….before embarking on food and lifestyle changes
We are the first to admit that making healthy food & lifestyle choices is absolutely paramount for a long-term vitality and well-ageing strategy. In peri and menopausal women, it is even more important to prioritise healthy choices because we are at an increased risk for any potential health condition as a result of the physiologic changes that comes with ageing and hormone decline.
Having said that, in our experience, having been working with menopausal women, and being menopausal women ourselves, it is very difficult to make healthy food & lifestyle choices when you feel “less for nothing” …
What is our typical menopausal woman like?
Our typical menopausal woman isn’t sleeping well. She has difficulty with either failing asleep or waking up multiple times during the night with hot flashes [or both], a racing mind, or to use the bathroom.
Her erratically fluctuating or declining hormones cause fatigue and mood changes, both of which impact her motivation to make good choices throughout the day.
Your typical menopausal woman knows that she should be eating better, but she is exhausted, so the thought of meal planning, shopping, preparting, and cooking is too mcuh to bear for that moment on top of her job, caring for her kids and her ageing parents.
Your typical menopause woman knows that she should be hydrated better, but she is exhausted, so reaching for some caffeine instead of water seems to be like a great idea [to keep her energy up].
Your typical menopause woman knows that she should exercise and move her body more each day, but she is barely able to get herself through her working day after being up half the night.
She is knows all of the above and much more ….however, hormones run our bodies. Hormones are what make us feel vital, energetic and alive.
When hormones decline, as they do during our menopausal years,
- we don’t feel like our former, vibrant selves.
- It is If not impossible in some cases, to master you enough energy to make good choices when we feel this way.
Replenishing hormones as earlier as you can, even during perimenopause addresses the root cause of our symptoms, which allows us to feel like ourselves again with some of the major benefits being:
- We sleep better
- we have more energy
- we have better mood
- we have better relatioships too
We are no longer hanging by a thread, so we can prioritise the health and lifestyle pieces that support a healthy body.