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April 1, 2013 Hi {!firstname_fix} 
It is definitely spring here in New Mexico. I am including a picture of my neighbor's daffodils because it makes me smile. It made me smile so much that when I went to get a new pair of athletic shoes, I just could not resist daffodil shoes. (smile)March is a month that can be difficult here. The wind blows, it is dry so we get a lot of dust. My dogs roll in the dust and then come in and shake in the living room. This creates a layer of dust everywhere. Then they get on my bed and want to sleep near me. They smell like NM dirt. This is not a bad thing, smelling like the dirt, LOL, it just means I change the sheets a lot in spring. This class will begin Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:
These classes will begin Wednesday, April 10, 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 ** Weave Step 7 into your life a hundred times a day. **********************************************************************
**Testimonial of the Week ** I can remember being ruled by sugar even as a kid. We didn't have sugar cereal at our house, but I looked forward to spending the night with certain friends because they had sugared cereal. Captain Crunch was my favorite. I would eat it until the box was gone and the top of my mouth was torn up. One friend was actually kind of mean to me and her mom was an awful crab (probably an ss family), but I loved staying there because they always had Captain Crunch. Once or twice a week I would make my own concoction that my mom and I called brown sugar candy. Butter melted on the stove, add brown sugar, sometime raw oats and freeze. I would eat a whole pan of it in a couple days. I was never overweight as a kid, don't know why not, lol. But I was a loner. Now and then I would have one or two good friends, but I always felt on the outside or on the fringe. I was smart, but I was a C student. Looking back, I wasn't always "present" in class. I would also fight with teachers instead of keeping my mouth shut. No energy, few friends, low self-esteem. As a teen, I smoked, I partied, I did drugs. I was also a very responsible employee, but my finances were a mess, my love life was always a mess and because of low self-esteem, I let people walk on me. I was a magnet for friends and boyfriends that had huge issues. I took care of all of them and they treated me badly. I quit smoking to have kids and ate more sugar and junk. Gained massive amounts of weight with both pregnancies. Was in a rotten marriage, spent too much money and hated life. My family has big issues around weight and I was the only one in the family for generations that was over-weight. It wasn't long before I was bulimic. For several years I was either gaining weight at an alarming rate or I was actively bulimic. I tried to be a good mom, but had no energy and most of the time no patience. I was out of the horrible marriage, but not really "present" for my kids. Of course they are ss too. I would lose my cool with them and then feel bad and spoil them. I would put my foot down on something important and then give in when they begged. I was mean and strict about stupid things and ignored big things everyday. Mush brain, moody and no energy. I would completely lose my temper over something stupid and stomp around, slamming doors and throwing Mornings before school were terrible and on the way to school, I would drop by the donut shop and that is what the three of us would eat for breakfast. The year my kids' dad and I divorced, I fed my kids donuts every morning before school. OMG you know, now, it is more embarrassing for me to write that about the donuts than to tell you about the bulimia and drugs. The way I was with my kids still makes me cringe. I was in a 2nd wonderful marriage to a great man, and still a mess. Would come from work and go to bed. Grumpy, no patience, hated summers because my step-daughters were there (and they are great kids). Some days I didn't want my husband to talk to me, much less touch me. I wanted to be alone in my universe with a gallon of ice cream and no one to bother me. Still a great employee and even a good boss, but a sick, whiney wife and grumpy, no energy mom. I was starting to instinctively know that sugar was at the core of my problem and did a search for sugar addiction on the web. SARP and Kathleen came up. I ordered the book and a few weeks later it arrived. The night I received the book, I remember posting on the forum while eating a bowl of cake mix. LOL. I really haven't looked back since. I trusted what I read on the lists, I whined and posted a lot and I healed at an amazing rate. My kids and I have this great relationship. They don't even attempt to beg these days. LOL. We spend a huge amount of time laughing and playing together. We have big issues now and then still, (hey, I have an ss teen in the house LOL), but I am present, I handle the situations calmly and wisely My marriage is better than ever. I actually wait on him now and then instead of the other way around. More intimacy, more laughter, less stress. We still owe money, but I don't spend it like I used to. And when we are broke, or screw up and bounce a check, I don't go off the deep end like I used to. We deal with and it doesn't take over our life. I have weight to lose, but it doesn't affect how I feel about me or how I relate to my family. I know that it will take a while for my body to trust me