MIDLIFE-WOMEN_ARTICLE1_PERI-MENOPAUSE_PART2
Perimenopause:
What's Happening to Your Body and How to Feel Like Yourself Again
The peri-menopause can be one of the trickiest times for women to get their heads around. One minute you're 30, full of energy to do all the things you want in life. Yes, there may be challenges, but none of them seem unmanageable. Life
— especially when you look back — seemed pretty great. All of a sudden, it feels like life and age have snuck up on you. You're just not quite the same person you used to be. You notice you get tired more easily; some days you're literally dragging yourself through the day. You've lost your get-up-and-go for no reason. The weight you used to be able to lose in the run-up to an important event stays stubbornly in place, no matter what you try, and you can't seem to shift that foggy feeling in your brain. But it can't be the menopause, right? You're too young…
The menopause actually refers to a time when you haven't had a single period for at least a year. The run-up to it can last for years, and it's called the peri-menopause. Think of it as the menopause transition. It can take eight to ten years! Women typically start to experience it in their 40s — and often the most
obvious signs are that your periods become irregular — although for some, it may even begin in their 30s.
During peri-menopause, levels of one of the main female sex hormones, oestrogen, rise and fall unevenly. The length of time between periods may be longer or shorter, your flow may be light to very heavy, and with worse PMS than ever before. You may even skip some periods — only for them to return with a vengeance.
You might also experience some of the symptoms traditionally associated with the menopause, like night sweats, hot flushes, sleep problems, mood swings, more UTIs like cystitis, and vaginal dryness. Around this time, you may begin to notice that weight loss becomes trickier, and your digestion feels a bit off.
The way some talk about the peri-menopause, you'd think it was a disease. There's no need to go to your doctor to get an official diagnosis — although it's definitely worth booking an appointment if you notice any of the following, as they can point to other problems. It's always better to be safe than sorry. Fibroids are something very common at this time.
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Spotting after your period.
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Blood clots during period.
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Bleeding after sex.
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Periods that are much longer or much shorter than normal.
If you are really struggling with your energy levels, it's also worth getting your thyroid checked, if it hasn't already been. Perimenopausal and menopausal women are at greater risk of thyroid dysfunction. Added to this, thyroid symptoms can mimic menopausal symptoms. The ovaries, uterus, adrenal glands and brain require adequate thyroid hormones to function.
Whatever your specific symptoms are, a tailored nutrition plan can really help. I know you could Google (other search engines are available) ‘diet for perimenopause’, but the truth is — and I know this from working with many clients, and from time to time hanging out in menopause forums — the answer doesn't lie in fixing yourself symptom by symptom. In the human body, everything is connected in ways you might not imagine. Looking at the whole of you, rather than individual complaints, is the way forward.
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A Place to Start: Stable Blood Sugar
But I want to give you something to help you get started. Maintaining a stable blood sugar level can help. To do this:
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Eat three meals a day at regular intervals.
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Eat a palm-sized portion of protein at each meal (meat and poultry, fish and seafood, tofu, eggs, beans, lentils, chickpeas, nuts and seeds — ideally nothing in batter or breadcrumbs).
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Don't worry about healthy fats, like olive oil and avocados (the calories in vs. calories out myth has been debunked for a while now).
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Eat a minimum of five portions (three heaped tablespoons) of non-starchy vegetables or salad per day. Always have vegetables/salad with lunch and dinner, breakfast, too, if you wish. There is no upper limit on how many vegetables you can eat. The ideal options are anything that grows above ground.
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Eat two portions of low glycaemic fruit per day, with meals — bananas are high in sugar, however handy they are to transport. Try to stick to berries of anykind,apples,pears,plums,tangerinesorsimilar,lemonandlime,peaches and nectarines.
Ideally you should feel satisfied from your main meals and not require snacks throughout the day, however, should you feel hungry or if you are working out, you can have one snack per day — something like oatcakes with cream cheese, hummus, cottage cheese, ham and tomato, a small pot of natural yoghurt with berries, a Bounce ball, a handful of nuts and/or seeds, or a matchbox-sized chunk of cheese with an apple, or unsweetened nut butter and apple slices. Ideally you should feel satisfied from your main meals and not require snacks throughout the day, however, should you feel hungry or if you are working out, you can have one snack per day — something like oatcakes with cream cheese, hummus, cottage cheese, ham and tomato, a small pot of natural yoghurt with berries, a Bounce ball, a handful of nuts and/or seeds, or a matchbox-sized chunk of cheese with an apple, or unsweetened nut butter and apple slices.
Don't Underestimate Sleep
You'd be amazed the difference a really good sleep can have on symptoms, especially in helping manage stress levels.
On both counts, Epsom salt baths can deliver amazing results. You'll also want to put in place a proper sleep plan that limits screen time at least one hour before bed, has some wind-down time, involves a dark room (or eye mask)… I know you understand that on an intellectual level… But are you actually doing anything about it?
One Thing This Week
This is already a lot for you to think about for a [insert day of the week you are posting/sending] so I will leave you with this.
Choose to work on ONE thing only this week.
It doesn't really matter what it is. Don't take on too much at once. Get really good at getting an early night, winding down with a book and enjoying the benefit of good sleep. Or focus on getting in more veg into your diet. Or eating a good breakfast using the guidelines above.