Looking for happiness and health in your golden years?
Making good choices
during your menopausal transition can make your 70s and 80s happier and healthier
True or false: we should just endure menopause? Well, according to Dr. Tina Peers, founder of The Menopause Consultancy, simply grinning and bearing it means missing out on the health benefits it can offer.
As it turns out, the decisions we make during perimenopause set our course for future health (or sickness).
Focusing on our health throughout our menopause journey helps our quality of life right now as well as our future quality of life.
Who knew?
We realize the difficulty in finding time for yourself. Our lives are filled to the brim with work, our kids, taking care of our aging parents, and on and on. There never seems to be any time left over for us. But carving out time is critically important.
Because the choices we may make throughout our menopause transition directly affect our life post-menopause.
It turns out that prioritizing healthy lifestyle choices now can protect us against future illnesses like dementia, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s, and cardiovascular disease. Again, who knew?
And let’s not forget those fun hormones. We don’t have to tell you that hormones fluctuate wildly throughout the menopause journey. These hormone fluctuations are not just vexing in terms of mood swings and brain fog, but also the toll they take on our muscles, bones, and joints. Hormone fluctuations reduce muscle mass and diminish core strength, which causes our body shape to change, joint and muscle pain to take hold, and could eventually lead to weakness and frailty.
Our bodies are a changin’ and right before our very eyes it would seem. As our metabolism slows down what we used to be able to eat, we no longer can. And so, as we age, we can start to look for ways to reduce our calorie intake.
We can also look for ways to stay physically active. We can take walks or try a HIIT workout. The latter is great for cardiovascular health. If the thought of exercising makes you break out in hives, try making it less painful and more fun – listen to your favorite podcast or watch your “dessert tv” while working out. “Below Deck,” anyone?
With all the competing demands on your time, this might feel like a bridge too far. But knowing that our perimenopausal choices affect our post-menopausal health matters. Your health matters. Your future health matters. We want you living your best life at 92!
For now, simply reflect on your menopausal journey.
As author Zora Neale Hurston famously said: “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” Let’s use these years to ask the right questions. Where are you getting your information? How are you taking care of yourself? Who is helping you take good care of you? Who is in your menopause community of support?
Our perimenopausal choices determine how healthy we are post-menopause. That means 30 - 45 years of either health or sickness. Invest in your health now for a brighter, better, stronger future. Rather than gritting our teeth and enduring menopause, let’s use this time to our advantage to become the women we want to be at 80… 90…or 100…
And here’s the thing, you don’t have to go it alone.
Our community is here to help you. Want to know more?