I admit, living right during menopause and enjoying a low-stress life is a challenge, but it is possible! And in my opinion worth striving for.

Stress manifests differently for all of us.

However you define stress though, the skills for handling stress, sadness, disappointment, or any of those emotions that surface during difficult times requires the right tools.

One such tool is consistently being conscious of making good choices.

We all desire love, understanding, and recognition, but do they bring us serenity?

Not necessarily.

Managing stress requires self-examination, HONEST self-examination.

Don’t be afraid to bring your inner conflicts out, follow through with doing what you know is right, and use self-discipline to refrain from doing that which you know is wrong.

Here are 3 tips that will help you develop the mindset to overcome the stress you experience during menopause:

#1    Don’t try to make the world bend to your will.

Trying to get everyone to do things your way goes beyond stress.

It’s a frustrating, hopeless exercise that will drive you nuts.

It’s okay to tell people what you want them to do, but then let them do it their way.

There’s a random nature to life. Sure, we all make lists and set out with a plan and goals in mind. But if what you’re after is a low-stress life, then your life has to include an element of letting go.

Sometimes what you’ll find is better than what you were looking for in the first place!

The world and people will not bend to your will anyway, so why bother getting yourself all worked up. Making choices about what you will and will not get stressed about is important, and it IS a choice.

#2 Recognize that for every negative, there’s an offsetting positive.

There’s a principle that’s called by many different names.

One name for this law is the Natural Law of Balance.

The universe is in balance. Think about electrons and protons, night and day, male and female, hot and cold, and life and death.

For every positive, there’s an offsetting negative, and for every negative, there’s an offsetting positive. Balance is the natural order of the universe.

While we can look at menopause and its symptoms as purely negative, there are also many positives.

We are older and wiser, our children may be grown and on their own, leaving us more time for ourselves, we know by now what makes us tick, what’s important and what we value.

There are all kinds of positives once we look for them.

What’s nice  is that when you understand and believe in universal balance, you automatically look for the offsetting positive in every negative situation.

Again, it’s a choice and seeing the offsetting positive will help you live a low-stress life during menopause.

#3 Control anger and bitterness.

Remember Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous words: “For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness.”

Anger will drain you like no other emotion.

During menopause we can be angry and bitter about all the changes our body goes through, about our lost youth, about what we didn’t accomplish that we thought we would, and hundreds of other coulda, woulda, shoulda things.

I prefer to save myself a ton of aggravation rather than create a ton of aggravation, and I find making the choice to control my anger and bitterness essential in this regard.

Whenever I become angry, I give myself time to cool off before saying or doing something I’ll regret. It’s amazing how much of that angry edge will dissipate over time. Then when the edge is less sharp I can decide what action, if any, to take.

Worrying about stress can do more damage than stress itself. Use these 3 tips and watch your stress melt away.

You’ll create the low-stress menopause lifestyle you deserve.

shelli

It is essential that you learn to balance tension and relaxation, both in your mind and in your body. Another way to say that would be:

It is essential that you learn to relax, both physically and mentally.

And yes, it’s all in your head!!

In your mind, that is!

Why?

Because if your mind is filled with stress it cannot easily transfer relaxation to your body.

I’d be willing to bet that without quieting your mind you’d be unable to quiet and relax your body.

One of the quickest and most effective ways to move out of your stressed, noisy mind so that your mind and body can relax is to pay attention to your breathing.

Close your eyes.

Watch yourself breathe.

Inhale deeply. Pay attention to the air filling your lungs.

Exhale deeply. Feel the stress leaving your body.

Do this ten times.

How do you feel after doing this?

Do you wonder where all that mental stress went?

Stop and do this as often as you need to.

It’s also a great practice to visualize for a few minutes just before dropping off to sleep.

Practice your breathing and then visualize how you would act, feel, and engage with life if you were better able to balance tension and relaxation.

What you think about before you fall off to sleep will have an effect on the quality of your sleep and how you feel the following day.

Try both the breathing for relaxation and some visualizing before bed and let me know how it goes.

Remember, it’s a practice, so if it’s not easy at first, that’s OK.

