Artisanal heirloom tomatoes in a basket at the market
Welcome to Radiant Recovery®
Dec 23, 2018,
Hi {!firstname_fix},
    I am sending heartfelt wishes of the season. We have had the longest night of the year and now the light is growing once again. It is a full moon tonight and it is so bright my yard is fully illuminated. My family will all be arriving tomorrow. This is a historic event to have all of us here in New Mexico at the same time. They are coming from Massachusetts, Vermont, Arizona and California. We worked a wonderful arrangement for them to stay together in the *bunk house* at the Adobe Garden Bed and Breakfast. This is where we go for Ranch so it feels comfortable and familiar. And those of you have have been to Ranch can imagine the space being filled with many DesMaisons.  
    We all collaborated on the schedule and posted it on Goggle calendar. And we will be making our meals together which will be a nice respite for lots of eating out.  Tomorrow will will go to Duran's for posole and enchiladas and calavacitas and then in the evening will drive around viewing the luminaries. Christmas Eve is always a quiet time so it is wonderful to look forward to sharing it with everyone. We have mastered sugar-free, gluten-free, nothing-free without distress or angst. We will have 9 people, 4 dogs all with different temperaments and styles (both people and dogs).  But all are pleasant, accommodating and everyone will be able to enjoy that which suits them. I will post pictures.
    The house is clean, I spent the afternoon wrapping presents. I had my Christmas Cookie candle burning, and Handel's Messiah playing. I usually get a book for each person and I missed one so went out in the afternoon to find something. It was interesting, people were happy today. It was a fun outing. And David wanted to know if he could share some of my wrapping paper. It was a sweet moment.
    I stopped at Starbucks and took my latte down to the Nature Center and Brody and I watched the Sand Hill Cranes and the geese chomping corn in the field. People were walking their dogs, the sky was cloudy and it felt like snow might come. I thought about my friends all over the world. I thought about our healing community and how amazing it is to have such a connection to healing. I am happy you are a part of it.
     I have put the information up for Radiant Ranch in case you are not aware that we do have an early registration special that ends on the first. Let me know if you have questions..
  
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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GROUPS
Learn the steps, get fit safely, learn creative program cooking, learn about depression,  learn with parents, share in local areas. There is no charge for groups.
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CLASSES

Class will start up again in January.

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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.
Coaching Apprentice is open to people on steps 1-3 who are starting their program.   
Signature Coaching is for those who want to work individually with Kathleen in a 90-day process. Signature is the top of the line. All who have done it talk about their lives being changed.
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.
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"All this work will create enormous gains for you. As you 'do the food' you are going to reconnect with your birthright."
Testimonial of the Week

You are in the right place! I have suffered from depression in the past, the kind where you can hardly move, can't sleep, can't stay awake, can't live, and feeling like nobody loves me and nothing's worth doing. I've had anxiety that kept me housebound.

Now I am so mentally healthy I almost don't recognize myself. I wake up cheerful for no special reason. I feel like doing the things I used to enjoy My mind is clearer. I feel more confident, even at my current weight. I don't fear social events. I don't feel as if the world has me under a microscope I feel good about the future.

When you're depressed you don't feel like anything is going to help. Just start with Step 1, eating breakfast, every morning, within an hour of getting up, with enough protein for your body, and see if you don't notice a difference the next day. Notice that the first five steps are actually adding things to your life, not taking anything away. When you're depressed you have no energy to do much of anything, so find the easy ways to do the program. People swear by George's Shake for breakfast. Make some hard-boiled eggs to keep in the fridge. Whatever works is what you do. Don't go to the next step until you love the one you're on. This is a gentle, peaceful process that will amaze you, one step at a time! And unlike most diets, this one gets easier as you go along instead of harder. Each step supports the next.

We're here for you!

Lora
David still smiling
This is David DesMaisons, 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. 
I am Keeping George's® Restore again because it is such a life saver this time of year!   NO substitute tastes better than George's :)
George's Restore
Buy Now

Kathleen's Mac and Cheese
carrots waiting to be scrubbed and cooked
  •            This is one of the easiest recipes I own. It is also one of the best. Sometimes I add a little Dijon mustard. You probably can't believe that something so simple could be so good,LOL.
It is kinda like the program.

