 Hi {!firstname_fix} Well this week is dog week, LOL. Our Golden Retriever Rescue did an adoptahon today. We have 50 people waiting for dogs and haven't had a lot. Oklahoma has 50 dogs and no people. So we got a van and drove to Amarillo to pick up seven dogs. And I had two waiting here. So last night I had 9 dogs and 3 of my own. The seven were sleeping in the front yard, they are quite agreeable and were happy not to be in a kennel. If you want to see them you can go to www.grrnm.com. We ended up taking 12 dogs over, and placed 7. It was a fun day. Of course you will want an update on our little star, Franklin. He is flourishing under Diane's care. She has set up a blog so you can share his progress. To see it, you can go to www.radiantmaine.blogspot.com. If you would like to contribute to the Rescue Franklin Fund, click here. We will get the money to Rescue. It is a 501 (c)(3) non profit and they will send you a receipt. If you have something specific you want to provide for bubba boy, just put a note in the comments box of your order. Now, you may be wondering what dogs have to do with recovery? (smile) This is about relationship, commitment, open heart and joy. It is also letting you see a wee bit of my *other* life. I love dogs...and it is part of what shapes my being with you. These classes will begin Wednesday, August 27, 2008. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Step 2: Journal, An Introduction (1 week) will teach you the basics of journaling. The class will give you step by step instructions in how to record your food and feelings in a way that gets you excited. Using the Resources of the Community (1 week) is for those of you who are brand new and would like to find your way around town. Come sit on the top of our double decker bus for a guided tour. And even if you are not brand new, this is a really fun class to reconnect with all the treats of the community. These classes will begin Wednesday, September 3, 2008. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Step 1: The Art of Breakfast (1 week) is our foundation class to get you started. Learn all four parts of step 1 in a structured way. Learn how to progress through them with enjoyment. Let us support getting your program off to a fabulous start. Brain Chemistry: Serotonin (2 weeks) is the other of our most popular classes. It helps you make sense of why the potato works, why you have a problem in the winter and how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can play into this. If you munch in your mind, if you are depressed or edgy or feel sad, this is the class for you. Looking at New Ways of Dressing (2 weeks) is one of those *special* classes I do every once in a while. This class is open to people who are steady. This means you have to be at least on step 3, and steady...in order to get into the class, I am going to ask you to write about how steady you are. (smile) And remember, I read all the lists, so no joshing. Historically this has been a YLD members only class, but I have decided to open it up for you. If you are on disability or low income (your household income is less that $1000 a month), you may take classes for free if you get certified. I have put the guidelines for certification on the class schedule page. The class schedule is on line. Click here to see what is planned. Please do not sign up for classes that are not yet scheduled. 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 and you do not have to be at your computer at any set time. It does not matter whether you are in the US, Europe, the Far East or Australia, you simply respond on your own time. And although I advertise that the classes are one or two weeks, sometimes we are a little flexible and they may run longer. 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 25, 2008 ** Quote From Kathleen **
The cornerstone of your healing, your food journal, is also the first step in creating a relationship with your body. *********************************************************************
** Testimonial for the Week**
I'd have to really check all my old journals to be sure, but I have been more successful on step 3 for the last six weeks than ever before in my 2 1/2 years working the program. Emotional eating was my downfall (although now I was eating healthier foods, and less of them) and I couldn't quite see myself ever being able to successfully eat ONLY three meals a day. But I've had a lot of "practice" and "learning experiences" and now I am reaping the benefits! I'm calmer about food. I'm not panicking about what to eat, because I've got a plan. I'm getting creative with food. I'm trying out new recipes and flavors, and not afraid to think about foods I enjoy! Suddenly there's a whole part of my brain that used to be obsessed with food and weight, and now it is free to be creative! I'm discovering that I actually do have a passion that could turn into it for what it is. (Who knew? I didn't think I had one!) I seem to have more time available to me, time that I used to use with addictive eating, worrying about it, trying to avoid it, etc. This time is now used to create, move, and have fun! This program is so much more than what it appears to be. Change your eating - change your brain - change your whole life! Lora K. ********************************************************************
