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** Quote From Kathleen ** Doing the food creates a steady bowl to hold your life experience. As it fills, the connection deepens inside and outside. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** Hi again all, I also just told my story of the moment on the list. It struck me doing it that it keeps changing and evolving. I don't think my story would evolve so much without this community and the list in particular. I like that it is so inclusive. For me connection with others in recovery is the thing, and I love seeing the amazing trasformations that happen here. I just want everyone to do the food and find the life they could have. Mel **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** On the BBC website, there is a section called Headroom which provides education and support in the mental health sector. There are well-being videos, newsletters, doctors and just plain old-fashioned advice. I'm thinking that RR could have a huge impact on the majority of things they are talking about right now. Now, it seems that the BBC has a tie-in with libraries up and down the UK. Headroom recommends books that might be helpful and provides stickers to highlight those books. I recently picked up a copy of PNP in my local library and it had a Headroom recommendation sticker on it (grin)! That particular copy had been out three times in the last month, so this is good news! Anyway, I came home to check out Headroom a bit more thoroughly and looked at the book recommendations on their website - I couldn't find PNP anywhere. Ok, so I did a bit more poking around and discovered that you can actually recommend books to go on the recommendation list :) So, I have written to them, explaining about my experiences with PNP and the fact that it is consistently at the top of the list in the depression section of Amazon UK. I'm also going to write to Ruby Wax and send her a copy of PNP. She is a well-known contributor to the Headroom site and is currently doing a masters degree in Neuroscience. I'm sure she will understand! I'll let you know if I hear anything. And if you want to come and join in the fun in the meantime, then come on over to the Ambassadors list - we'd love to have you :) Selena Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen **
Lobster Stew
Saute the lobster in butter until it turns orangey pink. Add milk and pepper and gently heat through on low uncovered (never simmer or boil). Let cool and then refrigerate overnight..reheat gently. Fine to eat it the day you make it..but way better the next day. I think I remember that your lobster was in larger blocks. If so, you can saute extra in butter until orangey pink, and refreeze a portion of it with a small amount of milk. Then when you want stew again all you have to do is add milk..and heat..good to go. My mother froze it sauteed in butter for stew a lot. She would just tip the frozen sauteed block into a pan, add the milk and slide it onto the back of the wood cook stove. In later years she did that in the crock pot on low with a dish towel under the lid to catch the steam so it doesn't drip back in and water it down. Drool, drool, drool... LOL For more great program-friendly recipes, check out these great cookbooks in the store.
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** Your Last Diet - More Than What You Think ** If you think that losing weight is about calories, then this weight-loss program is NOT for you. YLD is about changing the core of your chemistry. You will learn why you got fat in the first place, why diets really do not work, and why this will make a difference. As I am sure you know, most ads for weight-loss programs on TV include a little disclaimer that says "Results not typical." Now, we would say, "Results not only typical, but usual." Quite a shift. Of course, the process is not either quick or sexy. It is functional and highly effective. If you want something that works, this is the program to join. And the very best of it is the weekly chats! If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just have some plain ol' fun! **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son.
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** Our Online Groups ** The Radiant Step One list is a great place to learn the nuances of breakfast, build a strong foundation for the rest of the steps, and find how helpful it is to share our journey with others. It is great for new people and those who have been on the program a long time. Sharing helps everyone. The awesome thing is we all, Step 1 or Step 7, eat breakfast every single day. How cool is that? We have had a lot of people join us this week. Do plan on coming over to the Step One list to talk with others about what you are learning. **********************************************************************
** A Lot of New People ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
As I have been posting the forum and reading emails this week, I realize we have a LOT of new people coming in. Here is some of what I have been hearing. **After a week of being on step 1 and cutting back significantly on my sugar intake I am experiencing what I assume are withdrawal symptoms.I love all the energy…and…I am also thinking it might be a good time to talk some about how the program works, what “beginner’s mind” is, and why we keep talking about breakfast, breakfast, breakfast. Many of you come to the program having read the book or stumbled on the website. You know in your heart of hearts that this information is right on target. I have heard the comment, “Kathleen, I felt like you were writing my story. Finally, I have something that makes sense!” a thousand times. You are overjoyed to have finally found something that gives a name to what you have felt for so long. And of course you gulp down the book and are set to go. You have done many, many diets, read every self-help book and you are really, really motivated. In your mind, you think," OK, I understand the principles here, let me simply get started with the potato and I will be on my way." You might decide to give up sugar right away because you always knew you had a problem with it. And you wonder why so many of us keep talking about breakfast. It seems like every time you ask a question, we answer and then ask, “How is breakfast going?” And that gets a little aggravating. You’ve got breakfast under control for heaven’s sake. Here is the thing. The program is way more than eating a potato before bed or giving up sugar. The program is about balancing your sugar-sensitive body and healing your sugar addiction. The balancing heals the chemical part of the addiction, but there is more to healing the behavioral part of your addiction. Doing the steps the way I designed them is a map that guides you through that process. Most addicts honestly believe that they know what is best for them. They believe that they have a special set of circumstances that account for the reason they use their “drugs”, even if the drug is sugar….we call this belief terminal uniqueness. So the very first part of the program is designed to help you take a look at that belief and imagine that someone else may have a better idea for you. If you can entertain this possibility, then you can start with the idea that following instructions might be good. This very first act of letting go and trusting is the beginning of healing your addictive behavior. So breakfast becomes the first place of listening. There is another key thing that is written in all of the steps. If you take tiny increments, what we call nano steps, you raise the chance of succeeding. If you do just one small thing at a time, and MASTER it, then this success actually creates a chemical change in your brain. The change alters how your brains works with the new information. Success sets the learning in place. New science is showing that we do not learn from our mistakes, we learn from our mastery. So we want you to do well, we want mastery. We set the tasks small enough to make sure you get an A at every one. This is not about pain, or struggle or drama. This is about doing well. Of course, we do know that most sugar sensitives are drama puppies. We love struggle, we have been known to thrash around, whine, scream, complain and then flop on the couch and have to eat for comfort. We know this because we have been there. This funny little fact can be very comforting. EVERY single person you hear who sounds settled, clear, focused and aware was once where you are. This includes me, especially me. If you are starting off, just work on step one. In fact, just work on one part of breakfast at a time. Learn all four parts, but just do one. Take the step one class, join the step one list. Read Potatoes Not Prozac over and over, but highlight the chapter on step one. Make notes for yourself. Put cards up on your refrigerator. Ask questions. Go listen to the video at You Tube. It is fun! And then…LISTEN to the answers you find here on the website. We love having you here. In fact, YOU are the reason we do this. You are the joy of our recovery. Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together:
Gretel, our webmaster, puts it all together. David runs the Radiant Recovery® Store. Selena provides the weekly Ambassadors column. The banner photograph is by Patti Holden. ©2009 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, use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®", and notify kathleen@radiantrecovery.com of the location. Please visit the Radiant Recovery® website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction. 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. |
