[POD] 7:1:24. 205. Perimenopause & Menopause 101
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[00:00:00] Welcome to the Woman of Wellness Podcast, a show dedicated to empowering you to make peace with food, embrace your body, and enjoy the journey to lasting health and wellness. I'm your host, Elizabeth Dahl, a certified exercise physiologist and women's nutrition and behavior coach passionate about help.
You build sustainable habits, achieve your goals, and create a lifetime of health without dieting or restriction. And because women's health is such a multifaceted journey alongside sharing my expertise, I'm bringing you conversations with leading women's health experts to explore the many dimensions of wellness from nutrition and weight loss.
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To help you discover what your body truly needs, it's time to reject the lie that health and weight loss have to be hard, painful, or miserable. I'm ready to link arms with you and experience the joy of wellness together. My podcast friends, I am very much looking forward to this conversation today because I have a fun announcement for you, um, for the month.
If you're listening to this live for the month of July, we are focusing on [00:02:00] women's hormone health, perimenopause and menopause. I have been receiving a lot of questions and answering a lot of questions inside our members area, um, about just. Aging and women's health and navigating. Um, I know that. Many of you here are 35 plus.
I know not everyone. This, this conversation is, um, for everyone because I think there is a really, um, there's something really important about having knowledge before things happen, so you're not scared, and that's really what the goal here is. So I'm really excited because this month I have brought in a few different experts, um, because this is not my area of expertise, um, on women's health, menopause, hormones, all of that.
We're gonna be talking about sexual intimacy and desire as we age. Um, being an advocate for yourself, we're, we have, um, I have an expert coming to talk about millennials and perimenopause, and if you're, if you fit that category, that's [00:03:00] gonna be really helpful. Um, as well as. Hormone replacement therapies.
Um, talking more about that. So we just have a lot coming, coming for you this month, and I'm really excited because the goal here is that you feel like you get what you need from all of these episodes. Then, then you can take to advocate for yourself, you know, at your doctor's office or, um. Just kind of advocating for yourself there, as well as maybe in your, in your relationships and all of the above and, and for yourself as well.
And so, um, that's why I wanted to do this. I, I really wanted to help you feel like you have, um, the knowledge, the support that you, um, need to. Understand what's going on and to move forward. So we're gonna be sharing all about that this month. It's going to be lovely. Wonderful. I can't wait for you to, um, be introduced to, to my guests.
To our guests, but I thought today would be really helpful. [00:04:00] So I am, how old am I? I think I'll be 38 this year. Man. It goes a lot faster as you get older. But um, so it's interesting because my brain still thinks I'm in like this 20 range and then I realize, oh, there's definitely some shifting that's happening and also coming my way.
And I think there's, um, also a lot of more, um. Chatter around women's health specifically and women aging. So I am not the expert. I am pulling in experts, but I thought we need one episode. That's just the basics. The kind of like perimenopause, menopause 1 0 1, what's happening to my body? What might I expect?
Um, and what can I do about it? Okay, so. If you're in your late thirties, your forties or beyond, and you've noticed shifts in your energy, your mood, your periods, or your body, I wanna talk about it. Or if you're [00:05:00] preparing for that season of life, um, this is really, really good to know. And I've learned so many things in, you know, interviewing these guests and learning for myself that I wanna bring to you, um, because I think it's so powerful, right?
Knowledge is power because then, then it gives us. It gives O us an opportunity to have a choice or to do something about it. Okay, so let's go, let's go basic here. We're gonna go the basics. Um, it's hopefully gonna be short, you know, you know, I like to talk, but we are going to make it short so that, um, you do understand some things.
Okay? So let's start with perimenopause. Peri means around, okay, this is the four to 10 year hormonal transition. Leading up to menopause. Okay, so it can start as early as 35. I think. My brain thinks I'm 35. I'm like, oh, I'm not past that. But whatever. Um, it can start [00:06:00] as early as 25. It's, or 35. It's more calm, more common in your forties.
So if you're in your thirties and you haven't experienced it, that's fine and normal. Okay. Your hormones during this time, especially estrogen and progesterone. Begin fluctuating. Unpredictably. Okay. I was just, I just had a conversation actually with, I just got off a recording with, um, one of our guests and I was talking about like this puberty example, right?
It's like we go back like backwards puberty because teenagers are so fluctuating and it makes so much sense because there's hormones that are just going wild, right? You. Probably, or can I guess, still have a period. Um, but symptoms can show up before your cycle stops. So things could be irregular, things can be wonky.
Um, that's kind of normal, right? Like not having normal cycles becomes a normal sign [00:07:00] of perimenopause because things get a little bit wonky. Okay? What is menopause then? This is the crazy thing. I didn't know this. Okay. Menopause is just one day. What? The day you've gone 12 consecutive months or one year without a period.