**Radiant Ambassadors** Things you can do if you want to help spread the word about Radiant Recovery…
Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. ********************************************************************
**Radiant Kitchen**
Cooking VeggiesStir frying is a great technique for cooking. The two main keys are:1. Be sure to cut all veggies before cooking 2. Use high heat The longest part is the prep work. Once everything is all cut up, the cooking is fast and fun! And you really do not need one of those fancy and expensive woks...I use a frying pan with a slanted, big rim. Another way to cook veggies is with a clay baking pot. I got mine years ago at William Sonoma. It is made of clay and used for oven cooking. Place veggies in it and cover. Place in a cold oven and turn on high heat (usually from 400 - 450) for about 20 minutes. Then turn down oven (usually to 350). Sometimes you can remove lid or not. The veggies come out great. The clay pots come big and small and 'raw' or glazed. The glazed is much easier to clean but be sure to know what the glaze is made of. Some cheap versions use chemicals. Finally, roasting veggies is great! They turn out naturally sweet. Cut veggies in even pieces, swirl them in oil and place in a roasting pan (something with a rim) lined with parchment paper. Roast in preheated oven 425 - 450 about 20 minutes. Yes very hot but that brings out the natural sweetness. If you try this, be sure to get parchment paper that says for ovens up to 450 - most grocery stores carry it for up to 375 or 400. Williams Sonoma carries a brand for high temps. Also, veggies should not touch each other when cooking this way. There is lots of info about these techniques online, too. Happy cooking! Karyn
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**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**
YLDonline is a membership program run directly by Kathleen DesMaisons herself. We started YLD as a weight loss program. But as it as turned out, YLD chat is where the leading edge of the community is. If you want to hear about that, join. If you want to shape that, join. I will write more as we go. 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. ********************************************************* ***********
**Radiant Recovery Store **
David manages the Radiant Recovery Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. 
OK, next I want to share some about our Joint Response products. Kathleen was first introduced to these a number of years ago at the national Golden Retriever Dog show when it was held in Albuquerque. One of the vendors had Joint Response and was showing a video about it. You can go here and see the video http://www.cetylm.com/content/jap.asp. It knocked my socks off. At that point in time, I had recently moved to Albuquerque. My 8-year-old rottie, Pippin, had severe arthritis. We gave him Joint Response and in 3 weeks he was acting like a puppy. So we started carry the dog stuff in the store. We kept getting great reports. I asked the company if they were going to carry a human product. They said yes. So now we carry that. And they recently added a cream. Here are the links for the products http://www.radiantrecoverystore.com/stpets.html http://www.radiantrecoverystore.com/stsupps.html As most of you know, Kathleen likes to learn about the things we carry. She started doing a fair amount of research about cetyl. Here is a pretty balanced discussion. http://www.glucosamine-arthritis.org/arthritis/cetyl-myristoleate-arthritis.html The article is pretty interesting...here is a clip: The first double blind study followed two years later. Dr. H. Siemandi conducted a double blind study under the auspices of the Joint European Hospital Studies Program. There were 431 patients in the study, 106 who received cetyl myristoleate, 99 who received cetyl myristoleate, and glucosamine, sea cucumber, and hydrolyzed cartilage and 226 who received a placebo. Clinical assessment included radiological test and other studies. Results were 63% improvement for the cetyl myristoleate group, 87% for the cetyl myristoleate plus glucosamine group and 15% for the placebo group. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. ********************************************************* ***********
**Our Online Groups**
The radiantrecovery list was set up as a support for people who are in recovery for alcohol and/or drugs and would like to add the Radiant Recovery nutritional piece to their healing. Our approach to recovery encourages the use of 12 step programs and Radiant Recovery. We are excited to be gathering folks this week who have been doing the programs for a while now, who want to tell their stories about how incorporating Radiant Recovery into their healing program has impacted their lives beyond imagining. These folks are warm, compassionate, caring and straightforward. Please come join us and tell your story too. It's in the sharing that we develop connections that take us out of the depths of loneliness and isolation into the radiance the comes from experiencing a solution that works to end the despair we've felt for so long. ********************************************************************
