Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades
First published at www.menomission.com in November 2012 http://menopausemission.com/effort-and-patience-the-crucial-keys-to-menopausal-health
This is the first of a series on changing your life step by step during menopause. Look for the next article, Menopausal Healthy Holiday Season.
How serious are you about feeling better and overcoming the physical, mental and psychological changes that go along with menopause? This is the question you have to ask yourself, and if you truly want to feel good again, keep reading. If you are going to be selective and not going to put in the effort to work on every aspect of your life stop reading here, don’t waste your time, you are likely to continue feeling bad. There are no short cuts to a healthy life, so know that when you put 100% effort in getting your body in balance you will see results. You just need a little patience, results will not be seen overnight.
You’ve probably heard this 100 times, but it’s true; sugar, fried foods, caffeine, spicy foods, processed foods, alcohol, stress, lack of exercise, and hormonal changes do not mix during menopause. As your hormones begin to change during menopause your body’s ability to work efficiently to s, reduce hot flashesremove toxin and sweats, have a strong immune system, cope with your emotions, sleep, control your bladder, have strong bones, reduce muscle and joint pain, and keep a small waist are decreased. As you begin to see each menopausal symptom, if you are not doing something to counter them, you are guaranteed to have more problems as each new symptom unfolds. If your life is bombarded by stress, some of these symptoms will escalate even more.
When menopause symptoms begin in your life it is crucial to be pro-active in taking steps to your wellness in order to feel like your normal self again. Some key things to kick start your body include changing your diet by eating clean whole foods that will not trigger menopause symptoms (nothing processed), get more sleep (at least seven hours/day), find ways to cope with your stress (yoga, exercise with light weights, meditation, getting in touch with your spiritual life), take baths in Epsom’s salts with your favorite essential oil to detoxify and help circulation, and practice kegels exercises to decrease incontinence.
Having a healthy balanced lifestyle is also crucial if you truly want to see results from any medication, calcium pills and natural supplements such as VIVACA (www.vivica.net) you may be prescribed by your doctor or health practitioner. The combination of lifestyle changes, prescribed medication, and supplements helps to decrease and even completely stop menopausal symptoms. Generally it takes up to three months to see a significant positive change in your body when such changes are made. Just know that once you do start to feel better, don’t assume it’s ok to cheat and indulge yourself in any of your old bad habits without feeling the negative repercussions. You may end up starting from square one again. If you don’t want to change your lifestyle, it’s almost a waste of time to take medications and supplements because they are more effective when you stop doing the things and eating food that triggers menopausal symptoms. Some medications simply mask what is going on inside your body, which can only be changed by making positive changes in your lifestyle.
Stay on a healthy path, when you start to feel good use it as incentive to maintain making healthy choices in your lifestyle and to continue feeling good. All areas of your life need to be worked on and balanced for medications and supplements to be effective quickly. It’s hard work in the beginning, but with a little patience and a consistent routine, your new lifestyle will become easier and your menopause symptoms will slowly fade away.
Photo Credit: By Keattikorn at Freedigitalphotos.net