It seems funny to write about menopause ten years later after going through the infamous change, but it’s something I feel could be beneficial to many women. I am almost 62 years old, and I went through menopause when I was 51. I never got the night sweats as bad as many women have, but I did deal with mood swings, fatigue, and weight gain, which was awful. Despite working out regularly, losing belly fat seemed impossible, and it lead to depression. How could I feel otherwise? I was doing everything in my power to try and stay in shape, but despite my efforts, the weight wouldn’t budge.
When I would travel to Asia with my husband Jeff, local women would ridicule me because of my weight, not knowing what I was going through. It especially happened in Cambodia, but ironically, the women who made fun of me were in no position to make comments, because many of them were rather robust themselves. One time in the Philippines, I got a foot massage, and the masseuse told me that my legs were heavy, and how I needed to start jogging or walking. I was quite offended but proceeded to tell her with a sneer that I need powerful legs in order to do kickboxing. That shut her up rather quickly, but needless to say, she didn’t get a tip. The only tip she really deserved was never put down a kickboxing post-menopausal woman, because it could potentially become detrimental to one’s health. Seriously though, I’m not one to get physical, but it’s times like this when having a sense of humor helps me to cope with the involuntary changes that were taking place in my body.
I remember being a former fitness competitor back in my late 30’s. My fitness had reached its peak, and I was exactly where I needed to be. I felt on top of the world, like nothing could ever take me down, but I was wrong. I began dealing with fluctuating weight I would say, starting in my 40’s. I would gain some weight, but after making dietary changes and working out more, it would come off. When I started perimenopause, I quickly noticed that losing weight became more difficult, despite changing my diet, and that’s when I knew I was about to hit a brick wall head on. Despite having a hard time losing weight, I never gave up exercising. I did get frustrated, but I also knew that if I quit exercising, I would gain a lot more weight, making matters worse. I was still fit, but I had that extra weight to lose.
To all those women out there who struggle with weight loss, just know that you are not alone, and please never allow negative people to get you down. Whenever others put you down, it only makes them look bad.