Why Menopause Sucks

Were going to drift slightly away from decorating today. Well more than slightly! Let’s talk about menopause. If you are not going through this you may want to listen anyway. You’re in store for a good time! I shared this post last July, but since writing this one change that I made has been getting fit and eating right. I’ll be honest, it hasn’t totally helped my menopause symptoms, but it’s helped a little. You can join Jumpstart To A Healthier You HERE.

It’s free!

I am hoping that if you are reading this, it may make you laugh and realize that you are not going through it alone. Let’s go back before I started “The Change”. I have always been a fit person. But during my High School years I had very poor eating habits. I think my lunch was a hostess cherry pie, and I am not sure if I even had breakfast. I wasn’t fat, but I wasn’t fit.

I know, I ate so healthy then! Well a cherry pie does have fruit in it 😉 Still, I exercised and I knew that if I stopped eating the junk food I would lose weight. It always came off easy. Working as a hairdresser for years really messed up my eating habits. My meals were during a hair process, and if I didn’t have a hair process going on, I would have a 10 minute break to eat. I never worked out during my pregnancy, I had a miscarriage during my first pregnancy. So I was being very cautious and did not want to take any chances. After I had my daughter, the baby weight was off after a month!

I slowly started getting back into shape. And into my 30’s I could still lost weight when I needed to. But I always stayed close to my ideal weight. You know, we all have that Magic number. I’m not going to share mine, but we all have one. People have always told me, you are so thin, why are you worried about your weight. Well, I have worked my butt off for many years keeping my weight at bay. Until one day you wake up, look at yourself in the mirror and say, where did that extra bit of fat on my stomach come from.

And you wonder why, as you are walking you have a little jiggle in your belly. Things I never, ever experienced before. We are always told not to weigh ourselves after we reach a certain age. But I did it, I weighed myself this morning and I really wish I hadn’t! And BTW why do doctor’s insist on weighing me every time I am in for a visit.

If I have a virus, or whatever, I don’t think how much I weigh matters unless I am really sickly looking which I have never been. And while we are on that subject why does the scale lie at the Doctor’s office? It’s always at least 5-6 pounds more than mine is at home….just shoot me now!

The last checkup which was recently I asked my Doctor what I could do about my weight gain. She told me to make sure you are eating right….check…….and exercise…..check! I am doing both so why am I not losing weight, but gaining weight? She told me to exercise more! Are you freaking kidding me?!

Exercise more?

I work out so hard as it is, but I am giving it one last shot, I will add another 20 minutes onto my workout. It sounds like a good idea, but the question is can I pull it off? I exercise because I have to, not because I want to , or like to. When someone says they like to exercise, I don’t believe them. I guess they like enduring torture while sweating profusely. And, I can’t eat any less than I do already.

I have a healthy bowl of fruit and granola each day. My lunch is a handful of almonds, and a piece of fruit. Dinner is either black beans, cheese, avocado, with a tortilla. Or chicken with black beans, green onions, and cheese. Pathetic isn’t it, but at this point I don’t even know what to cook. I stay away from as much bad carbs as possible. You know, bread, sugar, stuff like that.

But even after all of that I am gaining weight? What that heck?! Maybe it’s the chocolate. I do indulge in a few pieces of delicious dove milk chocolate every single day 🙂 That’s one thing I have not been able to give up! And why do they tell us that drinking red wine is good for us? I can’t even enjoy a glass of wine because of the calories.

And then I ask myself, if I can’t seem to get a grip on my weight, and it keeps going up, even though I am doing all the right things, then what? I can’t stress all of the time. I may have to come to the conclusion that my body ain’t what it used to be. And I may have to embrace the older me. That’ what my Doctor told me. She said “Well, this may be your new normal weight”. Hmmm, wrong answer! And not what I wanted to hear!

This is a hard one and really hits hard for me. Well, if you have any advice on going thorough menopause, any secret eating plans or exercises I would love to hear about it. Oh wow, I haven’t even talked about the hot flashes, mood swings, changes in skin,etc. Yeah, menopause SUCKS! Sorry if I have offended anyone, but there is no other way to put it. And if you are going through it as I am you totally get it!