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September 2, 2013 Hi {!firstname_fix} I have returned home from the sea and granite. Coming in on the plane last night I was watching a thunderstorm from above. You could see it churning with electricity all rolling around and then, zap, a bolt of lightning would flash out to the ground. It was totally amazing. Reminds me of ss people in a storm LOL. I left Vinalhaven on the ferry at 7 AM in the mist and 62 degrees and got to Albuquerque at 9 PM where I clearly did NOT need a sweatshirt except to mop up the sweat running down my face. Today is laundry and catching up. The dogs are lying on my feet. They asked about the lobster and I told them I did not bring them any. While I was sitting quietly on vacation I had some thoughts about changing how I do consultations. I have had a number of people who have asked me about coaching them in a more ongoing basis. They get the food part from the classes and the step lists, but really want to spend some time in depth looking at their own lives and what it means to change this way. This is something that has come up over and over. And realistically my current fee structure does not allow it for a lot of people. So I starting thinking about fees and how people set them. My trainer gets $80 an hour, the going rate in Albuquerque and she does not have a college degree and is not yet certified. A message therapist gets $75 an hour. I googled to see what a Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist gets and found they get paid $350 an hour. My intellectual property rights lawyer gets $750 an hour and you can be sure I am VERY efficient. My doctor gets $100 for 6 minutes, I hate to even think what that is an hour, LOL. All of this was making me laugh. So here is what I came up with. I think my current rate is reasonable if you are planning a one shot see how Kathleen can get to the heart of the issues and provide you with a very clear and organized game plan in a hour...something that might take you 6 months of groping to discover. But let's say you decided you would like to do an assessment, and then talk with me once a month for 6 months, or once a week for 4 weeks...then it seems to me we can talk about a package that will work for both of us. I think the helpful thing is for us to be thinking about this together. I think sugar-sensitive people (particularly ss women) sometimes struggle with money...it is part of our *less than* brains. Sometimes we have poverty consciousness when it is not warranted by the fact, sometimes we are underearners as part of our addiction to misery, and sometimes we just get scared by money. In some ways, it is pretty remarkable that I am even available for this at all, LOL. I sure would love to go online and book an appointment with Deepak Chopra for an hour. Hmm, now that is an intriguing thought. Imagine him actually posting on a meditation list. That made me chuckle. So here we are, with Kathleen accessible and working on ways to support all of you best. These classes will begin Wednesday, September 4, 2013. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:
These classes will begin Wednesday, September 11, 2013. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: I will be working on the design of the schedule this week, so we don't have these classes set yet. Click on and bookmark the link below to check back to see what I will put up. 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 ** When you understand your sugar sensitivity, what has been an overwhelming mystery in your life becomes a fascinating journey in self-discovery. **********************************************************************
**Testimonial of the Week ** I've been there, too. Quit sugar cold-turkey because I was too scared to trust that I could do it the way Kathleen wrote it (not the greatest idea, LOL). Ran out of money before I ran out of month (Shredded Wheat and whey protein work fine for breakfast). Wondered if I was ever going to be able to stay with it (I'll have 7 years in RR the first of January). Gained weight. Lost weight. Cried. Learned to laugh. Finally figured out that all of this doesn't have to be hard. I just kept eating breakfast. And I kept posting. The lists are so helpful. You're doing great, Kitty. Every part of every step that you put into place makes a difference. Keep it up! Jo M. **********************************************************************
**Radiant Life ** Hi everyone, The conference and my presentation went really well! I meant to come straight here and share, while finding I needed some time to unwind and digest. It was a really big day. And OK, I was a bit naive about this conference - just what big a deal it really was. I was actually trying to tell myself it wasn't, and trying not to hear Kathleen say it was, LOL. As I sat listening to the keynote speaker, I got goosebumps and tears in my eyes as he talked in depth about the power of peers modeling and sharing recovery so others can have it too - with the reality touching me that this is my path... sharing the program, and well as my own personal life story as well... to help others. His name was Harvey Rosenthal, the executive director of NYAPRS- New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services. As he talked about peers in recovery helping others to heal and transition out of the mental health system, he also talked about healing the mental health system out of the people - which especially spoke to me. I totally got that, and am going to write him to tell him how much I enjoyed hearing him speak and how it touched me, and will share some of my own story, and include a copy of PnP. My presentation was at the end of the day, and I decided to use some of the time in between to make little connections with some of the people that would be attending. Everyone's name tags included the codes for the workshops they had signed up for, so that was easy. I just looked for C3's, and would say, 'Oh..you're taking my workshop!,' strike up a little conversation about it and let them know I was excited they were coming.. and that we would have fun. My networking had a little more powerful impact than I expected, lol, as people were telling their friends, and they were asking to have their workshop choices switched. By the end of the day the registration for my session had doubled. That blew me away. My turn to present was right after a break, and when people started filtering into the room they were carrying giant cookies that someone was handing out down the hall. I thought, 'well..ok good! They are going to *get* what I'm about to share with them, and this could really really help.' That helped me to relax. Then I heard someone say they felt guilty bringing a cookie into the *sugar is evil class* and I laughed and said, 'Oh man..they really set you guys up, didn't they!' And then everyone was laughing. We were having fun already! So I introduced myself and shared my history, what things were like before I found the program, how things have changed, and a bit about how things are now. I talked about sugar sensitivity, showed them about volatile blood sugar on a white board, then offered a little break - but no one wanted it, LOL. So I said, 'Ok, anyone wanna do the sugar sensitivity quiz in the handout?' They had a lot of fun with that, and people opened up and started sharing their relationship with sweets and sugar stories, and