I began experiencing menopausal symptoms in my mid to late 40s. Funny, right! It’s tough to know that line of what is stress and what is the beginning of the end of our menstrual cycle. Initially, I brushed it off. The irregular periods and occasional middle of the night hot flashes, attributing them to stress, sleepless nights, and just a general busy life. However, as time went on, I realized that these symptoms were becoming more persistent, not going away with the basic self-care plan I had in place, and really starting to impact my daily life.
The one that got me into solution was the constant fatigue throughout the day and the mood swings. Or that feeling of puffy. So puffy.
So, I decided to pause and explore what I wanted this part of my life to look like. I know I wanted physical health but how? My body was different, I wanted different things out of life then I did when I was 25 or 45 and time to get to know this new me, with a bit of distance from the day to day of unexplained symptoms.
I sought out friends to connect with who were experiencing similar challenges. It was great to share feelings and tap into that collective wisdom.
I had to make some significant changes from how I approached eating, approached exercise and even my spiritual practices. I had to incorporate more rest, dial down the cardio while increasing my weightlifting and add more protein just to name a few areas that needed to shift.
Above all else it was vitally important to listen to my body. This note is really only suggesting some solutions and areas of concern that were important to me on my journey. My hope is that something said or shared will be helpful to you.
If I were to offer any advice (my partner Greg and I always say - are you looking for advice or comfort?), it would be to slow down a bit and find out what works for you.