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| October 31, 2011 Hi {!firstname_fix} I hear the heat come on in the night now. And I feel two dogs snuggling next to me in bed. I love that we have been talking about reframing Halloween...it feels like so many of you with children in your home, or in the neighborhood, are thinking about how to celebrate this holiday differently. Diane has been writing about getting her bean pots out, it made me hungry for beans. I am posting her famous recipe in the recipe section this week. And you can google for Boston Bean Pots if you want to have the right gear, LOL. These classes will begin Wednesday, November 2, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: Radiant Play (2 weeks) - Play has a huge impact on our ability to handle emotional change, and to make sense of the world. We will be talking about the neurochemistry of play. Why it is especially important for ss people and why even more so for those of us who have committed to recovery. I am doing this class because I am doing a chapter on play in my new book and I have been stunned at reworking the material. Play is transformative for sugar-sensitive people. Here is a little quote from the book to give you a sense of why play is so important. At some early point, we started to realize that sugar comforted us. it made us feel loved....and ...it also created social isolation. Our naturally low levels of beta endorphin meant we experienced separation more deeply, we felt lonely, or *outside the circle.* Feeling like a *loser* is a function of low BE. As sugar sensitives, we felt like a loser before there was even a game. Opioids (sugar) reduce feeling lonely, but they do not take away fear. So we lived with a lot of fear tumbling around. We submitted to the children with more power and confidence. We were shy and hid out. Or we acted out. If we lacked companionship, we were more drawn to the solace of sugars. And the more we used the solace of sugars, the more isolated we became.So, if you want a preview, and you want to start changing how you are in the world, come to this class. Understanding the Dance of Abuse (2 weeks) - This is a unique class that I offer every two years. It will help you understand abuse and bullying in relationship. We will be looking at both the abuser and the victim parts of the dance. The class will help you wake up in a loving way and then to know what to do when you start to make sense of your situation. These classes will begin Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: Step 2 Journal: 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. 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. Please note that we will be offering the Getting to Ranch Class again in January. This is a 6-week class designed to help people with a limited income find alternative ways to get to Ranch. Last year it was very successful. Everyone who wanted to come to Ranch was able to come because of the hot tips s/he learned in the class. The class is $49 and the class fee can be applied to your ranch fee if you decide to come. 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 ** Exercise is a crucial part of healing your sugar-sensitive body. Make time for it. ********************************************************************** ** Testimonial of the Week ** It's been a while since I have posted as I was gallivanting around Europe and even made it to EuroRanch. It was fantastic to give Mel and Karen and other step 3 list posters hugs in person :-) Am now back home in Australia. Although this event occurred last week, I felt compelled to share as it marked a milestone for me in my step 3. I haven't really eaten out much since starting the program. Financially it is always better for me to eat at home and I find it easier to ensure I get what I need when I cook for myself. But last week I met a friend for lunch in London. I didn't know what our plans were, but I took a ziplock bag of brown rice with me. We decided on a Mexican restaurant. After Ranch I was feeling much more confident in asking for alterations to the menu to suit my needs after being around a group of women all doing the same when we ate out! The waiter was fantastic. There was a deal for the lunch menu where two courses was 9 pounds. I ordered the beef chili, and asked for them to replace the (white) rice with skin-on fries. I really wanted some veges but there was no vegetable starter so they made me up a starter-size serving of roast vegetables. I was stoked! When the chili came out though it was clear it wasn't going to be enough protein for me. I added some nutritional yeast flakes (also in my handbag) as they are 50% protein, but it still didn't feel like enough. So I explained that I needed some extra protein and would they be willing to serve me up a starter-size serving of just the chili beef? They obliged happily, completely free of charge. It was just such an easy, pleasurable experience to be out and have my needs met. It inspired me to know I can succeed at doing the program even when I don't have the chef's hat on! Mandie ********************************************************************** ** Radiant Ambassadors **  Potatoes not ProzacThere's no doubting that it's a catchy title! But which category is it under in your bookstore? It might be in the depression section. Or amongst the books on alcohol. Or even addiction. Or lifestyle. There are so many options! When I go into a bookstore I never quite know where to look for it! It seems that it's up to the individual stores how they categorise it. But what can you do once you've found it? Well, I have been known to turn it around and place it right on the front of the shelf or even put it on top of an adjacent table. You never know quite who will spot it! Why not try it next time you're in the store! Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. ********************************************************************** ** How I Found Radiant Recovery ** Hi, My name is Alice and I read SARP several years ago and tried to follow all the steps at once and of course failed. Now I am back and starting with Step one. I have been eating breakfast with my amount of protein and a brown every day for about a month. I have been getting it fixed and eaten in an hour for a week now. I want to be free from the force that pushes me to eat when I am not hungry and to eat beyond full. I have experienced it briefly when I have been off sugar before. Alice ********************************************************************** ** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son.  I thought I'd remind you of the availability of our audio tapes and CDs These are some of the favorites of talks given by Kathleen at Ranch, but check out the whole section in the store for others as well. The Theory and Practice of Radiant Recovery Finding a Safe Place Successfully Parenting a Sugar Sensitive Child The Warrior Spirit: How Your Attitude Shapes Your Program Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. ********************************************************************** ** Radiant Kitchen ** I am a bit of a throw it together kinda cook and go by eye more often than I measure, so this is a collaboration for an actual recipe. :)
Here is what I did.
