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** Quote From Kathleen ** The more you journal, the more intrigued you will become to hear the story your body wants to share. Listen deeply for the miracle. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** Hi Emily and All, Well, this is the first year where Halloween seems to be a thing of the past. It is kind of interesting, because about 3 months ago, my DD and DS were still talking about doing it one last time. Somewhere between there and here, that has all fallen away and they seem done. I think it was more about dressing up in costume and now they are kind of turning their sights to other times they may have the opportunity to do so. I have given out a little "goodie" bag the last few years of either play dough or light sticks with pencils, etc. Somehow this year, I am not even wanting to do this...like I want to be done with this holiday, too. I am seriously considering lights out and just not answering the door. I can no longer seem to justify it in my mind. My DD and DS suggested buying a cheap, throw-away type bowl that says "help yourself," but never filling it, so it looks empty and we have run out of candy...such creative SS minds. (smile) It looks like DD is content to stay home with her older brother and watch Halloween-based movies. DS is talking about going to a friend's house with a couple of buddies to do the same and play videos. My DH is closing, because all of his crew want to go out to parties and the store needs to stay open until 9 pm. It is interesting...my whole family still eats sugar on occasion, but I never thought we would have come to a point that they aren't "begging" me to go gather one more time. They may not say it out loud, because it wouldn't be cool, but more and more I am realizing they know what makes them feel good and what doesn't. I guess I am offering that as hope for the rest of you that the changes do happen. I know that some of you are even at more of an advantage since you started when your children were very young. However, even starting at 15, 12, and 11, we have seen some amazing results. Just remember...what other folks think of how you are raising your family is none of your business. (smile) They get to say whatever they want and you get to keep doing what you are doing. You are absolutely doing the most loving thing for all of them, whether they realize that now or not. There will come a time when it clicks, if it hasn't already. Keep on keepin' on, PE **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** Did you know that Kathleen is doing a recovery retreat in SC this December? If you want to know all about it you can go and read this blog LOL! http://ebbnflo.blogspot.com/2009/10/for-all-my-sugar-addict-friends-out.html It makes me smile when I come across something like this on the internet. It's also a great opportunity to publicize Radiant Recovery and Kathleen's work on twitter - you never quite know who is listening out there! And if you would like to come, click here for details and registration. Selena Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen ** Pumpkin Pecan PieIngredients: 2 cups heavy cream 1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat a 9" pie pan with cooking spray. 2. Combine all ingredients except chopped pecans and topping and stir until well blended. Add chopped pecans and mix well. Pour into prepared pie pan. 3. Bake 35- 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before slicing. Serve with topping. 4. To prepare topping, beat heavy cream on high speed with an electric mixer until very thick and just beginning to peak. Add vanilla and pie spice and continue to beat until cream is stiff and holds a peak. Kathleen's Baking Mix: 3/4 cup oat flour 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 ** Here is a wonderful quote from Mosaic. I think we can all relate. It is so wonderful to be free of this. I am so glad you are laughing! You must be healing! My daftest bit was thinking that if I got on slower it might say a lower number, and leaning over 10 times trying to get the dratted thing to say something different. Not to mention cutting my nails and taking my contact lenses out, the last actually quite helpful as I couldn't focus at all. 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. I thought it might be helpful to highlight the things that seem to really help folks with gut trouble. This is the supplement package that Kathleen put together to support people dealing with IBD..
Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Our Online Groups ** A "BigOne" is a person who has 100 or more pounds to lose. The Radiantbigones list is unique in that we don't just focus on food challenges but we also share information and support for issues that non-BigOnes may not even realize are an issue in day-to-day life. The interaction on this list is great because everyone is so supportive of everyone else and we learn so much from each other. We have people on the list who are in various stages of the 7 Steps, so if you're a BigOne, you'll fit right in! **********************************************************************
** A Small Roadmap for Your Process ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
I thought it would be helpful to have a sense of the developmental process in reaching your goals of healing and weight loss. Let’s take a look at how it goes. Regularity and Structure Stability Detox Practice Success Chaos is the starting place for most of you. You may be way out there, or you may be high functioning chaos artists. But the tone is always the same. You feel hopeless, out of control, desperate, inadequate, and impatient. You can’t remember instructions, you want to get started and people don’t understand what is going on for you. You feel the “problem” is the sugar. Or the problem is your weight. And the feelings are so bad, you have to do something RIGHT NOW!!!! You are a true drama pup and feel like you can’t start, can’t stop, and you are crazy. You eat irregular meals, lots of sugars and carbohydrates, you may binge, drink little water and either exercise rarely or exercise compulsively. You have tried a thousand diets. You have lost weight and gained it back – a lot. You are tired and terrified. You hold your breath at even the idea something might work. You want to do it all, and you keep putting it off. You are in the right place. The program can help you. Regularity and Structure You start the program. You work on breakfast. Breakfast becomes habitual. You like the feelings it brings. You write your journal. Sometimes you forget, but mostly you remember. You don’t yet use the journal as a detective, but you are gathering the information and resisting the idea less. You manage to eat three meals a day. You have protein at each meal. You have a potato every night. You take the three vitamins every day. You are still having sweets, but eat them with your meals. You eat whatever fruits you list but notice them and write them down. You have started increasing your water and find you rather like it. You are thinking about the idea of exercising. Stability You have started to feel the routine of regular meals. You have breakfast every day and find that if you miss it, you notice right away. You like how you are feeling. You are sleeping better. You are resisting the idea of the program less. Things start working. You notice how much caffeine and/or aspartame you use. You begin to reduce them slowly without being impulsive or reactive along the way. You are still writing diligently in your journal. You are now getting interested in what your journal says. What can it teach you? What is the connection between food and feelings, anyway? You start eating brown things rather than white refined flour products. Whole grains, brown rice and oatmeal creep in and you find you actually like them. You still have fruit, but find it is becoming more and more of a normal part of your diet rather than a desperate alternative to the sweets you think you should be eating. While you haven’t really focused on the sugars, you find that the bag of M&M’s you used to have instead of lunch doesn’t have the same charm when eaten after dinner. You are less frantic about search for your stash in the evening. Mr. Spud is a friend by now. And you are starting to think that the idea of going off sugar may not be so scary after all. Detox You pick a date and know that you are ready to just go for it. The day arrives and you don’t have sugar, you don’t have alcohol. You feel excited. You feel that maybe this time you can do it. You still have breakfast; you guard yourself a little more tightly. You are using your food journal as a valuable aid in your process. It alerts you to danger or slipping. But your focus is on the SUGAR. Finally, the bogey man is going to go. Day four comes; you are cranky but intrigued. It’s a day and you are ready. And then, and then day five. You wake up and realize you just passed through the sugar barrier. You are on your way. You hold this place now for a while. Part of you is itching to go with losing weight. You actually may have started losing. Or you may have gained some. This makes you a little nervous, but you trust the process. Something is happening here. You aren’t quite sure what or how it is working so powerfully, but you are hooked. Your food is steady. Your energy is up. Your sleep is working. You are pleased and excited. And if you are not, you know what to do. Back to the journal. Back to the forum. Let’s figure it out. It’s not overwhelming; it’s just functional. You are in charge and you know what to do. You have been sugar free for a few weeks. Yes, yes, that is weeks, not days. And now you are ready to start your diet plan. But you are willing to listen. Wait for six months on steady we say. You no longer fret. You know it makes sense. Get skill, get stable. You are no longer frantic and are starting to enjoy this. You have some goals. You have a sense that you can start the things to get you ready for weight loss. Practice You are reducing the amount of fruit you have. Browns are steady. You start increasing the greens. Veggies become your friend – and if not your friend, at least you have learned how to cook them. You eat them regularly. You have increased your water to the ounces that equal 1/2 your body weight. The potato is a regular part of your routine. Steady, you are steady. And you have started exploring your other options from that steady place. You go into the support modules regularly and work on the “extras” like defining your style, reflecting on feelings, getting your support network refined, exercising, and looking at what will help you hold the diet. A funny thing is happening. You kinda like this process. You are less impatient. You like how things are unfolding. You are ready now for the weight loss. Success After all this time, you are ready. Not frantic, but ready. At the base, you understand what you are doing. This is not hit or miss or desperate. It is informed and intentional. You understand the biochemistry of it all. You don’t throw away the spud because it is too glycemic. You aren’t counting calories. You have a good relationship to your scale. You are doing some exercise every day. You are on your way! 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. |
