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Welcome to Radiant Recovery®
 
April 16, 2018

Hi {!firstname_fix},

I have spent the weekend working on what will be the revised edition of Potatoes Not Prozac.It activated my creative muse which is at the top of my creating BE list of course. Then my grandson came down from Los Alamos for a visit and to celebrate David's birthday. I have figured out how to go and eat at our local NM restaurant even while doing low sodium, so it was a really fun morning.  The guys got into a whole discussion about how people learn to flirt at a very early age. It was jaw dropping for me since I missed that lesson with an uber introverted mother and an alcoholic father. What a combination. I didn't share my insight with David and Andrew, but figure most of you will know just what it meant.

Ok, this is your last opportunity to sign up for Ranch. We have 2 slots left. I am going to be  sharing some of the material that will be going into the revised edition. it includes a prequel of how we get into trouble with sugar in the first place. Ranch has also been sort of our *cutting edge* experience, and so that art will continue.

Our plans for our moving from Yahoo are progressing. We are designing a model that will be the Radiant Recovery® Community. It will include an updated open forum for information and questions, open groups for connection and sharing, closed groups for more sensitive topics like recovery and depression, and the. membership groups for Your Last Diet and Radiant Living. It means everything will be in one place and it will be way more mobile friendly. I think you will be pleased. We will put it up and let you all try it out and get used to a transition before we take anything down.

In the meantime, please be patient as Yahoo hobbles along. Keep copies of your posts and send them from the Yahoo site if need be. Or post on the forum. Maintain your humor and stay connected. Come to chat if you can. We are making the best of it and staying focused on the solution.

Please note that I am opening up a new coaching option for men. I have had a number of guys want to start the program and ask me to work with them.  I will put a reference below in the coaching section.

Remember if you have ideas or input for us on what you would like to have available, share them on the Community Forum. We do listen and are very interested in your ideas.

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 Support for Your Program

COMMUNITY FORUM
Share with others, ask questions, explore everything and anything about your program without a charge.
Share

GROUPS
Learn the steps, get fit safely, learn creative program cooking, learn about depression, learn with other men, learn with parents, share in local areas. There is no charge for groups.
Sign Up for Groups

CLASSES

I will be offering one 2 week class per month. Registration will be limited to 20 per class. If more sign up, I will open a second section. Classes are done by email, so there are no specific time constraints to be present. If you are new to the community I strongly recommend you take the brain chemistry classes.

Starting Wed April 18
I am moving the start date for this class out a week since we are still working on the Serotonin Class.

Beta Endorphin

Learn how this chemical affects your self-esteem and why your capacity to cope may be directly related to your beta endorphin levels. A fascinating look at the part of the story that is most crucial to sugar sensitivity.

Sign Up


WORKING WITH KATHLEEN

I feel very strongly about offering you a way to work with me directly. I have set up a whole range of options for you to do that - going from private coaching to being involved in small groups. This link will show you all the choices. Please note that Coaching Apprentice is open to people starting or restarting. Coaching for Men is a specialized format geared to their needs, Coaching Skilled is for people who are settled with their steps and want to look at other issues more in-depth. Signature Coaching is for those who want an individualized program support for ninety days.

Another option is setting up a one hour assessment and then making a decision based on that conversation.

And you can always call 505-345-3737 and ask me about how each one works.

Learn More
 

"You are becoming more aware, more attentive, and more committed as you go. It is cumulative."

 
Testimonial of the Week
Hi All,


My daughter, Darcie, had her first orthodontist appointment today...she now has spacers between her teeth. Her older sister, Kendra, who is done with her braces, has been incredibly helpful remembering what soft foods she liked after any orthodontic adjustment. Kendra wanted to make something *special* for her sister the first night. She found a recipe on the back of our brown rice cereal box, to make brown rice pudding. Instead of regular milk, she used coconut milk, and she didn't add any sweeteners. Both girls *loved* the pudding, and Darcie was thankful, because chewing was not very fun.


I love to watch my girls interact, and I know that the food has helped tremendously with the relationship they have with each other. I get glimpses of what life *could* have been like when the girls are off for some reason...a late night, a late meal, etc. One likes to hide and gets weepy, and the other likes to pick fights. It's not pretty. I love our recovery life, and the girls love it too!


So how are you all doing? How are the steps going for everyone?


Colette
 
Seven Steps to Healing
This is David, your Radiant Recovery® Concierge

Come visit our STORE. Call 505-345-3737 if you have questions.
David, the store manager, is always happy to help. 


Visit the Store
 
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
These are sooooo good. You have to try them.

Come over to our recipe blog for details.
Get the Full Recipe
 
Radiant Living
    I have changed the rules about Radiant Living and Your Last Diet Chats. If you are a member of either program, you may attend the chats for both Living and YLD. If you would like to attend 2 chats a week, you are more than welcome to do so.
   The Living Program supports you with all the *other* things in your life beyond the food. This week we were talking about how journals can help us discover which foods are *joy* foods. Come join a lively and caring support process.

Find Radiant Living here
 
Your Last Diet!
Your Last Diet Book Cover


I don't need to change my weight. Is there any point in joining?
Absolutely. The chats alone are worth the price of joining. It is where you can actively participate in shaping the vision of the community, learn about the latest trends, and have a terrific time with other members from around the world.


I am just starting the steps. Does it make sense to join now?

Yes, it does.  We have found that the people who come to chats do the best with the steps. There is something about the in-person, real-time connection that makes your program thrive.