For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site. ********************************************************************** ** Radiant YLD ** I have been editing chats to use some of the material in the new book. I am stunned at how chats reflect the cutting edge of what we are learning. Most of you know that I am an extrovert and often formulate ideas by talking about them. Our dialogue shapes the learning of the whole community. A while back, we started talking about the role of exercise in losing weight. Here is an update from Patti...for those of you who have been around for a while, I think you will love it. Well, I just finished my last training session with my trainer at the gym. I am so glad I hired him. And I will hire him again down the road a bit. When Kokopelli said, "Okay Patti, the next important step in your healing process is steady exercise" and told me to hire the trainer, I had no idea what was in store for me. In my mind I thought it was going to be about what it’s always been about – exercise consistently, count meticulously, drop scale weight, and keep the exercise going as a lifestyle. It has been so much more, so much that I can hardly put it into words really, but I want to try. Because it is in sharing our experience, strength, and hope, that we build up and strengthen our fellow travelers along this path of recovery. So, some of you will want numbers. LOL, I totally get that part! Funny thing is, sure, there are numbers, and that is where I lived ALL the time, before these past 3 months. It was ALL ABOUT the numbers. Whenever I was doing exercise or food modification it was all numbers, nothing else. That has been transformed for me in a huge and miraculous way. Kokopelli knew! That trickster, LOL!! And I know he is smiling (and playing his flute) with me this morning. :) So here are the numbers since I started working with my trainer early August to Late October: Scale weight loss: 19 pounds (and yes, I just met my second goal with this, this week, to be under 210 lbs.). I started out at 228 and now weigh 209. Body fat % went from starting at 36.1 % and down to 25.5 % There are two different ways to measure it. One is the pinch the skin type and the other is this body fat analyzer/monitor that you hold which measures all your fat inside and out. That makes me laugh just typing it, LOL! I have inside and outside fat, LOL, who knew! We’ve been using the pincher test and will now move to the analyzer. The analyzer reads higher numbers because the pincher one just does the skin fat. I am so laughing, because ya, it’s interesting, but it doesn’t have the huge charge it used to have for me. Body fat vs lean mass: I lost 27.3 body fat and gained 13.4 muscle. Ya baby, muscle woman with a fat coat on, LOL! Okay, so there are the numbers for those that were curious. But here’s the really important part I want to share: I have just gained, what I think is, one of the MOST IMPORTANT pieces for me, personally, with my healing and recovery. It moved me to a different level with how I think about exercise, how I think about weight, and yes even how I look at and think about food. I want to explain more in detail, but I don’t have the words yet. And it’s so kewl, because my trainer with how he approaches training has a similar approach with how we do the food/steps. He said, "Some people will see someone who looks how they want to look so they will try to copy their workout. But it won’t work that way," he said. "You have to work up to it in levels, little by little." Aha, where have we heard that before! So just like a beginning person here with the RR food who comes in and says, "Okay I want what you have so I will do the potato, eat three meals, stop the sugar, and workout every day and meditate and and, LOL." Nope, doesn’t work that way. Little by little baby, in increments, step by step. It’s a process. :) There are three phases that I just went through with my trainer. I will do these phases again. And then I will do them again (just like the food, breakfast comes again). Little by little, step by step, continuing to learn. It’s a process. Some of this maybe didn’t make a lot of sense, because I don’t have the words. But, I so wanted to share it anyway. It is not about the numbers, it is about the healing. Search for your healing, listen to grace (or like in my case Kokopelli (smile)), listen to your body, and keep walking on the journey of your recovery. Never give up, ever. I am living proof that if you don’t give up, you too will find the miracle. Thank you all for your support throughout the last 11 years here. Let’s keep sharing and keep continuing so we can be a light to those still in the darkness of addiction and give hope that the miracle still exists for those who seek it. 