Keep at it and you’ll be rewarded with the benefits of a relaxed mind and relaxed body!

shelli

As a fitness and nutrition specialist, whether I’m talking to women in person, on line or by phone, we always discuss nutrition.

We discuss how they can improve their nutrition, what they need to know, how they can integrate better nutritional habits, and the list goes on.

One adjective I’ve started using to describe the nutritional plan that will optimize their health and give them abundant energy is ANTI-INFLAMMATORY.

Anti-inflammatory nutrition. 

Reducing inflammation in your body is one of the best ways to guard against chronic disease.

In fact, inflammation has been linked to everything from Alzheimer’s to cancer.

One way to reduce inflammatory factors (by up to 14 percent) is by eating just two servings of strawberries a week.

Another suggestion is to get more fiber into your diet. This will help too.

Another suggestion to keep your cells functioning their best: get more vitamin C.

Why?

A recent two month study of 400 healthy people found that taking 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily reduced the best-known inflammatory factor, C-reactive protein (CRP), by 17 percent.

It also showed that vitamin C was as effective as statin drugs in reducing inflammation. That’s good news because then you can avoid the harmful side effects of the statin drugs.

How to get your 1,000 mg of vitamin C every day:

Sip a smoothie. Fill it with oranges, kiwis, cantaloupe, strawberries and it’ll be delicious and packed with C.

Enjoy citrus. Make your drink of choice water with a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy oranges and grapefruits too. Avoid high-sugar juices because they contain too much sugar and not enough real fruit.

Snack on berries. Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries all help you by providing abundant vitamin C.

Choose crucifers. Broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, and other members of the cruciferous family of veggies are all rich in vitamin C.

Pick peppers. Peppers are packed with antioxidant vitamin C. Eat them both raw in salads or as snacks, and cooked in stir-frys.

Vitamin C is destroyed by heat, so when you cook foods high in vitamin C be sure not to overcook them!

Think vitamin C when you think about improving your anti-inflammatory nutrition and you’ll be doing yourself a world of good!

Send me any of your favorite recipes that you use to boost your vitamin C and I’ll be glad to pass them along!

shelli

Did you know that the chromosomes of people who exercise more and eat better do not degrade as quickly as people who do not exercise and eat well?

This suggests a healthy lifestyle may not only lengthen life by helping to prevent disease, but also by slowing the process of aging itself at the DNA level.

What are telomeres?

The effects of aging have been linked to a shortening of chromosome components known as telomeres, which protect the ends of chromosomes and keep the DNA in the middle from being damaged.

Over time, telomeres shorten and both cells and DNA become more vulnerable to various forms of damage.

This may be one of the primary mechanisms connected to age-related decline.

Shorter telomeres have been correlated with an increased risk of both cancer and cardiovascular disease.

It has been found that the telomeres of smokers, the obese and those with sedentary lifestyles tend to be shorter than average.

LIFESTYLE and TELOMERES

This spurred a study to see if an improvement in lifestyle could be directly connected to telomere protection.

Lifestyle changes included a moderate aerobic exercise routine, classes in stress management and relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, a diet high in fruits and vegetables, and supplements of vitamins and fish oil.

After lifestyle changes, telomerase activity increased by an average of 29 percent.

The level of telomerase increase was also correlated with a decrease in levels of LDL cholesterol and the frequency of intrusive thoughts (markers of stress).

While you might never have heard of telomeres before, rest assured that if you’re paying attention to living a healthy lifestyle that includes the elements I mentioned in the previous paragraph, you’re keeping those telomeres HAPPY and functioning properly, which will keep you happy and functioning properly!

shelli

4 ideas on how to do this:

Sometimes you train as fast as you can.

Remember though, that good form is always more important than speed. You might run hill sprints. You skip rope using the routines I suggested in TAM. You crank out a set of powerful push-ups.

Sometimes you train at a moderate speed.

When walking, swimming, or biking you have a target heart rate zone that you’re aiming for.

Sometimes you train at a slow or even super-slow speed.

You focus on the FEEL of the exercise. How does it feel inside your body? How do your muscles feel? This is a good training pace for tai chi or perhaps Yoga.

