March 7, 2011

Hi {!firstname_fix}

We have just finished our annual leadership weekend in a house by the sea in Maine. It is such an incredible thing to spend time with people who all eat the way we do. Our menu included roasted chicken, spaghetti with meat sauce and brown rice noodles, lobster stew and a NE Saturday night dinner with franks, beans and coleslaw. Fabulous food, lots of laughter, walks on the beach, meditation, music, games and fun, fun, fun. I think what is the most amazing is the lack of drama. No meltdowns the whole weekend, LOL. And I can't say that for my family weekends.

I will be in Maine 'til Tuesday...enjoying some quiet time after all the fun. You all know how much I love being at the sea.

As I said last week, we have put up the information for Euro Ranch. Make sure to check it so you can catch the early bird special.

These classes will begin Wednesday, March 9, 2011. Please note that I will post the welcome letter on Wednesday evening after chat. This allows us to make sure that everyone who signed up is in the class. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:

Step 4 (2 weeks) is the potato class. Come learn everything you ever wanted to know about the timing, size, frequency of your potato. Learn about the best vitamins and talk all you want about them. This is a nice way to strengthen and refine your step 4.

Step 6 (2 weeks) is a class for those of you getting ready to detox or having detoxed and wondering why it is so hard after. We talk about *the flat*. A number of you have been exploring this idea of the flat. Is it necessary, can we temper it. Can we not have to have it? So even if you are already through detox, and you don't feel well yet, come to this class and explore with us.

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.

Using Radiant Resources is our free orientation for those of you who are brand new and would like to find your way around town. This class has 5 modules and will show you the website, how it works and what support is here for you.

These classes will begin Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Please note that I will post the welcome letter on Wednesday evening after chat. This allows us to make sure that everyone who signed up is in the class. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:

Step 3 (2 weeks) is one of our core classes. This is a skill-based class. If you want to learn the baby steps of a successful step 3, come join us. This class is ALWAYS fun.

Step 5 (2 weeks) is one of our favorites. Learn the art of whole grains. Get lots of information that you won't find anywhere else. I picked the brains of one of the world's leading *brown* experts for this class.

Radiant Problem Solving (2 weeks) is a new class for the stuck. If you have been doing the program for years and don't feel the way you think you should, or if you feel stuck, or if you don't honestly do know what you should do next, come to this class and explore your specific concerns. This class will be an intensive tutorial. There will be homework and you will be asked to be an active participant. This is an unusual opportunity to get answers. If you don't want input, or if you are afraid that Kathleen will be direct, do not sign up. This is for the motivated and willing. The class size will be limited.

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

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** Quote From Kathleen **


You are not striving for perfection. You are seeking commitment and progress.

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** Testimonial of the Week **


A FUN LETTER FROM MEL TO A LIST MEMBER

I am very familiar with this piling up of things to deal with and sort out, interspersed with responsibilities and commitments, and the endless juggling of appointments and meetings.

When I was first mentor for this list, I was on it like an anxious parent, never leaving it alone in case I missed anything or got it wrong.

So maybe you spooked yourself with the list you team on, and with the sponsee, do you think?

My top tip is get real.

I love my massage and treatments, am off for one this morning. So I will take my lunch along (always efficient see?!), and eat it on the return journey. Accepting that I can't be making the tofu stroganoff or paying my Visa bill at the same time. Those I will do this afternoon.

If I'm stressing about all that (and way more as you can guess), I won't enjoy any of it.

And then there's the buzz of always trying to catch our tails. I think this busyism thing is the cousin of procrastination actually, there's that split-second-timing thrill to it.

Again, for me, being realistic is the answer. I need to get ready to leave by 10:30 rather than get up from here at 10:20 and start running round the house like I've never known where anything is and start doing the dishes and feeding Chaos and getting into a tizz.

I still like to fit a lot in and to do things in a creative order that makes me feel clever and accomplished, but we need to enjoy what we are doing because this is our life!

So I just had a big shake with added millet and sweet potato, frozen strawberries, and I will have turkey, brown rice bread, and a mix of green and runner beans with an apple for lunch.

A good solid lunch is a must.

Do you think you could make any changes to lunch?

Mel

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** Radiant Ambassadors **


Did you know that you can get free Radiant Recovery business cards from the store?
     


Here are some of the places that people on the ambassadors list have put them - are there any places that we have missed?

  • On notice boards
  • On the wall at Whole Foods
  • In related books (ie diet, depression) in the library/book store
  • Leave them in the art studio
  • Put them in a book before selling on eBay
  • On the table in restaurants
  • In copies of Kathleen’s books
  • In a doctors/dentist office
  • In the bins of reduced price candy after sugary holidays
  • Message in a bottle thrown into the ocean
  • In a cart in a supermarket
  • Suggestions board at Whole Foods
  • On a train seat
  • In a French map of London on the tube
  • In the bathrooms at fast food restaurants.
  • Hand them out at the women empowerment class I attend
  • Give them out at Health fairs
  • Hand them out at AA meetings
  • Leave them at the gym
  • I've given them out to a few people in my 12 step group
  • Hand them to interested friends or even waitresses
  • Give them to acquaintances when talking about food or being fat or drinking
Where is the most interesting place you have put a business card?

Selena
selenas@blueyonder.co.uk

Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news.

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** How I Found Radiant Recovery **


My name is Linda I'm from Bedford, UK.

