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You are subscribed to Simple Solutions the monthly newsletter from Radiant Recovery®. To unsubscribe, find instructions at the end of this email. A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter.

Don't forget that I am going to do a seminar in New York City on Sunday, September 25. We will cover 3 things: the overview of sugar sensitivity for those of you who are new, what we are learning about weight loss, and a special topic based on the interests of the participants. We still have some space, so if you would like to come, click here.

I will be starting some classes this week, but am running behind with the schedule. I took 3 days off to drive up to CO to visit my daughter who was working in Colorado Springs for a day. It was a wonderful trip and unexpected, but kinda slowed down the planning for the new class schedule. Let me send out a Newletter #96 supplement in a few days with an update.

In two weeks we will be starting the IBD/IBS/bad gut class for those of you who have such things. Several of you raised some questions about whether this was IBD or IBS. Actually it is both and neither and I am sorry for the confusion. We are going to provide solutions for sugar sensitive people with bad guts. Part of it is figuring out where you fall on the continuum and what your options are. As I said earlier, this is solution oriented. If you wish to join this class, please go ahead and order a copy of Breaking the Vicious Cycle from the Store. We will be referencing it in the class. The class will run two weeks.

A number of you have asked me how the classes work. Check the class list page for more information on this. The classes are done online with one lesson each day. You do not have to be at your computer at any set time.

Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Don't forget to let me know what you like and would like to see me cover.

Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery® website and Community Forum regularly.

Warmly,
Kathleen

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September 19, 2005

** Quote From Kathleen **

All this work will create enormous gains for you. As yo 'do the food,' you are going to reconnect with your thoughts.

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** Testimonial for the Week**

One of our liaisons lived in New orleans. She and her family evacuated to Dallas to stay with family. Thankfully, her employer set up shop in Houston. But here is a report from Sheila. She and her daughter planned to meet Joy Lynn for lunch before she left.

Pam and I were talking the night before the luncheon about how hard it would be to move to a strange city: where is the grocery store? where would you buy program friendly food? It was going to be especially hard for Joy Lynn because she was going to be in a corporate apartment, sharing the kitchen with several others? We didn't even know if the corporate apartment would have any food at all. Joy Lynn was starting from scratch.

We decided to support Joy Lynn by sending her off with some program friendly food. It started with just a few leftovers. Then we got really excited. We raided our freezer for our precooked meals. They were frozen in plastic containers that she could reheat and then eat the meal right out of the container. We picked out some gumbo, some Caribbean pork stew, a couple of chicken, artichoke, and spinach casseroles, and several of our other favorites. All of the meals were complete with a protein and a brown; most had veggies, too.

All total we packed 13 meals for Joy Lynn, enough for almost a week (not counting breakfast). Along with the freezer tote bag of food, we packed a little lunch bag with plastic tableware, napkins, dish soap, and some sponges (just in case she wanted to wash up). It made us happy to know that when she got to Houston, she would be all set with everything she needed to have program friendly meals.

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**Recipe of the Week**

EASY MARINATED BEAN SALAD

2/3 c. brown rice vinegar
1/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. sea salt (optional)
3 cloves garlic crushed
1/4 c. apple juice
1 can kidney beans or 2 cups cooked
1 can green beans or 2 cups cooked
1 can wax beans (yellow beans) or 2 cups cooked
1 can chickpeas or 2 cups cooked 2 medium red onions sliced very thinly

Drain and rinse canned beans very well (skip this step if you are using your own cooked beans). Boil vinegar, water, salt, garlic and apple juice and cook for approximately 2 minutes. Let cool. Add remaining ingredients to vinegar mixture. Marinate in refrigerator at least one day before serving.

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**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**

Ok, things are cranking along with our classes. The weight loss class is working diligently and the new Foundation class is having a great time. You have a number of teaching assistants who are graduates of the first weight loss class and really know the ropes. So I know you will have LOTS of personal attention.

We have been doing some really creative things in our chats. Last week I took Wednesday off to drive up to Colorado to visit my daughter who was there on business. Patti led the chat. It was so much fun, I asked her to write it up for the newsletter this week.

I love the energy you all are bringing to your weight loss plans. A far cry from desperation and fear, yes?

For those of you who are not yet YLD members, click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun. A number of you have asked me about the option of installment payments for YLD. We have set up an option of making 3 payments of $40 each. That option will come up when you go to subscribe.

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**David's Corner **

Many people have asked me about Omega 3 fatty acids and the value of taking fish oil. I asked Kathleen to write something for all of you. Click here to read her suggestions. And, of course, we carry great fish oil options.

	Epa capsules are a concentrated, odor free, certified heavy metal option for adults. They allow you to get more concentrated EPA without extra Vitamiin A.
	We have DHA for those of you who are pregnant or nursing. DHA is the fatty acid that is used to make your baby's brain. It is very important in the first three years of life.
	We also have DHA Jr. for children. It has a higher percentage of DHA and comes in very easy to swallow (or chew) little perls.
	And we also carry a very tasty cod liver oil (yes, it IS tasty!) for those of you would like to just put it in your shake or who need a larger dosage. Kathleen gives this to her dogs as well and they have NO skin problems. CLO is a great alternative for those of you who are in perimenopause and may be dealing with heavy bleeding. (sorry for a guy to speaking of a delicate subject). Ask Kathleen for more information on that one.

Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. As you know from my note last week, I have set up a little planning group to talk about what we want for the store. Please click here to join me at radiantstoredevelopment.

