Menopause

There was an article in the Chicago Tribune the other day that I could really relate to. It seems the more weight we gain, and the rounder we become, because of our hormonal changes, really affects our self esteem. This article was about a study they did out of the Rush University Medical Center. They called it the WISHFIT study, and it involved women in menopause.

The Medical Center started a program to hopefully motivate women in perimenopause, to take time for themselves, and to exercise. The center was concerned about the rising risks associated with these women's "visceral fat" or belly fat, brought on by hormonal changes. Because of their growing waist line and weight, the women were more prone to heart disease and diabetes.

With grant funding from the National Institute of Health the first group of women were paid money to go out and exercise. The other group of women in the study underwent a "positive framing" program. WISHFIT was to be a motivator to live a healthier lifestyle, by getting family, friends and neighbors involved. These women of the second group were also encouraged to think about physical activity as being "fun". The Center believed that with this support group, these women would be able to eat healthy, decrease their stress and be more physically active. The end results, they hoped, would also be weight loss for both groups.

At the end of the first round of this study, they found that the results of both groups were very similar. Why? One group was being paid to exercise, and the other group had lots of support from family and friends. What was similar in both groups?

Even with all of this motivation in place, the women in both studies were shown to be so overscheduled and wrapped up in the lives of their family members, that they didn't have the time to exercise. They also struggled to find time to spend on themselves. And lastly, and most telling, is the fact that they also didn't view their needs as being important. So even though these women had been encouraged, using different forms of incentive, these women always put themselves on the back burner.

From personal experience, I know that we feel like we do not matter. Everything and everyone in our live is more important than us. And as our body changes, and becomes heavier and rounder, we feel like we even matter, less. And our thoughts are that we are even less worthy.

There are 100 million of us world wide. Our pre menopause, menopause and post menopause stage is made up of almost half of our years, alive. By changing this attitude of not being worthy, as well as taking time to help ourselves be healthier, we can take better care of the people we love, because we love ourselves more.

Take the time for you today. Feel better because you spent a part of your day showing yourself that you are unique, and beautiful and so worth it. Why, because you are!

Corby Campbell Shields
Co-Author Menopause Master Plan
http://www.menopausemasterplan.com/

View the original article here

Wow, seriously! More than 60% of American women of all ages do not do the recommended amount of exercise as prescribed by the U.S. Surgeon General. And 25-40 % of women in America, as well as up to 56% of Canadian women, between the ages of 45-65, are doing nothing, absolutely nothing, at all. I bet there is a lot of other unhealthy news though out the rest of the globe; I am just not that familiar with those statistics.

No wonder menopausal women are sick and tired of being sick and tired. How are our unused and abused bodies going to function and keep us healthy and going for the next 30-50 years, if we don't do a thing to help our poor bodies out?

It's like owning a car; and you never change the oil, always give it crappy gas and never get a tune up. And then you expect that car to just run, well, with no problems, for miles and miles.

We need to treat our bodies like the best friend that it truly is...with love respect, and care. You might be saying, "Not that, I am exhausted, and I can't try and deal with this demand on my time, too". What if exercise was the pill that could make you feel better?

Think exercise won't help with anything you are going though...I bet it will and can:

- Exercise gives you more energy
- Exercise helps you to sleep
- Exercise helps counter anxiety and depression
- Exercise helps you to relax
- Exercise helps you cope with stress
- Exercise improves your self-image
- Exercise gives you an opportunity to socialize and meet new friends

Did you notice anything in that list that might sound like how you feel?? Your body is crying out for a little help here. Stronger muscles aid that 'Bestie" body in a lot of ways.

When bone is stressed though weight bearing exercise, it increases bone mass and reduces bone loss. So it helps with osteoporosis.

When you increase in your muscle mass, that reduces the amount of fat you carry, and your body does a better job of burning calories.

When you add strength and flexibility exercises to your life, it helps decrease your risk of falls, it also increases your stability. Less injuries and less chronic pain is a good thing.

Stronger muscles protect us from injury during normal daily activities. Everything from gardening, lifting, or vacuuming becomes easier.

Core exercises strengthen the muscles in your abdomen and back, helping to prevent low back pain. These exercises also help to improve your posture.

My back used to hurt all the time, why? Because the muscles in my back and stomach were so out of shape, they were doing nothing to support my frame and my bones. So one wrong twist or lift, and I was down flat and out of commission for a number of days.

Once I decided to strengthen all those core muscles, wallah, my back doesn't hurt anymore. My knee was truly wacked too, same deal, out of shape, no muscle strength, and now it works better than it has in years.

Sure, it's hard to get motivated to get out there.. But I bet once you get going, you are really going to be glad you did. And you will feel so much better, mentally and physically because you did something.

Seriously, this is really good for you.....THERAPY.

Grab a girlfriend,, take off and dish your heart out, while you walk around the park.

Join an exercise dance class and go 3 times a week after work. This is a great way to blow off steam, and work on your sexy.

