#Book Review – #Meno-What? by D.G. Kaye | TINA FRISCO

D.G. Kaye's books

How delighted I was to come across this wonderful and humorous review of my book Menowhat? A Memoir, by  author Tina Frisco. 

 

I wrote that book as a memoir of my overwhelming journey through menopause. As I wrote about my trials and tribulations through that rocky ride, I offered some helpful tips which worked for me, many observations of the symptoms I encountered, and how I chose to deal with them. I like to think of myself as a girl with the ‘glass half full’ and often use the tagline ‘You gotta Laugh’ when life throws curve balls, naturally sense of humor emanates through the book and I was thrilled to see that Tina had identified with the humor of it all. It’s an informative book for those who’ve yet to enter the world of the ‘menodragons’ and a book you can laugh at if you’ve already passed ‘Go’ on the subject. Please read Tina’s review below:

 

Menowhat? A Memoir, D.G. Kaye

 

5 Stars

 

Navigating Menopause with Poise and Humor 

I wish I’d had this book when I was going through menopause! It would have validated all I was feeling and given me some inventive ways of coping with the inevitable changes looming on the threshold of female maturity.

In her memoir, Meno-What?  D.G. Kaye speaks frankly about the hormonal changes that launch a war against our physical, emotional, and behavioral stability. She humorously refers to them as the “meno dragons,” a term that will be appreciated by any woman who has reached this stage in life.

Kaye outlines, chapter by chapter, the various changes that challenge our bodies as well as our sanity and self-image. With candor and humor, she tells us how each change affected her body, threatened her vanity, and braced her determination to face each one with an eye toward melioration.

She coins some pretty hilarious terms in describing these changes. “Circumference expansion” and “meno muffin” refer to our broadening midsections. “Fatback” and “muffin tops” describe the love handles bestowed to our bra lines. “Bottoms down” laments the loss of firmness in our posteriors. “Fred Flintstone feet” bemoans the abhorrent increase in shoe size. And “the Sahara effect” aptly portrays those dreaded, uncomfortable hot flashes. . Continue Reading

 

Source: #Book Review – #Meno-What? by D.G. Kaye | TINA FRISCO

THE OWL LADY PRESENTS GUEST AUTHOR: DEBBY GIES | theowlladyblog

Festitsite Live Laugh Love graphic

Thank you to Viv Drewa, a.k.a. The Owl Lady, for inviting me as featured guest author on her blog today.

 

THE OWL LADY PRESENTS GUEST AUTHOR: DEBBY GIES

D.G. Kaye AuthorDebby Gies is a Canadian nonfiction/memoir author who writes under the pen name of D.G. Kaye. She was born, raised, and resides in Toronto, Canada. Kaye writes about her life experiences, matters of the heart and women’s issues.

D.G. writes to inspire others. Her writing encompasses stories taken from events she encountered in her own life, and she shares the lessons taken from them. Her sunny outlook on life developed from learning to overcome challenges in her life, and finding the upside from those situations, while practicing gratitude for all the positives.

When Kaye isn’t writing intimate memoirs, she brings her natural sense of humor into her other works. She loves to laugh and self medicate with a daily dose of humor. CONTINUE READING

Source: The Owl Lady Presents: Guest Author Debby Gies

 

#Meno-Moments and #Memory

memory loss

My definition of memory:  It’s a part of our subconscience that computes life’s events, instilled to serve us for when we wish to recollect or locate something.

This is not to be confused with memories of the long ago past, as it seems my brain has no trouble remembering the color of a certain dress I may have worn when I was four years old, yet hesitates to remind me about what I ate for dinner last night.

I used to pride myself on my excellent memory. I am grateful that it still serves me up great detail of my past, but as my shorter term memory has somewhat vanished, making lists to do, to buy, to go, and reminders, have become part of my everyday living.

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My great recollections of the yesteryears enable me to write a lot about my past. Thankfully, I don’t have to write about yesterday’s news or it may go something like this: “Um, right, yesterday as I was eating my ? for lunch, I realized I had forgotten where I put my keys after coming home from (insert wherever). I know I always leave them in the front hall desk drawer, and I remember getting sidetracked while placing them down. My cell phone rang in my purse before I barely got my boots off. . . ” That’s where the concentration ends.

When I’m no longer focused on the immediate task at hand and am taken off course by a distraction, I unconsciously disregard my original intent while focusing on the next event. This is how I tend to misplace things.

Retrieval Method: When I go into search mode, I pinpoint back to the last thing I remember doing at the time I placed down my keys and mull over what took place when I lost the item, which at least gives me a hint of the vicinity where I should begin looking.

Annoying little things like these types of incidents send my inner think tank into a frenzy. What really frustrates me about this little memory game are the moments when I lose a word. It often feels as though a name or a place sitting right there on the tip of my tongue is yet so far away from my brain to grasp. It isn’t that I don’t actually know the word to use, it just won’t reveal itself to me.

