Do you remember the movie "Hulk"? Do you remember when he was morphing into the Hulk he went through all kinds of weird things? Like he always ripped out of his clothes and went a little crazy?
I know that most people call what I am going through "pre-menopause", but I call it morphing into a crone. Actually there is a movement to change the word crone to a positive. All the old ladies in our lives that we were afraid to cross because they would eat us alive with a few words, I am becoming one of them. Not on purpose, just like the Hulk, it is just something that takes over your body.
There are times when things calm down a bit and I look around at the damage around me and wonder what the heck happened? Did I really say those things? Did I really just buy that thing? Did I really just eat all that? It is almost like being pregnant only worse!
Don't get me wrong I have always looked forward to this time in my life. I was really just excited to be done with the whole cycle thing to tell you the truth. But I never realized the price I would have to pay to be done with the cycle thing.
I have never been close to another woman who went through the great morphing. I had moved out of the house by the time my mother experienced it, I do vaguely remember her going a bit nutsy there for awhile, which she denies. In fact did you know that until the fifties the biggest percentage of people in the looney bin were women over fifty? Pretty scary ha?
In the meantime I will try to come to grips with this new body I am morphing into, it is not too different really. I have just added a couple of saddle bags that were never there before. And then there is the really thin skin. Like I tell my daughter who loves to pop zits, be careful don't tear my skin. The only thing I really have any control over at this point is the gray, which I try and keep in check.
The good news is that unlike the hulk I have not been ripping my clothes off, yet!
Showing posts with label menopause. Show all posts
Showing posts with label menopause. Show all posts
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
WORKOUT FOR HEALTH
I found the following article on Spark People and figured I would share it with those of you who are in this boat, or even getting close to getting in this boat.
I'm not really sure if I am in this boat, but I guess judging by my age it should be pouncing on me anytime now! I'm not looking forward to it at all, just to it being done.
An Active Approach to Managing Menopause
Get Moving to Relieve Discomfort
-- By Rebecca Pratt, Staff Writer
"You’ve heard the jokes and the horror stories. But often, faced with the onset of menopause, most of us don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Luckily, if you’re determined to stay fit—or get fit— there’s no time like perimenopause to begin a sensible physical regimen.
Physical activity, the most effective alternative therapy available for women who experience menopausal symptoms, allows women to manage both their bodies and emotions. When you exercise, your adrenal glands are stimulated to convert the male hormone androstenedione into estrogen. Just four 30-minute exercise sessions per week are enough to keep you "topped off" with estrogen.
Regular exercise can benefit you in a number of ways as you pass through menopause: strengthening your heart and bones, avoiding or minimizing weight gain, improving your mood and sense of overall well-being. It also reduces the duration and intensity of those infamous hot flashes. In a recent Swedish study, researchers found that postmenopausal women who exercised were able to handle menopause without Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); in fact, some of them did not experience hot flashes at all. Other studies have found similar beneficial results, including mood elevation in pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women. Indeed, studies have shown that regular physical activity benefits not only women going through natural menopause but also those on HRT.
On the other hand, being sedentary as you approach menopause opens you up to a host of potential problems. Sedentary women are far more prone to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity; they’re also more likely to suffer stiffness and chronic back pain, irregularity, poor circulation, shortness of breath, weak muscles, depression, and sleep disturbances. Walking, jogging, dancing, swimming, biking and other aerobic activities help circumvent these problems. What’s more, studies have shown that women engaging in aerobic activity or strength training have reduced mortality from cancer.
Being active will also help you keep osteoporosis at bay—thus lowering the risk of bone fractures in your later years—since bones diminish in size and strength if you’re inactive. Because exercise stimulates the cells that help generate new bone tissue, bone mass lost through disuse can be re-built with weight-bearing activity. In fact, even postmenopausal women can help preserve bone mass in their spine with regular exercise.