How about water aerobics...if its 100 degrees or 10, you can still be in the heated water moving that body. (Sweating and hot flashes don't have much effect on you in this exercise...nice!)

I do some of my best thinking when I am out on a hike. Something about that time alone, thinking, gives me another way to look at a problem, and usually, find a solution.

I am asking you to do something for YOU, pretty please?

If your best friend asked for help, you would be there in a heart beat, right? Guess what, your heartbeat needs you to be there, for it, and the rest of you.

Corby Campbell Shields
Co-Author Menopause Master Plan
http:///www.menopausemasterplan.com

View the original article here

There are benefits from exercise for practically any condition or state you can name - including menopause. In fact, exercise is the ultimate 'state' changer to move you away from any negative state to feeling more positive and energized.

Depressed? Anxious? Get out of the house and go for a walk. Bored? Irritable? Hungry? Exercise is a great distraction. Regular, daily exercise actually prevents hot flashes and seems to clear out the cobwebs of brain fog, prevent insomnia, and contribute towards maintaining a healthy weight by increasing your metabolism!

Exercise increases your energy level and helps you look and feel younger. It helps reduce stress and reduces your risk of developing chronic diseases.

Exercise gets your entire body gets into action. Your lungs bring in fresh oxygen to energize all your cells. Your heart and blood flow speed up and all organs are bathed in newly oxygenated blood. Your lymph system clears out waste. You feel invigorated and alive.

Our bones continually break down and are rebuilt. With age this system of bone repairing slows down. By working out with weights, no matter what our age you can stimulate bone growth and reduce your risk of osteoporosis.

Making exercise a priority is another area where women tend to put themselves last. 'I'll exercise if I have time," many of us rationalize. But it's like anything else in our busy lives, unless you commit to it and schedule it for a specific time in your daily calendar, it's unlikely to happen.

I'm a latecomer to developing the habit of regular exercise. In fact, I consider myself to be a recovering "exercise-phobe". Well, I'm not afraid of exercise, I just never made a strong commitment to doing it regularly. This last time I approached it differently. I wrote in my journal about why I want to exercise: I wrote about my positive and negative experiences with exercise when I was younger to see what type of exercise I would enjoy most, and I wrote about what was in my way now.

One of my biggest concerns was the amount of time exercise takes. I finally concluded that my health and wellness is worth the effort to fit it in. I had periodic menopause challenges that included brain fog and mood swings and I knew that they would be improved or prevented with regular exercise. Also, I knew that being accountable is a motivator for me, so I decided to view regular exercise for myself as part of 'walking the talk' and being in integrity for my business as a holistic health practitioner and healthy lifestyle coach.

The keys to sticking with an exercise routine are to choose something you enjoy, and commit to doing it at a specific time and frequency. That's what I did and it feels great to have finally made a serious commitment to regular exercise. Now, I do water aerobics with weight training exercises three times a week and yoga on Saturdays. I use my rebounder and go for walks with my husband too.

Studies show that regular exercise:

improves your chances of living longerimproves quality of lifereduces the risk of heart diseasehelps lower high blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterolhelps protect you from developing cancer - especially of the colon or breasthelps prevent or control type 2 diabetesreduces the risk of arthritis and alleviates associated symptomshelps prevent osteoporosis (gradual loss of bone mass/strength)helps increase the formation of lean muscle, which we lose naturally as we ageimproves mobility and strength in later lifealleviates symptoms of depression, anxiety and menopause!benefits weight reduction and weight management - especially when combined with nutritional cleansing to remove toxinshelps keep you happy by generating mood-enhancing endorphins

Different types of exercise offer different benefits and the latest research findings on fat loss recommend that you incorporate both into your exercise routine. Aerobic or cardio workouts primarily improve the cardiovascular system (heart, lungs), while weight-training or strength-training improves muscular strength and flexibility. Stretching exercises improve overall mobility and coordination.

The benefits of exercise can be accomplished with a brisk walk that includes interval sprints, or a leisurely stroll that ends in a session with some weights. You can use a rebounder, like I do for better circulation, immune system stimulation and a multitude of other benefits.

The recommended amount of daily exercise is 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (a brisk walk) on most days of the week. You can do all 30 minutes at once or break it up into 10- or 15-minute periods. Studies have shown significant health benefits from brisk walking for just 15 minutes a day!

If you want to lose weight, you'll need to increase your brisk walk to 45 to 60 minutes a day, adjust your calorie intake and do a nutritional cleanse to help your body release toxins and extra body fat that protects your organs from toxic damage.

Regular exercise is another healthy lifestyle choice to help you thrive during menopause and beyond.

Wendy Vineyard is a holistic health practitioner, lifestyle coach and wellness journalist. She specializes in inspiring and empowering women to thrive during menopause naturally - without drugs or added hormones. Are natural remedies the best way to handle your menopause transition? You decide. http://www.naturalmenopausenow.com/ - http://www.facebook.com/NaturalMenopauseNow

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