I'm 50 and have been a sugar addict and on/off anti-depressants since I was 14. About 75 lbs overweight (maybe more as my trousers are so tight! But stopped weighing myself as it became too scary and sticking my head in the sand seems a better option...).

After reading Kathleen's books I suddenly had hope - but although I agreed with the advice I decided to dispense with some of it .

I wasn't going to join any of the forums at Radiant Recovery because I'm not very good at them (either ramble or don't say anything). I wasn't going to write a journal - couldn't be bothered. And I certainly wasn't going to follow the steps and take my time. After all these years I want results NOW.

So I threw myself headlong into the programme and lasted 3 days...so here I am - chastened but hopeful.

I hate the being out of control and how I seem to put my life on hold until I've sorted my eating/weight out. Oh and the dreadful apathy.

I'm glad to be here (although I wish none of us needed to be).

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** Radiant Recovery® Store **


David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son.

Ok, so the tuna is here and it is AWESOME! What a find that is. Everyone who ordered it should have it by now. And I am eating tuna sandwiches again.

And I am thinking that some of you may not know about our special George’s Shake subscriptions. I will send your shake out every month. You don't have to fill out the order again. You don't have to remember what day of the month it is. If your family uses it more slowly, you can call and wait a month. If your family LOVES it (LOL, this happens all the time), I can send you more mid month. If you want anything else with your shake like special flavors, just let me know. Kathleen just noticed that there were BIG bottles of the almond flavoring in the Radiant Shed. I explained that someone had special ordered it. What we lack in size, we make up in service.


One last thing. Kathleen set up a scholarship fund to help folks who need assistance get to ranch. As some of you know, she has a generous heart. I do the counting, LOL. Well, the commitments exceed the fund. I am hoping that you might extend some more of your wonderful generosity so that she does not end up picking up the slack from her own pocket. Thanks!!! Click here for the link at the bottom of the store page.

Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better.

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** Radiant Kitchen **


Radiant Snack Bars
  • 6 cups rolled oats (one cylindrical container)
  • 1 dozen eggs
  • 1/2 cup cinnamon
  • 4 cups liquid (milk, oat milk or juice of your choice)
  • 1 cup cottage cheese or Restore whey protein powder
  • 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Additional 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut for topping
Blend the wet ingredients for 1 minute.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients a little at a time until thoroughly mixed. Pour into a 9-by-13 inch pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Sprinkle an additional 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut on top (Don’t toast it).

Bake 1 hour at 350.

Let cool and slice into ‘bars’ that are sized for your children.

You can add other things like nuts or sliced apples if you like. Experiment. Your family may like a different texture. Adjust the liquid, and try different options. This is a recipe to ‘play’ with.

From Kathleen DesMaisons’ Little Sugar Addicts.

For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store.


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** Radiant Conversations **


Here is a quote from Mel about the chat we did after the article about the new and revised guidelines. I was very touched by what she said.

And I have just read the Chats transcripts and a very important thing to come out is transparency.

Even when corrections are necessary, it is such a learning bonanza for everyone.

I know I had managed my life for a long time to hide and to avoid being found out or told off.

So learning that I could be wrong, be told so, and survive the experience, was actually quite amazing.

Luckily this happened early on on my first-ever list, and the best part was that I was not crushed under the weight of shame, and this released so much fear it changed the way I was living.

Because I wasn't even slightly connected to how I felt, my major concern was to avoid pissing people off because to do so was the END!

In a safe place with healthy boundaries I can make a mistake, and I'm in turn less likely to flirt with pushing my luck, another of the addict specialties.

Mel
If you are not a YLD member, come and join us by joining YLD. Click here if you want to be a part of the latest and greatest or just have some plain ol' fun!

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** 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 phrasebook. 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.

Or come to the group page to find the one that will best support your program: http://www.radiantrecovery.com/list_serves.htm


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**Eating Hamsters **
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.



When my kids were young we had hamsters. They can be cannibalistic. One morning when one hamster was missing and another one looked like it had gotten really fat overnight I got mad and shook the cage bars at that fat hamster for eating its sibling. There were tears and anger amongst all of us.

Days later the missing sibling poked its head out from underneath the stove. Mystery solved. To this day when someone in our family sounds like they are jumping to a conclusion we tell them to stop eating a hamster.

Cheryl W.


Loved this note from Cheryl and it really made me think. How often do I get all agitated or make all sorts of decisions based on information that I simply made up and really didn't have the facts for. This idea has been rattling around in my brain for a few days.

I think ss people are incredibly tuned in, very sensitive and able to pick up tiny nuances. However, sometimes, we are just downright eating hampsters. We take a look, a glance, at some tiny statement and then we KNOW what it means and we run with it.

And, of course, this can get us into trouble, LOL. We can get mad, we can shake the bars, we can cry, we can rage. Here is my own example. I have a number of dogs in my house. We had several occasions of some dog eating things that were not supposed to be chewed up. Some 20 dollar bills intended for the bank, some Golden Retriever Donations clipped together, a cherished book shredded. Well, my highly sensitive girl dog always looked really upset and worried when I found these pieces of evidence, so I made the assumption that she had done it and told her no, no, Pepper.

Last week, I discovered that the perpatrator was really my son's Rottie. I caught him with evidence in his mouth. And Pepper was indeed alarmed, but not because she had done it, but because she is a dog with a moral sense, LOL.

Awareness is good. And reflection and gathering truth and real information goes well with it.


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/