Category Archives: menopause

OMGosh Menopause and the Mid Section Tube

Somewhere along the way, your body started storing fat instead of using it for energy. You turned on the thrifty genes, which helped us centuries ago when trying to survive a famine. But these days there’s no famine.  What we do have is a lot of processed food and GMO’s.  Our soil is depleted.  Our food grown in factories instead of the farm.  This leads to fat gain, fatigue, moodiness, and internal starvation because your cells are not getting the fuel they need. In medical language, this is known as hormone resistance or insulin resistance, and the basic story is that your body becomes numb to the hormones that control fat burning. Those hormones are insulin, leptin, cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, thyroid, growth hormone, plus a few others! Whew!

Every day we hear about a different diet, each one contradicting the last. Eat more protein. Eat less protein. Restrict your fat. Eat more fat! Don’t drink milk. Drink raw milk! It’s most confusing and often not based in any scientific research. My goal for you with fat loss is to do what’s sustainable: 1-2 pounds per week. Faster weight loss leads to rebound weight gain. Instead, follow a plan that is proven to help you with fat loss and to boost metabolism, sensibly and sustainably.  Ask an expert like me!  Hopefully by now you got the memo that burning fat isn’t about cutting calories or clocking in more hours on the cardio equipment at the gym. Your metabolism is like a computer – with a little fine-tuning and the proven lifestyle tweaks, you can get it fired up to work more efficiently. Hopefully you’re saying: “Susan, break it down for me! Tell me how to do this!”

Menopause and some common Myths

If a woman has gone for 12 consecutive months without having a period, she’s officially reached menopause. For some women, menopause signifies an end to their childbearing years and the realization that they are getting older. For others, menopause means they no longer have to deal with the discomfort and inconvenience of a monthly period. It brings an end to the worry about unwanted pregnancy, and it’s a new age of freedom. Due to all the GMO’s and chemicals in our diets these days menopause can start as early as 35 up to past 51.

Most women will experience depression during menopause- Myth! Women are already twice as likely as men to experience depression, and a few studies have suggested a possible link between hormone changes and major depressive episodes. But other research shows no link at all. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, menopause in and of itself does not cause depression. Hormone changes may be responsible for some symptoms, including mood swings, but those are different from true psychological distress. So be sure to listen to your body and try a natural solution such as essential oils first.

Perhaps the biggest myth about menopause is that it is a time when you slow down and watch your health start to go downhill. The truth is that women are living healthier, more active lives than ever before and often use this time to further develop their careers, travel, volunteer, and spend more time with loved ones. Women who take good care of their bodies and minds can continue to enjoy life long after menopause. This is usually where we as women find our voices and follow our passions in life, love and spiritual callings. Embrace the new!

Menopause is a New Season

A team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has found that moderate to severe hot flashes continue, on average, for nearly 5 years after , and more than a third of women experience moderate/severe hot flashes for 10 years or more after menopause. Hot flashes are episodes of intense radiating heat experienced by many women around the time of menopause. They can result in discomfort, embarrassment, and disruption of sleep. Changing hormone levels are believed to cause hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms such as insomnia, fatigue, memory and concentration problems, anxiety, irritability, and joint and muscle pain.  The study evaluated 255 women in the Penn Ovarian Aging Study who reached natural menopause over a 16-year period (1996-2012). The results indicate that 80 percent (203) reported moderate/severe hot flashes, 17 percent (44) had only mild hot flashes, and three percent (8) reported no hot flashes.

I can attest to this through personal experience.  I started peri-menopause at age 38 and went through menopause at age 44.  I decided not to use HRT, bio-identicals, or anti-depressants or sleeping aids.  I changed my diet to low glycemic, exercise regularly, drink plenty of water, use high quality supplements and did my research.  Yes, it was hard.  But in the end I feel my body is so much healthier for using natural medicines such as essential oils, herbs, paleo and low glycemic food plans, and learning how to quiet the chaos in a more natural way.  It’s a choice for us women so make sure you do your research before you leap…it can be a life changer!