Ep: #29 - How to Combat Perimenopause Menopause Including Weight Gain

Faye Casement Author

Mar 22, 2023 |

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Perimenopause and menopause can be a difficult time for us women.  Am I right? drop me a message, let me know! we experience a range of changes in our body, mind and soul. We can experience weight gain, bloating, and changes in energy levels, sleep patterns, anxiety levels and drops in mood plus so much more.

There are good days and bad days and some days you can feel totally out of control.

Help is at hand though.

In this show, I talk about the impact it has on us, and how the 3 guiding fundamentals of awareness, action and accountability can help to lessen the impact so you can seek to take back control so that perimenopause and menopause are not just something that happens to us.

It is no secret if you are a woman of a certain age that perimenopause and menopause can be life changing.

I see post after post of women on social media struggling with the physical and mental changes, it's common to feel out of control and even a little bit (or hell of a lot) miserable.

Millions of women are going through the same thing right now and apart from a few good groups there is very limited support out there but on the whole there seems to be little guidance and support.

I have been using we a lot so far because I have perimenopause symptoms too, changes in hormones and moods throughout the month, brain fog, lacking concentration, forgetfulness, headaches, boob aches, cramps, irregular cycle, night sweats. There are days when I question myself and have lower confidence, days when I think I may be losing the plot and days when I am on top of the world. It can be very disorientating

It's a never-ending roller coaster in there. The ups and downs can seem relentless, and you can never quite predict what will happen next. It can be exhausting, you want the ride to end but you don't think you are in control of the buttons.

But what if I told you, you have more control and more buttons than you possibly realise?

A really important aspect of the Triple-A-Way™ program is that although the primary focus is weight loss there is so much more to it! You have the ability whilst losing weight in a sustainable way to work on anything else you need to with my support as I am there to help you, the whole of you, mind, body and soul!

Perimenopause and Menopause like other life events, babies, long term ill-health etc all impact on how we think, feel and act, so let's deep dive this today and how the fundamentals can help.

The Importance Of Understanding What Perimenopause/Menopause Is And How It Is Affecting Your Mind, Body & Soul (Awareness)

I don't know about you but what I tend to find when my peri is "playing up" my instant reaction is to feel completely lost. It is like I am no longer the strong capable woman I know I am and I feel pathetic, out of control and in a major funk that this is happening to me!

I find it very easy to slip into judgment about how I am feeling, I can think things like "this shouldn't be happening", "I don't want to feel this way", "this is crap", "what is happening to me", "why do I feel this way", "I shouldn't be feeling this way". If I do not break into and work on those thoughts with my toolbox of techniques I can get endless mind chatter about this situation which is exhusting.

This could be hard to believe but perimenopause and menopause and their symptoms are what we would call in coaching a "situation"... all situations are neutral until you apply a thought to it. It is the thought that then makes the situation, positive, neutral or negative.

As a recap the main model I use in coaching, is the STEAR model which basically says a situation occurs, you have a thought, this leads to an emotion, your emotion leads to action or inaction and this creates your results.

It is of course only natural for our brains when a less than desirable symptom strikes to jump to a negative thought but what if you could lessen the impact with your mind.

The first thoughts I outlined above are clearly going to lead to a negative emotion they are all woe is me. If not dealt with they will make me feel powerless, out of control and ultimatly put me in to victim mode. Victim mode is often the ultimate shut-off to a solution. Why would we ever bother to try to change something if our thoughts are saying we can't.

The brain then recognise this as a threat and triggers the flight, fight, freeze response. So I may get angry, cry, bitch, moan to anyone who will listen (fight), might do nothing, decide to hide away, do nothing until it passes (freeze) or I may go in to flight mode and try to distract myself, eat, drink, work more, shop (sound familiar).

All of these are normal reactions, likewise, negative emotions are not all bad it's how the body is designed but are they helpful? Do they ultimatly lead to you feeling better to solving the original trigger?

Victim mode can also bring with it additional optional settings blame and excuses!

If it wasn't for XYZ I would be ABC.

Fill in your own blanks but maybe it would be "If I wasn't so tired from the night sweats I would be able to do my morning exercises"; "If only these damn periods would go away I would be able to get on with my life", "I can't seem to lose weight because of my perimenopause", "I am so anxious it must be the hormones".

If we are blaming and making excuses we are taking the focus off of us and our actions and that can create temporary relief. It's like a get-out-of-jail card. "Not my fault gov...the hormones made me do it"!

Now hormones are bitch. I am not trying to say the symptoms don't suck...they do! They really do! I am not saying we have full control over the hormones or that the techniques I can teach you are total cure but the hormones whatever they are doing are also a situation just like your boss or partner saying something to you or the sun shining.

It is ultimately the age-old debate of nature and nurture. Are you impacted due to your hormones or are they simply a trigger to your thoughts, which lead to your feelings and then on to your action that you would have before or more often!

The problem is the blaming and and excuses are often a temporary fix and can get us very very stuck and unable to move forward.

BUT...

Most of us also have a choice as to how we show up when they strike!

