Ok, I am back from Northern MN with my head full from learning lots of new things. We will have fun over the next few months as I unravel the meaning of it all. Nothing like professional collegiality to spark new ideas. Being around more than 100 people in the field of addiction was wonderful. And being around a group of Native Americans in recovery is even better. The combination rocks. UPDATE*****on the Boulder Seminar. As soon as I said we were canceling it you all wrote to say *no, no! we were coming but hadn’t signed up,* LOL. So revise your calendars and come on along. We are going to hold it (smile). Don’t ever say I do not listen. And it's not too late to sign up if you want to now, just click here. We have changed where the seminar will be held to: YWCA of Boulder County 2222 14th Street (corner of 14th St and Mapleton Ave) East-West classroom-upstairs Boulder, CO 80302 We will be doing three classes this week. Step 1: The Art of Breakfast is the basic fun class we do for newcomers. Come learn how to do it well. Using Resources of the Community is our free guided tour. Get on the bus and find all the fun things hidden in the web site. Our own *Where’s Waldo?* Step 3: Three Meals gives you a way to learn about the core transition to 3 meals. Step 3 is complex and difficult. Having a road map really, really helps. I have posted a new class schedule on line. Click here to see what is planned for classes for the rest of the summer. 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. And please go read the questions and answers before you write to me. If you have trouble getting through the process, write the tech forum. 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 **********************************************************************
August 7, 2006 ** Quote From Kathleen **
Work to know what you eat and why you eat what you do. *********************************************************************
** Testimonial for the Week**
I am feeling all kinds of happy with myself because in June I messed up my Step 6 due to poor planning, all my meal times went out the window, my snacking returned, etc, and now I have been to a family party with my Emergency Meal (that I hadn't really thought I'd need, but brought it anyway thank goodness), and then a couple of days later I went for a three day visit with my daughter-in-law and little grandchildren while my son was at a business conference. I brought my own food and stayed with my program! I even wrote in my journal every meal! Good for me! Getting back to replies about the Emergency Meal: yes, banana would make it taste better. I'll have to try it. Good idea! Husbands: my darling husband went to the party with me (the one with cookies, brownies, ice cream, Chinese food, and everything being served at various times) and he ate everything they served. The next day he had a royal headache, allergies acting up...he's been eating what I've been eating at home, you see. When I realized what was wrong I got him a banana, encouraged him to drink a lot of water and eat fruit with every meal (as a former Step 6er I don't have many sweets around). Now he knows I'm not the only one with a sensitivity! (lol) Plus he has a lot of compassion for the old days. "Is this how you felt when you were on the couch?" "Yes." "It's horrible! How did you stand it?" "I didn't. That's why I was on the couch." (Now he can understand why various relatives do what they do to avoid feeling like that. One day when we're radiant I hope they'll try RR.) On the trip I brought Ezekial bread, oatmeal, cottage cheese, hard-boiled eggs, cans of tuna, salmon, garbanzo beans, and even frozen vegetables (in a cooler with ice). I was determined to assume nothing. I figured the worst that would happen is my dil would have extra groceries in the house. I also brought George's Jr shake, which I left behind for her to use on my dear ss son who can be pretty grouchy in the morning. I suggested that she just do what I did: hand him a shake. If he drinks it, he drinks it. If not, she can have it. Something I've learned from this community is that we are not weak. We have bodies that are a special challenge to us, and we have the courage to face it and work with it. I learned that it is not weakness to spend the day after I got home taking it easy and not expecting too much of myself. My body needs what she needs and I can't run her ragged without consequences. I love the fact that we do this program in steps. It isn't all or nothing. If it all comes apart we can start at Step One and gradually add back the steps until we're better again. In June all the old sugar feelings returned and I didn't think I'd get better, I just did the steps because I didn't know what else to do. Now I feel stronger than ever. That feeling of having a spotlight on me with everyone watching me seems to be going away, too. It's good to be back! Lora ********************************************************************
**Recipe of the Week**
With the hot weather, I love to make cold salads. This is one of my favorites from our own Radiant Recovery Cookbook CURRIED CHICKEN SALAD
