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January 17, 2011 Hi {!firstname_fix} This has been a quiet week. Still cold in the mornings, but up to 60º in the afternoon. Yesterday I sat out in the sun with some puppies and just watched them run around. It was heaven. I love mid winter, it is such a quiet time of waiting. It just feels as if so many of us are simply integrating and settling in. One of the most exciting things that is happening is the way the conversations chats are evolving. Something sparked last week. I have included a comment from Mosaic on this. I hope more of you will come over and join us. This class will begin Wednesday, January 19, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: Radiant Step 2 - Introduction (2 weeks) 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. These classes will begin Wednesday, January 26, 2010. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: Revitalizing Your Program (2 weeks) is a wonderful way to learn to refocus your program. It does not matter if you are brand new on step 1, or a long timer on step 7, the tools are fabulous. I guarantee you this class will excite you and help you upgrade your program. Weight Loss in Action (2 weeks) is the *let’s do it!* class to help mobilize YLD members who are ready to rock on losing weight in a healthy and focused way. You must have 6 months on step 7 and prior approval of the class instructor to join this class. We expect that you will have done several of the weight loss classes before applying for this one including Weight Loss Readiness, the Obesity Myth Class, or Weight Loss Emotions. Using Radiant Resources (4 weeks) is a free orientation 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. The class schedule is online. Click here to see what is planned. Please wait to sign up for classes until a week or two before, and 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. 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. Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery website and Community Forum regularly. Warmly, Kathleen **********************************************************************
** Quote From Kathleen ** The cornerstone or your healing, your food journal, is also the first step in creating a relationship with your body. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** 
Even though I'm on step 7 I still have down days. What? I'm not perfect? Nope. :)Friday was a day 4 for me after I'd reduced my cheese consumption quite radically. So I had lower BEs and didn't up my BE raisers. Duh! I felt hollow inside. I felt worthless. I had to summon up all of my energy to connect on the lists. But did you notice? I doubt it. SS that I am, I can still put on a veneer of 'I'm fine.' All I wanted to do was isolate and feel yucky on my own, thank you very much. But I did post and connect within the community. And I'm so glad that I did. It always amazes me how differently I can feel by focusing on my food. This morning I woke up with a spring in my step and a song in my heart. I felt filled up. The horizon promised blue skies which always lifts my mood. I wonder how the expectation of sun can change my biochemistry? So, today I have a 'can do' attitude back again. I am in the middle of an essay on neurons (thank you for your help in PNP, Kathleen!!) and I just know that I can complete it today. I had bags of energy which I used by going for a walk/run. Far from isolating I surprised the dog walker I met by greeting him this morning - the audacity of it! (grin) Just by focusing on the food! Selena **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors **
Have you ever heard of the website 'Time to Change'? I hadn't either until it was mentioned on the ambassadors list by Lucy.It seems that people in the UK are making pledges to stop issues such as depression and mental health from being taboo. Nearly 13,000 people have made pledges overall! As a result, a couple of us have made pledges and recommended Kathleen's book, Potatoes not Prozac. You never quite know who will find the answer they are looking for. Do you want to add your name too? I'm pretty sure that it's not just those of us in the UK who can make pledges :) Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** How I Found Radiant Recovery ** My name is Toni and I am a female as my name has created some interesting situations. I live in Northern Virginia not too far from DC, USA. I am struggling with step one and have been working on the program for about two months since a friend suggested the Your Last Diet book. I am hoping knowing the resources will make the program a bit easier to navigate and that I will connect with a supportive community as my goal is to make it to step seven and be fully radiant. I just finished a year-long calorie-counting weight loss program. I lost weight, but I did not feel that much better. When I read the YLD and saw the word "radiant" I knew that was what I was missing. Looking forward to the journey of discovery. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. 
This week, check out getting a copy or two of Your Body Speaks, the journal that Kathleen designed especially for all of you. It is a fabulous way to track your food and everyone loves it.
Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Happenings on Facebook **  
We are looking at ways to begin posting some of our favorite recipes at Facebook and having you all try them out, photograph what you make and then share your feedback. Won't you come over and help us sort out how to best do this?Come find us on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/RadiantRecovery and join the fun!. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen ** 
My friend Rick gave me this recipe. His mother got it from a cookbook or magazine, he doesn’t know where. He has modified it a bit, and I modified it a bit more. It’s really good, and the house smells wonderful while it’s cooking. It’s very thick, more like a stew than a soup.