Words, keys, shoes, meals, occasionally get lost in a secret cabinet in my brain, which I occasionally lose access to. If I could only remember in what part of my brain I keep that little cabinet, I may be able to better remember where everything else is.

I know I must have plenty of company in this department?

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D.G. Kaye ©2015

#Free Ebook MenoWhat? A Memoir — #Menopause #Humor

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Just a heads up! My book MenoWhat? A Memoir will be free on Amazon today, Thursday November 5th until Monday November 9th.

 

This book is a humorous recanting of my memoirs on my not-so-sacred passage of what can truly be an exasperating time in a woman’s life. I say women because we’re the ones who have to go through it. But don’t feel discounted men, you may be interested in learning some of the whys about what your other half may be experiencing, and perhaps get some advice so you can better prepare yourselves for this ‘uncertain’ time.

 

For those women who have been there, done that, and may want to reminisce and chuckle after it’s done with, this book will undoubtedly remind you. And for those who have yet to enter the realm of the ‘Dragon’ phase, it’s never to early to get an education.

Here’s the link:  MenoWhat? A Memoir

 

D.G. Kaye ©2015

Five Star Treatment – Meno-What? A Memoir by D.G. Kaye | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life

book reviews

 I’d like to thank my friend and writer/author Sally Cronin from Smorgasbord Invitation, for choosing my book MenoWhat? A Memoir,  to showcase on her esteemed blog.

Sally is well-known in the blogging community. She’s a person with a lot of wisdom and a wealth of information on many topics. Sally’s blog is aptly named because she blogs about an array of topics. You can find wonderful stories, Monday funnies, authors showcased, and several articles on health and well-being, and more, when you visit Sally’s blog. I’m so grateful to have been welcomed into her circles.

Below is Sally’s introduction to my book Menowhat? A Memoir:

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“As we go into the summer months I am going to be selecting books for the series as well as asking you to contribute your own books or those of authors you would like to recommend.  There are now over 50 books in the series all with 5 star reviews and covering a very diverse range of subjects.. The link is at the bottom of the post.

It is safe to say that any woman who has reached 50 is in the middle of one of the most natural but often challenging transformations of a human body.  There is life after menopause and in fact there are countless advantages but during the process as hormones fluctuate up and down like a rollercoaster, physically, mentally and emotionally we also take the ride of our lives and usually drag hapless husbands and family members along with us!!”  . . .  Read More by clicking the link below:

Source: Five Star Treatment – Meno-What? A Memoir by D.G. Kaye | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life

Thank you kindly Sally!

DGKaye©July 2015

Read any good #memoirs recently? Try author D.G. Kaye | deborahjay

Reviews

November was certainly a grand month for me in regards to being interviewed. I was delighted to find that the multi-talented author Deborah Jay had read and reviewed my first book Conflicted Hearts and then featured me and all my books on her very busy, successful blog page. Thank you kindly Deborah. And if you are interested in hearing Deborah’s thoughts on reading memoir for the first time and reading my book, please feel free to click the link below:

Read any good #memoirs recently? Try author D.G. Kaye | deborahjay.

More Bloggers Between the Covers | 4am Writer

Thank you

I think you all know that when I am posting my own news and opinions here that I like to repost articles I find of interest and helpful here to share with you all. Well, today I am reblogging a post I happily came across on another author’s site, 4 Am Writer, while catching up on blogs I like to follow. I was floored when I discovered that Kate had written a post about a few authors books she wanted to showcase, and I was gobsmacked to find that one of my books was chosen. Kate never informed me, I was just pleasantly surprised to find my book Meno-What? A Memoir being showcased. Thank you so much Kate! Please click on her link to the post below and while you are there, have a look at Kate’s site. She is an author and editor and offers many services.   More Bloggers Between the Covers | 4am Writer.

Supercharging my Hormones

hormonediet

A few months ago, I wrote a post about my getting back into the rhythm of exercising after I had deducted that my newfound five pounds had attached themselves to me because of all the sitting I was doing while working on my books. After so many weeks went by and my basic 1500 calorie a day eating plan had never changed, and with my now added back prior exercise routine, I noticed some tone coming back but that scale just refused to go down.

In frustration, I turned to my doctors, because I was lost for answers why those stubborn pounds refused to leave. I had never had this problem when I couldn’t just take off a few pounds until the past year. My diet never changed, I don’t eat junk food, dairy, wheat or gluten. I was determined to find out what the heck was going on with my body. I was getting annoyed with my ever-accumulating baby muffin tops.

It wasn’t to hard for me to suspect that this little mystery began just over a year ago; about a year after my ‘hot flashes’ dissipated. I mean, yikes, I wrote a book about the symptoms of menopause, so it wasn’t as though I didn’t know where this new problem stemmed from, but I needed to find a way to conquer it.