That's it. That's, that's literally menopause. And I was just thinking. It would be kind of cool to like have a menopause party. I don't know. Um, but it's one day. It's one day and it says, yep, I am in menopause. I have, I have, my menses has paused. Right. It's done. The average age for menopause in the US is 51.
After that day, you are considered postmenopausal and then symptoms can [00:08:00] shift. And the cool thing is de, I guess depending on your body, they can improve or they can linger. Yeah, but hopefully there's some improvement, right? We're not experiencing all these huge fluctuations and it, and it's a, it's a transition to essentially a different body.
And I guess I want to interject here. Um, we talk a lot about, around here, about, you know, finding the acceptance and the appreciation for your body as it is, as it, as it goes through seasons of life. And this is another season of life, just like. Pregnancy was just like puberty was where you are gonna have to learn how to navigate that relationship with this different body.
And that's really important to understand that you're going to need to have a relationship with it. Because just like any real relationship in life, there's going to be, um, you [00:09:00] know, ups and downs. There's going to be transitions, there's gonna be seasons. And it's the same thing here. How can I, how can I.
How can I navigate this season with this body and recognize that it is different than it was and it's okay. And it's beautiful because it's good, right? Like it's an opportunity to support it in a different way. So just wanna, just wanted to remind you of that, um, because things are gonna change. Um, I actually just gave a, um, women's.
Uh, hormones, women's Health after 40 masterclass in our women's Wellness hub, um, this last month. And we talked about the shifts that happen in your body after 40. And one of the things is that your fat patterning changes. So your fat pattern can go more toward your midsection. And so a lot of women, you know, experience.
Changes in their midsection. And that can be frustrating and you know, especially if you've tried to work on it or, or, or want to feel better in that area. And so [00:10:00] recognizing that we, we still have to create that relationship and know that our body is shifting and changing and it's still worthy of love and acceptance.
Okay. Okay. Let's talk about some common symptoms. Here's the deal. I think I read once there was like a possibility of 75 plus symptoms that you could. You could tie back to perimenopause. So I'm basically gonna say, you know, if you're feeling it, just blame perimenopause. Um, but I did, I thought, well, let's just, let's just focus on the basics for today.
Um, and not get too wild. Um, but it's, it's, we have to normalize these as hormone driven and not like imagined or exaggerated. So these are normal. Changes that happen in our bodies and you're not crazy and it, it sometimes you're like, what's happening to me? Right. Well if you have the knowledge like, oh, I am of this age, this makes [00:11:00] some sense to me.
And you know, it's so interesting because I think. And I don't know if anyone else out here feels this way, but sometimes my brain is like, but I don't feel that age. So then it's hard because we connect, you know, I feel young and, and I, I mean it is young, but I'm just saying like there's definitely a transition 35 plus, and if you brain.
Is like, I'm in this young space, which is awesome, and then you have some mixed, some symptoms. You might not connect it. It might be like what is going on? But if you have the knowledge to be like, okay, I'm of this age, these things could happen, then it kind of helps like, oh, okay, I recognize that this might be related to it.
This might be, you know, X, Y, Z. Okay, so let me read some common symptoms that you might notice. Um, irregular or heavier periods. Dang it. Hot flashes, night sweats. You may have sleep issues and early waking. I know a lot of, [00:12:00] um, experts say, you know, if you have the 3:00 AM wakings, 3:00 AM waking, um, that could be a, a really common side of side effect of, um, perimenopause, not side effect, symptom mood swings, anxiety, irritability.
I have definitely noticed some things in myself. Again, sometimes this is hard to differentiate between, you know, life and sleep and you know, all those things. But if you're like, gosh, I'm doing these things and I'm feeling like I'm trying and I'm still feeling this way, it might be worth looking at, oh, this could be a, this could be a symptom, brain fog or forgetfulness.
Low libido, vaginal dryness. Um, next week on the episode on the podcast, we're, we're having our sexual, um, wellness expert on, and she talks all about what happens to your body, um, as you shift and the physiological changes you may experience weight gain or fatigue, um, joint pain or muscle loss. Okay. So those are just some of the [00:13:00] basic, most common symptoms and it might, I know a lot of women.
Say, you know, it feels like your body's changing faster than you can keep up. Um, you're not broken, you're not falling apart. Your hormones are shifting. And again, like I said earlier, you know, the goal is that your body's trying to get to a little bit more of a balance. And the perimenopause stays just kind of like puberty really is the fluctuation to get to a balanced place.
