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April 9, 2012 Hi {!firstname_fix} Well, today is Easter in the Christian tradition. I happen to really love Easter because of the story that death can be transformed into awakening. It feels to me that Recovery is like this as well. Addiction kills and when we turn to recovery, we are literally rewriting the story. I also like Easter because I am very fond of toy rabbits. I bought 2 stuffed rabbits, one was wrapped in tissue because I had planned to send it to my daughter. The other was a little one that I planned to have in my car. Yesterday Ronan put his head in the bag and got the little one and brought it to me. It was no worse for the wear, albeit a little wet. Last night, Pepper pulled out the wrapped one and delicately removed the tissue paper and then put the rabbit on my bed. Thankfully, she did not decapitate it. They are such resourceful dogs. How could I be mad a them, LOL? The lilacs are out now. MY whole yard smells like lilac. This is very, very nice. This class will begin Wednesday, April 11, 2012. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:
This class will begin Wednesday, April 18, 2012. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:
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 ** Being steady means being firm, unfaltering, unflappable and unwavering. Being steady means driving in cruise control. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** Of course I have feelings. I should have clarified what I meant by "negative feelings and thoughts." It's that stuff we sometimes refer to as "negativity" in a person -- the gloom and doom, people do it to me, I hate myself, life sucks, you can't trust anybody, I'm totally fat and stupid, I can't handle life, I hate this whole damn world, life is so unfair -- you get the idea. My sister is dying -- I feel very sad about it. My grandson is blossoming in the theatre -- I feel very happy about it. My life is changing directions -- I feel very excited about it. Lots of feelings. No negative stuff. The anger piece is interesting -- you suggest maybe we have anger to tell us something is not right in our life and to make changes. Maybe we do, but I don't seem to operate that way anymore. I make changes because I notice something new popping up that is more appealing than the present so I move toward it, whether it is more direct communication or finding a new place to live. I live with honesty, integrity and fullness out of a deep appreciation and love for life and people around me, not out of feeling guilty or miserable or judged about bad behavior. This is different than it was before I did the food. As you can imagine, I live with deep gratitude for finding this program that has changed my life in many wonderful ways. Joy S **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors **  Oh my goodness *jumping up and down with excitement* It would appear that we now have over 1,000 'likes' on the Radiant Recovery International Facebook page! Woohoo!! By adding your 'like' on Facebook it shows the world how much we value this community and the work that Kathleen has created. If you want to add your 'like' too, here's the link again: https://www.facebook.com/#!/RadiantRecovery Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** How I Found Radiant Recovery ** Hello All :) My name is Stephanie. I am 34 years old and live in Florida. I, too, found Radiant Recovery on Google - "sugar addiction". I have the book Potatoes Not Prozac and have been doing step one for about 6 weeks and step two for about three weeks. Step three scares me since I "graze" (lol). I know and hopefully have accepted that I need to follow a program to heal my sugar addiction - glad to be a part of this group. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. I have the cookbook and it is tattered and dogeared from so much use. There are many great recipes in it that have become part of my standards (Kathleen's lasagna has never been matched, in my opinion), and it is also a very good little reference book. There are also spaces where I have written a few of my own in. The recipe for Kathleen's baking mix is in the book, and I use that too, it is quick and easy. VerlaI love getting these emails...yah the Cookbook is awesome. Even Madison is using it now. And Kathleen’s baking mix is way better than Bisquick!! Get a cookbook if you don’t have one yet. You won’t be sorry. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen ** This recipe has been around the community a long time. Everyone who tries it just loves it. Hope you do, too! Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Citrus and Mascarpone
For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site. **********************************************************************
** Radiant YLD ** This sounds so funny, but I never cease to marvel that we can be having so much fun with weight loss. That senior class is just rockin. No flapping, just working at the process. What a joy you are!! 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. As you know, in Conversations chat we talk about the newsletter article. What I would like to do is show you how this *detox* process can be applied to ANY of the other addictions we might encounter in our healing journey. So if you are interested, I will look forward to seeing you!! 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 ** I'd love to introduce you to the step six list. This is a wonderful place to be if you are working on step 6 (whether you are getting ready to detox off sugar, or whether you are in the first 6 months after your detox). We have found that step 6 is not just about eliminating the sugars but about adapting to life and keeping the food steady afterwards. A lot of us felt sort of flat, or bored, or like "what's next?" after our detox. Most of us felt lost and didn't feel quite radiant yet and thought we might be doing something wrong because of that feeling. On the list we talk about all sorts of things that come up after detox (beta-endorphin raising, keeping the food steady, covert sugars, phasing out parts of our old lives that no longer work while phasing in the new parts, creating healthy boundaries, finding our passion, and lots more). If this is where you are in your program I highly recommend you come on over and join us. I believe it is a time period in our recovery when we need