I think it is safe to say menopause is on the world stage right now, with women under the spotlight and loud voices advocating for change. The general chitchat is that menopause, until recently in some circles, has largely been a taboo subject, one that is wrought with lack of research, lack of guidance and a doom and gloom outlook. If you’re growing up to believe that once you hit menopause you’re likely going to gain weight, not sleep, be moody, lose the plot, break bones, be weak and sweat profusely, it’s hardly something to get excited about. Hopefully that mindset is changing.
Being informed and educated on the changes that occur in perimenopause and what steps you can take as a woman to prepare is empowering. You can dig deep into the science or simply skim the surface but of importance is this following point (by all means, I have not included ALL the information as that would call for more than a blog!).
- A reduction in sex hormones will reduce your muscle mass and bone density. The losses are dramatic and will impact many other side effects such as energy, mood, sleep.
- Start or continue resistance training. Now it’s not as simple as lifting heavy weights. First become conditioned and manage injuries, work on your technique, build core strength and progressively overload your muscles and joints so you can lift relatively heavy for your ability. Muscles need stimulus. We’re aiming for 3-4x per week but if you’re starting out, then 2x and consistently would be great.
- Start or continue with impact exercises that promote bone remodeling. Think skipping, jumping, hopping…not just walking. Walking is great for other reasons but not enough to stimulate bone density increases / offsetting losses.
- Review your dietary intake with a Registered Dietitian or Nutritionist particularly for protein intake. You’d be surprised how much you require to support muscle mass.
- While you’re reviewing your diet, also review your fibre intake and set realistic steps on how to work towards your ideal targets. For women it is about 30g per day and optimising gut health is crucial to supporting your immune function, brain function, metabolism and in general when our gut is functioning right, we are feeling better.
- Stop fasting. Fuel your exercise or just your day particularly in the morning. Aiming to consume protein and some carbs in the morning will get you off to a good start. Think greek yoghurt and 1/2 banana with chia seeds, or sandwich slice grainy bread with peanut butter or cottage cheese or overnight oats.
We are pretty quick to seek help from credible sources when we’re trying to become pregnant, pregnant or post natal, so why not at this stage of your life too. A word to the wise, don’t fall into the trap of allowing too many noises to come in, you’ll get overwhelmed, confused and lose confidence in what to do. AND there are a lot of noises out there on the internet, in magazines, on podcasts, some are from amazing research backed sources, others are from people wanting to leverage popularity and followers (in other words, social media influencers that have no background in exercise science or nutrition). I keep my channels of information pretty tight and follow legit credible people so I can upskill and continue to share my knowledge with you.
Happy to chat further, Kate x
