What’s so great about Omega 3’s?

They provide many health benefits.

They fight inflammation and lower “bad” cholesterol levels and blood pressure, which then reduces the risk of strokes.

They help reduce stiffness and soreness in your joints.

They help decrease depression by keeping the brain running smoothly.

Studies have shown they help control Type 2 diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity.

Best Source?

FOOD remains your best source of Omega 3’s.

From the sea choose salmon, herring, mackerel, fresh tuna, sardines, oysters, trout, bass, mussels, clams and shrimp.

From land, good choices are walnuts, flaxseed, tofu, soy beans, cloves, squash, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, kale, green beans.

Nutritional know how during menopause is essential, so keep checking back here for the best know how out there!

Eat well……live well,
shelli

We all want to stay mentally sharp, RIGHT?

Then you must EXERCISE.

According to a Swedish study of women ages 44-66, for each 20% improvement in lung function through cardio exercise, the risk of Alzheimer’s fell 25%, very possibly because fit lungs deliver more oxygen to the brain.

So, get up, get out and get active!

shelli

If you haven’t tried laughing your way through menopause, you’re missing something.

LAUGHTER—try it, you’ll like it! I am a big fan and long time user of LAUGHTER. It brings me great joy to laugh, and for those of you who have laughed with me you can attest to my ability to go deep in laughter.

Dr. William Fry from Stanford has done all kinds of research on laughter. Here are some of his findings:

1. Children laugh more than 400 times a day. Adults–fewer than a dozen times a day.
2. Get a great laugh workout—laughing for at least 10 minutes is equal to rowing for 100 strokes.
3. Laughing reduces stress hormones. It also increases beta-endorphins, which relax you as well as help contain stress responses.
4. Laughing boosts your immune system by activating the production of key white blood cells.

What about humor?

(and more humor?)

Humor is a valuable tool, so find opportunities for LAUGHING every day and see if it doesn’t make you feel better. I’m guessing it will!

shelli

BECOMING.

It’s an interesting word, don’t you think?

To “become” or not to “become”–that is the question? (OK–Shakespeare may have asked it first but I think it bears asking again!)

Recently I was having a conversation with a friend.

We were talking about someone else’s behavior and she said, “How UNbecoming.”

I was struck by this word and started contemplating what it means and how the idea of “becoming” or “unbecoming” manifests in our lives.

There are times in our lives when we take stock and look back over time and then plan ahead. I think for many of us, menopause is that time.

So let’s philosophize a bit about what we would like to “become.”

Let’s look at unbecoming first.

We all have ideas as to which actions or behaviors are unbecoming.

One of my personal nominations is littering. I have zero tolerance for anyone who litters.

However, what’s most important is how we view our own unbecoming “choices”. That’s the taking stock part.

Yes, I use the word choices because at any given moment we all have a choice. Every moment of the day is a choice.

Becoming, on the other hand, is a process and an accumulation of choices.

Every seed we plant today determines what we become tomorrow.

Like any process, this “becoming” also involves change—-that dirty 6 letter word!

We all have tendencies…….maybe we eat too much or get lazy about exercise.

We can’t change the past, but we can always choose more wisely and each of these choices aids us in BECOMING healthier and more able to fully participate in our lives.

We are changing all the time, both internally and externally. Becoming this or UNbecoming that.

I would suggest that becoming active and more aware of ourselves as we go through menopause is very BECOMING.

Ponder what becoming means to you as you look ahead.

Then take action, make an effort and BECOME…….and don’t forget to add some joy and fun to the recipe.

I saw a billboard recently that said, “Wake me when it’s over” and then I thought about a tee shirt I have that says, “Life is short, stay awake”.

The choice is yours.

Me……..I’m staying awake and having fun finding the joy in life that makes “becoming” an adventure worth pursuing.

How about you?

shelli

Let’s talk about Lucky’s menopause nutrition plan.

As Lucky’s guardian and nutrition coach, I have always maintained a hard line with her—-NO people food.

Of course, there was the time she ate 15 falafel which were left in the car with her while I ran into the grocery store!

I truly feel that my attention to what she took in as food aided in giving her healthy years.

And I do mean healthy.

Not sick or injured a day in her life.

She has maintained a fit and trim body all of her 16 years. She ate when she was hungry and didn’t eat when she wasn’t.

How many of us as guardians of our own health have made peace with our own nourishment and intake?

There’s a word in Yoga, Mitahara, which means “appropriate intake of all substances.”

It refers to learning what we need vs. what we want, cravings, learning to feel satisfied with less; concepts like that.

All of us have to grapple with these questions, and I encourage you not to run from these as they come up in your own life.

Embrace them, learn from them and work your way through them…..

not over or around or by turning your back on these challenges.

Unlocking the key to what’s appropriate for you will help make menopause an empowering time of your life.

As the Golden Retriever part of Lucky would advise, these are your “golden” opportunities to practice self care and grow in self esteem.