again. Hey, look what I have put her through her entire life. Sugar, drugs, bulimia. My house is clean, meals are on time, homework is done, plants are watered, pets are healthy and happy. Kids like mom and bring their friends home with them. I am still a good, full-time employee, but now I am also writing and actively involved with learning all there is to learn about being an author and writing as a career. I look forward to the time that I work at home and am there when my kids get home from school. Who was that person in that other life? I don't know, but I guess I learned a lot from her. Thank goodness *I* live a radiant life. (grin) Vicki L. **********************************************************************
**Radiant Ambassadors **  It looks as though writing letters might just be paying off! I received a letter in the week from the UK government's Department of Health. It looks like our Prime Minister had passed on my letter about sugar/Little Sugar Addicts as he said he was going to. It would appear that it is up to the local healthcare organisations/doctors in discussion with patients as to what support, including literature it is appropriate to provide. So I was given an address to write to for my local Clinical Commissioning Group in respect of any services they may be thinking about providing to manage the diets of people who consume too much sugar. I will write to them. Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
**How I Found Radiant Recovery ** Hi everyone. I'm Coriden, from west London. I am married to Max and have two sons - Alexander, aged 6 and Oliver, aged 5. I am currently tutoring English part-time while I am writing my novel. Alex has Asperger's so I also spend a lot of time researching and organising things for him. I bought copies of SARP and PnP when I was about a year sober in AA which is over 11 years ago now. I picked out the bits I liked the best - eat more protein and browns - and ignored the rest. I felt OK, lost some weight - my idea of OK - but I was very moody. Amazingly, I got married! It was only after the birth of my second son, when crippled with bad post-natal depression, that I joined the community. I had *known* about RR for ages and liked reading the newsletter, but I was not ready to make the commitment. I was very overweight, overwhelmed by motherhood and its demands, and the realisation was dawning that I was using sugar just as I used to use alcohol. I *knew* that Kathleen had the solution and I was desperate so I tentatively joined the Brits list. I went to a couple of London lunches and before long I was on the train to Salisbury for Euroranch - the first of many. I detoxed 3 years ago now. My recovery has not all been plain sailing but it is one helluva of a ride. I have been *nudged* into looking at other addiction pods and am aware that there is so much more to explore, but it feels like an adventure rather than work. I post on the Recovery list and know I need to connect more again. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. A couple of weeks ago I had reported that I asked David to order a new product. I want to let you know how much I LOVE it! I had hoped it would help my dry eyes. And man, it is fabulous. So we are putting it in the newsletter again. 
Here is a testimony to the impact of your input. Last week one of our regular customers told us about a Nordic Naturals product she had tried. It is called ProDHA Eye. She said her ophthalmologist had recommended it for *dry eye* and it was having a huge impact for her. Kathleen read that email and asked me if I had sent in our Nordic order yet. I said, *No, I was doing it that afternoon.* Here is her response:As I have gotten older, the issue of dry eye has become more of a problem. Living in New Mexico, which is DRY, DRY, makes it way worse. You know I LOVE Nordic products, let's give it a shot. I know it is a bit pricey, but when I think about how much I am spending on eye drops, this sounds way better. Here is what Nordic Naturals says about it:
A NOTE FROM KATHLEEN: 
After we announced the arrival of George's® Original in the store, I got an email from one of our members who asked me about the option of getting rGBH free whey protein isolate in George's® Restore. I really was not familiar with the whole rGBH story so I went and read a lot. I am pretty well convinced that this is an option that we all would like to be taking.Since we have a product on order with our supplier, I called and asked them if it would be possible to change the spec to a rGBH free isolate. Yes, it was possible, and yes they will be doing this. However, it may mean the possibility that our order will be delayed. I want to give you all a heads up about this. My suggestion is that if you want to use a non-soy shake, you switch temporarily to the RAW Protein we have in stock. I am aware that you can get that product in other places. I am hoping that you will continue to give us your business and your trust while we make these transitions. Please let me know if you have any questions. We are taking a financial hit as we make these choices which I believe are far better in the long run. In the short run, they are hard for all of us. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
**Radiant Kitchen **
Now, I know if I can make this and love it, you will too. I never thought I would like something *strange* like wild rice, but oh is it great. And I am hearing all sorts of wonderful things about its cholesterol-lowering properties. For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site. **********************************************************************
