Image supplied: Shelly Horton
It’s perimenopause.
Now you know I bang on about peri a lot. But I want to get the word out there as much as possible. I had never even heard the word perimenopause until I was in the throes of it. Smashing myself at the gym but my belt not going down a notch. Then I went up a complete bra cup size (and trust me that was NOT welcome, I’m now an F cup. F that!) Plus, I was crying at the drop of a hat. I thought I was losing my mind.
Well, information is power. I joined forces with health app Benefit Pocket to host an online course to demystify peri and menopause so you know what’s going on and take back some control.
Menopause expert and GP, Dr Ginni Mansberg, is part of the course too and here’s a little sneak peek on what she says about “The Thickening”.
“If you’ve hit menopause or you’re in the lead up to menopause, and you’ve noticed your body changing, you’re not going crazy. It is actually happening in two big places. We definitely see changes in your boobs and your belly,” she says.
Let’s talk about boobs first.
“Your breasts during menopause transition or perimenopause actually get much denser. There’s a lot more breast tissue mixed in with the fat. And in fact, that makes your boobs, sorer, bigger, and lumpier,” she says.
I wish I’d known that rather than putting up with the underwire cutting into me while promising to diet my boobs away.
Middle aged spread is a dreadful term. The only good spread is Nutella. But unfortunately, middle aged spread around your middle is real, just not in the way you think.
“I don’t know a menopausal woman who is not battling her belly and we’d all like to blame our hormones,” says Dr Mansberg. “But your hormones have been extensively studied and your metabolism stays completely the same.”
Wait. What?
“But the body changes where you deposit your fat. A lot of women transform from a pear shape to an apple shape,” she says.
So, while you can’t blame peri for weight gain it IS why your pants won’t fit anymore.
Somehow that makes me feel better. If I’d known that I wouldn’t have felt so frustrated.
The Benefit Pocket menopause course busts myths like this and more with experts like scientist, clinical researcher and expert in women’s health, Professor Cassandra Szoeke, psychologist, Leanne Hall and the founder of the Angea Women’s Health Clinic, Amanda Waaldyk.
They explain the physical changes and the science behind them, cognitive and emotional health and how it can be affected, practical advice for dealing with symptoms, and treatment options and therapies to get you back to feeling great.
There are even tips from stylist Amelia McFarlane on how to dress when you have hot flushes.
I don’t understand how generations of women have suffered in silence. We should be talking about menopause at home, at school and in the workplace because men and women need to be educated.
100% of women go through menopause so it’s time we all learnt more about it to help each other.
As a CWM exclusive if you want to buy the Benefit Pocket Menopause course you can use the code Shelly40 to get a 40% discount That takes it from $169 to $101.40.