And just for a real change of pace, you even train at no speed at all holding a Yoga posture, for example, while focusing on your breathing and the flow of energy.

Focus on your breathing and relax. How does this pace feel? You do a body scan while being still, relaxing any muscles that are holding tension.

Changing the pace as I’ve suggested will help keep your menopausal exercise routines fresh and fun while you notice how much better and less symptomatic you’re feeling.

And how about for another change of pace you email me with your own change of pace ideas??

I look forward to hearing from you!

I’ve had what I hope will be an interesting idea!

It’s a series of blog posts called A DAY IN THE LIFE OF………….

Each month I’ll take us inside the life, even if only for a day, of a woman who is leading a healthy active lifestyle. These are women just like us who are faced with making the same choices we all face. We’ll see what motivates them and what words of wisdom and guidance they can offer us.

First up: Judy Mooser. 

Shelli: Hi Judy. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? 

Judy:   Sure, Shelli. I am 68 years old. I’m attached to the age group that didn’t receive any information from our mothers regarding menopause, and pretty much followed doctor’s orders when issues arose.

Shelli:   How old were you when you went through menopause  and how long did it last? 

Judy:  I noticed the first signs of memopause at age 50 during the period of time when doctors were automatically putting menopausal patients on HRT. At that time my symptoms were slight — hot flashes, night sweats, irregular and scant periods. The HRT totally stopped all symptoms and I never had another period.

Nine years later (age 59) my doctor recommended that I abruply stop taking HRT stating, “You are past menopause so there’s no longer a need to continue HRT.”

I stopped, and within a few weeks developed full blown, very intense symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, exhaustion, sleepless nights, low libido, difficulty focusing and increased body fat.

I tried to work through these symptoms for several months while reading up on my situation. I heard a Naturopathic doctor who specialized in women’s health give a talk and was impressed by what she had to say. I made an appointment with her and my life changed.

First of all, she said that abruptly stopping the HRT was not in my best interest and the doctor who told me to do so was obviously not up-to-date on women’s health matters.

She explained that stopping abruptly could cause bone loss as well as the unbearable symptoms I was having. She put me on a low dose of natural hormones which were compounded to address my individual symptoms and then slowly amended the prescription monthly as my symptoms calmed down. After about six months I was totally off HRT.

Shelli:  Were you always someone even before menopause, who took good care of yourself and if so what motivated you?

Judy: I began to educate myself about proper nutrition when I was 24 years old and pregnant with my second child.

I have been physically active all my life, enjoying family hikes, canoeing, skiing and bicycling.

My main motivation to be fit and healthy was the enjoyment of being active, as well as the desire to give my children the best foundation possible for an active and healthy lifestyle. It worked well – they both continued to stay fit and eat right as they entered adulthood!

Shelli:  Take us through your day, focusing on what self care practices you use.

I start my day with a substantial breakfast and try to eat five times a day. If I miss one of my meals, I find that I crave the types of food that I am trying to avoid. When this happens and I eat “outside the plan,” I enjoy it and feel no guilt because I have a 90% rule, making sure that 90% of the food I eat is of value to my body.

I take an assortment of supplements. The only drug I take is a low dosage aspirin. No other medications. I take all of my medical reports to my Naturopath for guidance.

I work mornings and evenings and try to take a 1-hour walk five times a week during the afternoon. My husband joins me and we walk briskly through the neighborhood, meeting dogs on walks, cats on patrol and lots of other walkers. I always feel better and have more energy after my walks. Having my husband along makes these outings lots of fun and full of joy, plus it’s an opportunity to catch up on each other’s day.

I know that I’m not getting enough aerobic exercise and have been pondering this for a while. I tend to over-extend myself with my work, although I enjoy every minute of it. I take on more than I should because I’m motivated to help people and help society.

I’m planning to correct this soon by taking up biking again. Due to my bulging discs, I have to be careful about what exercises I do, so walking and biking work well for me.

I workout 2-3 times a week with a mind/body exercise program. In addition to strengthing and stretching my body, It keeps my back in good working order and allows me to do a lot of things in my life that otherwise would not be possible.

