IMPROVING HEALTH, STRENGTH, FITNESS AND BODY COMPOSITION DURING PERIMENOPAUSE AND MENOPAUSE
When we first hit our 40s we still feel like we’re in our 30's in our mind. However our body is about to go through adjustments that will completely change the way we do things, the way we feel and the way our body responds to life. Somewhere during our 40s our body enters perimenopause. Perimenopause is the 5-10 year phase before we hit menopause. Gradually this stage will well and truly reassure us we are no longer in our 30s!
This phase in our life is most commonly known for how difficult it is to feel good and look good. Often described as the body not working properly anymore. We begin to feel foreign in our own skin. In a way the body does become foreign to us because we have to relearn who we are becoming. Our body takes on a new personality. But it is important to know, your body still works and it’s working perfectly, it’s just working differently to the way it did before, differently to what you’ve been accustomed to.
So how to navigate this? What is this new personality and how does this new ‘me’ operate? Think of it the way you would when you’re helping someone. What are their struggles? What do they need? How can you help them? When we look at our perimenopausal and menopausal body we see big shifts in hormones and how the body is subsequently affected by this. This new you will experience changes in your ability to build and maintain muscle, to develop and maintain strength in both muscle and bone, your ability to recover, repair and feel energised and your ability to use body fat for energy and maintain a desired body composition.
The most important area for us to focus on at this time is strength, consistent movement, appropriate fuelling, avoiding restricted eating, keeping stress levels low and rest and recovery. Understanding the differences between our 20s-30s and 40s-50s will enable us to achieve a strong, lean, toned functioning body with a metabolism that works for us not against us.
When we first notice the changes we have a tendency to look only at body composition, the desire to reduce body fat and immediately assume quantity of food is to blame. Reducing the amount of food we eat is completely unrelated to the cause of how we’re feeling and reducing it will further exacerbate our lack of strength, vitality, balance of hormones and lean muscle mass by increasing internal stress levels.
What our body wants us to do is to keep active, keep moving, increase the strength training, lift heavy, increase the protein, maintain cardio in the high intensity interval training zone, get plenty of rest and recovery, fuel before training, fuel after training, edit lifestyle to keep cortisol levels down (physical, mental, emotional and digestive) and add in more mobility and flexibility.
It’s scary travelling this road alone, but when you understand this transition and what you need to do for yourself, the journey can become exciting and extremely rewarding. You can feel strong, fit, lean, rested, energised and most importantly you can feel like YOU again!