What's up with perimenopause?

If you are a woman in your mid 30's, this is probably a word you have started hearing more often. Maybe you have even started to wonder if you are experiencing perimenopause already? Maybe you have just heard from older friends that it is REAL and it is COMING FOR YOU!

Perimenopause and menopause usually get a bad reputation. They are the dreaded years where a woman's body changes, but not for the better. That's what most of the world says at least. However, I like to think of it as similar to puberty. Puberty is a time where hormones are increasing and transitioning to a child-bearing phase of life. In menopause, the hormones are declining, phasing out of that period of life. Its a very normal process, yet it will come with changes, but these changes should be adaptable and manageable.

So you may ask, "Why is it so hard?!"

The answer to this I believe lies in the many things we do in the years prior to perimenopause that may cause hormone imbalances. When our hormones are out of balance before menopause, this can cause the transition to menopause to be that much harder. There are things called endocrine disruptors that cause the endocrine system in our body to not work properly, efficiently or correctly. For a woman, the two main hormones we speak of are estrogen and progesterone. Other hormones, such as testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are also in play. All of these require a very intricate balance in our bodies in order to have a regular cycle, become pregnant, breastfeed, balance cholesterol, burn energy for fuel and many other functions. When endocrine disruptors enter our lives, they turn this delicate balance into a crooked state of chaos. Often, this is when we start to see problems.

Some of the disruptors that I speak of would include birth control medication or devices, antibiotics, steroids, refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, harmful ingredients in cosmetics and cleaning products, plastics, pesticides, sedentary lifestyle and more. If we look at that short list, we can understand how our endocrine systems can be messed up by our 30's and 40's. I recently spoke at a seminar with middle-aged women where we discussed perimenopause and menopause and what symptoms a woman may face during this time, and which symptoms may point to a part of their body that has been damaged the most by these disruptors in our life. I was able to narrow it down to four categories;

Gut

Hormones

Metabolism

Inflammation

These categories are actually very much linked together, once you look at the roots of them. However, on the surface level, they will have their specific symptoms. During the seminar, I encouraged the women to check the boxes of specific symptoms they experienced in each category, and then each category was totaled for the "winner."

It is important to find the "winner" because what I see is that typical for women at this time in their life is that they are overwhelmed. As they face issues with their gut, their hormones, their emotions, their weight and their overall quality of life, they start to question if they can do it all. It becomes something that is so huge to get through, that they give up. They just let all the weight come back on. They go through procedure after procedure to stop their symptoms or remove part of their body that they don't like. They let friendships go because they can't have fun anymore. They succumb to the growing pants size and hide under baggy clothes. They stop cooking because food is now the enemy.

This is so sad to me as a practitioner in the health and wellness field. One of the hardest parts of my job is pulling women out of this, especially when they are in pretty deep. However, it is also such a rewarding feeling when I see them start to find themselves again. When energy returns, some extra weight comes off, and when their quality of life improves.

What I want you to know is that it IS worth investing in your body through this time period. You may never completely figure everything out, but you will figure some things out. You CAN do so much for your body through the right nutrition, especially through the transition period of menopause. You need to learn the nutrition that serves your body during this time, as well as learning the proper exercise and movement that support this change. Be your own advocate for your health, don't accept "that's just the way it is" for an answer. Please reach out to me if you would want help. You can visit my "future clients" tab at the top of the page.

Whatever you do, don't be afraid of menopause...

Embrace it!