. I’d stopped drinking alcohol, and had been in therapy for over two years. So why did I still feel hopeless, a failure, less than? Life wasn’t different enough.
Reading ‘Potatoes not Prozac’ was like coming home. ‘This woman knows me’ I thought! It was astonishing yet reassuring to read of my feelings and behaviours on every page, and none of it was my fault.
I loved learning about the biochemistry of sugar sensitivity in accessible terms, and discovering the framework of six simple steps to recovery. Immediately there was a message of hope.
Better still, the programme worked!
My life is unrecognizable since November 2005 when I had been morbid, trapped, and full of shame at my pathetic lack of willpower. Within six months I had left depression behind, and now I have friends, a job, a life.
There is a way out whatever your drinking or using story. I hope you can join us.
Mosaic
England
I live in England with my husband and 2 children. I started the steps in April 2005. My introduction was via "Your Last Diet". I bought it because it had the "Diet" word on the cover!
Starting Step 1, my sole intention at first was to lose weight. But I read "Potatoes not Prozac" and "Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program" and things started to make a lot of sense to me.
Like a lot of people I did the steps quite swiftly, then went back for another go! But I started to change along the way.
I lost the diet mentality, became calm, gained self esteem.
I began to realise how important the steps are to my wellbeing, in so many ways.
The community is brilliant and has given me so much support.
Life is a pleasure doing the steps. And as for the diet? I'm a happy member of YLD. It's the approach I was seeking all my life.
Selena
Bristol, England
Hi, I’m Selena and I live in Bristol in the west of England with my husband and two daughters.
Before I found RR I thought I had an eating disorder, no willpower, psychological problems, the works. I would drag myself through the day bingeing for Britain, being cranky, moody, depressed, and totally bonkers. I thought the answer was to lose weight so I tried every diet known to man. But they made absolutely no difference to how I felt inside. Sure, I lost some weight, but it kept coming back bringing some of its friends with it. I knew deep down that there was something more to it but I didn’t know what.
I found Potatoes not Prozac when it first appeared in 1999 as I was always on the lookout for the latest diet/self-help/personal development book. When I read it, I was amazed that Kathleen had told *my* story. But the book slowly got left on the bookshelf for five years when the next diet book took its place. When I picked it up again I spent another 2 years messing around with steps 1 and 2, only half-heartedly doing the program.
I finally started to commit to the program when I gave myself the gift of a YLD membership. I started turning up at Eurochat every week and my program began to blossom!
In June 2007 I detoxed completely by accident. I was planning to wait until the September when my children went back to school so that I could still participate in summer ice creams. But my body had other ideas. Sugar had been gone from my life for 3 days before I even noticed it was missing! I still find that a miracle - I cannot believe how much my life has changed through *doing the food* and showing up!
If you had told me that I would wake up each morning with a spring in my step, have *happy* as my default setting, like both my self and my body, and not crave sugar or white things then I would have laughed until I was sore.
I am so very grateful for this program. It is nice to have the opportunity to give something back to the Community who have helped me so much on my journey.
Steph
England
I'm Steph and I live in Essex, UK. I am married with 3 wonderful children and am currently a stay at home mum and carer for my son who has special needs.
I bought Potatoes not Prozac when it first came out here. I was off sick from work with depression and didn’t want to be on antidepressants. But, my fogged brain couldn't get its head around green, brown and white things so I put the book on the shelf.
My weight had dominated my whole life, I was either on a diet or gaining fast. I think I must have tried every single one. I kept thinking if I just lost the weight, being slim would be enough motivation to stop the bingeing and I would finally be happy.
In 2006 I had just finished a second attempt at a liquid diet. I was having a hard time keeping the weight off as I was bingeing and had started seeing an eating disorder counsellor in a bid to understand why I binged. During one of our sessions she handed me a copy of PnP :)
I then connected with the community properly for the first time and on impulse (smile) I signed up for ranch. That's when I first experienced spending time with folk on step 7 and knew that's what I wanted too.
Eventually, after several attempts to do the program ‘my way’ because I was in such a rush to lose weight, I committed to doing the program as written. Now that I'm finally listening, my body is not only speaking to me but wanting to have a full-blown conversation!! I no longer feel depressed or have any urges to binge, I’ve lost weight, feel great and I get comments on how well I look from people wanting to know what my secret is. (smile)
Connecting with this community is one of my greatest joys.
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