If you’re in your 40s or 50s and struggling with perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms such as poor sleep and daytime tiredness, hot flushes, weight gain or mood swings, there are 4 key steps you can take to help you feel revitalised and confident about this stage of your life.
First of all, I think it’s important to say that the menopause is not an illness! It is just a natural stage that all women go through. However, 8 out of 10 women do experience some menopausal symptoms. And so given the changes that take place in our bodies, it’s the perfect opportunity to really take stock of your diet and lifestyle so that you don’t just survive but thrive during the perimenopause, menopause and beyond.
Perhaps not surprisingly as a nutritionist I believe that making changes to your diet can make a big difference. Sad to say, but middle-aged spread is not a myth and while fat tends to accumulate around the middle in both men and women during midlife, the declining levels of oestrogen can make this more of a problem for women. A couple of tips that can help:
Addressing sources of stress is such an important part of having a healthy menopause. High levels of stress can affect your sleep and also reduce your motivation to eat healthily and keep active and so it can be a vicious cycle. The best ways of managing stress varies from individual to individual, but here are 2 things you might like to try:
There are so many reasons to keep active during the menopause! Exercising may help you reduce the number of hot flushes you’re experiencing, it helps with weight management and it can help to boost your mood and reduce anxiety and stress. Two tips to bear in mind:
Up to 40-60% of women experience disturbed sleep during the menopause and it’s considered one of the most troublesome symptoms in terms of affecting your daily life and your ability to do your work. It’s thought that the drop in oestrogen makes it more difficult to both fall asleep and then stay asleep and there are impacts of other hormones, which I’ll cover in a future post. So what can help?
For more tips on living healthily through the menopause, please check out my Facebook page.
And if you need any help in managing your perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms, please do get in touch.
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