Can you eat yourself to a healthier menopause?
Is what you eat at menopause important?
If you have never stopped to consider the question then menopause might just be the time to do so.
There is so much confusion about what you should and shouldn't be eating at menopause .. everyone seems to have an opinion.
Some opinion's come from study, science and evidence.
Some opinion's come from personal experience.
Some opinion's come from clever marketing to sell a product.
BUT what do you really think .. Can you eat yourself to a healthier menopause?
There is that old saying ‘you are what you eat’ and there is a lot of truth in that statement because the food that you eat is the raw materials for every function, every reaction and every cell in your body.
Food has an essential role to play in your health and wellbeing. It is the building blocks of everything that you are.
Menopause the time for reflection
Menopause can give you the perfect opportunity to reflect on:
Life experiences
Knowledge
Time to pause
Time to dream big about what the next half of your life is going to be
But it is also the perfect opportunity to reflect on your health, your eating habits and if they are still serving you at this phase of your life.
Your health, your menopause symptoms, how you age are all closely linked to the foods that you eat.
Fad dieting, restrictive eating and cutting out whole food groups might have worked for you before menopause BUT omg they can just bite you on the bum at menopause causing many of the symptoms you are experiencing .. lack of key nutrients, poor detoxification and not being able to keep your blood sugar levels within range are the usual suspects which can all be supported by the food you eat.
Where do you get started putting things right?
Your relationship with food
This is a biggie and might take some soul searching because it isn’t just about what you are eating now BUT your whole history with food.
Things to think about include:
Past dieting experiences - Have you done restrictive diets in the past? Have you cut out whole food groups? Have you yoyoed from different diets?
What you believe about food - Have you got a list of good/bad foods? Are there foods you avoid for ethical, religious or other reasons?
Habits that you have gotten into - Does your eating follow a pattern that you don’t even think about any more?
What you are actually eating - food diaries are amazing ways to actually see what you are eating rather than what you think you eat. Writing everything down for 3 days is a great way to do this.
Listening to what your body is telling you
Your body will try and let you know that it needs something.
With busy lives and that just ‘get on with it’ attitude many of us have forgotten how to tune into what our body really needs.
But you body is an amazing thing and it will let you know when something it out of balance.
Think about:
Stubble clues that it is giving you that it needs some support - Is your sleep off? How is your digestion? Have you got aches and pains that have developed over time? How are you recovering from exercise? What is your stress levels like? How is your mood?
How many things have you put down to menopause, aging or just put up with? Sit somewhere quiet and write a list of how you are feeling at the moment. Keep a note of anything new.
Cravings, energy swings, sleepless nights, menopause symptoms - these are all clues that your body is craving some key nutrients, your blood sugar regulation is off or you are not detoxifying effectively.
Making the change you want
It can be scary getting to midlife and realising that the patterns of eating you have, the foods that you eat might just be contributing towards your menopause symptoms.
Change can be hard, especially if your food habits are so ingrained that you don’t even think about them anymore BUT there are ways of successfully making those changes you want without it being a mammoth job.
Do one small thing everyday - this will help beat the overwhelm and make you more likely to keep the new habits up.
Work out your triggers - it is important to think about what will make you sabotage your new habits so that you can be prepared when it happens.
Remove everyday temptations and build in occasional treats - this will help you break unhealthy habits and start to enjoy those occasional treats.
Create your goals - by having a goal you have something to work towards. Be specific - weight loss isn’t a goal but losing 6lb is.
Break your goals down into achievable steps - how are you going to reach your goal? Tiny, achievable, steps will move you towards your goal effortlessly.
Track your progress - this will help you see how far you have come and what you have already achieved - such a useful thing to do for those days when you have a wobble and can’t see how far you have come.
Starting with the basics
The basics can be so underestimated but they should form the cornerstone of your nutrition and life. There is nothing fancy in here JUST what should be part of your everyday habits.
Hydration
Sleep
Protein in every meal
Carbs from a range of plant based sources
Fats every day
Building on the basics
Once the basics are in place you can start to add to this and do the fancy work.
Targeted nutrition to support will help to bring your body into balance by working on nutrient deficiencies, supporting your body systems to come back into sync and supporting your body to detoxify and get rid of waste effectively.
Listening to what your body is saying - understanding what cravings mean - understanding what your dips in energy are telling you - tracking your mood - tracking your sleep - watching how your body recovers after exercise.
This will be very personal to what your body needs, what your health goals are and your past dieting history.
You don’t need to do this on your own - Getting support
It is ok to get support. If you are able to make the changes you need, do the research into what your body is telling you and create your personalised plans then that is amazing BUT is it also ok to get:
An accountability buddy that will be your biggest cheerleader, coach and support you to keep the commitments you had made to yourself.
Professional advice and support - someone who has the knowledge, skills and experience to support you all the way to you reaching your goals and making the nutritional changes you need to support your body to function at its best
Ways to work with me
Download my online course (coming soon)