Hi {!firstname_fix}

We have settled down from a wonderful ranch. Everyone is home and back in regular life now. Time for a few catching up ideas. I have been doing a special class for new people. Someone said she had never read the newsletters because she thought they were just an ad for classes. So I hope you all know to scroll all the way down to get the treasures here (smile). We will be starting these new classes the week of 5/21. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page:

Dopamine is the newest addition to the brain chemistry series. Learn about the mighty cousin to serotonin and beta endorphin. Learn how he sparkles and seduces and what to do to have him as an aly rather than a dragon

Step One: The Art of Breakfast is our foundation class to get you started. Learn all four parts of step 1 in a structured way. Learn how to progress through them with enjoyment. Let us support getting your program off to a fabulous start.

What Else is Embedded in the Steps is a great class to learn about what the steps really do. The program is way more than just the food. This class takes you to the heart of the process.

We will be starting these new classes the week of 5/28. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page:

Step 2 Journaling: An Introduction will teach you the basics of journaling. The class will give you step by step instructions in how to record your food and feelings in a way that gets you excited.

Resource Center Tour is another one of our free walking tours through the website. This one takes you through the resource center. Explore all the nooks and crannies and discover things you did not know were there.

YLD Weightloss Emotions is the class for those of you who are ready, are on step seven and want to clear out a little of the being fat baggage. You don't need therapy, a two week class will give you wonderful, wonderful tools to get you on your way.

I have posted a new class schedule on line. 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. The classes are done online and you do not have to be at your computer at any set time. And although I advertise that the classes are one or two weeks, sometimes we are a little flexible and they may run longer.

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.

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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May 21, 2007
** Quote From Kathleen **


The relationship between your food and your quality of life is powerful. When you are starting out, you may not want to to accept this, but if your food is steady, your life will be steady. If your food is rocky, you life will be rocky.

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** Testimonial for the Week**


Here is a fun exchange from the step 7 list - a sweet glimpse of what recovery brings.

Oh, that's right...no big commitments for now...what great impulse control you have! Enjoy the fostering!

Colette

Thanks Colette :) We can thank ol spud for that. One thing I did realize at Ranch during the talk on brain chemistry is that I finally have the serotonin leg of my stool very steady. I never binge anymore, or do any of the other impulsive stuff. It's AMAZING!

On the other hand, I am falling in love with my foster dog Sebastian. I don't usually get so attached to my fosters. He is so awesome though!

Tina

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**Recipe of the Week**

Here is a recipe that I made up last year. We were having a discussion of fish sticks for kids and this is a great alternative. It also works for those off of wheat since you can use Kathleen's famous alternative of brown rice and oat flour mixed together.

BATTER-FRIED FISH
  • 1 1/3 c. whole wheat or whole spelt flour (or 2/3 c. brown rice flour and 2/3 c. oat flour)
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2/3 tsp. salt
  • 10 tsp. butter
  • 1 lb. sole or flounder
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 c. club soda or seltzer
Mix together flour(s), baking powder, salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until it resembles fine crumbs. Set aside. Heat oil in deep fryer to 375 degrees. Rinse fish and pat dry. Mix flour mixture together with pepper and add in egg and club soda to make a thick batter. Dip fish into the batter. Deep fry fish, a few pieces at a time for about 5 minutes or until it is deep golden brown and the fish flakes easily. Drain on paper towels.

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

YLDonline is a membership program run directly by Kathleen DesMaisons herself.


I have been reflecting on new directions for YLD as well. The weight loss readiness folks are just settled and doing the job. Weight loss in action is moving ahead successfully. Losing weight, having fun, feeling great.

It’s funny, the more settled people get, the less frantic about numbers you are. I think this is why chats are so much fun. I love exploring things that enhance your recovery. And mostly, I love that you are so totally getting it.



If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun.
 


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**David's Corner **

David manages the Radiant Recovery Store. He is also Kathleen’s oldest son.



Summertime allergies? Get some ProEpa and some pycnogenol. I have been hearing wonderful reports from this dynamic duo.


And one other helpful idea....when you first start increasing your protein and veggies, your body might complain a bit. Kathleen explained that sometimes people who are sugar sensitive have lower levels of the enzymes that handle these things. Our digestive enzymes can really help. Try getting Quadrazyme.


Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better.

