Women's Book

The Magic of Making Up is an ebook from T.W. Jackson. It is downloaded as a PDF file. It is 62 pages of eye opening information about relationships, why they go wrong, and how to fix them.

While the main purpose of the book is to help those who have recently suffered a breakup and want to make things right again, it really goes a lot deeper than that. No matter who you are or where you are at in a relationship you can benefit from it. Even a lot of married couples can improve their marriage just by reading the first chapter.

But T-dub keeps the focus on the job at hand, which is repairing your broken relationship and getting back with the ex. I know from personal experience how bad early mistakes can make things for you. He explains exactly what NOT to do, and that will save you more heartache than you can imagine.

It also keeps you focused on positive things at a time when everything appears negative. That approach will definitely speed things along whether you actually get back with the ex or not.

No matter what happens from here, you will be better prepared to face every relationship you enter into from now on. Including the second chance you will get with your ex. Your heart may be breaking right now and nothing is harder than that. But with these tools you will be able to resolve the pain now, and prevent it from ever coming back in the future.

Right now you should remember that you are the most important person in the world. The Magic of Making Up is a worthy investment that will pay you peace of mind dividends for the rest of your life. And yes, you are worth it.

The Ebook by Ashley Spencer, Pick the Gender of Your Baby, explains everything you can do to influence the gender of during the conception stage all in one convenient Pdf ebook file.

Anyone who is thinking about having a child has a preference for what they want. Most couples will just do the basic act it takes to get pregnant without giving a thought as to whether or not there were things they could do that would shift the odds a particular gender resulting.

As it turns out, there are a lot of things than can be done to influence the outcome. From timing to different positions during the act to nutritional factors, Ashley covers everything you can and should know before getting pregnant. At least if you want a say in the sex.

Of course, it will always come down to what God gives you. But Ashley has achieved an 85% success rate with her clients. That means that God at least accepts your input so you would be crazy not to give Him any.

If you are even thinking about getting pregnant and want your child to be of a certain gender, Pick the Gender of Your Baby will guide you through everything you need to do and know. You will love your child profoundly no matter what, but it will make the whole thing better if the child was exactly like you were dreaming about.

The information is there if you want to use it. The result could be the perfect family with exactly the children of your dreams. You should do anything you can to help that dream along.

When I began reading Hungry, A Mother and Daughter Fight Anorexia by Sheila and Lisa Himmel, the complexity of eating disorders really began to sink in. Food-related addictions are like any other addiction, except for the fact that is it impossible to avoid coming into contact with the object of the obsession.

Characterized by an obsessive fear of gaining weight and refusal to maintain a healthy body weight due to a distorted self-image, anorexia is all about obsession, and in fact, has a high incidence of comorbidity with obsessive compulsive personality disorder. It also has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. According to a study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 5 – 10% of anorexics die within 10 years after contracting the disease; 18-20% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years and only 30 – 40% ever fully recover. The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 – 24 years old. The South Carolina Department of Mental Health shares these staggering statistics. It is estimated that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder – seven million women and one million men. One in 200 American women suffers from anorexia Two to three in 100 American women suffers from bulimia Nearly half of all Americans personally know someone with an eating disorder (Note: One in five Americans suffers from mental illnesses.) An estimated 10 – 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are males.

Unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are to blame for hundreds of thousands deaths each year, with approximately 100 million Americans categorized as obese. Still, 8 million people suffering from an eating disorder is a significant number too. Unlike other addictions, recovery from an eating disorder cannot happen in a vacuum. As Sheila points out in the book’s introduction, “you can’t just say no to food. At work, at home, on the street, America is a twenty-four hour buffet.” To make things worse, “society prizes thinness for women” at the same time as it promotes fast convenience foods at every turn. With the growing national angst over obesity, the plot thickens along with the waistlines.

It is this conflict, like the push/pull in a great novel, that makes this nonfiction book so compelling, and so disturbing. Published last August, the account of a young woman’s battle with anorexia and bulimia brings to our attention the many conflicting messages that we give and receive in our family relationships. While feeding our children is how we nurture them from the time they are born; as they grow older, we have less and less control over what, when, how, where, and why they eat. Throughout most childhoods, food is alternately used as nourishment, reward, comfort, bribe, love, punishment, and ritual. In Lisa’s family, with her mother’s job as a food writer and her father’s love of gourmet, food was even a bigger part of the conversation. Whether this was a contributing factor, or just a coincidence, it’s impossible to know.

As the Himmel’s found when they searched for explanations for Lisa’s eating disorder, there are certain “causes or triggers” that showed up on almost every list of factors: society’s worship of ultra-thinness, anorexic mother or sister, parents highly focused on appearance, trauma, perfectionist personality, genetic predisposition to the disorder. The genetic predisposition is a biggie. According to Wikipedia, inheritance rates range are estimated between 56-84%.

