Do you remember what it was like to go through puberty?  Me neither.  When I gave birth to my daughter, I made jokes that she would be going through puberty at the same time I was going through menopause.  Chuckle, elbow, wink.  

At that time, I really didn’t know what it meant to go through menopause, and as for puberty, I just imagined yelling, tears, and door slamming over small problems. 

Turns out, I called it! I had what would be my final period at the age of 44 and she had her first period just months later at the age of 11.

We were both young and I was unprepared. I consulted the #1 source for all things: my girlfriends. Here is what I learned:

• We weren’t alone, most of my friends also had kids late in life and ended up with this timing.

• All of my friends gave their daughters love, support, understanding and grace.

• BUT….my friends were outright pissed at that was happening to their own bodies.

It is easy to see and understand how our daughter’s bodies changed.  In two short years they went from looking like a children, to within a few inches and pounds of their adult bodies.  Some of the girls loved this, but most felt betrayed by their bodies. 

My daughter felt like a girl trapped in a woman’s body.  Mentally, she was not ready to grow up.

I put my parenting pants on. We talked and cried. She raged, I listened. There were books and movies with characters in this situation (Hello, Margaret) that sparked great conversations.

It was so clear to me that this was a natural transition and there was no stopping it.  The hormonal profile of a little girl no longer existed.  The hormones circulating in her body were that of a woman, so naturally everything would change for her.  It was very straightforward.  A clear cause and effect.  

Did my friends and I understand and accept that same straightforward cause and effect for our bodies? Nope. Not at all.

Sure, I had studied the hormones.

On paper, I knew the menopause transition was the exact reverse of what our daughters just went through.  Their hormones went crazy as they ramped up, ours went crazy as they sank to a new low. Did that make it easier to accept? Nope.

So how do my friends and I feel about it? We are pissed…….. We are powerful women. We aren’t ready to throw in the towel. In fact, we are just getting started.  So WTF, body.  Whip back into shape, would you?

Every perimenopausal woman I coach is feeling betrayed by her body, much in the same way our daughters feel.  We aren’t ready to look like our grandmothers.  We want to stay active. We want to thrive mentally and physically.  We are still living hard.  We have things to do.

To make that happen, we need to learn how to work with what we have.

Old health habits will not work the same. In fact, things that used to work like a charm might make things worse.

Many clients come to me crying, “I can’t exercise even more or eat even less,” after tricks from their twenties and thirties caused them to pile on a fresh layer of belly fat.

There is nothing more frustrating than having your hard work and discipline backfire.

We have to realize that the bodies we have today are not the same. Just like our 16 year-old daughters aren’t the same as the 8 year-old version.

This doesn’t mean, raise the white flag and let yourself go. 

It’s absolutely possible to create our best health right now, but we need the right approach to make it happen.

So, how did puberty versus menopause go in my house?

There was less volatility than I expected, but more than once a door was slammed by her and vegetables aggressively chopped by me.  Both of us experienced higher highs, lower lows, and periods of extreme exhaustion. 

My daughter had bouts of melancholy, missing the simplicity of childhood that felt yanked out from under her feet.  

I held her tight and whispered assurances.  I told her to hold on to her good memories.  The future would be different, but it could be just as good.  So many exciting adventures lay in store for her.  It was time to release old expectations and choose anew what mattered most.

I could see it so clearly for her, but she wasn’t so sure.  I knew exactly how she felt.

During this time, more than any other, we need to give ourselves patience, grace, and unconditional love. 

If you are ready to learn more about what happens to your body in perimenopause and menopause, as well as what you can do to find your best health against the odds, check out How to Powerup Perimenopause: the Complete Guide

You might like:

The Metal Toll of Perimenopause

Why it is Scary to Make a Health Change

Can Restricting Foods From My Diet Make Me Happier?

Your Body is not Broken….It Might be Sugar…..Or Alcohol

If you are over being frustrated by your body, are tired of being tired, and feel like everything you do makes things worse rather than better, it is time to learn how to take care of your body NOW!

Let me help. 

If you are deep in the Perimenopause transition, you need to REWRITE YOUR SELF-CARE MANUAL with How to Powerup Peri/menopause: the Complete Guide 

Or 

If you are Perimenopausal or menopausal and feel like you are constantly struggling with inflammation, bloating, exhaustion, constipation, and sudden weight gain.  It is likely you suspect it is due to what you are eating, but don’t know what or how to change.  You need the Powerup and Reset Program.

In perimenopause and menopause our hormones are totally different, so our approach needs to be different too.

Best news is, the approach we need does NOT include:

• Punishing amounts of exercise
• Starvation
• Unrealistic goals that take you way out of your comfort zone.
• Fasting
• Keto

It DOES include:

• Feeding ourselves the BEST foods on a regular basis to assure out body it is fed and cared for.
• Editing our exercise to make it efficient and effective so we don’t waste time spinning our wheels.
• Learning to apply easy and strategic self-care to help our hormones settle down.

Have you tried and failed to change your health in the past?  Consider this:

1. Now is the time to take your health seriously.  What we do RIGHT NOW decides if we will spend our golden years sick and broken or thriving and enjoying life.  

2.  Just about EVERYTHING you read or see in Health Media is NOT designed for women in Perimenopause or menopause.  Our hormones are DIFFERENT than men and younger women.  Things that work for other people are likely to make things WORSE for you right now.  

3.  We cannot afford to waste time with-fast fix weight loss schemes that will likely cost us precious bone and muscle, cause us to gain belly fat, and can even cause us to become more at risk for heart attack and stroke. 

Everything in How to Powerup Peri/menopause: the Complete Guide and the Powerup and Reset Program are designed for women in Perimenopause and Menopause to:

• Help you feel better RIGHT NOW
• Find your best health and make it last a lifetime
• Lose stubborn fat, especially in the belly
• Increase or preserve bone and muscle, the key to aging well
• Keep our cortisol levels down
• Decrease inflammation

If you have previously struggled to make real health changes stick, these are the programs for you. 

Instead of presenting a bunch of information and leaving you overwhelmed, with no idea how to apply it to your life, BOTH COURSES are filled with BEHAVIOR CHANGE strategy, tips and tricks, and realistic advice that walk you through how to apply everything successfully into your life and maintain it for the long term. 

These programs have been changing the lives of so many women.  Why not let it be you?

Click here to take a look at these two programs

Select the course you want to know more about and click on FREE PREVIEW to read and watch lessons from the courses and see which one is right for you!