Hi {!firstname_fix}

I thought you would enjoy hearing a little update about the classes. We have been doing them for almost a year now. When I started, I never expected it to be so much fun. I learn with you. You have written 5000 pages worth of posts on all the wonderful topics. And the combination of new exploration and solid basics makes it both fun and informative for me as well.

I am glad you enjoy them as much as I enjoy teaching them.

These classes will begin this week. You can see an updated schedule by clicking here.

Brain Chemistry: Serotonin (Week ) is one of the basic brain chemistry classes we do. If you want to know why the potato is so effective or how to get off meds or how to *just say no*, this is the class for you.

Step Four: More Intriguing Than You Think is the potato fun class. This one provides EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about potatoes.

A number of you have asked me how the classes work. Check the class list page for more information on this. The classes are done online with one lesson each day. You do not have to be at your computer at any set time.

Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Don't forget to let me know what you like and would like to see me cover.

Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery® website and Community Forum regularly.

Warmly,
Kathleen

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October 24, 2005
** Quote From Kathleen **

For a while you may struggle with the concept that 'doing the food' - something so simple and so not sexy - can be so powerful.

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** Testimonial for the Week**


I have two early RR memories to share. The first happened on one of the first days that I did a program breakfast. That morning, I realized that I felt more stable and strong than usual. I also remember not having a strong sugar urge when I passed one of the candy bowls. (Striking that NOT wanting candy stands out so clearly in my mind!)

Those feelings really stuck with me. I remember telling a friend about that morning at work, and saying, "I felt DIFFERENT." This helped me to believe that Kathleen's program wasn't just a book that made sense to me . . . and that there really was something to this food program.

The second occurred a few months later. I was very discouraged about a number of issues, and I was crying so hard one morning that it was hard to get myself ready to go to work. I shared about my problems, and that my problems had driven me to have nothing but cake for dinner the previous night, and I was really upset at myself. I really felt at the bottom of the barrel.

Kathleen popped in and answered my post in that very succinct way she has. She pointed out that the extreme emotions/tears were a result of the cake that I had for "dinner" the previous night. That helped it click for me. I learned that yes, I do have problems, but often the reason they seem so unmanageable and I feel so emotional has to do with the sugar I eat, as opposed to the problem itself.

This was a whole new way of thinking for me . . . that my problems were getting me down so much not because of the nature or severity of the problems themselves, but because of how I had been eating. On the plus side, this means that as my food gets better, although my problems might not, my ability to handle them will. And that is already happening (although I have quite a way to go!).

Sue B.

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**Recipe of the Week**


Elaine is our chief milk maker research expert. I asked her to share her secrets.

One of the best investments I have made since starting this program is my soymilk maker. I can have my milks without sugars and know what I am getting. It took a bit of practice and work to figure out how to do them so they tasted good and worked well for me, but it was well worth it.

Elaine, step 7 for 6 years.

If you want to calculate what you will save with your soy milk maker, you can use this calculator.

http://www.soymilkquick.com/calculator.html

Making Soymilk With Your SoyQuick Soymilk Maker

Using included measuring cup, measure one level measure (included) of dry soybeans (100g).

Helpful tips and suggestions

Tip 1: Make extra strong soymilk by filling the jug only to the minimum water fill level.

Tip 2: The soy pulp left in the filter cup is called okara. Okara is an excellent source of natural food fiber that can be added to many recipes.

Tip 3: Premium soymilk is made from pre-soaked soybeans. This method gives you the best quality and taste.

Tip 4: Soymilk can be used in all your favorite recipes requiring milk.

Tip 5: Keep soymilk refrigerated and use within 7-10 days to ensure freshness.

Almond or Almond Coconut Milk

Use the directions for soy milk listed above with these adaptations.

To make almond milk, use a well rounded ¾ cup of almonds. (120 g by weight). Fill the container with water to the top line. Use filtered water for the best taste. Drain the almonds and put them in the basket of the machine. If you want to add coconut, add 2 rounded tablespoons of unsweetened shredded coconut* to the basket with the almonds. Put it all together, plug it in and let it do its work. When the milk is done, one of the most important things to do is to stir the foam back into the milk several times. If not, the milk will end up being pretty watery. You can use the pulp that is left over in your shakes. Put it in ice cube trays and freeze it until you are ready to use it.

*Elaine used some very tiny pieces at a few times and the machine overflowed. She thinks the holes in the basket got plugged up, so don't use tiny pieces.

Oat milk

To make oat milk, use steel cut oats. You can get them in bulk or in cans. Do not use oat groats. Fill the plastic measuring cup that comes with the machine to the top. Put them in a bowl, cover with water and soak until the water is absorbed, at least 3 hours. Fill the container with water to the top line, put the oats in the basket and again, let it do its work. When it's done, stir the foam in again. It will be very watery otherwise. You can either eat the oats from the basket or you could freeze this also and use it in shakes, although I haven't tried that.

Cleaning the Machine

Use very hot water and the scrubbing pad that comes with the machine or a Scotch Brite type thing works very well. Do it immediately. Elaine thinks it is one of the easiest appliances she has to clean.

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**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**


I think you all have figured out that I love sharing new ideas at chat. Last week's discussion on connecting the dots and reframing our discounting ourselves was very powerful. These discussions are such a wonderful way to explore what keeps us from doing what we so desire.

I figure you all are working so hard with the weight loss basics and skills, that it is fun to explore some stuff outside the box. I love your insights, enthusiasm and openness. It is such a joy to work with you all!

For those of you who are not yet YLD members, click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun.
 


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**David's Corner **



Well, I figured after reading that great article by Elaine, you would certainly want one of our soy milk makers. I just got a whole bunch in stock. And I can get 220 v makers as well.