Um, I like to think of it as a bell curve, right? I mean, we kind of, um. Get some fluctuation, hit, hit a balance, and then, you know, we kind of go back and forth. So those are some symptoms. Why are these symptoms happening? And maybe you knew this, maybe you don't. And, and I didn't really, I didn't really know all this stuff.
And so I, I hope this episode just gives you some basics. Um, because I wasn't taught this in school. I wasn't, I, I think the only reason I know this is 'cause I've [00:14:00] created a vested interest. No doctor has ever talked to me like, oh, this is what might be happening. So I'm hopeful that you're also feeling that way and maybe you're learning some things.
What's happening here? Okay. Your estrogen drops erratically, okay? Um, this can affect your mood, your memory, your bones, your skin, your metabolism. Wah wah, progesterone drops first. It worsens your sleep and can increase your anxiety. Your testosterone slowly declines, which can impact libido, motivation, and strength.
Okay. Your cortisol and insulin become more, what we might say influential. Um, your, your cortisol can increase and it can. Kind of like block insulin. And so we can struggle with blood sugar levels as well. So as you can kind of see we're having, like [00:15:00] when we're in the perimenopause, we're, we're having some, like, some dropping, but also some like erratic, like just this, um, it's like, I like this analogy.
So your hormones, think of it like your body's wifi. And if your signal is weaker, then. Things glitch, right? So like you might have it working and then it glitches and then it goes back to working. And that's kind of, I like to think it makes sense, like it's erratic. You're gonna have ebbs and flows during the season because it's ebb and flow, ebbing and flowing and yeah, it's dropping.
So like estrogen and progesterone are, are generally dropping, but there's a lot of like up and down, um, erratic behavior in the process of that. So. You could kind of think of your symptoms as like a little bit of a glitch, I guess, which is really fun. Right. [00:16:00] Um, so those, that's kind of the basics of what's happening.
Symptoms, um, the hormones that are shifting, the, um, I gave you kind of like the definitions of each of them. And like I said, I just taught a masterclass in our women's wellness hub about health. After 40, if you're like, gosh, I, I need to, I need to focus on this, I need to work on it. And it, it's like approaching 40.
I just think I had some members that were like, I am. 40 and help me. Like things that I used to do weren't, aren't working the same as, um, I used to. And they're not giving me the same results. And so I'm like, okay, we need to talk about this. Um, and so, you know, we've got estrogen declining, which can affect our bones, which gives us, we're at risk for osteopenia, osteoporosis, our muscle mass declines.
I think the number was anywhere from three to 8% over 10 years. I, I. Uh, you know what? Don't quote me on the exact number, but, [00:17:00] um, I do have the numbers and the stats in our, um, training in the masterclass, but, um, that lowers our metabolism. That can cause weight gain, right? Brain fog and move be mood. It, it shifts because of our neurotra renders being disrupted.
We can get our gut health changes so we can get more inflammation, more bloating, more sensitivity to foods. Um, we can get higher heart disease risk, our insulin resistance increases, um, which can cause, you know, a little more belly fat as well as energy crashes, blood sugar regulation issues. Um, and then our sexual health shifts.
So, libido, dryness, emotional, kind of disconnected. So, um. That's, that's kind of what happens, right? All of these things are affecting how you're showing up. It's not really just about your period. And I think that, you know, that's the definition you get is the period ends the period. Gets wild and then it ends and it's perimenopause and menopause.
But [00:18:00] there's so much more here. It's about how your body, brain, and identity are all evolving and how you can support that change by understanding and being aware. Okay. And I think it can be really hard, um, because sometimes when you're in that stage of life, you're also a little bit in the prime, right? I mean, I think forties are usually the prime and, and you might be juggling a lot of things.
Um, and so it can feel overwhelming, and I kind of mentioned that it's like a second puberty, but this time you have bills to pay and no one taught you what to expect. Does that feel like you? Um, but here's what I want you to know. Okay? So let's transition a little bit because we're in a space. You understand what it is.
You understand some of the changes that might be happening, um, what to expect. You understand a little bit of the physiology, the hormones that are shifting, um, and what's gonna change with your body. But what do you do? Are we depressed? [00:19:00] Like do we, do we sit here and go, well, gosh, my body's changing.
That's awful. I don't wanna do this. You know, I mean, I guess you could, but, but. It wouldn't last very long because the reality is, is we can't change the aging process. We can't change that. The aging process happens, but we can change how we experience it. And I want to invite you to shift your mindset from this is the end, right?
Like, I guess you could say it's the end of an era or an end of a season. And remember that it's also a new beginning. And a new opportunity to support your body in a new way. And the cool thing about that is that you have support strategy and science that can help you. Okay. So what can we do? I thought, let me just end this episode with some very, um.
