Why you must love your post menopausal body with food

A healthy body relies on the right fuel to function. As we all know one of the absolute basics about owning a car is that you put the right fuel in it. Sounds pretty straightforward but, let me ask this question. Have you ever put the wrong fuel in your car? I have and the result is that it cost me a lot of money, with towing and leaving at a garage, then paying the garage to sort out the issues. Not something I’d wish on anyone, especially the anguish of being a woman on her own stuck in the middle of nowhere, waiting for help to arrive.

What if I told you right now that the car you drive is the last one you will ever have? You can’t ever have a new one – not even if it starts to go wrong – and it must last you for the rest of your life. If you absolutely knew that this would be the last vehicle that you will ever own, do you think you would take better care of it?

Why do people change their oil filters? Cars with clean oil filters run better and last longer. Why do we do frequent preventative maintenance? Isn't it because we know that it's a lot less costly to take care of the oil, the filter, and so on than it is to replace an engine or transmission, or worse, replace the entire vehicle?

Well, guess what? You are in the last vehicle you will ever have in your lifetime; it's your body. So, if you don’t put the right fuel in your body, you cannot expect things to run smoothly.

It doesn’t have to be complicated

‘Eat real food’ doesn’t have to be a juice cleanse, just good quality, honest food. Good quality proteins, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and if you eat snacks aim for what I like to call "snacks with benefits". Limit or remove sugars, white bread/pasta/rice and alcohol Make meals and snacks from scratch where you can or buy in from good quality takeaways. I’d be lost without the food company Sprout. Their salads keep me fed a few days of the week. 

Be mindful to hydrate sufficiently for your needs. Your body will thank you for it.

Keep a handle on how many cups of tea and coffee you have, watch the fizzy drinks (diet or otherwise), and alcohol which all can steal your health.

Food journal

Your starting point is to complete a food journal of what your normal daily food intake (including fluids) are. Definitely record food intake for the weekend of your birthday party and the like. Your normal eating pattern get shoved out the window on these times.

You might wince at taking note but getting to the brass tacks and facing up to what you do eat in a day is the first step towards making the changes that will sustain you as you age. I need to do as all of us can go off the rails when dealing with what life can throw at us at time. Fuelling your body with the right nourishment and hydration is a must.

Use some quiet time to review the 3 days and note your top priorities for making changes. Remember, to view the 3 day food journal as a snapshot of where you’re at right now. From there you can use it to set goals to work on sorting your top priorities for change first and take it from there. I regularly review mine every few months, and especially after a traumatic event.

Symptom triggers journal

This is a very useful tool to note down menopause symptoms that get triggered at or around certain meals or snacks. Obvious trigger foods are some spicy foods, eating too much sugar i.e. beyond your tolerance level, empty carbohydrates, alcohol, lack of protein... This enables you can get a clearer picture of what foods may be contributing to your symptoms.

With both the food journal and symptom trigger journal use a notebook, it doesn’t have to be an expensive notebook or downloads. I do have these though to make it easier for my clients to do this check in.

How to feel fabulous using nutrition and lifestyle in menopause is more than just food.

Want more?

Message me with a query you may have. If I can answer quickly I’ll do it. If it requires more work check out how you can work with me here. 

Til next time, you’re in health, showing compassion, and ensuring we practice self care and mind our own happiness.