  • 8 ounces uncooked brown rice pasta
  • 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain well and place in a 1 quart ovenproof mixing bowl. Add cheese to pasta. Combine well. Pour milk over pasta mixture. Bake 35-45 minutes, or until cheese sauce is bubbling and top of mixture is golden brown.

Come over to our recipe blog for more ideas
Visit the Recipe Page
Radiant Living
Radiant Living is geared to looking at Step 7 issues. I am in the process of the revision of Potatoes not Prozac and am adding a fair amount of information on *radiant living* which is really Step 7. This is where we are looking at a Step 7 life with all its quirks. This means feelings, healing old trauma and remodeling our bodies.
Find Radiant Living here
Your Last Diet!
Your Last Diet Book Cover


I just want to lose weight. Is this the right place for me?
It is the best place in the world for you. Most important, we will help with what we call *fat terror* that pervades every part of who you are. I referred to fat terror in the new book. My editor asked me to define it.

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. The connection in chat is awesome. You get a chance to talk with the old timers, you can ask questions and I am right there to guide you, It really is an incredible opportunity.

If you are not a member yet, 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.  We will send you the pass words after you join.

If you would like to join us in YLD, come find us here.  
smiling faces
My Grandmother Heart
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
   

OK, I am going to write to you from my grandmother heart. This is my 1953 Chevy Truck. It suits my Grandmother heart.

This is a big deal for me. I have been writing about my years as a young mother for the past few weeks - my daughter asked me for the details and I have been having fun doing this task.

I have learned some things I did not know then. My kids did not care about a perfect house or a perfect mom. What they cared about was time and being present. That is what they remember.

They did not care about my career, about my being in school and what I was learning, they didn't care about their grades or excelling. They cared about time and being present.....

  • The day we all decided to skip school and go sledding.
  • The night we went to The Nutcracker at the local high school. The music was bad. They didn't care.
  • The day we made cookies together for the tree (forgive me for that one, LOL)
  • The nights we sat in the big chair and I read Watership Down to them.
  • The times we rode in the car to their dad's house and we sang silly songs I made up.
  • The time they went on strike and refused to eat dinner and insisted we go get pizza and we did.
  • The day we dressed the dogs in costumes and took them on a walk.

Now, if you think you are too busy, too tired.....and there is no way....remember I was a single mom, going to school full time and working full time. And I was not even doing the food. I had dreamed of perfect children, a perfect family and all that stuff. But what we had was something different from the dream.

Here is what made the difference, I think. I intuitively knew that *I* had to have some quiet time to be sane. They watched Sesame Street every day at 5PM and did not talk to me. I regrouped and caught my breath. I had time alone at regular intervals. I did things that filled me up.

And deep inside, I would reach down in my heart and meet them at where they were...and I was clear about boundaries. This is what I instinctively knew at 30. Now, from this perspective, I know something more.

If you have an eight year old, this is the ONLY winter, the only season you will EVER have with an eight year old. You know all that other stuff you think is so important? It isn't. If there are too many after school activities, stop them. If there are too many demands, start learning *no,thank you.* If you don't know how, ask us.

If you are a grandparent, ask how you can support your children at this time of year. Provide space, fun and humor. Go get those kids and be goofy. If you live far away, get on the phone and be goofy on the phone. Or get one of those new picture phones.  Email them. Give them cameras for Christmas and ask them to email you pictures of their lives. Send them pictures of your dog, your cat, your friends at the senior center. Wait, I don't think any of us go to senior centers, LOL. Teach them to knit - even the boys. It raises serotonin. Make a cookbook for them.

Guess you can tell what I have been thinking about this week. I am making a book about my life. I am writing, writing and then will find photos and put them with the writing...this is a wonderful and powerful thing to do.

Mostly, I am committed to this being a holy and reflective time.

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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