I have had very good results from acupuncture including stress relief and amazing energy release from scars.

I get monthly pedicures just because they feel good and provide a great foot and leg massage.

The loss of estrogen causes us to lose the fat in our face (add it to our belly!!!) and the facial muscles drop. Therefore, I do facial exercises, which are very boring but very effective.

Shelli: What advice do you have for women entering/going through menopause?

I highly recommend that women who are entering menopause work with a Naturopathic doctor who specializes in women’s health. They will guide you on a natural path designed for you personally. They avoid using harmful drugs and instead work with natural products and supplements.

Women entering this phase of life today are very lucky because today’s resources for women include books, websites and lectures that are filled with information that was not available to me 20 years ago. Also, there are discussion groups that are helpful for some women who learn from sharing.

Continue to exercise and be sure you choose something you love to do. If you love it, you will find time for it.

Most of all, learn to accept and enjoy this phase of your life. It’s all part of life’s plan. The more accepting you are and calmer you are during this transition, the smoother your journey will be. 

THANKS so much to Judy for sharing her experiences and ideas with us. I’ve known Judy for about 5 years now. Whenever I’m in Portland, Oregon and we get together (which we did about 2 months ago), I always leave feeling inspired!

Judy can be reached at judy@callaneticsportland.com. She’s a Callanetics teacher and a great role model for us all!

Lately, I have been fascinated by geese, their sense of community and their high altitude movement patterns.

I’ve also enjoyed reading a wonderful poem by Mary Oliver called “Wild Geese,” so I thought I’d share with you some Lessons From Geese.

These lessons are taken from a response to the poem by Angeles Arrien in 1991.

Enjoy…….

Fact 1: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

Lesson: As menopausal women we share a common experience and we know that we want to feel good and optimize our health.

Having a sense of community can get us where we’re going quicker and easier, because we are traveling on the thrust of one another, just like the geese.

When you’re feeling “out of formation,” which happens to all of us from time to time, seeking guidance can help get you back into the “V”!

Don’t be shy about asking for help!

Fact 2: When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.

Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership.

As with geese, we are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities, and unique arrangements of gifts, talents, or resources.

This is a fun lesson to consider.

Do you have a network you can turn to?

We all have gifts, talents and resources, and being able to connect with other women and share these things is what makes life so rich.

Knowing what you know and knowing who to turn to when you are lacking takes putting your ego aside, being bold and asking for help, and being thankful when the answers come.

I have a wonderful network which continues to grow every year.

The women who participate by reading this blog, commenting on what they read and staying in touch are part of that network.

Being of service to you all feels good and helps me appreciate our interdependence.

Fact 3: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those in front to keep up their speed.

Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging.

In groups where there is encouragement the production is greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one’s heart or core values and encourage
the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.

It never ceases to amaze me how long after someone’s helpful words have been spoken, those words still float around in my psyche.

Of course it works on the flip side too, and we all can revisit discouraging words
as well.

Our words and actions are powerfully influential. It can be easy to find something encouraging to say if only we take a moment to think before we speak.

Fact 4: When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help or protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.

Lesson: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

It is so easy in our competitive world to forget team spirit. Sometimes we are the ones dropping out of formation and at other times we are the ones offering our aid and protection.

That’s life, is it not?

I’d like to think I have enough “geese” sense to recognize these times and offer up the best of my human nature during these occasions.

I felt like sharing my geese lesson observations with you.

I hope they were in some small way helpful.

As I close this blog post I’d like to thank you all for the encouragement I receive on a regular basis.

It is a blessing to have you all to FLY with!

shelli

Let’s face it, HRT is a controversial subject.

The medical community is mixed in its position on hormone replacement therapy.

Many doctors bitterly oppose synthetic HRT in favor of bio-identical hormones.

Other doctors will tell you that bio-identical hormone usage is too new to know whether it’s safe or not.

There is a physiological reason for hormone levels dropping as you get older.

As a woman’s body ages, it was not meant to be exposed to high levels of certain hormones.

Any form of hormone replacement, whether it is pills, creams, or shots, and whether you label them synthetic or bio-identical, is still not something your aging body is genetically adapted to.

