Navigating Through Menopause Gracefully

Is there a way to navigate through menopause gracefully? Absolutely.

So first of all, I’d have to say acceptance. Acceptance, that this change or transition in your life is coming. And you know what? Billions of women have gone through it already, and they’ve survived and gotten through. So how can you navigate gracefully? Taking a breath when you’re overwhelmed with the changes and symptoms that are happening. This is, you know, inevitable. There are ways that you can help the symptoms that you’re going to face.

Secondly, educate yourself. What is happening to your body during this transition in your life. You know, a lot of women are just taken by surprise and kind of feel like, “Oh my god, what’s going on?” What’s happening? Why am I feeling so depressed? Why am I putting on weight? Why is my skin changing? What’s happening to my skin? Why is sex so painful? Oh my god, there’s so many things that are happening. Just read a little bit more about what those symptoms are so then you can get help for those symptoms you know. For instance, if you’re feeling Moody and irritable, you know maybe you can take some supplements that help with that irritability.

And lastly, take care of yourself. You want to make sure that you’re getting adequate rest. Your diet is clean, so eat as much whole foods. Stay away from the caffeine, the simple carbohydrates, the sugars, alcohols, things like that that are going to aggravate. Even spicy foods would aggravate your hot flashes. Exercise! Exercise during this period of your life is so beneficial. My mother used to say that you know when she was having her symptoms and want not going outside and walking and getting out in the fresh air, even in the middle of winter when it’s cold, was fantastic. Her mood changed. She felt so much better. Your testosterone is declining and that’s one of the changes with, you know, all your hormones declining and your muscle. You’re losing bone mass and muscle mass. So, you want to make sure that you’re exercising with weight bearing exercises to keep that the muscles from atrophying and deteriorating, the bones from deteriorating. And you know this is going to make you feel better. It’s when you exercise this way, it naturally increases your testosterone.

There you have it! That’s how you can navigate through menopause gracefully.