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August 15, 2011 Hi {!firstname_fix} Well, I am on my way up to Vinalhaven, Maine for my summer vacation. Rumor has it that blue skies and fair weather are waiting. I have my new watercolor paints and my camera. My mouth is ready for lobster. I will have pictures for you when I come back. Now isn't that amazing that I planned a gap in classes? I swear I just made this decision to go right now. Please note that the diet class will start on THURSDAY since I will be traveling home on the 24th. There will be no classes beginning Wednesday, August 17, 2011. This class will begin Thursday, August 25, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: 
Looking At All Those Diets (2 weeks) is a class to come and discern whether the latest (or the most classic) diet will or will not work for you. Bring your favorites and we will deconstruct them together. Please note that of course my bias is that diets are not particularly useful in healing sugar-sensitive people, but I think it is good that you get to really understand the thinking.
The class schedule is online. Click here to see what is planned. 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 ** You don't have to do years of therapy to get results. You can start changing what you eat and see the effects very quickly. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** So, as you know, I have a learner's permit so, of course I legally can't be driving by myself ... and I would never be a Bad Girl and do something like that :-). Yesterday I felt it was important for me to see and feel that, of course, I CAN drive, I have driven, I know how to drive, it's in my cells. So Zoe and I went two blocks to Whole Foods (I can walk there in 4 minutes). I was able to bring home six jugs of water, something I could never manage in my state-of-the-art wheeled cart. I knew I needed to be very, very focused and mindful. And I was. And it was pretty much a non-event! Except that it was easy. This morning I got up at 4:00 and packed up all the dirty clothes in the house, including stuff stuffed into the closet for years, and went to the laundromat, where I used five giant machines and five dryers, and spent more than $20. OMG! No wonder laundry is an ordeal for me! No wonder I never get it all done--there's no way I could have packed all this stuff in my little cart. It's a 9-minute walk to the laundromat. Again, I was just very mindful. And my cells do remember--I'm not used to driving a "big" car--I had a VW bug and a little Honda in my past driving life, and so this will take some getting used to. But I can feel that I was used to a smaller car! At least 1/2 of these clothes are going to the Thrift Store. I decided, well, who knows if I'll ever fit into those fabulous size 8 jeans and chinos again? I'm not letting them hang around to find out any more. I want that stuff out of here. It would be nice if I could drive to the thrift store ... :-). I'll see how I feel. It would be pretty silly to risk getting a ticket. And it would also be quite silly to poop around about getting my real driver's license, and if I tell myself it's okay to drive without that, just for, you know, errands, I bet I will procrastinate. I've had that car for nine months, after all. OK. Next goal is getting my real driver's license. Camille **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** 
There's a lot of coverage about addiction in the media at the moment - it feels as though the lid has finally come off the definition of 'addiction' and people are more open to talking about it. Here are a couple of the more noteworthy articles:The meaning of addiction Why sugar is dangerous to depression The second article includes a reference to Potatoes not Prozac and the steps - yay!! Do feel free to add a comment to either article! Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** How I Found Radiant Recovery ** Hello, my name is Catherine and I live in Scotland. I am 46, happily married with one beautiful child. To the outside world I am a successful health professional yet I have suffered with my eating from my late teens (bulimia teens and twenties), yo-yo dieting (the rest), being overweight most of the time. I was attempting to lose weight (again - weight watchers) and went to a hypnotherapist to help me stay on track (!) The sessions became more counseling and last week she suggested Potatoes not Prozac. I went straight to the website and cried, it all made sense, I was sugar sensitive if not a raging sugar addict! The book has just arrived from Amazon so I am at the very beginning planning to start step one. I hope I can begin to manage my addiction and stop pretending. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son.