Clear step by step if you wanna support your body through this. That doesn't mean that we're changing [00:20:00] all the symptoms per se. Like we can't. Nobody can tell you if you do this, you won't have this symptom, and nobody can tell you what symptoms you're going to experience, but we can do things to support our body the best way possible to help us manage this transition.
First strength training, if. You, you should be strength training as if your life depends on it. Because it does. If you're not doing some form of strength training, you're doing a huge disservice to your body. And I say that with kindness and love. And if you have not been taught or have never been into that, I get it.
But you will be, you will thank me further on down the road when you. I can say I prepped my body with strength training. You can build, you can maintain muscle mass, bone mass, the sooner you start [00:21:00] strength training. And I talk a lot about that in our masterclass. Um, our women's health after 40 and I, I cited some studies about like maintenance and also muscle, um, growth after.
This time of life, which is really, really cool. So if you're like, okay, I need to get it in gear, we have a full 12 week beginner to intermediate strength training, women's specific progressive, um, program. You follow the videos step by step for 12 weeks and you will. See phenomenal strength results. It's so, so good.
Um, so if you're like, I don't even know where to start, that is the, that's the first place to start is strength training. K. And we have that support for you in our wins Wellness hub. Okay. What else? Stress and sleep management. Yes. Super important. Get the sleep that you need. Okay. Take rests. I think [00:22:00] we, we, we discount rest and.
Sometimes it's not sleep, it's just rest. And that's okay too. If you're struggling with your sleep, still give your body rest. I may not be sleeping, but I am resting. I repeated that to myself when I had my babies because sometimes you're up with the baby and you're like, okay, I may not be sleeping right now, but I can still rest my body.
And you can have that same um, mindset. Okay, protein, protein. You need to have protein. Protein needs actually increase as you get older. So if you're not making protein, your full-time job right now, it's gonna be even harder when you're older. So focus on getting protein again. I have all these steps in our masterclass, so I, I go into deep, deeper.
I can't do that on the podcast episode or we'd be here for two hours, but, um. I have a full protein guide, help [00:23:00] helping you get there. And I have a macronutrient guide. We wanna make sure that we have balanced meals, fiber proteins, right? Ba balanced macronutrients, um, sexual health support. I have a, we have a full, um.
Masterclass, library of pelvic floor exercises. So, um, Kate Boyle, our, our pelvic floor specialist, came in and gave us a three series of pelvic floor exercises that you can follow. Um, and also kind of working on coaching or learning more about how your intimacy is, is changing. Um. What else am I missing? I feel like I'm missing some.
I do cover them all in our masterclass, but get the basics down. Strength training, blood glucose, um, regulations, so macronutrient, balance, proteins, fibers, um, and produce, and then hormone therapy. I am not the expert here, but we have an episode coming that we're gonna talk all about hormone run therapy, so that will be [00:24:00] really good as well.
So, okay. Are we excited? Are we excited for this upcoming transition in life? Maybe you're already there, maybe you're on the way. I don't know. Let me know where you're at. I'd love to know. Send me an email or Instagram message. Just let me know, like, where are you, what are you experiencing? Um, I think doing this together is really, really valuable and important.
Okay, so. That's our basics 1 0 1. Get started on the basics. Get started supporting your body, and then this month we're gonna be talking about sexual wellness, millennial menopause hormone therapy 1 0 1. It's gonna be so good. And each week in our email, we're also going to, um. Get I'll, I'll make sure that I send like a handout or something to go along with the episode as well.
So make sure you get yourself on the email list, the newsletter at a woman of wellness.com/newsletter. And then can I ask one more thing before I sign off? If you have a friend, a mom, a sister, a neighbor who you think [00:25:00] could benefit from these upcoming episodes or that are navigating, you know, their own health and changes in their bodies and just.
Women's health in general, right? And want to better understand their health. Send them to the podcast. Share your favorite episode with them. Um, we've got, I'm, I'm giving you a head. I'm giving you a, a lot of, um, sneak peeks here. But this month we're gonna be talking about, um, hormones. And then the next month we're really gonna dive into relationship with food.
We need to really, um, work on that because that's really important too. To support your body through all kinds of changes when you have a balanced relationship with food. Okay, so. I just wanna remind you that you are not crazy. You're not doing it wrong. Your body in your mind and everything is evolving, and when you understand what's happening inside your body, you have that opportunity to then move through it with clarity, confidence, and compassion for yourself.
Okay. [00:26:00] Thank you for joining me. I look forward to sharing more episodes with you. I'll be back next week. Okay, my friend, if you love the Woman of Wellness podcast, did you know that one of the biggest ways you can say thank you is by hitting that subscribe button and leaving a review? This helps the women that need this message have more of a chance of seeing it.
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