When you’re going through menopause, gaining weight, suffering through hot flashes, and having trouble sleeping are just the tip of the iceberg. You’re probably feeling forgetful, anxious, and moodier than ever before. Not to mention your sex drive has probably gone kaput. It’s all over from here - or is it?
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Fixing your hormone issues naturally sounds too good to be true, right? Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s not! Getting your hormones back on track is within your reach - all it takes is a little bit of determination and know-how. And I know you can do it.
In this solo episode, I’m sharing with you what makes my new book, The Hormone Fix, so special. It’s full of practical advice from years of my own personal experience fixing my hormones, plus working with thousands of women to support them through menopause.
These methods work, plain and simple.
I’m excited to share with you what my book is about, but most importantly, why it exists. Thank you so, so much to all my friends, family, fans, and clients - without YOU, I wouldn’t be here writing this book. I appreciate you all so very much.
Throughout the episode, I’m reading excerpts from The Hormone Fix to tell you what my story is and why I started on this journey. You’ll learn what the diet plans in the book are and why I’ve developed them specifically to help guide you through menopause. And how these diet and lifestyle changes helped to heal my daughter from a young age.
Do you want more energy? Are you having trouble losing weight or keeping the pounds off? Do you wish you had a clear head, instead of this constant brain fog?
In This Episode:
- My personal story and why I started trying to fix my hormones
- Why I’m eternally grateful for my clients
- What my new book, The Hormone Fix, is about and how it can help you
- How going through menopause doesn’t have to be the end of your libido
- Why you’re probably feeling tired and hot all the time once you hit menopause
- What hope is out there to help you through your menopausal years and beyond
- How The Hormone Fix can help you live a longer, healthier life
- What diet and lifestyle plans are included in The Hormone Fix
Subscribe to Couch Talk w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca on Youtube
Quotes:
“So I know that moment when you're ready to do anything. You want things fixed - now! But you may also have lost hope that it is still even possible.” (9:58)
“I know this because I often meet women after they've tried everything else and have gotten fed up with their medical care and yet still haven't given up given up hope. And I also know what you're going through because I've been in this terrible place twice.” (12:02)
“With The Hormone Fix, you'll be well on your way to slimming down, feeling more energized, and enjoying clearer thinking.” (22:22)
Links
Follow Dr. Anna on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Mentioned Programs:
Breeze Through Menopause 10 Day Plan
Episode Transcript
Hello everyone, Dr Anna Cabeca here with a very special edition of Couch Talk.
This is an edition where I'm going to read to you from my books, some excerpts from my book, as well as just tell you a little bit more about my personal journey that led me to create this now bestselling book called The Hormone Fix: Burn Fat Naturally, Boost Energy, Sleep Better, and Stop Hot Flashes the Keto Green Way.
So I'm excited to release this to you. It is being published by Ballantine Penguin Random House and has been number one on Amazon for a few weeks now in menopause.
And first and foremost, I couldn't have done this without all of you.
I'll share a little bit about my story, but I want to first share the acknowledgement that I have for my clients. And at the end of the book and the last chapter of the acknowledgements I write, “Finally, I would like to express my utmost, heartfelt, and sincerest gratitude to all my patients and clients who, throughout the decades, have inspired me to be a better doctor and healer. Thank you for sharing your lives, stories and trust with me. Please keep believing in your innate ability to heal and pass these lessons on.”
And I mean that with all my heart, you, every one of you listening, no matter what diagnosis you've had, are struggling with, or your families are struggling with, you have an ability to get better.
And you have an ability to improve the quality of your day, minute by minute, by the choices we make.
And through my own journey, which many of you know, cause you've been listening for a while and I'm so grateful, that at age 38 I was diagnosed with early menopause.
And that was devastating because with it came a defining gavel of infertility. And that took me on a journey around the world looking for answers. And I was able to reverse menopause, have a baby and conceive a healthy baby at 41, and then life just kept happening like it does for all of us, right?
The effects of the trauma that we experienced as a family with the loss of my son continued to pay it's damaging toll on me.
PTSD, or post traumatic stress, was a reality and I was in the throes of PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. I've since been able to convert that to post-traumatic growth, but again, it has been a journey.
The tools that I've put in this book will help you in dealing with that or whatever stresses you're dealing within your life.
Because at age 48 menopause hit me again. Again, it was early. Again, it was unexpected. And with it came so many symptoms that have been creeping up from the post traumatic trauma: the fear, depression, anxiety.
I was really very fear based and I started to isolate myself more and more. I stopped speaking on stages. I stopped much of the appearances for quite a long while.
And I was struggling with memory issues, which for me as someone who relies on memory to do a good job, that was really devastating.
