If you're like many sugar sensitive individuals, you may have a biochemical drive for serotonin that leads to sugar bingeing. Experts Kathleen des Maisons and Julia Ross offer solutions to the physiological drive to eat sugar in their books Potatoes not Prozac and The Mood Cure.

In addition to this physiological support, you also need emotional and spiritual support and new habits of body and mind in order to break free from sugar. These, in fact, can be the most challenging aspect to overcome. Our program gives you these tools.

Karly Randolph Pitman, founder of First Ourselves and a lifelong sugar addict, kicked her sugar habit - for good. In the kick sugar teleclass, she'll share the steps and tools that helped her find freedom. She'll help you:

1. Uncover why you're using sugar in the first place
2. Replace sugar bingeing with alternative patterns so that
3. 3. You can have abundant, vibrant health.

Come to a safe, nurturing place to learn to care for your physical, emotional and spiritual needs without relying on sugar and emotional eating. Partner with other women, just like you, who understand how you feel; who understand the pain of sugar addiction and emotional eating. What positive changes you can make when you have this support, care and understanding?

You'll gain:

• Help in resisting and unhooking from powerful sugar cravings
• Support for going through the sugar detox process
• Tools to break the binge cycle
• A pathway to tame your overeating triggers
• Tools to give up sugar without feeling deprived
• Ways to love and care for yourself without food.

The feedback from ladies in our last class was terrific. I'm confident in making our satisfaction guarantee, offering you 100% money back, no quibbling.

What you'll learn:

Week 1: Ground yourself with strong roots.

Week 2: Create rituals, rhythms, and honor your ebb and flow.

Week 3: Overcome your resistance to exercise, self care and sugar abstinence.

Week 4: Set limits to look and feel your best.

Week 5: Nurture yourself with radical self-care.

Week 6: Be gentle and compassionate with yourself.

Week 7: Tame your inner critic.

Week 8: Give yourself time for changes to manifest.

Week 9: Befriend cravings.

Week 10: Befriend your sugar addicted self.

Week 11: Let go of sugar, your best friend.

Week 12: Find the joy in sugar free living.

Each week builds upon the other, but all lessons are posted on a private website for your reference so you can easily catch up if you miss a week.

About Karly Randolph Pitman, founder of Firstourselves.com and teleclass leader:

For years, I was lost - sugar addicted, depressed, and hypercritical of my body. As I binged on sugar, my weight went up and down with my binges, leaving me feeling fat, disgusted and always on a quest to lose 20 pounds. Self-care was my pathway to wholeness, what enabled me to let go of sugar for good. Learning how to love and care for myself transformed my relationship with food, my body, my family and myself.

I began First Ourselves (firstourselves.com) in 2006 to help women heal their relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves. I’m the author of Overcoming Sugar Addiction and Heal Your Body Image: An Inspirational, Step-by-Step Guide to Feeling Beautiful.

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Format and teleclass structure:

Q: Do I have to give up sugar completely before I start the class? Or do I have to give up sugar to do the class?

A: No. You take this at your own pace. Most people try to give up sugar during the class, while they have the support of the group. But there is never any pressure or time table of when you "have" to let go of sugar. The groups supports and accepts you wherever you are on your journey.

Q: Will you tell us what to eat?

A: No. My job is to train you to listen to your body, to understand what foods trigger cravings and compulsive eating and what foods don't. I may share what works for me, and the group members may share what works for them, but it is an individual process. I will empower you to make healthy food choices for your unique life, lifestyle, body and needs. This is where true power comes from: learning to trust yourself to take excellent care of your body.

Q: What if I can't make the calls?

A: This happens frequently, as life is full. For every week's class, you will receive a recording of the call. You can listen to it at anytime and do that week's exercises on your own. If you need more support, you can email the group during the week.

Q: What if I want to join the class but prefer not to join the calls?

A: Sometimes we prefer more privacy - of course! If you want to join the class but prefer not to join in the calls, that's fine: you can listen to the calls and do the exercises on your own.

Q: How long are the calls?

A: Calls are usually 60 minutes.

Q: Can I do the class to moderate my sugar intake rather than give it up altogether?

A: Yes! There are many women who've decided to use this class to eat sugar moderately rather than stop eating it altogether. I focus on teaching you skills to meet your needs without using food or compulsive sugar binging. It's the compulsive nature of the eating that causes the pain, shame, and self-loathing. For some women, they can stop compulsive eating and enjoy a sweet treat now and then or use artificial sweeteners in moderation. I am not the food police: I will never force you to give up something that is working for you. For those who do need to abstain, I will also support you and your choices.

Q: Can I do this class while doing Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Atkins, or another diet program?

A: Yes. We will explore how you use food to meet your emotional, physical and spiritual needs and then give you tools to find healthy alternatives. These self-care skills will help you stay committed to any diet or lifestyle change. They compliment each other.

That being said, many women who commit to reducing or eliminating their sugar consumption find greater success in their weight loss efforts.

Q: Can I do this class while seeing a therapist or another counselor?

A: Yes. This class is just one arsenal in your toolkit. Look at is as one piece of your self-care puzzle, one of the many ways that you love and support yourself.

Q: How is my privacy protected?

A: The information that is shared in the calls and amongst the group is kept confidential so that everyone feels safe and secure.

I record the calls but these calls are not shared outside the group. I record them so that group members can relisten to the calls to reinforce that week's work or if they've missed a session and want to catch up. These calls are not shared outside the class.

