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September 14, 2015 Hi {!firstname_fix} Yesterday morning I was out early. It was quite cool. Felt like Summer pushing toward Fall. I hesitated for a moment to decide about getting a sweatshirt, but decided it would warm up soon enough. I had a nice day of Saturday things...got my car washed and cleaned, went to the grocery store to get some sweet potatoes for dinner, finished the laundry. Regular life. Little Daisy got spayed yesterday so she is crashing around the house with her *cone of shame* figuring out how to lie so she can be comfortable. Ronan is being solicitous. I also spent several hours sitting on the bed with a stack of research monographs, my pen and a yellow marker. I am weaving a story for the next level of weight loss. I will say more about that in the article below. I recently had some blood work and so got a *number* for my insulin levels. It mobilized me and mobilization for me means getting information. I thought I knew a fair amount about insulin resistance and of course it seems like a drop in the bucket compared to what there is to be known. What is exciting to discover is that since I last went looking, people are now writing about food things that can make a huge difference. So I find that *solution* ideas are around that many of us have not heard about - well at least I haven’t (smile)...so my joy will be bringing that to you. This class will begin Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Please Signup and it will take you to the registration page:
This class will begin Wednesday, September 23, 2015. Please Signup and it will take you to the registration page:
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 ** We recently had a conversation on the YLD list about the whole dilemma of our living in the wash of the public perception about the evils of being overweight. Melissa wrote a wonderful note to the list and I asked her if I might share it with you. Dear Kathleen, I so appreciate your honesty about the RR 'rules,' and the dilemma of 'weight loss' vs. public perception. Despite my initial doubts, wobbling and resistance, the information you have taught us has proven true and I have come to respect and believe in your process. In my whole life, I have never been able to stick to a 'diet' but I have been sugar free for three years and I have a relationship with food that is now both do-able and sane. For me this is incredible, and I am so grateful and proud of my accomplishment. Your work is backed by good science but has also created a community that is so supportive and humane, I feel understood and safe. Although the RR program has never been about losing weight, it is time to include weight loss as an adjunct. This is not for the diet-heads or the judgmental public. it is for all of us who want a better relationship with our bodies. You have taught us how to do maintenance, and to have joy in our lives. There has to be a sane way to lose weight without severe restrictions and rebounding. I believe the RR community is ready to learn and to develop this step and be the voice of reason to a frenzied obesity-obsessed public. You can show us the way. Melissa **********************************************************************
**Interesting Bits of Science ** Aspartame exposure may promote hyperglycemia and insulin intolerance. MSG may interact with aspartame to further impair glucose intolerance. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2012 Jun 14;9(1):58. doi: 10.1186/1743-7075-9-58. 
Ok, here is an interesting article on work that was done with C57 mice. Many people believe that having Diet Coke is a good alternative to having sugar-filled soda. They found that aspartame increases blood sugar and actually adds to insulin resistance. Add that to barbecue corn chips laced with MSG, and the effects are magnified. I did have fun imagining our friends, the C57s, sitting by the pool with chips and Diet Coke and then gaining weight or adiposity as the scientists might say.Another article also speaks about *spatial cognition* being impaired. Aspartame is not a good solution. **********************************************************************
**Notes from the Forum ** Why I stay with the programme? That is an easy one for me to answer. Here is me pre steps: I have a lovely life but I am totally anxious, weight obsessed. I have rosacea/acne and dermatitis. I live on a permanent yo yo of dieting. Certain foods pull me in and I feel controlled by it. I am tied to drama and worrying. I am fat and self-conscious and less-than. I have the same old black tops and leggings and I cant fit in anything else. Me with steps steady: I still have my lovely life and I appreciate it. I am calm. My skin is clear and I don't feel embarrassed about it any more. I have a keen eye on my journal and work on my weight maintenance. It's work but I don't feel driven by that any more, it's just something I do. I have a great freedom around food now and I get to choose. I have a normal BMI for the first time in my life. I love shopping for tops and jeans. I don't get pulled into other people's drama so much these days. It's peaceful. If something is off in my steps, I have a little reminder of what life used to be like. For instance, last year I ate some unwise pecans with sugar on.... I got very rosy and looked sunburnt and DH said .... 'What did you eat ?'  and added to that while travelling I didn't get enough protein etc - Well! I felt low and grumpy and the world was against me. I knew it would pass, though, and focused on steps as much as possible to rebalance.So it is so easy to stay and not slip. No contest about it, I so much prefer steady.  I wouldn't say it has been easy though, there were times in step three when I thought I had fallen down a hole and would never get out. But I don't regret those experiences. I learnt such a lot from them.The 'tools' that help me are: journal (because if I don't journal I forget) and connection. Reading the forum and listening to everyone's ideas and reminders. Focusing on my step. I do step seven but often have a special eye on one of them according to my circumstances  Mosaic **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** 
I was talking with David about which of our store products he loves. He said Pycnogenol® 'because it is so light I can tuck it in anywhere.' This made me laugh. I thought it would be fun to share the other side of how we decide to carry a product. I think Pycnogenol® is an incredible thing. Let me walk you through some of what has been written about it. If you would like get some of the citations for these observations, just let me know. - KathleenAllergy So Pycnogenol® makes your body less reactive to allergens. Arthritis Instead of nasty side effects, you can get a positive effect with an herbal intervention. Diabetes There is lots written about Pycnogenol® and diabetes. It is pretty powerful stuff. Air Travel This actually is the reason I first got interested in Pycnogenol®. The biggest risk in air flight is not having an accident, it is having a blood clot from sitting for a long time with pressure on the back of your knees. Pycnogenol® seems to prevent this. I recommend that anyone flying for more than 2 hours just add Pycnogenol® to your travel kit. Pregnancy Melasma is the brown mask that comes with pregnancy. It is hormonally induced. I am wondering if pycnogenol will affect the brown spots of aging. Weight Loss Pycnogenol® stimulates fat burning and inhibits fat storing. Surgery I originally got it for the store because the other thing it does is strengthen capillary walls. If you take higher doses of fish oil (or even aspirin), it thins your blood. And if you have brittle capillaries, it can make you more vulnerable to bruising. I found that pycnogenol seems to really help this. Then I learned about the travel and blood clots thing and said, 'ok, let's get this stuff in the store.' Then one day, I started poking around in Medline. This is a mighty powerful little option we have. See what you think. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