I had relationship issues. I divorced, my marriage dissolved, and I had trouble with my teenagers. And then my ex-husband had a traumatic brain injury, which left me struggling as a single mom, sole provider, and caregiver for my daughters.
And that was the time of real devastation. I closed my practice and just tried to get my life and my family together. God and Family First, right?
I always told my patients, “you will never regret the time you spend taking care of your own children. You will never regret that time.” So I needed to practice what I preached, and that was also part of my healing journey.
As a result, though, financially there was a significant amount of stress. I rented out my home and downsized into a smaller place.
So when menopause hit again at 48 and the weight gain started… again, which was devastating after losing 80 pounds and being able to keep it off for nearly a decade, I needed to find answers.
So that led me on the search for anything that could really help because what I was doing wasn't working. And as a functional medicine specialist, as a hormone specialist, I can tell you it takes more than hormones to fix your hormones and that's what this book is about.
So by finding the right way to do keto, during perimenopause and menopause, and really focusing on the key marker of Urinary Ph, alkalinizing our urine, and what that can guide us to discover about what works for us in our lives and what doesn't.
That became the basis for the Keto Green Way that I teach in my book. There's a nutrition component, but that's about 25-35% of it, right?
The majority is the lifestyle tweaks and hacks that I have dripped into this book that make a difference too. When we eat, timing, resetting our circadian rhythm, and so many key aspects that come into play here.
Well that helped me not just get my memory back and lose the weight and feel better and more energetic, but it also just put my feet back under me.
If it wasn't for the skills, these strategies of reviving my health, mind, body, and spirit, I wouldn't be where I am today. In luscious relationships with my four daughters, all centered, an even healthier relationship with my ex, and running this international business, inspiring and helping others.
So from the throes of near personal, physical, and financial devastation, to really having the ability to impact others in such a meaningful way from my life, my inner circle, my core family, to all of you listening. I'm really grateful that I'm now able to get this book to everyone in an affordable and enjoyable manner.
So please write down the pearls and aha moments you get from it. Circle key phrases, share it with your physician, get them a copy. We like to know when our patients are doing, and especially if it's coming from another physician.
I'd like to read you the introduction of my book.
Being a gynecologist and obstetrician for over two decades has given me the true honor and pleasure of taking care of generations of women at different stages of their lives from their early teens, through pregnancies, menopause and well after.
Wherever you are on that continuum, let's imagine it's you in my office and we're discussing your health and hormones and how you are honestly feeling. I close the door and we sit down to talk after your annual Pap smear and your physical exam.
It's a vulnerable moment, I know.
You've probably grappled with weight gain, maybe a little or a lot. Perhaps you felt very forgetful, anxious, or moodier than before. Maybe you've started having hot flashes that go off like silent bombs inside you, or night sweats that make you want to sleep with the covers off, then on, then off, then on again.
I get that.
And what's your sex drive like? Is it fizzling out? Do tire easily? Can't sleep a whole night or wake up still tired? On top of everything else, do you no longer enjoy yourself or feel like your life isn't at all what it should be?
I've been there too.
You might tell me about other symptoms. Perhaps you've been gaining weight and you don't know why. Your relationships are fragmenting, along with your confidence.
Thoughts may be swirling through your mind like, “will I ever feel better? Am I just going downhill from here? Am I just going crazy? Or maybe there is something very wrong with me. Is it early Alzheimer's? Do I have cancer, thyroid, breast, ovarian? Is there something in my labs are my exam? Do I need a surgeon, psychiatrist, divorce attorney?!”
Now, whoa!
Well, I've sat with thousands of women in your situation, I've communicated with many more thousands through my online, interactive programs, including the two most popular: Magic Menopause and Sexual CPR, and now, Breeze Through Menopause 10 Day Plan.
So I know that moment when you're ready to do anything. You want things fixed - now! But you may also have lost hope that it is still even possible.
Take a deep breath.
It is possible.
It's not going to take a lot of time and you're not alone, I assure you.
You are a powerful woman and you can turn things around fast.
Now on a side note, we just conducted a survey with women from 40 to 60, over 2000 women, and sadly, women in their forties, early forties-late thirties, are willing to make some changes are willing to try hormones. But once we're in 55 and above, it seems like we're giving up on ourselves.
So I want to encourage you, no matter what your age is, to not give up on yourself.
I have clients that have been in my online programs that are in their late sixties and seventies and turn things around for themselves and their loved ones, and that's key.
We want to live out the quality of our life with quality days, with joy, and peace.
So I encourage you, do not give up, there is hope!
And I understand what's happening to you. You're struggling with the physical, mental, and emotional indignities of hormonal fluctuations and an ensuing metabolic stall.