And of course, we have something for everybody in our store


 
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**Our Online Groups**


Hello. My name is Janie. I'm the volunteer liaison for RadiantParents. I have four children, three of them are teenagers, yikes! I have suffered from depression since my early twenties but it wasn't until I had children that my depression really got worse. I went to all different doctors and tried all sorts of medications and remedies but nothing ever worked for me. It wasn't until I found Potatoes not Prozac that I finally found the answer to what was wrong with me. I started doing the steps and have never looked back. Then when I read The Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program and discovered that there was an on-line community, I was in heaven!

After I had been on step 7 for awhile I decided to turn my attention to helping my children. I definitely noticed that my twins were sugar sensitive. They were just like me, overly emotional, sensitive, dramatic and absolutely adored sugar. It took me a little bit longer to figure it out with my oldest daughter, Alexa, and my youngest daughter, Grace. I think Grace has had the most dramatic turnaround. She used to get so enraged she would bare her teeth and growl at me. Now, she is just an angel.

I really love helping other parents with their sugar sensitive kids. I can really empathize with parents who are new to the program and they come seeking help. I want to be able to help them create the life with their kids that I now have with mine, thanks to Kathleen. On the list we discuss ways to get our children to buy into the program which I must admit has been a hurdle for me but it's fun to get advice and hear about all the things the other parents are doing. We also share recipes and success stories. It's a great list and I feel honored to be a part of such a caring and wonderful group of parents. Come join us!



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** Featured Topic**
Numbers
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.

We were recently having a conversation in the weight loss class about tightening up the steps. One of the class members ranked the quality of each step as a 90% or 100%. Then she averaged the seven steps to get a sense of how she was doing. Her average was 90%.

Connie chimed in and said that kind of math doesn't work in this instance. She talked about how the steps are cumulative. And that when you did the math a different way, the actual score was 68%.

Some of us, including me, said, WHAT are you talking about! I asked her to try again. Intuitively, I knew she was onto something. But this explanation is a winner.

A quick Google search didn't show up any high-level intro explanations of quality and reliability in steps, so I'll just make up an example. First I'll use one for an everyday manufacturing process, and then I'll talk about our 7 steps.

For the everyday manufacturing, say Connie decides to make a DVD about Warrior Wellness available at her web site. The steps to get the DVD from the manufacturer to the person, are:
  1. DVD maker sends the DVDs to Connie's mail room (LOL)
  2. Connie takes orders from the net and gets them ready to ship
  3. The shipper, say the US mail, ships to the person
  4. The person gets it
  5. The person can play it! yay!
What we want is, 100% of the DVDs getting from the manufacturer to the person. But let's say each step has 10% problems:
  1. 10% of the DVDs get squished when Connie drops the box in her mail room to sign the invoice
  2. 10% of the addresses entered on Connie's web site are off somehow
  3. 10% of the people's mailboxes are ripped off from local drug guys stealing identities, and they rudely toss the DVD
  4. 10% of the CDs don't work in the person's DVD player somehow (Connie has el cheapo manufacturer)
So, you'd think, well okay, each step is 90% there, so my customers should be 90% happy right? But let's follow 100 DVDs.
  1. After Connie drops the box of DVDs, there are 90 DVDs on the way to the customer. (90% of 100)
  2. After step 2, wrong mail address, there are 80 DVDs (90% of 90 DVDs)
  3. After step 3, the mail theft, there are 72 DVDs on the way to the customer. (90% of 80)
  4. After step 4, unplayable DVDs, there are 63 DVDs that actually get to the customer. (90% of 72)
So of those 100 DVDs starting out, only 63 got to my customer. That makes a "reliability" of 63% for the end-to-end process. But I thought each step was 90% ! well, it is. Still, if what I want is DVDs to customers, I find a way to tighten those steps.

This happens to EVERY process where the later steps depend on the reliability of the earlier steps.

What I think is hard to understand until it's experienced , is that our steps really truly DO depend on each other. No one else in the diet world talks about this and that's why they all say, make these zillion changes all together.

And, our steps each have smaller steps, so imagine the opportunities to get a little off. Here's just ONE path.
  1. Breakfast. Protein is 90% of what it needs to be.
  2. Journal. Writing 90% down, but maybe the 10% not written, is what happened after breakfast with light protein! So now I lost a little feedback.
  3. 3 meals, 90%. Lunch had "justa" whites and it was early. Somehow I was "extra hungry" today but I don't make the connection to breakfast.
  4. Vitamins. 90%. I ran out of vitamin C days ago and keep forgetting to pick some up. Hence, my food is not metabolized quite as well. I'm a little hungry.
  5. Browns. 90%. By dinner I feel off and resentful and have my browns and then some.
  6. Sugars. 90%. More justas. I make the family a program-friendly dessert and have more of it than is appropriate for my plan right now.
For me, this would be a day for overeating either at dinner or at spud time. I might THINK "oh, my program is 90% on" but, that evening sure FEELS like a not-so-good, only 50% radiant day, and sure enough, the idea of multiplying instead of averaging, matches what I'm feeling.

Connie

©Kathleen DesMaisons 2005.

Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together:

Gretel, the liaison for the recovery list and the webmaster puts it all together
Naomi, liaison for big ones gathers the recipes
JoAnna, the liaison for affiliates gathers the testimonials
Marie, the liaison for diabetes gathers the info on the online lists
David, who runs the Radiant Recovery® Store talks about what new products we have.

You are getting the weekly newsletter from Radiant Recovery® in response to your signup. A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter.

©2005 by Kathleen DesMaisons . All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your ezine or website as long as you leave the content unaltered and use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®. Please visit Kathleen's website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction." Please notify me at kathleen@radiantrecovery.com to let me know where the material will appear.

Radiant Recovery®
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