I shared a couple of my own. The camaraderie with this was really nice, and I loved how it brought us all together as a group. Then I talked about the SS brain chemistry, and more about PnP and the program. I outlined the steps and talked about the website and the community, and more about how life is for me now... offering that I would really love for them to have this too. People asked lots of questions throughout, took a lot of notes and there was a line of people waiting to talk to me at the end. Several people that work for various mental health agencies asked me if I would be interested in coming to do talks there, and gave me their cards. I said I would love to, and will call them this week. :) Diane Well done Diane!! **********************************************************************
**Radiant Ambassadors **  I thought it might be fun to share an article on the BBC website linking kids who love sugar with depression and alcoholism in their families: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8506758.stm It seems that not only has the summary from the Addiction journal appeared in the Los Angeles Times, but also on the very influential Huffington Post site too. The LA Times started their story with: "A new study finds there may be a link between sweet preference in children and a family history of alcoholism, plus the child's feelings of depression." What I love about seeing all this discussion is the fact that talking about these connections seems to be be coming more and more mainstream. So that means more people will be looking for a solution. That’s where we come in. Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
**How I Found Radiant Recovery ** Hi Everyone. My name is Mary, and I live in Richmond Hill, Ontario. I am married, with no children, except my dog, Durango, who is my pride and joy. I just found out about this program through a link posted in a discussion on a recovery group I belong to. I have just purchased the book and will start reading it later today. So, needless to say, I haven’t started the program yet. I’m hoping that following this program will help me get off of the sweets “marathon” I have been on for the last year and one half. I look forward to learning more about this program and to getting to know all of you. Best regards, Mary **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. 
 Kathleen came back from Maine and reported that she LOVED using her little calendar to record the events of the trip. I noticed that someone else had reported on Facebook that she ordered a journal cover from Selena. I know that Kathleen tucked her calendar on the other side of her journal in the Selena cover she uses. I just have a couple left and thought I had better let you guys grab them before I return them to the publisher. We are doing a clearance for $12.95 and once they are gone we won't have them again until next year. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
**Radiant Kitchen ** Cook up your sweet potatoes (yams are so much easier to say, but we don’t get true yams), and mush them up. Add some oil (I use coconut oil), and about the same amount of rolled oats as you have of yams. I’ll use a cup of yams as an example. So you take your cup of yams, cup of oats, blurp of oil, and about 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, shredded coconut, and mix them all together. You want it to hold together, and be nice and sticky, so add water if you need to. I then use a scoop, and make little mounds, but flatten them with a fork. Bake at 400* for about 15 to 20 minutes. I freeze these, and take them out as needed…they are yummy cold and yummy hot, and they don’t crumble, and don’t get mushy, and travel well! Using peanut butter instead of the oil is yummy. And I bet you could experiment and use different spices…for variety. Enjoy! Colette Yam Cakes #2 I bake a bunch of large yams all at once, slip them out of the skins, and freeze in 3 Cup containers. (I use sweet potatoes a lot, LOL — not just for yam cakes!) When I’m ready to make yam cakes I thaw a 3-cup container of sweet potato, add a bit of water and warm slightly in the microwave, then mash them. I use a hand held potato masher, but you could use a food processor or whatever suits you. I add 3 cups of quick-cooking rolled oats, 1 cup of Restore protein powder and 1 cup of PB. I also add some more water, about 1/3-1/2 of a cup (I used a total of 1/2 cup of water), to get a sticky, goopy, but partly pourable consistency. Press into a lightly greased 9 X 13 pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Cool and cut into 32 squares. Store in fridge or freezer. My math showed that 5 squares had about a one cup serving of brown and about 19 grams of protein. Elaine in CO For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site. **********************************************************************
**Radiant YLD ** We are going to be starting the process of looking at YLD as a whole starting with the needs of the people just coming in all the way up to the people who are ready to move on their actual weight loss phase. It should be exciting and fun. 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. This week we will be talking about what I have written in the article...how to discern the important things of your life while being buffeted by a gadzillion competing demands. 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 ** Radiant Men is a group that we have restarted based on what you have asked for. It used to be called Radiant Guys, but that name is now taken. This group is designed to respond to the special and unique issues of being sugar sensitive as a male. We will look at style and tips for making your program work better. **********************************************************************
**Building Clarity with Nanos on Stickies ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
In the past few months, it has seemed that I had so much to do that my head was spinning. All the conflicting demands of the things in my life just seemed to paralyze me. I got an idea of taking time to look at all of it systematically and see if I could understand why it felt so overwhelming. I had a planning pad that I had purchased for the New Year. It is kind of a huge sticky pad marked off in 5 columns. The whole right edge has a set of little 1 by 1 inch stickies in different colors. I figured I would do the opposite of the nano process by which we break a problem into smaller and smaller pieces. I would identify all the tiny small pieces, the nano's, and then put them into clumps so I could begin to see patterns.The use of the tiny stickies to write off the things I had to do was just like brainstorming today's “to do” lists. After about 20 minutes, I began to see patterns. So I put some column headers on the big pad: Golden Retriever Rescue, Radiant Recovery, The Store, Writing and Creative Things, Health and Fitness, Spirituality, Family, Play. Then I began to move the little stickies under the right columns. In 5 minutes, I saw that rescue needed a whole new sheet, so I moved all the rescue stickies to a 2nd big sheet. The same was true for the store and Radiant Recovery. As a moved all the stickies to the new sheets, I was floored at all the stickies everywhere. I thought, " Holy moley, Batman, no wonder you feel so paralyzed! This is way too much for you to be doing." I started to get brain fog. 