This is where awareness comes in. The above are automatic reactions by our mind and body.

But if you can find space to stop and observe what is happening it is possible to change the dialogue to thoughts will serve us and lead to a better emotional state.

There are of course physical symptoms too, these will differ from woman to woman but did you know that mindfulness and the Triple-A-Way™️ Method could help with those too!

When you start to understand what is happening in your body it can be really helpful to see things in a different light. For example, forgetfulness and brain fog can be due to low estrogen levels, night sweats due to hormonal changes etc.

With regards to weight gain, there is no definitive answer and every woman's experience is different it could be hormonal changes as Oestrogen levels fluctuate. Oestrogen helps to regulate the body's metabolism and when levels drop, it can lead to a slower metabolic rate and an increase in body fat. It can be for other reasons such as lifestyle changes, stress, sleep and thyroid issues.

Shock and horror, if you have listened to any of my stuff before the starting point is awareness. I'm not trying to knock what you are going through right now as I said, I am there myself but especially when we are feeling crappy it is easy to hyperfocus on and get stuck in emotion about our symptoms but not actually trying to solve/relieve them. We don't want to feel the way we do, it is confusing and feels rubbish and we wish things were different but we can gather intel on what our mind, body and soul is up to and try to use this awareness.

We don’t want to stay the same but we will if don’t act.

Stepping Into Action

So how do we step into action?

We deserve to be the heroine of our stories.

We are not the damsels in distress old movies would have us believe (Cough Disney!) we are strong, powerful, capable women who can do anything we set our brain fogged minds to.

It totally nuts how our brain and body work sometimes. Our brains want to keep us safe. It does not like the fact we feel rubbish. It has all these hormones flying around and it is trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

When you are feeling turbulent, your mind is trying to regulate you, problem is it doesn’t know how. Feeling turbulent it will encourage you to eat for comfort, it start a fight with your partner as it must be there fault.

For example, I have periods in the month where I feel very low, everything is a real chore. I know there is a hormonal element to it as it comes around every month around ovulation time.

My choices at this time are:

• Do nothing - wallow
• Actively listen to my mind/body/soul and do what it tells me. It could be retreat. Do nothing for a few days until it passes but the point is I decide.
• Make a plan for when these days hit so that my life and weight loss is not as impacted as it could be without it
• Use mindfulness techniques to try and bolster my moods
• Seek professional support.

I am still trying to figure it out but one thing I do actively work on is acceptance and releasing judgement. I am not happy when these days come but if I can just observe and not judge myself for feeling rubbish, it does help.

There are loads of other things out there to try, no right or wrongs here the point is to pick something and try it out. You could use my 5 D’s of Action process.

I was talking to a friend of min the other day about this topic. Cathy Hutchinson, she is a Counsellor and Hypnotherapist and has done a lot of work studying the Menopause. We had a good chat on the benefits for example of hypnotherapy. Did you know, for example, it is possible to use hypnotherapy and your mind in effect to drop your core temperature…great for flushes.

Also we were talking about mindfulness and how when you have a flush there can be knock on effects to this that are often not tackled. For example, you have a flush coming on. There is an element of panic that sets in “not now”, “not again”, ‘’ this is so embarrassing” etc these types of thoughts under normal circumstances will heighten your body's response and maybe warm you up a little. Maybe and I can only say maybe as I have not got hot flushes yet you can use mindfulness techniques like self-soothing and relaxation to help. I know these help with the anxiety I can sometimes get and the night sweats.

It is about giving different things a go, watching your patterns etc just like with food and seeing what you can change up.

It is also about stepping up your self-compassion. You all know I am a big advocate for self-compassion and curiosity for weight loss but this spans the whole of life too.

Accountability

Accountability is key when it comes to perimenopause and menopause. It can be difficult to stay on track with weight loss and manage your symptoms when you are feeling out of control. But by taking action and being accountable to yourself, you can make the process easier.

One way to be accountable is to keep a journal. This can be a physical journal, an online journal or app. Use it to track your symptoms, moods, and thoughts. This will help you to identify patterns and triggers. It can also be a way to release some of the pent-up emotions you may be feeling.

Another way to be accountable is to tell someone else about what you are going through. This could be a friend, family member, or healthcare professional. Having someone to talk to can help you to feel less alone and more supported.

Finally, make sure to take care of yourself. This includes eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep. Taking care of your physical health will help to ease some of the symptoms you are experiencing.

And if you are Wellness4Women FREE or VIP Member share it within this community we can support each other in our times of need.

RECAP

In conclusion, it is important to be aware of the impact perimenopause and menopause can have on your mind, body and soul.

Gather awareness, maybe you do not have to be at the affect of your symptoms as much as you currently are and their could be ways to step into action for a better overall experience.

Continue to be accountable, seek medical or professional support if required and work on practicing your self-compassion as you are awesome, you are doing your best and you have got this.

If you are ready to find sustainable weight loss by ditching mainstream diets to find more joy PLUS Food & Life Freedom check out the VIP Coaching Membership HERE.

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Categories: : mindset, Weight loss