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Nicky Dear

Changing your lifestyle to help your Menopause symptoms

I don’t know about you , but on wet mornings like today when the sky is grey I’m not quite as motivated to jump out of bed and do my daily exercise … But this morning I persuaded myself to attend my 7.30 am MELT session because I know I always feel fantastic afterwards!

Many of you won’t of heard of MELT (unless you have been following my face book posts for a while) but I would urge you to check it out Balanced Fitness with Lisa Hill | Pilates | MELT | Cardio Strength its a game changing form of exercise for everyone, but especially as we age (and for women going through Menopause). This is a lovely sunny photo to cheer you up – taken in Meganisi (our happy place) probably the most beautiful place I have done MELT so far !!

Did you know that during Menopause our joints and ligaments can be much slower to heal. This is because we have Oestrogen receptors all over our bodies (including all our major organs, brains and nervous system) which connect with Oestrogen and keep our joints and ligaments supple and heal and recover after exercise. So when our Oestrogen levels drop during menopause the body is prone to inflammation and this can stop women exercising because they are in too much pain. I experienced this in my early 50’s, and because I wasn’t sleeping either (and not understanding what my body needed in terms of nutrition)- add to this the huge stress I was experiencing in my job & due to the loss of my mum & my sister to Cancer … it was a recipe for disaster and I was in despair. Lucky for me I met several amazing mentors who I’ve worked with over the years to turn my health around.

Lisa Hill was one of these ladies (check out her website above)- Strangely we met 10 years previously whilst on holiday with our families in Greece and we stayed in touch because we found we had a lot in common. I am a huge believer that life has an amazing way of finding you the people you need (although you may not be aware of it at the time !!)

Movement and exercise are key to keeping healthy throughout our menopause transition, but the right kind of exercise is vital especially if you are not sleeping. As I mentioned in previous posts, when we sleep our bodies are busy healing our joints and muscles and if we don’t get the all important deep sleep this healing process does not happen and inflammatory pathways start to be set up, this can have a cumulative effect over years, especially if your body is also under other types of stress (which can include things like alcohol & chemicals from foods which we may not be aware of).

Many diseases can develop including cardiovascular disease (because of vascular stiffness – a whole other subject !!), inflammatory gut problems like IBS, autoimmune issues like fibromyalgia and brain function issues such as brain fog to name but a few!

So unless you are sleeping and getting the right nutrition, doing heavy weight-lifting, HIT exercise and extreme sports can be very damaging, causing further inflammation -this is known as over training syndrome with very similar symptoms to Menopause.

More gentle forms of exercise like MELT and walking (to give you some gentle aerobic exercise) can be enablers along with the right nutrition, stress management and sleep strategies, to help you get back to the more intense forms of exercise we all loved before Menopause -but consistency is important. Working with a health coach using evidence based Nutrition & Lifestyle solutions can set you back on the right track to a long & healthy future.

The photo above is me & my 86 year old dad on a hike in La Gomera earlier this year. Dad is an inspiration to me, he has kept himself fit & healthy doing daily exercise and eating well – he is living proof that this stuff works !!

For more information about my work and to book a free discover call –

Email me : Nicky@nickydearhealthcoach.com

Call or watts app 07407281148

www.https://nickydearhealthcoach.com

4 responses to “Changing your lifestyle to help your Menopause symptoms”

Julie

10th Sep 2024

Lovely and informative blog Nicky. I too had sleep deprivation in menopause along with the start of chronic depression, which at 62 years old still occurs on occasions. Initially I sort the help of a counsellor for my depression, as I was determined to try and avoid the anti-depressant route, which is so easily prescribed by GP’s. Although the counselling helped slightly, I decided to increase my exercise instead. I commenced my fitness campaign in January, and after researching myself (making sure I wouldn’t be overly stressing my body in post-menopause) I decided on Aquafit and Yoga. I do 4.5 hrs of Aquafit and 2 hours of Yoga a week. It sounds a lot, but now being retired this is my priority. My sleep has improved and my sad days have reduced. My long term chronic depression (in my opinion) has improved. I feel much fitter for the exercise, my spirits are lifted, I am now more focused,

and I have made lots of new friends. My next challenge is sorting my diet out properly . Unfortunately, I have that ‘sweet tooth’ which is hard to break. I shall follow you for your advice here Nicky. Thankyou, and keep up the good work, Julie

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1. Nicky Dear
  
  10th Sep 2024
  
  Thanks Julie, I’m so happy that you have found your solution – its different for everyone. But so many of the people I have have coached so far are on anti-depressants, which is another reason I want to do what I am doing !!
  
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Julie

17th Sep 2024

Great blog Nicky! Really interesting and informative! It’s helping me understand a lot about how I feel/felt and why!
Is it common for Menopause to cause migraines/headaches. I never had them as frequent before but both my sister and I have experienced severe headaches and migraines since going through menopause.
thanks!
JB

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1. Nicky Dear
  
  17th Sep 2024
  
  hi Julie thank you so much for reading my blogs , I’m so glad you are finding them interesting. Migraines are surprisingly common in Menopause although they are not often included on the list of common symptoms , mainly because people don’t make the connection. The reason for this is do to with blood pressure which is often increased during menopause and also vascular stiffness due to loss of elasticity of blood vessels ( because of decline in oestrogen levels ) from a nutritional perspective foods such as beetroot , apples , celery help with vascular stiffness . But the other really important thing is practicing exercises like yoga & breath work , which has been evidenced to reduce the incidence of migraines . Also aerobic exercise ( walking at a brisk pace for at least 30 mins 3 X per week ) will also help . Hope this helps . Nicky
  
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I’m Nicky

My name is Nicky Dear and I am a qualified Health coach specialising in helping women to make sustainable changes to their Nutrition and lifestyle which will have profound effects on their future health.

I am passionate about helping women to really find themselves again whilst going through Menopause and to ensure other women don’t feel they have to make this journey alone.

At 56, I am the happiest and fittest I have been since I was 16 and I want to share this with other women.

Get in touch by emailing nicky@nickydearhealthcoach for an initial chat. I’d love to hear your experience!