 
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**Our Online Groups**


The Radiantdepression group is all about support for the person who is depressed and trying to work Kathleen's 7-step program of recovery from sugar addiction. Many of us have struggled with severe depression for years without any hope of finding an end to it. But through doing the food we have found that hope returning and have found light where before there was only darkness.

Some of us are taking anti-depressants while doing the food, so we talk about how the two are compatible and we also share about getting through the tough spots together, with support from each other. If you are feeling depressed please come join us. There is hope.

Or come to the group page to see all our groups. http://www.radiantrecovery.com/list_serves.htm


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**I Have Been Trying Step 2 for Two Years **
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.


As you know, I sometimes reissue certain articles in the newsletter.. This is one of my favorities.

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Last week, we had a number of conversations in the community about how long the steps should take. People were sharing about not being able to move beyond journaling. As usual, there was a lot of encouragement and support. As a group, we are kind. We care about one another; we listen and hold one another up.

But, today, I am going to add another perspective. I am going to challenge you. If you want to be healed, you need to take action. Nodding at the idea but not acting will never heal you. Addiction has you by the throat. It has its icy hands around your heart. It is stealing your life.

Support will help. But sometimes kindness helps to keep you stuck. Sometimes a greater kindness will say, “If you want what we have, do what we do.” Feeling miserable about your life and doing nothing means that things will not change.

Sugar sensitives have a hard time committing. Usually we wait until it is really, really bad to take action. This is natural. Our unbalanced biochemistry tilts us in the direction of spinning and being stuck. Sugar makes us immobile. Sugar saps our spark and dilutes our motivation. It deflects intention. And if we just “wait” for it to get better, we will wait a lifetime.

At some point, healing requires commitment. It demands saying, “I will do what it takes to get well.” It means that our intention overrides the sugar effect. It means that we actually “do” the journal. Even though it is hard and requires paying attention. We stop flapping and we start focusing. We stop saying, “You know, I have ADD, this is too hard for me” and we say, “What do I need in order for this to work.”

When you make this commitment, you come to the lists, to the forum with a different frame of reference. What is there to learn? Who can guide you? This community has the most extraordinary people in it. People who are skilled and competent with the program. People who have been where you are and are not there now.

Ask for help. Rather than staying stuck, commit. If you do not know what to do, say so. And then LISTEN. Here is an example…

Someone comes to me and says, “Kathleen, my life is overwhelming, my sugar is out of control, I cannot find my way, I am in pain, I don’t know what to do. Will you help?”

I say, “Eat breakfast.”

“Oh, I do that already. I was been doing Atkins for 5 years. I just can’t get the journal down.”

“Do you eat within a hour of getting up?”

“Well, most days. Well, some days. But I am really busy. I have 4 kids and it is a rush to get everyone off to school.”

“Are you getting enough protein?”

“Well, of course. I have 2 eggs every morning.”

So I wait. I figure this is a person who is not ready. She goes on the forum and starts talking about the kids and the stress and her life and not being able to journal. She gets suggestions about the journal and for every one there is a reason why that can’t work for her.

I have been called “harsh” because I am demanding. I have been called insensitive because I do not get caught in the swirl of the kids and time and the job and the “stuff.” I have been told I do not understand how hard it is. I have been accused of being curt because I don’t get into a long discussion about how hard it is.

How hard it is does not matter. Of course it is hard. If it were easy, we would have all healed many years ago. Sugar addiction is nasty. It takes commitment and courage. It takes willingness. But you do not have to do it alone, or by white knuckling it. Ask for help and then listen. Follow instructions. Do the steps. One at a time. In order. With enough time for your body to integrate the pattern. Accept that there is a reason, a very powerful one, that they are in the order they are. Consider that someone might know something more than you do about how to heal this nasty stuff. Be outrageous and consider that the people who have gone before you really, truly do have something to offer you.

Ask for guidance rather than hugs. And then commit. Whatever it takes. And watch the miracle unfold. Your body will change. Your spirit will change. Your life will change. Beyond anything you could ever have imagined.

But it won’t happen if you stay stuck for 2 years.



©Kathleen DesMaisons 2007.

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.
David, who runs the Radiant Recovery® Store talks about what new products we have.

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.htm.

©2007 by 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 and use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®. Please visit Kathleen's website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction." Please notify me at kathleen@radiantrecovery.com to let me know where the material will appear.

Banner Photograph by Patti Holden, Step 7