Moments from Menopause

So I've been absent for the past month of Tuesdays because I've been on a blog/book tour for my other life - the writing one. I had a new book release on 4.3.18 and I've been on a daily blog tour, so my writing for here got a little sidetracked. The last time we met I 'd just been hypnotized to try and lose some of the weight I've gained during menopause. I had a subconscious thought placed to stop drinking all the Diet Mountain Dew soda I drink and instead, switch to water. There were a few other "prompts" that were put in as well. The results? I no longer drink soda of any kind, which is amazing. But... I've gained 19 pounds since being hypnotized. Unbelievable, right? The one thing that should have helped me to lose weight, made me gain 19 pounds. I have a theory that the reason i did was because there was so much caffeine in the soda I drank all day long, that it helped rev my metabolism, so I was able to at least  keep my weight at a somewh...

In my never-ending battle to rid myself of all the menopause and middle-aged weight I've gained, I've been very diligent of late going to the gym. Here's a disclaimer: I absolutely, positively, without exception HATE exercising. I always have. I don't like to sweat. It makes me feel... gross/dirty/slimy/smelly. And I especially hate sweating in front of other people. I know...weird. But that's me. Anyway... Because it's been drilled into me by every single person - professional and non- that I've spoken to about my weight struggles, I am now becoming a devotee of gym-going. I still hate it, but I recognize I need to do SOMETHING. The fat is not going to magically slough from my a**.  I'm not going to wake up tomorrow and my arms will no longer jiggle like congealed jello. And I'm sick and tired of investing in Spanx. So...to the gym I go. Since I hate it so much, I've found I am very anti-social when I am there. I have a headset ...

I've been very honest with my weight struggles over my lifetime.  A 40-year eating disorder that started in my early teens has turned my metabolism into a non-functioning nightmare. Add in this hormone-crazed time called MENOPAUSE, and my weight, like the stock market, has been steadily climbing. The stock market may have in-place corrections, my menopause metabolism does not, so while the market gets, well, corrected,  my weight continues to spiral upward, no federal trade ceiling mandates to stop it. My eating disorder bloomed out of a random statement my father made to me when I was 12. A little backstory is needed: My parents divorced before I was born. My father's mother had been a very famous fur model in the 1940's and 50's in NY. My father had even been a child model. So, back to me. When I was 12 I was the tallest kid in my class and had been since second grade. My father is waaaaay over 6 feet and everyone thought I'd gotten the tall DNA as well. ...

I recently had a doctor tell me that if you change nothing about your diet and exercise regime, you will gain 10% of your current weight every decade after 50. No matter what. 10%! So if I weigh 150 pounds at 50, by 60 I will weight 165. By 70, 181.5 and so on until you die. If I do nothing, make no changes. Why I didn't know this before I ever hit menopause is mind-blowing to me, because if I had, I certainly would have made sure I weighed waaaaaaaaaaay less than I did when it hit me! I think I mentioned once before in this blog that I was on Nutrisystem when menopause hit me full force. I'd lost 30 pounds in three months. The second menopause reared it's ugly head, I gained 32 pounds within 1 month... and still while on Nutrisystem. Yes, you read that right: I gained 32 pounds on a weight reduction program. It wasn't the program's fault. I did everything I was told to do to the letter. It was that my body had suddenly been thrust into a cauldron of sw...

All month I've been complaining, er, blogging,  about the changes that Menopause wrecks on our skin, so I figured one more post for the month and I'd be done with this topic. Like, seriously done. The End. Fine. In all the research I've done on-line, in speaking to skin care experts, and even in barraging my own derm-guy with questions, the two most important pieces of advice I've heard over and over and over again about care, maintenance, and protection of your skin at any age is: 1. Sun block, and 2. Hydration From the age of 6 months old we should start skin protection when out doors. Every major skin care manufacturer now has a sun protection line, and many of their products include  an SPF protection/additive in productions like daily body lotion and makeup.  Johnson and Johnson's Waterbabies products are excellent for children who are outdoors, swimming, sweating, etc. Protect their skin when they are young and your chil...

Bleck! That's the only way I can describe my mid-section now that I am BFF's (NOT!) with Menopause. I used to have a waist. Really . It dented in and everything! My pants buttoned without straining in agony and looking they were going to rend at the seams; my skirts clasped in the back without closing off the circulation to my abdominal area; and when I wore a fitted shirt - it did! Not anymore. No, now I've got an actual roll - and I don't mean bread, although it is doughy - around the area I used to fondly refer to as my waist. When I was a kid I  heard references to "middle aged spread" and didn't understand the term. Now, I have a first hand view of what it means. The experts will tell you it occurs because of the hormone changes. Your body tends to store fat more when your female hormones go wonky. Conventional wisdom might tell you to stop eating fattening foods and the spare tire won't happen. I'm here to tell you NO! NOPE! Won't d...

It is absolutely amazing how quickly a body can get out of shape - especially one that wasn't  in the best of shape to begin with. I think I shared that when I was on Nutrisystem last year and menopause hit me hard - almost a knockout! - I actually started gaining weight on the diet.  Now, no sane person ever wants to gain weight on a calorie reduction diet. At this point in my menopause struggle I was ready to jump off a ledge. I'd been exercising like mad, eating the nutrifood and nothing else and here I was creeping up the scale. So what did I do? I'll tell ya: I did what any self respecting moody and flashing woman would have done if faced with the same situation : I gave up. On everything. The diet. Exercising. Basically, life. How did that work out for you, you ask? Not well. A year later and all the weight I lost came back on and my muscles can't be detected under the fat anymore because I stopped moving them. I'm sure with my psych background of knowled...

I read an article recently that stated " Postmenopausal women are at greater risk for heart disease, so redirect your diet toward low-fat foods and lower your salt intake — this reduces the risk of heart attack and atherosclerosis." Great ! The one part of my health that has always and - I mean ALWAYS -  been good, has been my cardiac status. Resting pulse of 68 and blood pressure that is routinely 90/60. Never a worry, never a care about heart attack, etc. Except now. Another factor that plays heavily into heart disease in women is weight. I resurrected this blog because I wanted accountability to get rid of the 35 excess pounds my poor heart and knees are carrying around. If post-menopause is now a time where cardiac issues pop up, then this weight needs to be taken out of the equation for good. For the next few months I am going to stick to a regime of diet and exercise that I'll be documenting and sharing here. Because I know menopausal and post-menopausal weigh...