If you regularly feel like something is just not right with your body, or you often just don’t feel like yourself, then you may be suffering from a hormone imbalance.
I know from experience that it can be a tough time of life when our hormones seem to be all over the place and then the little “menopause gremlin” begins to whisper loudly in your ear.
There’s lots of uncertainties, fears, and even unknowns, when it comes to menopause and our bodies, right?
The hot flashes (is that even an adequate description of the inferno raging in your body?) the night sweats (disrupted sleep means disrupted days) the short temper – it can leave you wondering about the answers to these questions: What’s happening to my body and Where is my regular, good natured, even keeled self these days?
Or even have you reassessing your life:
- What’s life all about?
- Where do we go from here?
- How long will this last?
The good news is that we’re going to discuss some answers to those burning (no pun intended) questions in the Energized Healthy Women’s Club – so if you’re not already part of my community, we’d love to have you join us.
If you’re wondering about entering the peri-menopausal stage, here are a few signs and symptoms to help you determine if your hormones are a little out of whack and need some of your attention:
- You often feel fatigued – maybe far earlier than you used to
- You’re unable to lose excess weight – when it was easier when you committed
- You suffer from insatiable cravings – even when you should be satisfied
- You feel as if you’re on an emotional roller coaster
- You’re experiencing digestive challenges that are new
- You perspire more frequently or even excessively
- Your cycles are no longer regular, especially if they always have been
Of course, we’ve all heard the horror stories about menopause and weight management challenges: where we try all the “usual” things, but nothing seems to work. While it doesn’t solve the problem, it does help to understand the reasoning behind the menopause and weight gain connection.
Two reasons why women gain weight during menopause…
1. Reduced Muscle Mass
Muscle mass uses energy and burns calories so when we have less of it, your body burns less energy overall which results in weight gain.
Unfortunately, this weight gain may appear as increased belly fat.
2. An Increase in the Hunger Hormone
During menopause the hunger hormone known as “ghrelin” increase causing a tendency for us to feel hungrier. Menopause also decreases the “satiety” hormone “leptin” which helps us feel full after eating a meal, leading to overeating.
More ghrelin and less leptin = increased hunger and a decreased feeling of fullness…that’s a problem!
Some Solutions to Help
Eating the right type of breakfast has been shown to help maintain muscle mass, balance levels of leptin and ghrelin, promote weight loss and maintain that lower weight.
Let’s just think about breakfast.
Optimal foods that help to increase metabolic rate, fill you up, and keep you feeling fuller longer include:
Protein
Eating protein is critical for women in menopause and it’s a good idea to add protein to your first meal of the day.
Protein helps to slightly increase metabolism and give your muscles the amino acids they need to stay strong. Protein also helps you feel full for longer periods of time – a great way to combat the hunger hormone, “ghrelin.
Protein also helps to reduce the rate of bone loss which can happen very fast during this time.
Foods high in protein include:
- Meat and poultry
- Fish and shellfish
- Eggs
- Beans and lentils
- Nuts and seeds (contain more fat than protein but still a great source of amino acids)
Read on and check out the great breakfast recipe I have for you to try tomorrow morning. It contains eggs which some say are the “perfect protein.”
Fiber
Fiber’s very important to help stabilize your blood sugars and reduce cravings.
This is particularly important in menopause because the risk of diabetes and heart disease increases after menopause with the accumulation of visceral (belly) fat that settles around the abdomen.
In fact, certain fibers feed your friendly gut microbes – the ones that help you digest food and even make certain nutrients for you.
Here are just a few high fiber foods to add to your diet and increase fiber intake:
- Vegetables including squash, peas, sweet potato, artichokes, collard greens, pumpkin, parsnips, Brussels sprouts – anything green, leafy, fibrous
- Fruit including pears, avocados, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, tomato…anything that grows on trees and bushes
- Nuts including almonds, pistachios, macadamia, hazelnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, walnuts, dried coconut…whatever you like
- Seeds including sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, chia, flax – all good sources of fiber and great to add to salads or eat as a snack
- Gluten-free grains like oat, quinoa, wild rice, and so on
- Beans and lentils – the musical fruit is one of your best friends
Flax is another great option. Not only does it contain fiber, but it’s also a source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Flax has even been shown to help reduce both hot flashes and the risk of breast cancer. Win-win!
“Optimal” foods for breakfast in menopause are those that give you ample protein and fiber.
With all that said, I challenge you to eat a hearty breakfast for the next 10 days. Add protein and fiber choices to your breakfast menu and evaluate how much healthier you’re feeling. Personally…I’d really like to know, so I invite you to send me a message or an e-mail or leave a comment below.
If you’d like some information about balancing your hormone, reducing or maintaining a healthy weight, or if you’d like some more strategies to navigate midlife with grace and ease – and maintain your overall health and wellness through it all, I’d love to chat.
Contact me to schedule your FREE Healthy Hormone Breakthrough Call.
You can let me know what’s your biggest menopause challenges and I’ll share some key strategies and solutions to help you overcome them.
By the end of the call, you’ll have some helpful tips for your health and wellness, an Action Plan and some resources that’ll help you maneuver through midlife and beyond.
Schedule your Free Healthy Hormone Breakthrough Call by sending an Email to lwadsworth@verizon.net.
Recipe (Protein and Fiber):
Makes 12
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red pepper (diced)
2 cups baby spinach (chopped)
1 cup mushrooms (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
6 eggs
1 tablespoon flax (ground)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Grease or line a 12 serving muffin tin.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add oil and sauté diced pepper until tender (about 5 minutes).
- Add mushrooms and garlic to frying pan and cook for an additional minute.
- Whisk eggs and flax together in a medium bowl.
- Place veggies into prepared muffin tin.
- Pour the egg/flax mixture over the veggies.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch and eggs are cooked.
Serve & Enjoy!
Tip: Use pastured eggs whenever possible.
