What is Perimenopause? (and are you going through it?)

If you are asking what is perimenopause know that the perimenopause years can leave even the toughest of women feeling weak, frustrated, depressed, and even make you think you’re going completely crazy.

But don’t worry, there’s hope and light at the end of this tunnel and through a lot of research, trial and error I think I have discovered the natural secrets to reclaiming control of our bodies through this transitional time. 

Too many women are prescribed synthetic hormones and anti-depressants for their symptoms of perimenopause and then sent on their way.  This does not need to be the case!

Perimenopause symptoms can be wildly varied from woman to woman.

What is perimenopause? Think of it as a rollercoaster ride.

While many programs out there are designed for a quick fix, my programs are about a complete lifestyle change that quite honestly will take some time. Many of us have years of damage to repair. 

The old rules of 'eat less and move more' aren't the same at this age.  Remember, you do not suddenly gain weight or become unhealthy overnight, so you can't expect to have the health and body you desire that immediately.  But, I promise you, with patience and consistency, you can reclaim your body -(and your mental health - you're not crazy!)

I’ve designed my programs for women over 40, because let’s face it, somewhere around that age (maybe a little before or after) all of our bodies begin to change thanks to aging, hormonal changes, and slowing metabolisms.

What if I told you that you can take back control of your body with proper nutrition, lifestyle changes, and the right type of exercise for the perimenopause stage of life?

My programs and articles are the very day-to-day steps that I have followed to reclaim my health and body through perimenopause, menopause and now post-menopause. This is also what has also worked for so many of my female clients even well into their 60's and 70’s.

Coaching women through this transition of life has become my full time job and passion, because I am right there with you, living through the challenges of getting older.  I realized as I started researching what is perimenopause that what once worked for me (even as a trainer and eating 'clean')  things were just not working anymore. ( super frustrating I get it!) 

I also began to become sensitive to so many foods that I had eaten my whole life and felt tired and ridiculously bloated everyday. I developed cystic acne, allergies, hot flashes and many food sensitivities.  I knew I had to make learn how to make changes to get this under control (and fast) and that is how my programs were developed.

It worked for me, for so many of my one on one clients, and now I also want to help you.

In my hours and hours of research on what is perimenopause I discovered some important facts about women as they enter into the perimenopause years:

• Women lose an average of 5% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 40 (less muscle = less fat burning).
• Hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone begin to decline leading to weight gain and other symptoms.
• While hormone levels are dropping, they don’t always decline equally causing estrogen dominance for many women over 40 which affects our weight among numerous other symptoms.
• Insulin production increases and many women will become insulin resistant causing stored fat and weight gain.
• Sleep patterns change causing fatigue and spikes in cortisol (the stress hormone that can contribute to fat around our stomachs).
• Metabolism begins to slow due to having less lean muscle, hormonal changes and many times because of years of constantly yo-yo dieting and and not eating enough.
• Many women fail to choose the appropriate type of exercise for the perimenopausal years.  As they start to see weight gain, they panic and often begin to do more and more cardio which can stress our bodies out ,causing a spike in cortisol which in turn causes more weight gain.
• Your thyroid can become under active again -causing your metabolism to slow and make you too tired to exercise.
• Years of having a sub-optimal diet or exposure to environmental toxins can wreck your gut health and cause you to have a leaky gut which leads to all types of food sensitivities, hormonal imbalance, and inflammation in the body - again - causing weight gain.
• Excessive stress over the years has weakened your adrenal glands leading to fatigue and weight gain.

I’m sure you can relate to some, if not all, of the above issues related to this time in our life.  

The good news is although we cannot completely stop the aging process, we can control and empower how our bodies deal with this natural transition in life and I have created a community on Facebook to foster a sisterhood so please click to join us!

My method is designed to teach YOU how to make the right food choices for YOUR individual body, how to heal your digestive system, and how to eat for optimal hormonal balance.

 You will learn how through simple portion control and eating nutrient dense foods you no longer need to starve yourself or constantly count calories.

We can jump start your weight loss while ridding your body of toxins and inflammation. I teach my clients how to  workout in a way that doesn’t take hours of your day (because we are all busy women), but yet still boosts your metabolism and energy into high gear throughout the day.

Check Out My Little Black Dress Project 6 Week Challenge Here!

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