You'll have the option to exchange email addresses with other group members to gather more support during the class. This has been very helpful to former group members and has led to friendship beyond the scope of the class. I encourage reaching out to other group members but don't require it.

I never, ever share, rent, or sell your contact information (your email, phone number, address, etc.)

Q: Can I take the class if I live outside the U.S.?

A: Yes. We'll use a group conference line for the calls that is a standard United States phone number. For cheaper rates, I suggest using vonage or skype to call the number.

Q: How will I join the calls?

A: We'll use a group conference line for the calls. I will email you invitations before each class with the phone number to call.

Q: What do I need to bring for the class?

A: We'll be doing exercises over the phone as a group, so you'll need to bring pen and paper (a journal works well) to the calls. It's also helpful to have quiet surroundings for the calls as background noise is distracting.

Q: I've tried giving up sugar many times. Will I learn anything?

A: Knowledge doesn't always translate into action. While we focus on learning skills to thrive without sugar, one of the primary benefits of doing this work in a group setting is gaining the support of the group, the understanding and support of other women who are going through the same thing.

Giving up sugar is a process. Having done this before, you'll understand the challenges in staying off sugar for good. You may be afraid that you'll revert to old habits. The course can help you overcome that fear and embrace your journey.

Q: I'm a beginner. Will this class help me?

A: Yes. We all start right where we are. Enjoy the loving support of a group to make the challenge of changing your eating habits an easier task.

Q: I'm already sugar free. Will the class help me?

A: Yes. Abstinence isn't enough to stay off sugar for good. We need to uncover why we were using sugar in the first place in order to make this a lifelong practice. I'll give you tools and support to stay sugar free, to keep your intention in place.

Q: Are there any food lists or eating requirements?

A: No. We may share meal ideas, recipes, or ways of eating, but we focus on teaching you how to care for your body rather than following an external guideline or diet.

Q: I'm afraid to give up sugar.

A: Everyone is. Fear isn't a signal to stop, but is a sign that you are moving in the direction that you need to go. Change is scary, especially when sugar has historically met many of your needs. Of course you're afraid to let go of this tool without feeling as if you have something else to take its place. We will talk about fear at length and give you tools to soothe it, as well as self-care alternatives so that you can get the nurturing, support and care that you need.

Q: What is Karly's expertise?

A: I've been an emotional eater for most of my life. As a child, I ate to comfort myself, even though I wasn't cognizant of this habit at the time. My late teens and early 20s were spent in the throes of bulimia, compulsive eating, sugar addiction, and a negative body image. I spent over a decade learning how to be sugar free, how to heal my relationship with food, love my body, and end my compulsive eating. These life lessons are what I share in my class.

Having been in your shoes, and having used sugar and food for every conceivable reason, I understand how hard it is to break a food addiction. I also understand how you can overcome it.

Q: I need medical support. Do you offer any?

A: No. I am not a medical expert, doctor or nutritionist and do not offer medical advice. I advise you to consult your doctor, a nutritionist, or other health professional if you have medical questions. There are many people who help sugar addicts with balancing their serotonin: this is not what I cover. For more help in these areas, I suggest reading The Mood Cure by Julia Ross and Potatoes Not Prozac by Kathleen des Maisons. Their approaches are complimentary to the work that we do in the kick sugar teleclass.

Q: I want to understand the physiological science of sugar addiction. Do you explain this as a medical doctor?

A: No. This is not my area of expertise. I am happy to share other resources with you (authors, doctors, books, etc.) who have studied the science of sugar addiction and can explain why sugar sensitive individuals (probably you if you're reading this!) react differently to sugar than "normal" people. This information is very helpful to understanding why you struggle with sugar, and can lead you to release the shame of sugar addiction. That's why I'm happy to share books and authors who can explain this to you, even though this is not my focus. My focus is on healing the sugar addiction, on letting it go.

Q: What if I don't like it? What if I decide that it's not for me?

If you decide it's not for you, you are welcome to drop out. We will refund your money 100%.

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Consider the feedback from these class participants:

"I'm having incredible results this first week. Considering my health as a spiritual practice comes very easily for me! I’ve been walking every day and have abstained from any kind of cookie, ice cream, cake, sweet bread – it hasn’t been as difficult as I thought. I’ve been having the breakfast I know works for me. I feel really great – very in control of myself. I know that this is just the honeymoon of our class but I feel very motivated and excited to pursue this line of thinking."
Raelee P., Chapel Hill, NC

"I have been looking for real strategies to help with this for 2 years. The material you give on the phone and in the emails have been extremely helpful and just the kind of help I’ve been needing. Thanks."
-Melisa B., Fredericksburg, VA

"Every day, my top priority is practicing and learning more and more about kicking my sugar (and food) addiction. And each week, I can see progress compared to the week before! I truly see light at the end of the tunnel. And the overall benefits to my life are tremendous!"
-Theresa R., Bellingham, Washington

"I think today’s class was so deep! This class has been life changing for me."
-Yvette S., Mexico City, Mexico

"Thank you for everything and your continued intention and hard work. I continue to be so pleased and cognizant of the care that you take of the process with us as well as the content. It is the structure and the deliberate “holding” of us that continues to keep me well-bound in this process. I am a student of great leadership, and it is wonderful to see it in action so well executed. You make it seem invisible."
-Margaret C., Portland, Maine

THANK YOU again for your very kind help, you are making such a difference in my life already!!!"
-Amanda C., Philadelphia, PA

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