So I got up and did laundry, made lunch, went to the gym, took a nap. I came back to the big table with all the sheets. I took the rescue sheet first since it seems to have the least emotional charge. I decided on some columns: dog care dealing with potential adoptees, intake/placement, admin, finances, and legal. I moved all the stickies around until they were in the right place. I had a whole sheet covered with jobs and responsibilities. It was mind-boggling. I had to get up and walk around after that one. So I left it for a day and came back to the process the next day.
The next day I took on the task of sorting out all the stickies for the store. This included things like orders, fulfillment, admin, taxes, customer service, record keeping, and on and on and on I call it. I color-coded the stickies for the store into the things that David is responsible for and the things that I'm responsible for. And I sat and thought about this for a long time and then the next morning I asked David if he would like to go to lunch so that we could talk about all the stickies on this sheet. We had a wonderful time exploring what this sticky stuff meant. He added a few, I added a few. Then I asked him to rank his enjoyment and skill for each of them. We had one of the most interesting management conversations we've had in years. And I came away from that feeling as if the store is working just fine for the most part and I really could hand over to him and not be carrying all those cool stickies in my brain. By this time I had realized that I could mostly do the same thing for the rescue page. I could let things be quiet for a while, not take any new dogs and simply push the pause button for a while so that I could catch my breath.The energy that was flowing with all of this actually surprised me. All of a sudden I began to feel as if I had a set of manageable tasks, or at least parts that I could break down in such a way that they became manageable. Each time I handed over something or I took a sticky off, it freed up more and more energy for me. Then I looked at the columns on my process that were remaining. I saw that I had Radiant Recovery, my creative work, my spiritual practice, my health and fitness program, my friends and family, and play. By this time I was starting to laugh because it was really clear to me that part of my paralysis was a function of things being wholly distorted into my familiar overwork rather than having a balance of play, fun and working hard. I next spent some time with the health and fitness column. This actually is in pretty good shape. It includes things like doing the food, taking care of some minor health issues, and working my fitness program. So each of those stickies could get a check on them and then I was able to set that page aside. So now I had 3 pages that I had essentially taken off the grid and I could begin to turn my attention to the things that were left. 
In some ways it's hard to explain how joyful this process became. Originally I started doing it as a way to climb out of the hole that I felt I was in. But by combining my love of office supplies to help assess different colored stickies and find a pretty flexible and fluid way of looking at all the different pieces I discovered something that was incredibly fun. It was like doing a boardgame.I've included some pictures so that you can see what this looks like. Sometimes a visual is more helpful when we are presenting a new idea like this so you can see what the pages look like. I got the pad at my local office supply store. The stickies included with the original package were kind of useless because they kept falling off. So, of course,I had to go back to the store and buy some new brightly-colored stickies and a new gel pen in a different color so that everything would be color-coded. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. And in fact, the most exciting thing is that this entire article was written by transcription on my computer. This means that I set up my little microphone. Actually it's not so little it's called a snowball and is about the size of a softball and I can speak directly into it. The words get transmitted into a dictation program that writes out what I have said into text. And because my mother was in the theater and later became a speech teacher I learned at a very early age how to enunciate in a way that makes speech to text transcription very easy. And most exciting, it minimizes the number of typos made in the process. Ironic that Dragon Dictate types way better than Kathleen they may zone [Its only error, LOL. I left it for you to enjoy.] At any rate, you know that I love technology, you know that I love the art of making things that are tough simple, and most of all I love bringing joy dots into my life. 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 |
