I worked the program for 4 months. I made it to Step 7 doing the Steps slowly simply because my body was already off sugar and I already ate all browns.

I went from Atkins to RR because I had started battling a dark depression and anxiety. I didn't know if was related to my chronic pain/auto-immune illness or if I needed to adjust something.

I knew about our different brain chemicals from various research I had done over the years. So, after a friend told me about it, I decided to give it a go.

I spent 1 month on Step 1, 2, 3, and 4. After that, I found that I could no longer tolerate the high amounts of grain carb nor the carb at night.

I ate a strictly organic whole foods diet with lean grass fed beef, organic chicken, and wild salmon. Plus, brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato, small yukon, beans, and veggies.

****************

I left because I knew instinctively it was not for me and that I had grown as far as I could with the program. I needed to do the rest of my journal my way, with my research, and as I see fit.

I hated the forum. I mean hated it. I strongly disliked the yahoo groups. And, I particularly think Ms. Des Maissons needs to continue in therapy herself.

Several times she severely embarrassed people on their; ridiculed myself and others; sent rude emails to me; asked if certain list members were in therapy and suggested it; saw my ideas and others as stupid or not accurate if it wasn't exactly hers; accused me of addict thinking when I challenged her; totally gave conflicting information (from day to day); refused to anything people and blocked them when they stated they were gaining A LOT of weight; and the overall tone of herself and some moderators is down right abusive.

I do think she is trying to brainwash desperate woman into thinking her way of thinking and doing is the only way.

Here's my take from:

Get the book: "Potatoes Not Prozac". The new one. Read it. Everything you need to know about how the program works is there, you can apply it yourself, and then make it what you want/need it to be. Take the skills and go.

Ignore "Your Last Diet" and all the others. They were later prints and the information in them isn't cohesive and YOU WILL GAIN A LOT OF WEIGHT.



To me (INMHO) eating breakfast soon after waking is a no-brainer. Eating no carbs or VLC will deplete you serotonin in the long run (for me it takes about 6 weeks) BUT>>>>

Going from VLC or LC to high complex carbs (regardless of the quality of carb) will cause all sorts of other problems. Now, I am dealing with all of those.

I went back to what I knew worked for me. I plan to slowly add a little complex carb back in soon. But, very slow, and journal the whole time.

I don't recommend the potato or sweet potato. I recommend a protein/complex carb snack at bedtime or late evening if you have trouble sleeping or wake-up grumpy/shakey. Otherwise, leave it alone.

It was so refreshing to hear everyone on this thread posting their thoughts and what happened to them.

It is so important that each of us does this thing called our life, our way. Keep trusting your gut. Listen to yourself first and foremost.

Thanks for letting me hope on and give my humble opinion.

Erin :-))

ps..doing much better since leaving the forum and RR. This is home to me. I do use the recovery skills. I just took what I wanted and knew to be true for me and dumped the rest, including Kathleen.