I thought it would be fun to hear Kate on journals. I have the black ones in stock and many blue ones...get ready for Fall!!! Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen **
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a 13” x 9” greased pan, place the cooked spaghetti. In a small bowl, beat together the milk and eggs and pour over the spaghetti. Layer the cottage cheese over the spaghetti and then layer the ground beef over the cottage cheese. Spread the marinara or spaghetti sauce over the ground beef and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven until hot, about 30 minutes. For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site. **********************************************************************
** Radiant YLD ** Weight the Same for 4 Weeks I had a little revelation today that I wanted to share. I've been very happy and comfortable with RR this time around and have, in fact, lost weight which has just "melted" off. I mean to say, I eat breakfast, do the food, move, vitamins, drink the right stuff, etc. OK. For the past four weeks, my weight has stayed the same even though I have been steady. The Big News is that I NOW have the belief and confidence to KNOW that if I keep plugging along, I'll be alright and the weight will move again. My OLD thinking would have been: "I haven't lost weight for a month, despite doing all I've "done" and "given up", so @#$$^ it, I'm just going to eat a bunch of Twix bars, brownie batter, and finish that off with a large Diet Coke!!!" LOL .... I think there are two main differences between the Before RR me and the After RR me: 1) I know if I follow Kathleen's plan, it works; and 2) My living RR is just that - living - no diet mode or diet head. Patricia in VT If you would like to join, come find us here **********************************************************************
** Radiant Conversations ** We have a new portal for the Conversations program. Come check it out here. There won't be any conversations chats this week because I am on vacation (smile)....... If you would like to join us, you can do that below. Join YLD Weight Loss Now: click here - $99 Join Conversations 2011 Now: click here - $99 Join Both YLD and Conversations Now: click here - $149 Current YLD members wish to Upgrade to Both, click here - $49 Current YLD members who wish to Transfer to Conversations 2011 Only can do so for a $14.99 admin fee: click here If you are not a member, come and join us 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!
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**It Doesn't Have to be Hard ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
As many of you know, I usually present a new concept at ranch. This allows us to have a dialogue in person on these emerging topics. This year, I presented on the idea of Addiction to Misery. This topic started in chat and I have been thinking about it a bit. The talk was fun and challenging. It certainly moved me. Yesterday, Janice posted a reflection on the forum that knocked my socks off. She got it. Come share this process with us. What if none of it has to be hard? This is the radical thought that has followed me home from Ranch. Kathleen had been talking about addiction to misery and how it seems to be one of the easier pieces of our sug sen puzzle to fix - it doesn't have t be hard. And then she blurts out what if none of it has to be hard? I think most everyone's instant reaction was "huh? I don't think so," me included. But the hair on the back of my neck stood up when she said that. And I have not been able to get this idea out of my mind. I was listening to a (country) CD in the car and it seemed every song was about some kind of "hard." And a voice in my head is saying, "What if it doesn't have to be hard?" I looked at my shoes that have been by my bed for weeks now patiently waiting for me to wake, shake, walk. And the voice again, "What if it doesn't have to be hard?" I came home to what could have felt like an overwhelm of laundry, no groceries, starting the potato and the need to gain weight. But what if it doesn't have to be hard? And the laundry and groceries got done. The potatoes are ready in the fridge. I'm remembering to eat a little more than usual. These are, I realize, simple things, easy to not be hard. But what if none of it has to be hard? I've been thinking about why I am so invested in things being "hard". I was brought up in a culture that taught 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps,' 'nothing worth having is easy,' 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger,' 'true beauty lies in struggle and pain' and so on. And I am very attached to the idea of having been "brave" in my recovery journey. I think the dopamine-boosting reward factor is in play, too, when I feel I've done something "hard." So what happens if I let go of the idea of doing what's hard = worthy accomplishment. If it's easy will there be that sense of accomplishment? Will the act of letting go of "hard" be the accomplishment? Maybe it is all in the re-framing. What if instead of "hard" and "how can I possibly do what seems impossible and just too difficult and where in the world do I start?" the "hard" thing becomes a challenge and the doing of it an adventure? The feeling/idea of my life being an adventure instead of a struggle is something I have been becoming aware of as I've done my post detour work. If I stop and look at the past 7 months what started out as hard became easy. Not easy as in in being a piece of cake (sorry) but easy as in being a joy to do. I have come to think of my regular life as a grand adventure, too. It still has it's moments of scary-as-all-get-out but it doesn't spook me any more. And I think maybe that is another key - seeing "easy" as joyous instead of just easy and not really valuable. So if "hard" becomes an adventure and "easy" becomes a joyous thing to do, then "what if none of it has to be hard" becomes pursuing the business of life as a joyous adventure. This idea feels incredibly real and true to me. Would I have been ready for it at the beginning of recovery? I honestly don't know. I think I might have said, "This is nuts, I'm outta here." It's hard (no make that it's a joyous adventure ;-) ) to turn our long held, deeply embedded, highly invested way of being in the world upside down with such a radical thought. I am ready to give it a go. By the way, I got up and put my shoes on and walked for 20 min. this morning :-D Turns out it didn't have to be hard. I'd love to hear other's thoughts on this idea of it doesn't have to be hard. Thanks as always for listening to my long ramble. Janice in Maryland 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. ©2011 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/ |
I am really, really enjoying my "Your Body Speaks" journal. My tendency was
always to put pressure on myself to write waaaaay too much, but having the
structured pages has really helped. I'm actually noticing more now that
there is "less" information-- it helps the important stuff to jump right
out. I'm looking forward to working up to a journal review.