Every woman has to decide for herself whether the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks.

Potential benefits may include relief of menopausal symptoms and a reduction of osteoporosis.

Potential risks may include the increased risk of cancer, heart attack, stroke, and other serious conditions.

If you decide to use hormone replacement to relieve your menopausal symptoms, please remember to use the lowest dosage that works and for the shortest period of time.

Also remember that there are plenty of natural, proven methods for limiting your risks of age-related disease.

What are they?

Exercise, weight training, calcium, and vitamin D are a few good options for reducing the risk of osteoporosis and reducing your menopausal symptoms.

The risk of heart disease, stroke, and mental decline can be reduced through diet, exercise, lowering your stress, yoga, tai chi, getting good quality sleep, and by taking certain natural herbs and supplements.

It’s only been in the past few decades that doctors have been prescribing hormone replacement therapy to a large number of women.

If, a decade or two from now, research shows that bio-identical hormones are safe, more health care professionals will recommend that.

Until then, women who are using these hormones, particularly in high dosages and for prolonged periods, are gambling with the unknown.

I prefer to use natural proven methods for any menopausal symptoms that arise.

Extending my life and living out my years in tip-top health is really a matter of me making simple lifestyle choices.

Even if you are using HRT or bio-identical hormones, you will still benefit greatly from the natural proven lifestyle choices that I write about in my blog and weekly ezine.

As always, I look forward to your comments on these posts so please let me know which options have helped you.

shelii

Think of stepping out?  Good idea.

So, let’s get physical.

I’ve noticed the popularity of the “10,000 steps a day” movement (10,000 steps is about 5 miles). Do you know what this is?

We are being encouraged in the name of improving our health and reducing the risk of disease to be aware of how many steps we take each day.

As you likely know, physical activity contributes to muscle, bone and joint health, helps us feel better and gives us more energy.

According to the Rand Corporation, every mile you cover, whether walking or running, saves society an average of 24 cents in medical and other costs!

It’s a fun practice, so here are a few tips:

1. Take it one step at a time. Start at a level that is appropriate for you.
2. Warm up with some dynamic joint mobility exercises. If you choose to stretch, do it afterwards.
3. Wear reflective gear if you are out in the dark.
4. Use a PEDOMETER—it’ll make the 10,000 step practice even more fun.

For years people have given me pedometers to use and I have never been impressed with them. They didn’t work and were too complicated. Recently my friend and fellow stepping enthusiast, Brian, showed me the one he was using and I was very impressed—easy and reliable.

I have gotten one and have given several as gifts (in fact, I’ve turned my 69-year-old aunt into a stepping maniac). If you want to know more about pedometers, e-
mail me.

Treat yourself to some technique lessons.

If you haven’t taken running/walking/yoga classes or workshops with me, join me for one or find a coach in your area. It’ll be well worth your while, I promise!

Here’s another step I’d like you to take!

I encourage you to put yourself on your own “to do” list.

Think about some of the topics we discuss here at  Activemenopauselifestyle.com blog and see what feels right to implement as you continue going through menopause and growing healthier.

Remember that your history does not determine your future.

Experience and feelings can be useful, so acknowledge them but don’t let them stop you from where you have decided to go.

There’s no such thing as a wrong step as long as it’s a step in the right direction!

shelli

Today, we’ll talk about the other lifestyle basic that will make it easier to adopt a healthy attitude: nutrition.

All of us recognize, I believe, how what and when we eat affects us. I believe more and more that my body is a vessel on loan!

My attitude about nutrition is to “eat to live” so that I can foster my best self and continue to serve and enjoy my life.

Am I perfect?

Hardly…..like all of you I am a work in progress.

However, I do believe that you can’t enjoy yourself if you don’t feel good, and nutrition goes a long way in helping us feel good.

So in the spirit of one of my favorite new expressions, “a moment on the lips, forever on the hips!” let’s have some fun going over some basics.

One size does NOT fit all when it comes to nutrition, and there are differences between the sexes as well.

However, if you are carrying extra weight around, feeling lethargic or have low energy, you are not making good nutritional choices.