The result? Weight gain, hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, insomnia, memory loss, hair loss, brain fog, irritability, diminished libido, discomfort during sex, pain, and more.
I've had all of those too.
Your body is winding down it's reproductive machinery and you feel like you're losing control and losing your mind. And many women are resigned to accepting these changes, living unhappily with them, and muddling through for years to come.
Many others will agree to be unnecessarily medicated for their symptoms. They're told this is normal or it's the best it's going to get.
I know this because I often meet women after they've tried everything else and have gotten fed up with their medical care and yet still haven't given up given up hope. And I also know what you're going through because I've been in this terrible place twice.
My first experience with these hormonal changes occurred long before I approached menopause and was triggered by a personal tragedy.
My 18-month son died in a terrible and senseless accident. My insurmountable stress, deep grief, and subsequent depression thrust me into premature menopause and ovarian failure. Well, I told you much more of that story.
I'll tell you that I would not let myself stay broken. I refused the options that were medically offered to me because I had seen my mother struggle under the weight of many medications and I knew I had to live for my daughters and search out solutions for myself.
Survival alone was not enough.
Eventually, by using an early version of the diet and lifestyle program that I will share in this book, I lost those 80 pounds and went on to compete in a sprint triathlon, which is really quite a personal accomplishment because I hate to run.
Well, my hormones leveled, my depression lifted, and I became someone who felt great all the time.
Joyously, at age 41, I conceived a healthy baby girl. What traditional medicine said could not be done was done.
The second time happened in my late forties, more or less when most women expect to start transitioning away from monthly periods and into menopause. But, just because it was expected, didn't mean it was easy.
And I told you a little bit about that story.
Those pounds started creeping back up. The brain fog, the memory loss, and the relationship struggle. Granted, I had two teenagers at the time. They'd say the twos are terrible!
But let me tell you, our relationships now are amazing and I needed that clarity of mind that I am sharing with you in my book that really saved me.
So the book you were holding in your hands, hopefully you'll get this book and you're holding it in your hands or reading on your Kindle. This book, The Hormone Fix, contains gems I learned through tragic personal experience, the day to day work of caring for more than 10,000 women in my medical clinic, and the coaching of 100,000 more online.
Expressly for women, though the men in your life can follow it too. At its heart this is a breakthrough nutritional and lifestyle plan based on hard science, real people, and methods I used myself.
It is so effective that you can lose up to a pound a day without cravings, hunger, fatigue, or any of the other side effects other diets you may have tried. This unique program, along with supporting information on every single page, has the power to help you stay slim and sexy and feel more energetic, revive your libido, look and feel younger, and transform your life in ways you can't even yet imagine.
It is the hope you've been looking for. I feel blessed to bring it to you now.
As I hinted above, I did not create The Hormone Fix overnight and simply start putting patients on it. No, it took more than 10 years of clinical work with real patients, exhaustive research and refinement, and, most of all, personal experience and my own hormone hell.
But in many ways, this program started with the needs of members of my own family. My mother had diabetes and heart disease. At one point she was taking 11 prescription drugs and was in and out of the hospital regularly. None of this saved her. She died at age 67 after heart valve replacement surgery. I was only 31, in my residency at Emory University, and a new mom myself when she died.
I was heartbroken, of course, and never accepted that her death had to be. I knew that there must be holistic answers to the malicious riddles of life threatening diseases like hers.
Finding them is what mattered to me then and now.
And I always say my mom taught me, both in life and in death, and continues to teach me. Her words of wisdom have always inspired me and just seeing what occurred in her life and is occurring in the life of so many other women right now, and men, and struggling with degenerative diseases.
And it doesn't have to be that way. We can turn this around.
My Dad had diabetes as well. When doctors counted him out at age 79 saying, “Well, Anna, he led a good life.” That's what they told me.
I was incensed and so was he. I helped him change his diet, added supplements and hormones, and took him off three prescription medicines. He went on to live another 12 really, really good years. Where my kids did not get to know my mother, at least they got to know my father.
And we owe that to our children. And not to mention we really want to enjoy our grandchildren.
Then there was my daughter, Amanda, a smart, active and articulate child, but a child who cannot sit still.
I wanted to help her, but I didn't want to do it with medication. I figured there must be a connection between what she was eating and how she behaved. I did an enormous amount of research into natural remedies.
After all, this was my daughter.
Based on what I learned, I decided she needed to have no more sugar, gluten, or caffeine containing beverages. I reasoned that a change in diet along with bioavailable B vitamins, fish oil, and other supplements would help Amanda become a healthy, active, not hyperactive six year old, and they did.
She's now in her twenties and pretty darn amazing.
