Sugar sensitivity or addiction (was Denial, etc)

[Guest guest]

I suspect that many of the folks on this list would benefit

by reading and practicing the program in Dr. Kathleen

Desmaison's books - Potatoes not Prozac, The Sugar Addict's

Total Recovery Program, and Your Last Diet. Her website is

www.radiantrecovery.com. The website has a good summary of

the info in her books - read the stuff about brain chemistry

and so forth. PnP has more of the science, SARP has more of

the how-to, and YLD really builds on the first two, although

it contains an abbreviated version of her program and so can

stand alone.

Her main point is that there really are people (and strains

of lab rats, for that matter!) who have disturbed body

chemistries which result in a whole set of related physical

symptoms, behaviors, and mental states that she calls " sugar

sensitivity " . Her program is designed to balance how our

bodies handle blood sugar, serotonin, and beta-endorphins,

so that we can stay on an even keel biochemically.

I haven't gotten all the way through her seven steps, but

everything I've tried so far that she has recommended has

really helped me. I have pretty much stopped bingeing, have

found it easier to stick to foods that don't spike my BG's,

and am feeling alot less stressed out. She believes we need

to heal our body chemistry first before we try to lose

weight, and that doing so will make the dieting more

successful and less stressful.

Anyone who has been feeling bad about themselves because of

their inability to lose weight or stop bingeing or eating

sweets and carbs in general, and everyone who likes to dump

on fat people as being " in denial " or having insufficient

willpower, should definitely read one of her books, or at

least read the website.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now ;@) Happy New Year,

everybody!

--

el (andrea@..., andrea_frankel@...)

Nevada City, CA, USA

" ...wake now! Discover that you are the song that the

morning brings... "