After meat is cooked, add tomato puree and diced tomatoes. Mix well. Add potatoes and seasonings. Add mushrooms last. Cover and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. Makes 4 or 5 servings. This recipe was contributed by Allison from the Radiant Recovery Community Forum. For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Conversations ** 
I joined YLD for the weight 'aspect.' The classes are great and lists are useful for me, just like the lists in Make Connections are here.It turned out we talked about so many new ideas and program topics, and not so much 'weight' isn't that funny? - everything else was too interesting, LOL). It was 'opened up' so anyone can join for 'Radiant Conversations.' I enjoy every topic, the stories and ideas, and I especially like the science stuff. Firstly it is a LOT of fun. I go to Eurochat, and there's another one later on on Wednesdays for US Chat. The transcripts are posted so I can read the US chat. Then we can discuss them afterwards. Often the topic is based on the week's newsletter, so even if you are new, you can come prepared and not straight in at the deep end! Chat can move quite quickly sometimes, but it's easy to follow. Kathleen leads chat and we can all join in as it flows. Or quietly read along and join in later. I can't tell you how much chat has helped me. It's been amazing. Usually I learn something interesting about the program, or another person's idea really resonates for me. Mostly it's been learning how to deal with those little life things...and making it easier, having a laugh, meeting with friends. If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you want to be a part of the latest and greatest or just have some plain ol' fun! If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you want to be a part of the latest and greatest or just have some plain ol' fun! **********************************************************************
** Our Online Groups ** 
The Radiant Step Two list is a source of helpful information and support with journaling. On this list we talk about how to get started with the journal, how to start listening to our body and why giving it a voice is so important. We also discuss how to use the journal for detective work in our program and, of course, how to make journaling fun! Right now the list is rockin' with people supporting each other and making big discoveries with their journal. So whether you are just starting out or are looking for a recharge in your journaling, come on over and join in the fun!We get set doing all four parts of Breakfast and then comes 'The Journal'. Many people have kept journals of food intake before to track points or calories. Others have written great long accounts of their feelings, poetry, their making sense of life, the universe. This journal is very different. Here we record what and when we eat, and how the body feels. We are able to discover what our body likes, doesn't like. What makes 'our' body function and feel best. We get to know the dear body who has faithfully carried and served us our life long. And we get to make the best food choices to nurture our body and allow the body to heal. The journal is a tricky step for a lot of people! (smile) Learning the language that the body uses can be harder than learning Russian without a phrase book. But if we persevere, the rewards are wonderful. Getting to know 'you,' getting to know 'all' about you is the best and most lasting love affair you will ever have. On the journal list, we talk about how to have the journal work for you and your body. How to manage carrying a journal, being kind to yourself when it seems too hard, and how to understand what it tells you. Come on over and join us to learn to hear your body speak. **********************************************************************
**Getting To Know Your Community ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
I have received a number of emails recently from people who say, *When I get the money, I will get connected.* It startles me since we have so much available that costs no money at all. I thought it might be helpful to spend some time talking about the community and what it has to offer. When you are just starting out and want to learn about how to do the program, your best bet is to go to the home page of http://www.radiantrecovery.com and click on the bar that says sugar sensitivity. I You can learn a little about the biochemistry of your body. It is a nice background. Then click on the 7 step bar and read about the steps. This gives you the most up-to-date version of my thoughts on doing the steps. When I write a book, the concepts get set at that point in time. Here, on the web, we keep talking and learning. Eleven years and hundreds of thousand letters have taught us how to do breakfast better. At some point, you will want to read the books. I am often asked which to start with. My suggestion is to get both Potatoes Not Prozac and The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program as a start. If you have kids, get Little Sugar Addicts. PnP will teach you the theory and the big picture and SARP will give you a how to map. Now, what comes next is connection. Start with the community forum. This is like our drop in community center. Some people jump right in and some find it a little overwhelming. Here is a tip to making the forum more friendly. Click on the link at the top that says *My Preferences* and change the style of the posts to threaded, newest first. This will group the posts into topics (thread) that are easier to make sense of. Be bold and send a post. Simply introduce yourself and say something like, *Hi, I am new,* in the subject line and then write a little about yourself. Make sure to put a check in the little box that says *if you like would an email notification* and you will get a note saying someone has responded to your post. After you have done this for a while, you may want to join a special topic online group or take a class. The online groups are no cost support groups. They are run by our volunteer leadership who are skilled in both doing the program and in serving as my mentors to the groups. You can join the Step One breakfast group or a special topic group such as depression or a geographical group such as Brits. Your pet can come to radiant pets to learn how to deal with you. All the groups are hosted at Yahoo. It takes a little practice to learn to navigate Yahoo. We have written a little special instruction guide called Yahoo for Smarties (you will see the link on the Online Groups page) to help you make your way around over there. We also have a tech forum to help you if you get stuck in figuring it out. Another route to support is to take one of the online classes I speak about each week. We do charge a modest fee for the classes (this is what supports the website). The classes offer a continuum of support from a guided tour of the community to advanced topics about brain chemistry. We have a Resource Center, and many other things as well. The website resources can support you for years and years. And of course we have a store chock full of fun things to help you do the program. You can get books, CDs, shake,and other fun things to support your 'doing the food.' No matter what, please know that I love having you here and want to help you in any way I can. Warmly, Kathleen 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. Tina tells us what's happening on Facebook. ©2010 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/ |