**The Sugar Sensitive Abuser**
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. I am reprinting this article because we have been having some discussion on family & friends about what abuse is. I thought this would be timely. I know that many of you appreciated the article on abuse and beta-endorphin in our April 19 issue of the Radiant Recovery Newsletter. That article talked about the biochemistry of being abused. I promised to write more from the other side - how does the biochemistry of sugar sensitivity create the abuser. First of all, let's define what I mean by 'abuse' for this discussion. We typically have thought of 'abuse'as hitting, but it is way more than that. Marlin Mousseau from Project Medicine Wheeler in Pine Ridge, SD presented a fascinating outline of the components of male violence against women. Let me share some of what he said with you. Marlin is talking about male abuse against women. It applies for either gender. Here are the flags:
Low beta-endorphin means low self-esteem. If you have low self-esteem, you learn to find ways to raise it so you can feel at least a little normal for some of the time. Sugar does this, alcohol does this...and...causing pain to others does it as well. If you are sugar sensitive, chances are you have both low beta-endorphin and low serotonin. Low serotonin means low impulse control. The words come out before you think. You smack before you dialogue. You drink a beer to feel ok. You eat a pint of ice cream to gather your feelings. Or you exercise to maintain control. When these 'drugs' wear off you get edgy and the abuse streams out. You 'hit' either with your hand or fist or with your words. And even though part of you does not like it, part of you feels way better. You feel in control and like you can cope. The abuse makes your beta-endorphin spike up. Your self-esteem rises, you get a drug like response on a molecular level and the world is manageable. Until it wears off. Then you do it again. Thus the 'cycle' of abuse continues. Most people will tell you you need something like anger management. But to me that is simply treating the symptoms. Of course you need to learn impulse control and of course you need to learn new behavior, but just saying that is like telling an alcoholic or drug addict to 'just say no.' The person in the middle of it finds that idea simply impossible. The trick is to change the biochemistry that gets you there. Balance it, increase serotonin, increase impulse control. Raise beta-endorphin and self-esteem goes up. Repair the cause rather than treat the symptom. As you start to look at this, of course you will think 'she makes me'or 'if she would just (whatever, you can fill in the blank), I wouldn't have to be this way.' A main hallmark of untreated sugar sensitivity is the big duo, blame and entitlement. You think it is her fault and that you deserve to be in charge. Those feelings are biochemical too. Your victim is not making you do anything. And, usually she is dealing with her own biochemistry. Her sugar sensitivity creates low self-esteem. Being hurt raises it for her. Reread my first article on abuse if you have forgotten or not seen it. The two of you find each other. The dance of abuse comes with the abuser and the abused. You may decide you want to change and it will be hard because she has patterns as well. Or she may decide to change and leave you in the dust facing your own behavior. There is a way out. Doing the steps, in order, slowly and carefully will change your biochemistry. Changing your biochemistry will allow you to step out of a life that is no fun. It will create a platform for learning new behaviors. Rather than blame and entitlement, you will feel responsibility and wanting to solve the problem. Let's look at the steps for changing your sugar sensitivity. I have adapted them some for guys. Your style of making change is a little different than for women. 1. Have breakfast with protein: this step has 4 parts
3. Eat 3 meals a day at regular intervals
5. Switch from white carbs to whole grain carbs 6. Stop having sugars including alcohol 7. Do the things that raise beta endorphin Exercise As your biochemistry changes, you will find yourself better able to hear and to actually communicate with the people who were your victims. You will be more patient, more tolerant and more flexible. This may sound nuts - food can change you - but it is not. I have worked with thousands of guys. This is real and it works. Warmly, Kathleen ©Kathleen DesMaisons 2008. Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together: Gretel, our webmaster, puts it all together 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. ©2008 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 |