Food is meant to fuel you and keep your energy steady throughout the day.

I find that people tend to overestimate the amount they move and underestimate the amount they consume.

It’s an eye opening exercise to, for a few days, chart what you ACTUALLY eat.

Try it and see what you think.

And also, I recognize that some of you reading this nourish yourselves according to certain frameworks like being a raw foodist, vegetarian or eating according to your Ayurvedic doshas. I still think there is benefit for you as well in these basic ideas so please read on!

STEP #1

The first step is to make better food choices.

Not count calories or focus on food group percentages but simply start making better choices.

I think we all know to some extent what that would mean: whole fresh foods and fruits and vegetables.

Keep it simple and keep it clean and unprocessed.

STEP #2

Cook for yourself rather than eating on the go all the time. Actually sit down when you eat, undistracted from the TV or other forms of media.

And chew your food.

I am a very slow eater and while it can drive some people nuts, others have told me when they pace themselves to my eating pace they digest their meal better.

STEP #3

Eating breakfast is a good idea and usually within two hours of waking up is a good time frame. Break your fast with healthy choices.

Also, eating throughout the day is important. This keeps your blood sugar levels in check. You will become aware of your own body’s signals asking to be fed.

It can be dangerous to let your blood sugar levels get so low that you feel jittery and ready to bite the head off of the next person who speaks to you. We have all felt this at times.

STEP#4

If you feel you are making good food choices and are still overweight, lethargic and have low energy, then the next step is to look at your macronutrient choices.

Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are the big three.

You are not necessarily WHAT you eat but rather what you DO with what you eat!

Carbohydrates are the tricky ones here.

You either use them or you wear them!

Stick to vegetables, fruits, and healthy grains. Everyone has a different tolerance for carbs based on many different factors.

Learn your tolerance level and honor it! Stop longing for your best friend’s level of carb tolerance—get real with your own and work with it to produce the energy and body that will serve you best.

I find that women in particular don’t eat enough protein. Your body needs adequate protein for all kinds of repair and bodily functions.

There are complete sources of protein (amino acid wise) and incomplete sources—use them both. Meats, fish, eggs, and dairy products are all sources of complete proteins.

Those of you who are still egg and cholesterol phobic—please do your research and rethink eating eggs!

Focus on good quality fats. Avoid trans fats and hydrogenated oil.

I receive many questions about nuts, so for those of you “going nuts” trying to figure out which ones to eat, here’s a short list of some nuts and their benefits:

1. almonds-packed with protein, fiber, calcium, iron and vitamin E.
2. hazelnuts-high ratio of good fat to bad, and packed with the vitamin folate.
3. peanuts-they are actually legumes and provide more protein than tree nuts.
4. pecans-high monounsaturated level helps them fight high cholesterol.
5. pistachios-great source of potassium
6. walnuts-abundant in polyunsaturated fat.

Eat an assortment of nuts daily, up to a few ounces a day would be fine, and to keep them from getting rancid store them well sealed in dark places.

Throughout the day focus on protein, veggies/fruit, healthy fats and starchy carbs in accordance to your ability to tolerate them and utilize them. Eat all three macronutrients together, as they have a synergistic effect on energy and digestion.

Beverages present an interesting category. I am going to cover caffeine in depth in a later blog post—suffice it to say I have never ever heard even one single person say, “Hey, it’s 4 pm. I feel awful. I haven’t had my Brussel sprouts yet today.” That’s why caffeine deserves its own post!

I’d suggest staying away from fruit juices; they are usually highly processed and lacking in fiber. And avoid all those other calorie containing beverages as well; better to take your calories in as food.

Drink water based beverages, herbal teas, and green teas. If your urine is clear you are taking in enough water. If it is yellow drink more water.

To sum it up:

The first step is making better food choices.

Then, if necessary, structure your own nutritional plan paying attention to the macronutrients.

This will take you a long way, making your life full of energy and health. Getting an adequate, high quality amount of sleep as well will give you the combination that is bound to support whatever goals you have set for yourself.

So, keep your attitude from becoming a BADtitude by employing what I have mentioned in these two last posts.