to be careful to continue to keep a strong support system. The step six list will give this to you. **********************************************************************
**Going off of Sugar ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
Going off of sugar works way better if you do some homework first. Start by CLEANING YOUR KITCHENGo into your kitchen, open your cabinets, and take out all the foods with obvious sugars in them. This includes leftover Halloween or other candy, high-sugar comfort foods, soda, sugar cereals such as Frosted Flakes – you know, all the high-temptation stuff. Throw it away or give it away. Ideally, see if you can get every last bit of it out of the house.If your family will go nuts if you give away their sugar foods, arrange with them to put all the sweet things into one place. Choose a cupboard or cabinet that you do not usually use. Call it the sugar stash. You will know what is there, but at least you can make the choice whether to go and look at or eat what is in the cupboard. By separating the sugar stash from the other foods, you will at least minimize your bumping into such foods while you are trying to be “clean”. Set the stage by TALKING TO YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDSThe next step is an emotional housecleaning. So far, your family and friends have probably seen the positive change in you as you progress with this program. They may have seen that overall you have more energy, are more upbeat, relaxed, and sympathetic. They know you aren’t “fixed” yet, but they are interested in the change that is taking place in you. Some family members may have rolled their eyes at first when they heard you were on another diet, but they have probably changed their tune by now.But now that you are going to stop eating sugar, their reactions may well change again. They may be worried that you are going to expect them to stop eating sugar, too. They may be fiercely resistant or totally uninterested in anything that has to do with your eating more regularly and giving up sugar. They may even actively subvert your commitment to the plan. Your husband may ask, “Are you still doing that stuff?” as he orders chocolate mousse for dessert. Your kids may unconsciously try to sabotage you as well. Remember, sugar sensitivity is inherited. The chances that your family is sugar sensitive are really high. You know this. They know this. And they may not be in the same place you are, ready to move toward a sugar-free life. You may also have close friends who are sugar sensitive. And friends who are still very attached to sugar and with things may warn you of the dangers of a “high-protein diet.” Telling them that this food plan is not a high-protein diet will have no impact, because the concern isn’t really about protein. They are worried that if you change, they may feel pressured to change as well. And many people are not ready to. You can’t clear out your husband or unsupportive best friend the way you can clear out your cabinet, but you can be clear with them and clear in your own mind and commitment. And you can actively add other people to your support group. You need support from people who understand your program. Talking with folks who are supportive is absolutely critical to your success. You could do this by doing the program with a friend, joining a local Potatoes Not Prozac support group, or finding a way to get online and talk to the great folks on the website. However you choose to find support, make a real effort to do so! It will make a world off difference to the success of your program. Having personal connection to others doing the program will help you stick with it. The last part: HOLDING THE SADNESSA key part of getting ready to take the sugars out is acknowledging the intensity of the emotional cues associated with sugars in our culture. Many of your childhood memories of support and love are connected to food, usually sweet or white foods. They hold a very big emotional charge for you.But the foods you think of as providing comfort are the very things that have contributed to your problems. In other words, oftentimes the reason you need comfort is due to the very sweet or white food you are eating! This is a very difficult concept to explain to someone who is still using comfort foods. When you are caught in the middle of these foods, it is almost impossible to understand how big a problem they are creating. An alcoholic who is still drinking will often tell me, “I would stop drinking if I could just get my life squared away.” And she will struggle and struggle and struggle to fix her problems, but they still surround her and create her need for a drink. Using sugars and white things acts in exactly the same way. I used to feel I needed a hot fudge sundae every night after work because my work was so stressful, so demanding, and so tiring. I had no idea that it was the hot fudge sundae that was significantly contributing to the stress of my life. My sugar-laden brain could not in any way make that connection. Because you have been doing the plan for a while now, I know this concept is starting to make sense to you. You can see more clearly the huge effect that these sugar foods have on you. You recognize that your down sides are directly correlated to what you are eating. So, on an intellectual level you are ready. On an emotional level, though, you may continue to be scared about having to give things up that have so much tenderness associated with them. After all is said and done, ultimately you will be making a choice about what you want more. I still miss those green-iced Christmas cookies. I still want them every Christmas. Time has not made it easier. But experience has. I want my recovery more than I want the ‘illusion’ of comfort that those cookies would give me. You will grow into this place, too. The longer you do the program, the more this will make sense to you. Come join the Step Six Group. Talk with others about this step. Get connected and find how much easier it is than you expected. Thanks for reading! If you know someone who could benefit from this, feel free to forward it to them. Not a subscriber yet? Like what you have read? Sign up to get future issues delivered straight to you: http://www.radiantrecovery.com Until next time!
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. ©2012 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 |