********************************************************************
**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**
It is nice to have YLD settling into such a nice rhythm for the summer. It feels very peaceful and centered. Patti led a great chat this week while I was in Minnesota on "Why Are You Different, Sugar Sensitive, and the Solution." Be sure to look for the transcript and her homework assignment for discussion on the YLD list this week if you missed it. And even more exciting will be the discussions I will bring to chats on the material in neurochemistry. I think I already have 5 or 6 topics on things we have not talked about before. I love it when our scientists stir my brain. My oh my are there some exciting things happening out there. I just gotta have a little time to poke around and play. On Tuesday, I was so amped by the discussion, I went up to the tribal college computer lab and got on google and pub med. Whew, what a rush that was! High speed internet, fast printer and data. I had been working all week from the casino hotel room...that meant no printer and 24,000 bps, heh heh. I love this time of year. It all comes together (smile). If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun. ********************************************************* ***********
**David's Corner **
I thought you might be interested to hear what research is being done with Nordic Naturals oil:
Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. ********************************************************* ***********
**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! ********************************************************************
**Feature Article** What I Am Up To This Summer Ann It has been kind of a lazy summer for me. I wasn't feeling quite that well and didn't know quite the reason. I had quite a few tests and blood work done. Finally I told the doctor that I no longer wanted to take the high blood pressure medicine. It seems that my blood pressure is only high in his office. On a more positive note I have enjoyed watching my oldest grandson take a bit of an interest in cooking. Going as far as shopping for the ingredients he needs when he is on his way home from summer school. His younger brothers seem to be enjoying the meals that he has made (smile). The one disaster so far has been home made pizza. Marc made his own crust and said "it just wouldn't work with me." After he finished he had a terrible headache. I told him it took me years to learn to work with yeast. Everyone enjoyed the pizza so I think he was too hard on himself. My support comes with having given him a bit of extra spending money to buy cooking supplies and a copy of The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. I have encouraged him to try new foods and vegetables. He also has been trying his hand at some Asian recipes. Much of this interest in cooking has come about for him because he wants to eat the SARP way when he is home. When he visits with me he does eat the same way that I do. He hasn't given up sugar yet, but he makes sure to eat protein, a brown and vegetables at most of his meals. A huge improvement over the way he was eating before I starTed this journey. Two weeks ago my DD finally said she will read Little Sugar Addicts. I did the happy dance for three days after I received that happy news. She also has been making a George Jr.shake for the boys many mornings. Baby steps and I am so happy that she is finally taking those steps. My healing has allowed me to reconnect with my Aunt after being estranged from her for about thirty-five years. This has been huge for me and would not have happened if I my biochemistry wasn't healed. At some point in the near future I will take a trip up to Cape Cod and get reacquainted with her children and grandchildren. For about a month my DP has been eating breakfast on Sunday. I have noticed that he is not as cranky and is quite a bit more pleasant. He must feel a difference otherwise he would have gone back to his little bowl of cereal (smile). Instead he is eating a pork chop, fried skin on potatoes and some vegetables for breakfast. Hmmm this really has gotten to be about "doing the food" LOL! Maybe because doing the food has become a huge part of who I am now. Even when we took the grands away for the July 4th weekend I had the "food" on my mind. I brought cooked, frozen meat with me. I also had a large supply of potatoes. The hotel had a small working kitchen so I could have my breakfast within one hour and feed the grands. When we got to the hotel we found that they had a breakfast buffet which was included in the price of the room. So I made sure that everyone ate within one hour of getting up. I think my DD noticed a lot less bickering between the two younger boys (7 & 8). We took the boys to an amusement park and I had patience and energy. I almost went on the roller coaster but if I hurt my back that would be tough to explain at work. I did go with them on the water rides, something I wouldn't have done five years ago. At work I am just beginning a long process to get approval to sell to the GSA -(government sales). Now that I am clear headed and able to focus I believe that I will be able to tackle all of the required forms. I have continued to decorate the office for every holiday. It seems to raise everyone's spirits. For the patriotic holidays I have metal stars of red, white and blue hung on the wall. I also ordered some white bears dressed in little red white and blue outfits. A banner of flags is strung across the top of a row of filing cabinets. This theme will be up until Labor Day and than it will almost be time for the Halloween decorations (smile). There is no drama in my life. The day just flows easily into night. I am happy and content. I go around with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. It makes me think of that line from a song "summertime and the living is easy." Life is good. ©Kathleen DesMaisons 2006. 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 step 4 gathers the recipes 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.htm. ©2006 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. Banner Photograph by Geraint Smith |