Two other lessons I have learned from years of observing Lucky are:

how to stay in the moment

and how to practice giving and let the “getting” take care of itself.

We have all seen how animals can be totally focused and stay on task.

NOW I am eating.

NOW I am chewing on my bone.

NOW I am giving you that look that says PLEASE take me with you on your outing.

NOW is all that matters and all day Lucky flows from one now to the next.

No multitasking: no exercising while talking on the cell phone AND drinking the latte.

Her bow-wow is in the now!

Giving of her affection, devotion, companionship and joy at just seeing my face, she continually trusts that she will be provided for.

She could have been named Faith for all the times she patiently waited for me to provide for her needs. She is happy to receive what she needs plus a few of her wants.

How many of us can keep from grasping and lunging at our wants after our needs have been satisfied?

As humans we are so ready to move on to the next thing that it’s challenging for us to experience satisfaction.

Food for thought, perhaps?

As you might imagine, I could go on and on about Lucky dog……her beauty, grace, intelligence and charm. All the qualities we would hope for ourselves.

I hope you would agree with me that insights about our own menopausal journey, both physical and mental, can be gleaned from these lessons from Lucky.

In closing, I encourage you to:

say a prayer, sing a song, read or recite a poem, meditate, write in your journal, reconnect with someone, share a positive outlook

and ALWAYS find ways to nourish yourself throughout menopause.

And when you are not sure about how to nurture yourself or be in the moment, just ask yourself, “What would Lucky do?”

Yours in health,
Shelli

I haven’t a clue.

I do know, though, that my dog is now 16 years old and most likely through with menopause.

Imagining for a moment that she DID go through menopause.

I think back to those years in her life and I CLEARLY see that she used an active menopause lifestyle to keep herself happy and healthy.

We can learn a lot from her!

So, if you’ll “paws” for a moment, I’d like to share with you some of what I’ve learned.

She has so many ways of finding joy and staying active.

Here are some of them:

1. dancing–I lead, she follows.
2. throwing snowballs–I throw, she leaps and catches.
3. running/hiking/walking–she only recently decreased her mileage, though she is still good for laps around the house.
4. swimming–she is a Labrador, after all.
5. jumping–in her younger days she could vertical leap many feet off the ground. It was astounding to observe.
6. golf ball hiking–this is a sport we invented. If you want to know the closely guarded secret methods of golf ball hiking, e-mail Lucky.
7. Yoga—downward facing dog is her favorite pose, of course. I marvel at her spinal twists.
8. soccer–our living room (which at one point had no furniture in it) was the perfect field. Beckham studied under Lucky.
9. strength training—tug of war is her specialty.

From this we can learn the importance of cross training vs. being a sport specific athlete.

We are meant to train across both the physiological and anatomical spectrum.

The longevity lesson here is to get moving, breathing, and sweating in as
many joyful ways as possible.

So live long and prosper and live a LUCKY style menopause!

shelli

That’s the title of an Aretha Franklin song, and I happen to love working out to that whole album.

When I want to shake up my fitness routines and make them less “routine” I’ll grab a jump rope and start jumping.

In fact, I included a section on jumping in my book The Truth About Menopause.

That’s how much fun I think adding jump roping to your fitness toolbox can be.

Have you heard the term plyometrics or jump training?

Basically, plyometric movements improve your explosive power by training the elasticity of your muscles.

There is no area of sports performance and cardiovascular health that would not be enhanced by utilizing and adding plyometrics.

We have been hearing about plyometrics since the late 1950’s and when you think of the word INTENSITY think of plyometrics.

It’s very challenging, particularly for women, however it’s also incredibly beneficial.

When you include jump training as one of your activities you’ll likely feeling stronger than ever before.

Re-aquaint yourself with a jump rope.

A few years ago that’s just what I did.

Being the eternally optimistic woman that I am, though not having jumped rope for probably 30+ years, I thought “no biggie–just take out the rope and go!”

Boy, was I wrong.

As I took the rope to the street and very awkwardly attempted to jump, my neighbor watched, cringing, and I’m sure expecting me to fall.

I didn’t fall, however, it did not go as I had planned.

I felt winded and clumsy and was not having much fun.

Discouraged, I knew there had to be another way to jump rope, and set out to find the solution.

There had to be a technique which I was not yet embodying.

Everything is a skill so I set out to get a jump roping skill set.

I took jumping lessons with a jump rope professional! It was an AWESOME experience and I learned something very interesting.

Jump roping yields the highest aerobic benefits per minute.

Ten minutes at your aerobic heart rate burns approximately the same number of calories as 30 minutes of aerobic jogging. That makes it a super efficient activity.

It is very easy to exceed your aerobic heart rate, so please start slowly.

So think about grabbing a jump rope and giving it a try.

If you’re anything like me you’ll laugh a lot at yourself in the beginning and then one day jumping will click for you and you’ll turn from feeling silly to feeling strong and coordinated.

Let me know how it goes and don’t forget to Jump to It!

shelli