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. Here is Mosaic commenting about last week's chats. Kathleen, I thought this one was so marvellous it really hit home for me. I was wishing I'd read it years ago and thought that it might be reassuring for all those who arrive on the forum like me having a good and proper diet obsession. I'm glad it was saved in the files but wondered if you had any thoughts about putting a version or condensed form out and about like in a newsletter, or maybe I could post in YLD and say pleaaassse go and read that chat because I loved it :) (And, by the way, I loved the sensate one as well in conversations and am glad I now know why I have several lists on the go and even have my movements round the house planned in my head in advance). Thanks mosaic My response to Mosaic is that I am working on it. (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 Radiantdepression group is all about support for the person who is depressed and trying to work Kathleen's 7 step program of recovery from sugar addiction. Many of us have struggled with severe depression for years without any hope of finding an end to it. But through doing the food we have found that hope returning and have found light where before there was only darkness. Some of us are taking anti-depressants while doing the food, so we talk about how the two are compatible and we also share about getting through the tough spots together, with support from each other. If you are feeling depressed please come join us. There is hope. If you are feeling depressed please come join us. And a lot of what we do is shift our filter from misery to joy. **********************************************************************
**Back to Meditation as the Season is Quiet ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. Those of you who have heard me speak at book signings or at Ranch know that I often include meditation and prayer as two of the best beta-endorphin raisers in the world. They are a key part of Step 7 and creating a life that is rich, full and loving. We have people in our community who come from many backgrounds with many ideas of prayer and meditation. And many folks who have been raised in more traditional communities think of meditation as either some esoteric thing that has nothing to do with them, or some new age thing that feels strange. Let me say a little about the context I am using when I refer to these. For me, neither is denominational or scary and both can do many things. I think the most important thing is to know why one prays or meditates. It is the 'why' that gives the quality of the prayer or meditation and makes it of one order or another. You may pray or meditate to open yourself up to the Divine Force, you may pray or meditate to reject ordinary awareness, you may pray or meditate to enter the depths of your being, you may pray or meditate to learn how to make sense of things and integrate all you are learning. You may pray or meditate for others. You may pray or meditate to enter into peace and calm and silence - this is what most folks do, and often with little success. But you can pray or meditate to receive an energy that heals you, to see places in your heart that are asking to be healed, and to learn to see how you are progressing. You may pray or meditate for very practical reasons: when you hit a rough time, when you are looking for an answer, or when you want some help in what choice to make. I think all of us have our own mode of prayer or meditation. But if we want the prayer or meditation to be dynamic, we need to have an aspiration for progress as we sit in prayer or meditation. If we come to either with an open heart and ask that we be helped in our progress, profound change will emerge. Come to prayer or meditation with that sense of desire to grow, rather than wanting to escape. And here is another idea, one that may sound strange. Ask for your body to be healed, this healing of our bodies is key. We need to see our bodies as having value, and we need to want to perfect them rather than ditch or run from them, or ignore them, or drug them with alcohol, sugar, caffeine or white stuff. If we see our bodies as instruments to help in our process, then we see our doing the food, doing the process of the 7 steps as part of that commitment. We do this, not to climb out of the hole of our addictions, but to discover this connection to what Star Wars called 'the Force' - our healing power, a power that will nourish and sustain us. Putting prayer and meditation into a healing body is a mighty tool for transformation - way beyond crawling through the day wishing just to stop hurting. Prayer and meditation create an inner silence of wonder, a beatitude and a way of being that is not possible in regular life. Both shape my day in a big way. It is the core of my step 7. 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/ |