**Radiant YLD ** We have been talking about holidays and sugar. For many folks Lent was a time of restraint, and then Easter morning rolled around and brains were unregulated when the Easter bunny arrived. No wonder we thought it was a magical holiday! The joy of what we are doing in YLD is talking about what it means to live differently. We are not stumbling from diet to diet or holiday to holiday. The world just looks different. We are not obsessed with diets any more. We know what works, we know how to do it, and we simply proceed with action. 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. The conversations component of the Radiant Recovery® community is a place for joyful exploration of the rest of life things that matter for sugar sensitives. We talk *food* everywhere else. Here we talk of life and love, dogs, vacations, and joys of all sorts. 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 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 ** Most of us underestimate the importance of breakfast and try to do all the steps in the first week. When that doesn't work, we begin again. We concentrate on Step 1, breakfast, and find our lives begin to change. The Radiant Step One list is a great place to learn the nuances of breakfast, build a strong foundation for the rest of the Steps, and find how helpful it is to share our journey with others. It is great for new people and those who have been on the program a long time. Sharing helps everyone. The awesome thing is we all, Step 1 or Step 7, eat breakfast every single day. How cool is that? We'd love it for you to Sign up: We love new members! **********************************************************************
**How Long On Each Step ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
We recently had a new guy on the forum ask me this question: *Is there a recommended time frame to go through each of the steps?* I actually had fun answering it. I realized that I have never really shared in an article the whole concept of the how men and women do the program differently. I think you would enjoy hearing this. *It is an interesting question. I am going to answer you for *guys* because it does seem to be different. You probably can master step one in 2 weeks. It may take a couple of months to master step two.  But what I suggest is that you begin it, get a sense of it and go on to step 3.Step three might take 3 months. Step four might take a week to master. Step five is generally set to go by the time you get to it.  Step six might be about a month. Then for guys comes the hard part....life without addiction, dealing with feelings, knowing how to sort things, relationships, etc. For girls, the process is very different because most of us are working on the feelings all through it, and each step takes way longer.  It also depends on your history and whether you know how to cook, and whether you are used to being coached. If you already know how to cook, and are happy about coaching, it is not difficult, nor does it take long, if you are a guy. We also have a support list for men if you are interested. Kathleen * Now, if you were a woman asking me this question, I would answer it differently. I would say, *Well, there really is not any way of knowing. It kinda depends on how ready you are. If you have had 12-step experience, it will probably be pretty straight forward because you are used to following directions and a sequence. But if you are a *diet* expert, it may be hard because you will think you know it all and can simply just do it all in a week. Or if you have a lot of feeling associated with your food, you may really struggle. You may start thinking about *having to give up sugar* for the *rest of your life* and start to binge on sweets to take care of the feelings. Or if you feel your life is really stressful, you may be panicked at the idea of not having your solace and comfort. Or if you are using a lot of sugar, it may be hard for you to get focused. You may be awash in feelings and just struggle.* It seems that women do the feelings up front and when the feelings get settled, they proceed with the tasks. In a very small informal sample, I noticed that those women who are on the Asperger's continuum seemed to struggle with the feelings less. They are the ones who simply did the steps. Sometimes fairly quickly. So what is the *norm* for a woman? (smile) Many factors. If you are ready, if you are tired of it all and you WANT life to be different, and you are willing to simply do what we suggest... Step one takes about a month. Step two takes about two months to get settled enough to not fret about it. Step three takes about four or six months to get steady. Step four is pretty much a non issue and is functional. Step five is functional and usually you have already done it by the time you get to it. And Step six is a total non issue if you did the other steps. If you didn't, then it is a disaster, LOL. But it takes about six to nine months after detox to feel settled. And Step seven sort of happens. One day you wake up and you know, simply know that a shift has taken place. Kinda fun, isn't it. 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. Steph provides the Your Last Diet column. ©2013 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 |