**Radiant Kitchen ** Stir-Fried Lemon Asparagus Ingredients:
Wash and dry asparagus and break off the tough part of the stems. Cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Stir-fry garlic for 1 minute. Add asparagus and water chestnuts. Stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Add bouillon cube, lemon juice, lemon zest, and soy sauce. Cook another minute or so until asparagus is crisp-tender and all ingredients are heated through. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings. http://www.radiantrecovery.com/vegetables.html#asparagus
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**Radiant Your Last Diet ** YLD chat is where we talk about all things weight loss. If this is part of your story, and you want support, ideas, motivation and new information, come join us. If you would like to join us in YLD, come find us here **********************************************************************
**Radiant Living ** We use the Radiant Life Chats to deepen our programs. Often we talk about the things brought up in the weekly article in the newsletter. Sometimes we work with someone who is going through a hard time. Usually it is a combination of both. It is an incredible resource for the community. If you would like to join us in Radiant Living, come find us here **********************************************************************
**Refining the Weight Loss Process ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
Well, I have been thinking lots more these days about the weight loss story. You know, every diet pretty much says eat less, exercise more. The newer ones say stop sugar and stop carbs. Well actually Atkins was saying that 30 years ago, but the newer iterations say it more creatively. There are some problems with this. First of all it puts your brain into shock, it reinforces the idea of *restriction* as the solution and it does not take into consideration the fact that if you are sugar sensitive, your body chemistry is different. A person who is not sugar sensitive can, in fact, eat less, exercise more and simply lose weight and be done with it. I have NEVER met a sugar sensitive person who had that experience. I know that some of you have pretty good skill at losing weight, but keeping it off seems to elude you. You get into the process of yo-yo dieting which wrecks your metabolism. You get older, you have hormonal changes and you get beaten down by the cultural messages that women need to be ultra thin to be valued. Women who are larger are made invisible, told they are at risk for every health problem imaginable, and your already low self esteem gets more crushed by this onslaught. The problem is that dieting does not create problem solving, it does not change your brain chemistry, it does not address addiction, it does not create a different relationship to food and it actually reinforces the belief that restriction is the solution [which it is not]. Food becomes one more enemy, people talk about *food addiction* as if it were real. Food is the healer. Food is at the core of your transformation. Here in Radiant Recovery, we do things from the other side. FIRST we heal, then we support your weight loss. We want you to be fit, have dense functional muscles, have a strong heart, reduce the inflammation that your weight creates, to protect your pancreas and kidneys from the impact of metabolic syndrome. We want you to be in a steady state, free of addiction and experienced in abundance and joy. All of that can happen long before you move into weight loss mode. Rather than putting you into shock and then beating you up, we invite you into healing and then teach you the progressive steps that allow you to lose fat (and retain muscle). Personally, I think that anyone who is overweight (or anyone who is terrified of being overweight) suffers from a serious ongoing trauma, and lives under a shroud of PTSD, and if you try to diet your way into healing, it will not work. Now, I know that when you start, you will believe that if you just lose weight, all those things will be solved. Why would you not believe that, you're told it a 100 times a day by every media imaginable. And even if you are insulated from the media, your own brain will remind you. And this belief is fueled by your unbalanced chemistry. You are brainwashed into magical thinking and media that says, not only 30 pounds in 30 days, but 90 pounds in 90 days and somewhere deep down you believe this to be true. I have just read a 100 pages of introductions from people coming into the community. The level of pain and desperation and sadness is simply surreal. And I KNOW that these voices are echoing our culture. The message is deadly and pervasive. And I also know that it takes a special kind of willingness to trust that maybe there is a different way. Maybe this strange idea of healing first has something to it. Stop the addiction, create steady state, learn best browns, learn best proteins, get fit, let go of misery, learn joy dots, and create a reasonable plan that you can do, succeed at and live with. I am revising the YLD program, updating it to reflect what we have learned in 10 years, updating it to reflect what science has learned in ten years...(smile) funny that it is the C57 mice who get fat around the middle (they call that abdominal adiposity). Even more amazing that there are foods that directly work on abdominal adiposity so you can be eating things right out the gate that will help your body remobilize. We can have a touch of play and a wee bit of magical thinking. I talk about veggies and think of articles saying *raw vegetable food* improved insulin sensitivity and body weight control...and am patient with the arduous process of people adding some carrots to lunch. It’s kinda funny really...sort of like the polar opposite of magical thinking, eating veggies for lunch. But something is happening. At any rate, it is a wonderful time to be in the community, to be thinking about weight loss and to be healing. **********************************************************************
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. Mosaic contributes to the Notes from the Forum column. ©2015 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://radiantrecovery.com/learn/newsletter/ |