If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. If you are a current member and want to join us in the new chat room, come to the landing page.  I will post the page chat words on the YLD list.


If you would like to join us in YLD, come find us here.  ​​​​​​​
 
Step Three foods
 
Flipping Into Healing
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
   


This is an amazing story from Jenny. I asked her if I could share it.


As I've said already, I've been in the RR community for 3  years. I was going to say I've been working on my programme for 3  years, but I think a lot of that time has been spent drifting, going back to my default position of crouching in a corner, and waiting for the magical healing fairy. :-)


In January this year, Kathleen wrote in the newsletter about how it was possible to work through the steps in six months, and that made me sit up and take notice. I was able to grasp the idea that I could be sugar free and working through step six by the beginning of July. I made the decision to commit to posting every day on the depression list, every day for the next six months. 180 days. I formulated a plan to spend February -  April on step three, May on step four, June on step five, prior to detox in July.


It sounded great, but I floundered. I never seemed to be able to motivate myself to get out of my chair and actually do anything. I blamed it on the depression, on fear, on shame, whatever handy excuse came to mind. I drifted away from my commitment, and didn't post for two weeks.


A turning point came when I posted a message elsewhere and got some really direct input from Kathleen. The kind of input she's so good at, the things you think you really don't want to hear, but in actuality turn out to be life changing.


I went back to my posting commitment on the depression list. With Kathleen's help I figured out that what really works for me is what were calling collaborative accountability  I set myself weekly goals on the list, follow them, report back. It keeps me focused.


But here's the thing that is really changing my life  while I was away having my big strop, Kathleen led a chat about joy. About focusing on joy, rather than the negative, and how it builds new brain pathways. Joining the joy dots. I missed that chat, but somebody brought the idea to the depression list, and started posting a list of joyful things at the end of her messages.


I joined in. But after a while, I noticed that I was adding the joy as a kind of afterthought. I would write my message, which was often quite negative in tone, and then add a couple of joys at the end. It didn't really feel very joyous, and I was struggling to find things to be joyful about.


Then Kathleen whispered in my ear  what about writing the joy at the beginning of the message?


I didn't really imagine that it would make much of a difference, but I tried it anyway. It felt a little odd to start with, but after a couple of days I noticed that by writing about positive, joyful things at the beginning, by the time I was done typing I was smiling, no matter how gloomy Id been at the start.


Within a few more days, it felt natural to write positively. I started to notice the little joys in my life, like flowers and furry, purry cats, and started to seek them out. I even tried towel origami just for the fun of it.


Its been a few weeks now. And every day I feel like Im becoming clearer, more focused, more committed to my programme. Im more cheerful, more playful, and generally a lot nicer to be with.


All of this has come from that little idea, of focusing on the joyful things. I haven't changed my food much in that time.


I still feel a bit stuck with my food, which is why I signed up to this class. When Kathleen asked us to talk about the things that were hindering us, I had to dig deep to find those negative feelings. Once I started, it was like they all came flowing out, like I was following a trail of negative breadcrumbs, and I really didnt like the way it made me feel. It was like I'd reverted back to the way I was before I starting looking for joy, and it wasn't pleasant.


Instead of wallowing in them, though, I went over to my home, the depression list, and posted my daily message, full of positives. It made me feel so much better, and was so different in tone that Kathleen said it sounded like there were two people living in my head. And it does feel like that at times. Theres the old negative me, and the new, joyful, me, who is slowly coming to the fore.


One of them is a misery addict, who sits in the corner in a swirl of gloom, bemoaning her bad luck, wishing she could be normal. The other is taking the initiative, and making positive changes, because she is responsible for her own life and her own feelings.


I know which one I like the best. :-)


Jenny



 
 

Here is the Annie Lane column that brought so many of you here.


Dear Annie: I read with interest the letter from "Weird, Stupid or Selfish?" – whose husband eats all the decorative candy she puts out. His inability to resist sugar resonated with me, as I have sugar sensitivity and have engaged in exactly the same behaviors. I simply could not resist sugar.


After years of struggling and dieting and sitting in work meetings obsessing about the doughnuts instead of the topic at hand, I discovered the book "Potatoes Not Prozac," by Kathleen DesMaisons. Her theory is that people who are sugar sensitive have brains that respond differently to sugar, alcohol and refined carbs and that what they eat and when they eat it have a huge effect on them. She shows how to rebalance blood sugar levels, serotonin and beta-endorphins through small lifestyle changes and offers the latest research, free online support and seven steps to change your life. It is not about willpower; it’s about biochemistry, which her program can slowly improve, just one tiny step at a time, with amazing results.


I have been sugar-free for six years now, lost 25 pounds and never gained any of it back. I can go to dinner with family and don’t even think twice when someone orders dessert. I don’t have cravings, and sugar is no longer on my radar. I am more focused and more tolerant, and the daily mood swings are gone. The woman who wrote to you could suggest to her husband that he check out http:// radiantrecovery.com to see whether he does have sugar sensitivity. At the very least, she would be better informed about this condition. – Happy Without Sugar


Dear Happy Without Sugar: I hadn’t considered that health issues might explain

her husband’s behavior. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of sugar sensitivity.

Thanks for opening my eyes to the condition! I’d like to encourage all readers to talk to their doctors if they find themselves compulsively eating sugary snacks.

—Email questions to dearannie@creators.com


ANNIE LANE

 
 
©2018 Kathleen DesMaisons. All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your blog 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 for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction. 

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