I have had long looks into the kitchens and dining rooms of two of my closest friends, who have alluded to dark periods as young women when they flirted with eating disorders. One of them fought it off with such gusto, she now refuses to impose any limits on junk food in her home. She resented even the attempts of some parents to ban soda machines from her children’s school. The other is incapable of shaking the feeling that with one wrong bite, obesity will not be just her own destiny, but her husband and children’s as well.

How much of the heritable factor is due to the environment created and maintained by a parent and how much is due to the genes directly inherited from that parent? And does it matter? Just as it is ludicrous to assume that the patient has control over the disorder, it seems equally so to expect the parent with a similar history to be able to change her own skewed perspective.

There are no easy answers. One friend, a pediatrician, scoffs at the idea of tip-toeing around the topic of dieting with overweight teens. At the same time, many girls and women who have fallen prey to an eating disorder, say they can identify the exact phrase that started them down that torturous path.

Beyond exploring just the personal and social roots of Lisa’s anorexia, Sheila looks at the historical roots as well. She compares the current views of eating disorders to past views of diseases like cancer, and tuberculosis. The mystery and shame that surrounded these illnesses causes the same sense of self-blame in patients with eating disorders. There is the notion, as with most mental health issues, that “the patients have brought it on themselves,” and that they should just “get over it.”

The Himmels’ memoir is an important and valuable tool for all of us, whether we or someone we love is suffering from an eating disorder… or not. Developing an awareness of our society’s tendency towards obsession about food, appearance, and health is a critical step in the journey to regaining moderation and balance in our own lives and the lives of others.

If you are one of those people who think: sure people can write anything in a book about man woman relationships but in practice it just doesn’t work that way. Or you think that in our changing world, men just need to step up to the plate. Well Kara Oh’s “Men Made Easy” causes one to realize that no matter the variables, when it comes to men some generalities are allowed, accepting them are critical to understanding men.

Kara Oh unveils what she calls twelve simple secrets that are key to understanding men. She gets it because she has studied them. She studied men, not in an insubstantial or superficial way but with a keen sense of logic, sharp observation and awareness born out of her training as a cultural anthropologist. Having interviewed hundreds of them she shares insights which are remarkable for their common sense and for their wide ranging applicability.

The book is aptly named; not only because of the light-bulb effects her secrets achieve but also because of the way the book is structured. Oh writes it in a way that romantic women will love. If you like adventure you will love the story book way in which Kara Oh shares the twelve simple secrets. The women who learn the secrets in the story are three friends who represent a woman who has been married for twelve years, one a divorcee, who recently married and one who has broken up with another boyfriend. Immediately we see that this is a book to which all women, regardless of the state of their relationships, can relate. None of the characters are happy in their relationships and one of their favorite topics is “men”. Fortunately for these women they meet a wise old woman, Diedra, who take them on an adventure that will change their lives.

The adventure as you will guess is the process by which the friends learn the secrets. The book is interactive too as there are exercises for the reader at the end of each chapter that empowers women to become powerful forces in their relationships. For example: “Be aware of how different the conversation is because you stay silent. Be sure to use a lot of eye contact. Acknowledge him when he’s done. If you don’t have a partner, practice with any male friend or relative.”

Men Made Easy will strike a chord with women who are looking for love, dating or in committed relationships. I read it and shared the insights with my husband who agreed that the generalities about men are pretty much on target. They provide the wisdom behind the secrets. It is this wisdom that leads to greater understanding which allows you in the end to agree that Men are indeed Made Easy.

As a ‘mompreneur,’ I usually write about business. I also talk about creating lifestyle balance. So when I recently closed my business books and read about a parenting subject, it was both a nice change and eye-opening.

I happen to have 2 pre-teen daughters. It was therefore with a mix of curiosity and trepidation that I sat down with My Teenage Were-wolf: A Mother, A Daughter, a Journey Through the Thicket of Adolescence by Lauren Kessler.

Most moms with girls this age will hone in on my tensions immediately. Life here is full of drama: vampire sightings, wizards, Justin Bieber and t*xting all about it incessantly. I thought I had most of the territory covered, recognizing that you can never have all of the territory covered.

Kessler did the unthinkable. She spent 18 months tracking her daughter, Lizzie, through 7th and 8th grade. Kessler attended classes, wrestling and track meets and even followed her daughter to summer camp.

When I think of the trauma that arises when I walk my daughter to the morning bus (the humiliation of it all!), I can’t imagine how Kessler and her daughter managed this. I suspect there was a significant bribe to her daughter involved.

Kessler accomplished what many of us only think about. She was the ‘fly on the wall’ and embedded reporter.

Some of the writing is comforting in its familiarity. You read your own words coming back at you: “Who are you texting? How old is that boy? Why are you wearing that?”

