While perimenopause and menopause are getting more of the spotlight of late, it still feels like there are many women ‘suffering’ in silence. It really is baffling, that in this day and age a cohort of women are still not sure where to turn when it comes to their newfound midlife symptoms largely due to hormonal changes in the body. It also seems that as I, myself, enter this midlife era, I hear more and more women around me describing symptoms that sound all too familiar, and often with more questions than they have answers. ‘Why do I have this stubborn belly fat I cannot shift?’ ‘Why am I tired all of the time?’ ‘Why do I get brain fog in the middle of a conversation?’ These questions, and more, related to mood fluctuations, running hot a lot of the time, night sweats and irregular periods are all part of the myriad of questions I hear from friends, family and colleagues. What I find helps the most, is understanding two key things – 1. This is a phase, and you will not feel this way for the rest of your life & 2. There is a logical explanation for your symptoms, mostly related to the wild hormonal changes your body is being dealt with in this phase of life. So, if you’re feeling any of these symptoms, or you just want to learn a bit more, please read on.
Perimenopause or menopause – what are you experiencing?
Now I am sure you are familiar with the menopause, and when that word comes to mind you likely visualize middle aged women with bright red, hot faces, trying to cool themselves down to no avail. What might surprise you is that most of the changes that occur in a woman’s body happen in the phase before menopause – a phase called perimenopause. Perimenopause can last 4 to 8 years on average, and can arrive as early as your mid 30s, all the way to your mid-50’s – everyone has a different experience. The key change in this phase of life is that your ovaries produce less of the oestrogen hormone. This is the catalyst for a raft of changes in your body, and also impacts your levels of hormone progesterone – everything becomes a bit off-balance. In perimenopause your hormonal levels can wildly fluctuate and this can lead to symptoms such as erratic periods, changing moods, irritability, hot flushes, weight gain, night sweats and more. By the time you get to the menopause phase (classified as 12 months in a row of having no period) your hormones actually start to level out, things stabilise, and symptoms can go away altogether for some people. So, the phase where you likely need the most support is perimenopause – around your midlife, when your body is coping with a lot of change.
Key health impacts to be aware of
Now that you know more about the reason why you may be experiencing these midlife symptoms, seemingly all at once, what do you need to be aware of? There are two main areas of health that sometimes go unnoticed in the midlife phase, as they may not always present with symptoms per se.
Heart health – Oestrogen supports a lot of processes in the body. One that you may not know is that it is protective for your heart health. As your levels naturally decline in perimenopause this protection reduces, and you may end up with high cholesterol and/or blood fats and even raised blood pressure. Your doctor will monitor this for you in this phase of life.
Bone strength – During perimenopause, as oestrogen levels start to drop, you start losing bone faster than you replace it. This can increase your risk of osteoporosis. Oetsrogen also helps promote calcium absorption, to help build strong and healthy bones.
Midlife hormonal changes and weight
Recently I was talking o a friend who has increased her strength and cardio (a LOT!), while eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, but has been gaining stubborn belly fat. Now, while this is not necessarily an issue or concern for everyone, for some women it can be frustrating to see this appear despite nothing changing, apart from you burning the candle that little bit more – it just doesn’t seem to make sense? Well, let me alleviate any concerns you may have – as it totally does make sense. The drop in oestrogen levels actually triggers your body to store more weight around the waist and belly and this is known as visceral fat, which has been shown to increase the chances of various conditions such as type 2 diabetes. You also lose muscle mass with age, and this may also play a role in reducing your metabolism (i.e the amount of energy your body burns at any given time). So if this sounds like what you are experiencing – rest assured there are reasons beyond your control that are causing some of these changes.
Why are your energy levels so low?
This one deserves its own dedicated blog post! But, in short, you can again thank the decline in osterogen somewhat for feeling flat and perhaps falling asleep mid-movie on the couch… Low levels of estrogen can lead to lower levels of the so-called ‘happy’ hormone serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical messenger in the brain that helps boost mood. Less of that may leave you feeling flat and poorly energetic.
What to do next?
We have only just touched the surface when it comes to the key changes in your midlife era. But, hopefully you’ve got a bit of a picture of what is happening. First things first – if you feel like any of this is relevant to you – make sure you speak to your doctor, so you can have your health reviewed holistically. But, also have comfort in knowing there are things you can do when it comes to nutrition, other lifestyle tactics and even supplements to help support you in this phase of life.
Stay tuned for my top tips on how to best navigate your midlife – be sure to follow me on Instagram, Linkedin or Facebook so you don’t miss out. And, let me know what you really want to hear about – what myths you want busted and what your biggest midlife challenges currently are?
