5 small tweaks to your day for perimenopause

If you’re wondering what can possibly help you through perimenopause, don’t lose hope. These tips might inspire you to try something new.

Supportive advice when facing perimenopause

Life transitions can be intimidating and plain painful. Especially something like (peri)menopause that comes with drastic changes to the body and mind. It can be isolating and feel suffocating.

We are here to help you navigate this new phase of life with realistic and meaningful advice. You can help yourself understand your body’s needs in a way that empowers you to do more for your health. Accepting change can help see your options more clearly and give you peace mind.

Turn these tips into alleviating habits

In a previous blog posts, we talked about changes that occur during menopause (check that out here: Estrogen and Bone Health). Here, we’re going to explore what we can do to incorporate nutrition and lifestyle changes to navigate menopause transition in ways that work for you.

Tip #1: Eat smaller meals with higher protein (eat more often!)

As we age we need fewer calories. If we eat smaller, protein-focused meals or snacks more often during the day (maybe 5 smaller meals instead of 3 larger meals), we can still get the nutrients that we need while avoiding overeating. Protein is important for maintaining energy levels but also enhances fullness, or satiety. Eating smaller meals (including snacks) can also help you feel more satisfied with what you eat throughout the day.

Bone density becomes a bigger issue when we enter menopause. Exercise helps protect our bones, but it’s really important to exercise in ways that work for you so you maintain an exercise routine. Challenge yourself, but have fun with your workouts, whether it's walking with friends or dancing to your favorite song.

Along with exercise, eating foods with calcium is extremely important to maintain bone health. Great sources of calcium include dairy products like cheese, milk, and regular or Greek yogurt. If you’re trying to stay away from dairy, there are other foods that have limited amounts of calcium like sardines, salmon, and shrimp as well vegetables like collard greens, kale, and broccoli. Most people can get enough calcium from diet alone and don't need to load up on the nutrient in a supplement form.

Tip #4: Add calcium-helper nutrients

Tip #5: Plan in advance

We all get to that point in the week when choosing what to cook for dinner is overwhelming. But taking some extra time at the beginning of the week to think about what each day might look like could help ease daily stress and allow you to put that energy into taking care of yourself. Making a plan for the week can help ensure that the high demand nutrients during menopause are incorporated into your diet.

From morning to night, our energy levels fluctuate quite a bit. We could have had a plan to do something, but in the moment we might feel too exhausted to go through with it. Sometimes it’s hard to accept, but our expectations of what we want to happen aren’t always suitable for how we feel. And if the mind and body aren’t on the same page, some need isn’t going to be fulfilled, whether that’s an obligation or mental/physical care. So take it easy and rest when you need. 

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