I had so many tests done, from ultra sounds to xrays, and trays of bloodwork done to make sure there wasn’t anything else funky going on. Thankfully, nothing serious showed up but I was sure that my hormones were out of whack.

My doctor suggested a different eating plan, which I tried to no avail. My inner self kept telling me that my internal furnace had somehow run out of fuel. My once ample supply of estrogen kept my metabolism running efficiently. Once our estrogen begins to wave good-bye, lots of things begin to slow down and often, cortisol production rises and stubbornly reacts with our insulin levels. It’s a chain reaction of who’s the bad guy, and who do I try to control first.

 

 

I’m not a big carb eater, but I normally always ate some healthy carbs with every meal. I began thinking that somehow these carbs were becoming a problem for me because there wasn’t anything else I could pick out of my diet that would cause this slump in my metabolism.

I began surfing around Amazon and Google for articles on carbs and hormonal interactions. I found quite a lot of articles about that exact combination. Apparently when we’ve gone through menopause, many carbs become a barrier to proper insulin function and whammo, things aren’t fueled the way they used to be and fat cells begin to accumulate as a result. And yes, of course, around our middles is where it likes to make its nest.

As I mentioned in my latest book, Meno-What? A Memoir, raised cortisol levels equals belly fat. Our hormones have a myriad roles they play within our systems, and there is a wealth of great information available from doctors who deal specifically with these issues. It turns out that it wasn’t about how much I was eating, but when I was eating. The key isn’t about avoiding all carbs because that isn’t realistic, but it does involve specific carbs and eating every few hours, instead of three larger meals a day to keep our metabolisms burning. I had heard this theory many times—eat more mini meals, yet I wasn’t interested until I came across two fascinating books by Dr. Natasha Turner, who just happens to be a naturopathic doctor right here in my hometown.

Dr. Turner first wrote The Hormone Diet  and after that was The Super-Charged Hormone Diet  and finally after that The Carb Sensitivity Program. I read the last two of her books and I can tell you that I got a real education. I figured out exactly what’s been going on inside my body. Her hormone book describes everything that is going on with every part of our hormonal system, how it gets disrupted by food and how to repair our systems. It’s not a diet, rather an eating plan which involves starting out for a week with no carbs from grains, starches or legumes, but you are still allowed all your non-starchy vegetables and almost all fruits. Gradually, every week you add a new carb to test your reaction to it. This goes on for four phases in the hormone book and six with her carb book. Her hormone diet and her carb sensitive eating plan are almost similar in eating structure, so I followed her plan with a bit of tweaking from eating plans between her two books. Don’t get me wrong here, there are still plenty of things you can eat and quite frankly, the book will tell you, and so will I, that you will find you aren’t hungry. In fact the beginning was very difficult for me because the thought of eating every two to three hours was almost nauseating to me when I just didn’t feel like eating. I have always been the type of person who ate a small breakfast and many times didn’t eat again until dinner.

Although some of the rules of this eating plan didn’t appeal to me, neither did the muffin pad resting around my waistline, so I was willing to commit to the plan. It wasn’t difficult to surrender my starches, but breakfasts were strange without my toast.

It’s now been just over a week, and in case you may be wondering if the scale finally moved, here’s my update:

I will admit, the first few days, I felt strangely tired, bloated and nauseous for some reason, but by day five I felt fine. When the two to three hour mark came time for me to eat a meal or a snack, I sometimes gagged at the thought of eating, but forced myself to do so. Did I follow it to the letter? No, but I did follow the concept and I never cheated with carbs. I really got an understanding of the concept that if we put carbs in our bodies (starches, grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes), we must always add protein to counteract the insulin spike that carbs induce, which in turn will halt our metabolism, even in the healthiest functioning bodies. Protein is the balancer of those carbs and the fuel that helps burn them off. By eating every two to three hours, we keep our metabolisms (our furnace) fueled to run efficiently. When we don’t eat for hours at a stretch continuously, our bodies get used to the few calories it’s taken in and recognize our body as in a starvation mode, thus slowing down the burn to conserve what little calories we have ingested.

I always understood this theory, but I refused to apply it because I couldn’t wrap my head around eating five times a day. But I have to say, IT WORKS! And, as for worrying about eating too much, I found that I couldn’t overeat because I wasn’t hungry because eating enough protein really satisfies our appetites. I was eating to sustain myself not because I was hungry.

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So after one week of eating basically the same amount of calories that I was previously eating, only eating more often and less carbs, I finally lost three and a half pounds. I no longer feel bloated and actually feel a lot better. I am now a believer of the scientific theory that eating smaller meals more often can really make a difference.

I’m in week two of this plan, which will consequently become my new way of eating. I will keep you posted on my progress!

If anyone is interested in more detail to the concept of losing weight by eating more frequently and exercising with resistance weight, please take a look at this fabulous article written by my friend and author, Elaine Mansfield. Click here for the article.

DGKaye©2014