For a long time it seemed to me that my body would simply cope with everything on its own.
Six hours of sleep? Not a problem.
A stressful week? It will pass.
Less movement? I will make up for it next week.
Cake or a pastry every day? Why not.
After all, that is how we live for years. And most of the time it seems the body takes it all.
Until one day you start to notice that the body no longer takes the overload. The body asks for a different kind of attention.
Menopause does not begin on the day your periods stop
We often think of menopause as one particular moment.
But a woman’s hormonal changes begin much earlier – 7 to 10 years before menopause. During perimenopause hormone levels can fluctuate, and along with them your sleep, mood, energy, menstrual cycle and body weight can change too.
This means you may start to feel the changes at a time when it still seems that:
“Menopause is still a long way off for me.”
After 40 the body has less room for carelessness
This does not mean we have to become perfect. I really do not think that after 40 you have to give up life’s usual pleasures, never have a glass of wine, stop eating sweets or live by a strict schedule.
The more the body has to withstand, the more important its ability to recover becomes.
Hair. Weight. Sleep. Energy.
Sometimes one symptom seems completely unrelated to another.
Why is my hair falling out?
Why is it suddenly so easy to put on weight?
Why do I wake up at night?
Why, after a demanding day, do I feel as if I had run a marathon?
Yet in the body of a middle-aged woman many changes are happening at the same time.
Hormonal fluctuations can affect the hair growth cycle. Body weight can change too. That is influenced not only by hormones but also by natural ageing, muscle mass, activity, sleep and diet.
We wait too long
We wait until our hair starts falling out so much that we can no longer ignore it.
We wait until weight becomes a problem and losing 5 kg is even harder than maintaining the weight we have today.
We wait until test results make us stop and think.
Health should not begin with solving a problem; we should look after our health in order to avoid health problems.
We can start earlier.
Not with a strict diet.
Not with a promise to change your whole life from Monday.
But with the basics.
This is not about a perfect life. It is about a better quality of life tomorrow.
We cannot stop menopause. But we can prepare for it.
Menopause is not an illness.
But we can choose how we meet it.
Will we wait until a problem appears?
Will we start caring for ourselves only when the body already demands attention?
Or will we start a little earlier?
Our aim is not to try to stop time, nor to fight our own body.
It is to learn to understand it better and to give it what it is beginning to need.
Because healthy ageing is not only about how many years we live.
It is about how many of those years we feel strong, energetic, clear-headed and ourselves.
Promise me that today you will ask yourself: WHAT DOES MY BODY NEED, AND WHY DO I FEEL THIS WAY?
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Menopause and andropause: what happens in both bodies after 40 →
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