Now I'm going to skip ahead to putting it all together. Give you a little bit more insight into what is contained within my book, The Hormone Fix.
The Hormone Fix features my short term Keto Green quick start detox, and my longer term program, The Keto Green Diet. Both help you improve your symptoms, diminish, and even completely eliminate hot flashes, lose extra weight, get a clear mind, have glowing skin and hair, become connected, and, as a bonus, fully rejuvenate your life and relationships.
It's associated lifestyle strategies will help lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and weight in ways that standard medical care is just not able to accomplish.
This is a program that saves lives.
With this in mind, here are some specifics you'll discover how to lose up to a pound a day with my 10 Day Keto Green Quick Start Detox. Now it's great to accompany it with my online 10 Day Breeze Through Menopause masterclass. That's at DrAnna.com/Breeze.
And also, while I'm thinking about it, if you've ordered a copy of my book, you can put your receipt information in at DrAnna.com/book and get over $250 in book bonuses.
So a lot of fun things that I created as a special accompaniment to my book, The Hormone Fix.
All right, the Quick Start is an invaluable tool, not something you'll just do once. You really can do it regularly, once a month, every time the seasons change, at the start of Lent… And so it's perfect to go back to the quick start plan anytime you need that quick reboot.
Secondly, in my book it contains How to Continue Your Success with my 21 Day Keto Green Diet and eating guide that can be used forever and for which I've given you three weeks worth of options and ideas.
It provides tasty, filling options for meals that help balance your hormones naturally and thus reduce or eliminate hot flashes, cravings, depression and anxiety, low sex drive, premature aging, thinning hair, aches and pains, and other symptoms that may be wrecking your life and self esteem.
You'll learn why this plan works for a wide range of life stages. From those early hormone imbalance symptoms, like with pms or with perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause. And honestly even for the men in your life who may be facing their own weight, blood sugar, and hormonal imbalances.
You'll learn how to identify the underlying causes of your symptoms and track your progress over time. I have several questionnaires in here and I've put two copies of them in, so you can do pre- and post-, and watch your progress and success. It really does help solidify these disciplines and principles in your life.
You'll also learn why you will dramatically improve your memory, focus, and motivation by restoring brain nurturing chemicals to more youthful levels. When you go Keto Green, you'll experience an energized enlightenment and feel mentally and spiritually alive.
You'll also learn which revitalizing lifestyle strategies help fix your hormones. It isn't all about diet. As I've mentioned, hydration becomes crucial, so does sleeping well, exercising, enjoying healthy relationships, managing stress, and living with peace and purpose.
With The Hormone Fix, you'll be well on your way to slimming down, feeling more energized, and enjoying clearer thinking.
I can see you smiling now.
You're getting it.
No more powering through nagging symptoms of fluctuating hormones. No more feeling tyrannized by stress.
Believe me, I know how overwhelming life can feel sometimes.
But don't give up on yourself. You're about to tap into unexpected energy and enhanced intimacy.
In short, you'll be creating the very best you.
I truly believe every woman deserves and can achieve a vibrantly healthy life filled with love and happiness, and that means you!
Menopause is not a disease that needs some kind of cure. It is just a natural transition to be approached as a new type of freedom and personal power.
This is a beautiful important time in your life. A time to look forward, chart a new course, and enjoy what can be the most exciting decades of your life. You are about to journey in a new direction toward health, happiness, and wholeness.
And I'll be with you every step of the way.
Does that sound good?
Then let's begin.
So that's a brief on the introduction. Skip through some parts, and some parts I already told you.
In the book you'll have questionnaires, inventories, testing guides, information on understanding what's happening to our body when we're under stress, and how physical changes, even vaginal health can continue to play an important role.
And feel empowered at the end of this that you're making positive changes, not just for yourself, but for all those you love.
Because it's important that you enjoy the quality of your life. When you start enjoying it, those around you will too.
I guarantee you, if it wasn't for following these practices and principles myself, I would not be able to accomplish what I do accomplish, even on a daily basis. To have the energy, to be a good mom, to be able to run a company, to be able to interact with and inspire others.
And I want you to know that I'm here for you every step of the way and I look forward to it.
Continue to listen in on Couch Talk and email us your questions. They become a new Couch Talk every once in a while, or a Facebook live where I answer some questions online.
I love interacting with all of you as my clients and I do wish you well.
My brand is called Vida Pura, and that means a pure life. Just a life filled with love and energy.
So please don't forget to get your book bonuses DrAnna.com/book and join me at my 10 day masterclass, DrAnna.com/Breeze.
I look forward to seeing you much, much more, and thank you.
Thank you for getting The Hormone Fix. Thank you for sharing it with your friends, your loved ones, your physicians, and letting me know how you think about it.
Take care.
