How many of these boxes are you ticking?
How many of these are sounding familiar to you?
The weight is sitting on your belly and under your bra in a way it never used to
You’re gaining weight even though nothing has changed in how you eat
You're exhausted by 3pm no matter how well you sleep
You're not sleeping well, you wake at 3am and can’t get back to sleep
Your periods have gone weird. Heavier, lighter, closer together, further apart, or stopped entirely
Hot flushes. Night sweats. The duvet on, the duvet off, the duvet on, the duvet off
Your mood is all over the place and you don't recognise yourself half the time
Brain fog. Forgetting words. Walking into rooms wondering why you're there
Anxiety that's come from nowhere, or got louder than it used to be
Aches and joint pain that weren't there a few years ago
Your hair is thinning, your skin is drier, your nails are weaker
Your sex drive has vanished
You feel bloated all the time
Cravings for sugar and carbs that feel completely out of your control
You're doing everything you used to do to lose weight and it's not working anymore. Or worse, the scale is going up
You are waking up in the night or going to bed and then a heap of regrets and dark thoughts and self hate is playing on your mind and you just don’t know what to do anymore
How many of those relate to you?
If it's more than a few, and you are in your 40s, 50s and beyond, what's happening in your body is real. It's not in your head. It's most likely that it’s perimenopause or menopause. And the hormonal shifts going on inside you right now are some of the biggest your body will ever go through. It can be lonely and debilitating for many women.
No-one ever told you about half of these symptoms. Your mum probably didn’t tell you about it, I know mine certainly didn’t. I didn’t bother to ask either.
Your GP may of prescribed Anti-Depressants! (if they did, and didn’t do a proper check, get a new GP!)
Your body has changed and this is a time to embrace a new way of doing things.
And the way you eat, train, sleep, and manage stress has to change with it, because what worked for you ten years ago is working against you now. Not because you're doing it wrong.
Because your body needs something different now.
I have made it my passion to help women in this stage of life, because – well – I get it! I am not a 30 year old training women who doesn’t understand, I’ve been there and helped women in this stage when I was younger and I didn’t understand.
I have trained through the wonderful Wendy Sweet who help practitioners, naturopaths, PTs etc help women in this phase of life and I’m learning more and more every day.
Right now I am in the middle of a pilot (guinea pig testing phase) of a plan I am putting together to help women through this and I got the most wonderful testimonial last week which reads:
“I just wanted to say thank you for all the effort you are putting into the 8 week Hormone Challenge, and how much I appreciate what you are doing.
I am getting so much out of it and learning so much in the process. Eating breakfast has made such a tremendous change for me in the last few weeks, and I am determined to keep it up. Also implemented the lemon water drink in the morning, as well as eating as much fruit and vegetables as possible.
I made the oat pancakes last night for dinner, and my husband loved them, so now we will have to have them regularly. The effort you are putting in is above and beyond what I have experienced before with a personal trainer.”
We need to know what works and what doesn't at this stage of life. And I want you to know how to build a plan around your body, your hormones, your schedule, your stress levels, and the food that will serve your body beautifully for longevity.
Not a generic plan. Not a one-size-fits-all programme where your questions are not answered and you are left alone. A plan designed just for YOU.
If you've been reading this and feeling completely lost, please don't keep trying to figure this out alone. You've already tried that. It's not working. Connection, Community and Support matters!
Book a call, send me a message, it may not necessarily mean working with me, it may be me referring you to someone else, depending on your situation.
What have you got to lose by speaking to someone about it? You can then decide what next steps you want to take afterwards.
Here for you always
Andrea xx