She includes an honest discussion about adolescent body image and healthy choices. The ideal of what constitutes perfection in an air-brushed world and how it affects our girls is out there, all the time. It requires attention; you can’t ignore the elephant in the room – and Kessler doesn’t.

What is poignant and made me think of Nancy Friday is that Kessler’s examination of her relationship with Lizzie caused her to examine her relationship with her own mother. It seems that this happens all the time and yet is still surprising when it does.

Many of us start out parenting with the affirmation that we will do things differently. That pronouncement mellows with time. Kessler chronicles the push-pull of the mother/daughter adolescent journey with compassion and sensitivity and sometimes, humor. As she negotiates the bumps and curves as she and her daughter evolve, there is also reassurance.

Kessler deserves more than a round of resounding applause for what she had the mettle to do and survive. She shows us that support and eternal love trump the adolescent demons. We owe her and her daughter a lot. Kessler opened the door for viewing and her daughter permitted it.

Keep this one on your nightstand for reference. It doesn’t mean that you will never hear “I Hate You!” or that there will be no more indignant ‘stomp-offs’, but rest assured that you–and your daughter – will survive, enriched.

It helps to have this personal reassurance while you are busy ‘mompreneuring.’

Modern women are struggling in the recession. How to make ends meet. How to provide for their families basic necessities. How to supplement the deficits of public education for their children. How to simple balance work, family and perhaps, a bit of leisure and still run a household. The list goes on and on. Blood pressure rises with each new list entry.

I started to read “Bitches On A Budget” after a reviewer’s commentary compelled me to: “Train your inner bitch.” She was referring to Disney’s Pinocchio where Jiminny Cricket appears on the ‘conscience’ shoulder and the devilish imp counters on the other shoulder. It is pure imagery but hits us all on a gut level when the call to purchase a new item is in our faces.

Rosalyn Hoffman, the author, takes traditional imagery and brings it into the 21st century, addressing the female buyer in particular. Her devil wears stiletto heels and carries a whip. Her angel reminds me of Christie Brinkley. Yet the ideas of self-control and disciplined shopping remain true to the source.

The prose is sharp, pungent and to the point. Hoffman approves of the Walmart shopper and Target’s ‘fashionista,’ for items of a disposable nature. She takes two trends and melds them into savvy advice presented with panache:

• (1) Deal with having less in tough economic times.
• (2) Wake up and smell the coffee (not necessarily a latte) in the mode of “Girl, get a clue” popularized by the movie, “He’s Just Not That Into You.”

As a former premium department store buyer herself, Hoffman fully understands the bait and gives sounds advice on how to deal with it.

For starters, she recommends substitution. A leisurely stroll through a museum can be as romantic and leisurely as a day at the spa, for instance. Dying to try that fancy new French restaurant? Lunch is less expensive than dinner and satisfies the ‘beast’ within.

Hoffman’s background is not limited to the siren call of fashion. She has also ‘careered’ as a travel agent, grooming advisor, therapist, sommelier and life coach. The cumulative expertise definitely qualifies her as a reputable expert when talking to women about financial management.

She teaches us how to ‘tweak’ our impulses with logic, sanity and humor.

Buy one Prada that will propel you through the years, without batting a false eyelash at changing hemlines and the latest trends. That will a true investment piece.

Discover less expensive hot spots that you never knew you had. The discovery itself can be a revelation and lead to a life more filled with quality, if not quantity.

The one asset essential for hiking the craggy path is a developed sense of humor. Hoffman has that in abundance. By sharing her wit and irreverence, it becomes contagious.

That’s the kind of bug you want–and need– to catch today. Learning how to save-and spend wisely- has never been more fun!

“Eat This Not That” by David Zinczenko with Matt Gooulding is described on the cover as a “Restaurant Survival Guide” and “The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution.” The restaurant survival guide is pretty accurate if surviving a restaurant is choosing lower calorie foods over those with sometimes more calories for a meal than you should be eating all day. The no-diet weight loss solution is based on just eating the healthier choices provided which will automatically cut calories and thus, lead to weight loss if all other factors remain the same.

Obviously, loosing fat has a number of variables. Your exercise is a huge one, and what you consume is another. This book will help you make smarter choices when dining at your favorite restaurant so that you consume less calories. It does not have all the choices you will face when staring at a menu, but has some of the best and worst for you to compare.

The book starts with a brief introduction regarding restaurant choices and how Americans have gotten fatter over the years. It then tells you how this book can help. I agree, the book can help. The book then shares a couple of “top swaps” before explaining the new rules of eating out. This section provides some good tips to help you stay on your diet and eat healthier. This section also shares some secrets the restaurants don’t want you to know, such as how many calories supersizing adds, what’s in a Chicken McNugget, or what’s in a Wendy’s Frosty.