One other quick reminder. We do not have a telemarketing company handle the phone service. If you call at 5 AM our time, you get the voice mail. You are welcome to leave your order or ask any questions. I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks
David

And of course, we have something for everybody in our store

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**Our Online Groups**

Thd Radiant Journal list is a source of helpful information and support with journaling. On this list we talk about how to get started with the journal, how to start listening to our body and why giving it a voice is so important. We also discuss how to use the journal for detective work in our program and, of course, how to make journaling fun! Right now the list is rockin' with people supporting each other and making big discoveries with their journal. So whether you are just starting out or are looking for a recharge in your journaling, come on over and join in the fun!

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** Featured Topic**
NON-EMERGENCY ALARM? OR REAL?
Patti Holden

The other night I had a smoke alarm going off in my home. It was piercing and annoying, LOL. So we get up, and check for fire, nope, and shut them off. Two hours later they go off again. Now I am angry, I want to sleep, they are interrupting me, so we push the *hush* button and go to sleep again. Now it’s morning and my smoke alarm goes off again! At this point I’d really like to rip them off the ceiling, LOL, but instead I call the local non-emergency fire department number and they say they can come out and check them. I make note to tell them it is NOT an emergency, they say that’s fine, and they will send them out.

Rrrrrrrrr, Rrrrrrrrrr, Rrrrrrrrr, out comes a huge fire truck and a paramedic truck to our front door with alarms sounding! Yikes! I go out to greet the fireman at the front door and I say “I’m sorry; I told the woman that it was not an emergency.” But he replies with “Yes, I know ma’am, but when your smoke alarms are going off we have to treat it like one.” Whoa! Hit me like a ton of bricks (one of those Aha moments)! And I thought, how many times do we, in our programs, have smoke alarms going off and yet treat it as a non-emergency, or try to ignore them, or want to silence them by pushing the *hush* button?

For instance, let’s say you are constantly late with breakfast; maybe just by a few minutes or just barely squeaking by within the hour. So not *that* late right?

(SMOKE ALARM BELL RINGS)

Do you think this is an emergency or a non-emergency? If something in our programs is ‘off’ is there a difference? Do we address it ‘as if’ it was important? Can it wait to be addressed until the next breakfast; or a week from then? Are we willing to take a look at it and figure out a solution, or do we think we can just ignore it? Will it go away on its own?

Okay, so our breakfast is late, the alarm is sounding. What will you do? Maybe you will say “It’s no big deal” and push the *hush* button. Then the next time it is later, and later, and before you know it your whole program is falling apart and you have no idea why right? Hmmm, seems it might have been a better idea to address the first smoke alarm, the timing of breakfast, rather than wait or put it off.

Here’s another scenario:

There are empty spots in your journaling; didn’t write down the ‘justa’ you had the other day; didn’t write down that you ran 6 miles; missed a whole day of journaling this past week, etc. Well, no one is perfect yes?

(SMOKE ALARM BELL RINGS)

Do we address this as being important, or brush it off as not a big deal? What happens when 4 days later we are feeling grumpy, reactive, and tearful? Where will we look for clues? So then we don’t just have the one smoke alarm going off, we now have two (no journaling, shitty moods and no record of why) yes?

Ok, so journal is sketchy, alarm is sounding, what will you do? Putting our fingers in our ears and going “lalalalala” so as to drown out the sound of the alarm doesn’t work too well. I know I tried it, LOL! So we stop in our tracks. We go take a look. We say “Whoa, where’s the fire”! “What happened”! “Let me go look”! And it may be as simple as placing the journal where it is more accessible, or getting a pen that actually has ink (Ah a visit to the Office Supply store, LOL). And we post to the list and say, “Oh help I can’t write, and I think I hate journaling”. J We get honest and real, and we listen to the alarm, and we go look.

Another scenario might be:

Your meal timing is off and you figure it’s not a huge thing. I mean who the heck eats meals by a clock right? After all, you’ve already worked really hard at breakfast and the journal and you ARE actually eating three meals, and it’s just not convenient, timing shiming you say, LOL.

(SMOKE ALARM BELL RINGS)

So do we just continue sliding along with our meals, 6 hours apart, 7, 8? What happens when our blood sugar crashes and because we are ignoring meal timing, we then pop a sweet into our mouths outside of meals? Oh, and then our breakfast starts getting later too! Oh dear, now we have three smoke alarms sounding, yikes!

We’re afraid maybe someone will tell us we’re doing it wrong. We want to do it right. And when we’re struggling it feels like a double whammy sometimes and the shame we feel for not ‘getting it right’ can prevent us from sharing on the lists.

So we look at these things “as if” they were emergencies, because if our “smoke alarms” are going off, it needs to be treated as one. Who knows where a fire may be brewing!

But truly no one has a perfect program, no matter what step we are on. We are all in the same boat sailing together on the wind of recovery. And our RR buds are available with open arms, the fire department buds come and say, “Let’s take a look and let’s work on this together”. No shame. Problem solving. We start planning, we tighten up our timing, we figure out why it was late in the first place and where we may need to make some changes.

©Kathleen DesMaisons 2005.

Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together:

Gretel, the liaison for the recovery list and the webmaster puts it all together
Naomi gathers the recipes
JoAnna, the liaison for affiliates gathers the testimonials
Marie, the liaison for diabetes gathers the info on the online lists
David, who runs the Radiant Recovery® Store talks about what new products we have.