Next comes a chapter on the best and worst restaurant foods in America. Things such as the Best Kid’s Fast Food which they list as McDonald’s 4-Piece McNuggets with Apple Dippers, Caramel Dip, and 1% milk. (Personally, we’ve gotten this for our daughter, but don’t give her the Caramel Dip – why ruin a perfectly good apple?) The best fast food burger is listed as Wendy’s 1/4 Pound Single and best sit-down burger is Red Robin’s Natural Burger. Number one on the worst list was Outback’s Baby Back Ribs full rack with a whopping 3,021 calories.

The next section of the book is an alphabetical list of restaurants with some of the best and worst foods. Thus the “Eat This and Not That.” There are full color pictures throughout that tended to make me hungry when I looked at the book before eating. I mean, come on, some of those bad foods look so good. However, so did many of the better choices. There are also little tidbits and interesting facts throughout the book. It’s easy to read, and pretty interesting. (That is if you are interested in what you are eating and what it contains, especially calories.)

Each restaurant has one main dish to eat vs. a bad one, and then a few other picks and other passes. Take Olive Garden for instance. The Eat this choice is the Venetian Apricot Chicken and the choice to pass is Garlic-Herb Chicken Con Broccoli. Other picks include the Lasagna Classico, Grilled Chicken Spiedini, and Herb-Grilled Salmon. Other passes were Spaghetti & Meatballs, Chicken Scampi, and Grilled Shrimp Caprese.

Next comes the menu decoder. This is a great section that explains a lot about what you see on the menu and will make you much more aware of the choices you are making. And finally there was a little bit about eating at airports, vending machines, amusement parks and such places.

Obviously, if you eat at the same restaurant frequently, you will run out of good choices listed in the book. However, with the information here, you will be so much better prepared to select the foods that fit with your dietary goals. I really like the book and think it’s a handy guide regarding restaurant food.

“The Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide” by Dr. Phil McGraw came out to capitalize on Dr. Phil’s bestselling “The Ultimate Weight Solution.” The bulk of the book, from page 149 through page 707 consists of charts regarding nutritional content of food. The first 148 pages contain some common sense guides for losing weight and maintaining that weight loss. It’s a handy reference for those who want to know the basics in the foods they are eating.

While the book is normal trade paper back size, it’s not so compact as to easily fit inside a pocket, a purse, or another way to carry along with you. At a little over 700 pages, it’s not something you’ll carry around with you, even though there are numerous fast food entries. It’s a book to keep handy near the kitchen.

After a quick introduction where Dr. Phil encourages you to get excited and then outlines the scope of the book, he launches into chapter one where he has you put your weight on project status. This is where you determine where you are at, create an environment to help you achieve your goals, prioritize exercise into your life, and create accountability. It’s a good basic plan toward weight goals. Chapter two contains a three stage plan to what Dr. Phil calls weight loss freedom. There is a 14-day rapid start plan, the continuation plan, and then maintenance. Chapter three has menus for the stages. The menus are contain pretty basic dishes and guidelines.

Chapter four has some behavioral, nutritional restaurant, travel, vacation, social, and stress-eating strategies to help you with your weight loss and healthy eating. Finally, chapter five teaches you how to use the food guide that takes up the rest of the book. Besides telling you what you’ll find in the guide, there are some good tips on healthy eating in this chapter.

The guide itself is basically a huge chart of thousands of entries Each entry lists the following: Serving, Calories, Protein, Carbohydrates, Fat/Saturated Fat, Cholesterol, Fiber, Sugars, and Sodium. Essentials the main things most dieters want to know about their foods. For example, the entry for a frozen, ready to bake, apple turnover lists: 1 serving would be one turnover, 284 calories, 4 g Protein, 31 g carbohydrates, 16 grams fat with 4 of those grams saturated fat, na for cholesterol, 2 grams fiber, 11 grams sugars, and 176 mg sodium.

Again, there are a lot of entries here. However, they are not as easy to find as I’d like. Part of this is because foods are divided into what are called high-response cost, high-yield foods and low-response cost, low-yield foods. So you can find beef entries on page 150 and the following pages and on page 418 and the pages that follow. So first you need to look in the contents and determine where your desired food is, and then go look through the food guide sections to find it. So there is a lot of information here, but it is not the easiest to find. Additionally, there are entries where you might have to guess what you have and how it compares to the entries in the book.

Bottom line, for the price, this book has a lot of listings and information, but you do have to work a bit to find it. I’d say a five star book for the amount of listings, but three stars for organization, so that’s how I came up with the four star rating. It you have a collection of health eating books, this is not a bad addition. If you want a food guide in your kitchen, this is not bad either. You’ll just have to get used to how to find the listings you need and then make the choices that best suit you. And of course, there is some good general information on diet, losing weight, and healthy eating in the first five chapters.