Physical activity also raises the level of endorphins in the blood, enhancing your mood and allowing you to respond positively in the face of stress. Partly the result of estrogen in a woman’s body, these "feel-good" biochemicals also help regulate body temperature—which in turn can diminish the frequency and intensity of hot flashes. In one study of postmenopausal women who were physically active, severe hot
flashes and night sweats were only half as common.
Last, but certainly not least, regular exercise may allow you to maintain better mental agility by increasing the amount of oxygen delivered to the brain. A study comparing older women who were sedentary with older women who exercised regularly for four months, found that the active group processed information faster when tested. In addition, exercise may slow down the loss of dopamine, a neurotransmitter which helps prevent shaking and stiffness that come with old age.
What type of exercise routine should you plan if you’re gearing up for (or going through) menopause? Generally there are three components to a healthy routine: appropriate stretching exercises to improve and maintain flexibility, resistance training to delay loss of bone and muscle tissue, and aerobic activity that will strengthen your overall health and help you maintain a sensible weight.
The bottom line is that whether you crave solitude and independence on an early morning walk or an exercise class that’s always a social occasion, you’ll be much better prepared to soar through menopause if you’re taking care of the body you’re in. You may still have those flashes— but they may be warm rather than hot, and a lot easier to endure!
I'm not really sure if I am in this boat, but I guess judging by my age it should be pouncing on me anytime now! I'm not looking forward to it at all, just to it being done.
An Active Approach to Managing Menopause
Get Moving to Relieve Discomfort
-- By Rebecca Pratt, Staff Writer
"You’ve heard the jokes and the horror stories. But often, faced with the onset of menopause, most of us don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Luckily, if you’re determined to stay fit—or get fit— there’s no time like perimenopause to begin a sensible physical regimen.
Physical activity, the most effective alternative therapy available for women who experience menopausal symptoms, allows women to manage both their bodies and emotions. When you exercise, your adrenal glands are stimulated to convert the male hormone androstenedione into estrogen. Just four 30-minute exercise sessions per week are enough to keep you "topped off" with estrogen.
Regular exercise can benefit you in a number of ways as you pass through menopause: strengthening your heart and bones, avoiding or minimizing weight gain, improving your mood and sense of overall well-being. It also reduces the duration and intensity of those infamous hot flashes. In a recent Swedish study, researchers found that postmenopausal women who exercised were able to handle menopause without Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); in fact, some of them did not experience hot flashes at all. Other studies have found similar beneficial results, including mood elevation in pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women. Indeed, studies have shown that regular physical activity benefits not only women going through natural menopause but also those on HRT.
On the other hand, being sedentary as you approach menopause opens you up to a host of potential problems. Sedentary women are far more prone to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity; they’re also more likely to suffer stiffness and chronic back pain, irregularity, poor circulation, shortness of breath, weak muscles, depression, and sleep disturbances. Walking, jogging, dancing, swimming, biking and other aerobic activities help circumvent these problems. What’s more, studies have shown that women engaging in aerobic activity or strength training have reduced mortality from cancer.
Being active will also help you keep osteoporosis at bay—thus lowering the risk of bone fractures in your later years—since bones diminish in size and strength if you’re inactive. Because exercise stimulates the cells that help generate new bone tissue, bone mass lost through disuse can be re-built with weight-bearing activity. In fact, even postmenopausal women can help preserve bone mass in their spine with regular exercise.
Physical activity also raises the level of endorphins in the blood, enhancing your mood and allowing you to respond positively in the face of stress. Partly the result of estrogen in a woman’s body, these "feel-good" biochemicals also help regulate body temperature—which in turn can diminish the frequency and intensity of hot flashes. In one study of postmenopausal women who were physically active, severe hot
flashes and night sweats were only half as common.
Last, but certainly not least, regular exercise may allow you to maintain better mental agility by increasing the amount of oxygen delivered to the brain. A study comparing older women who were sedentary with older women who exercised regularly for four months, found that the active group processed information faster when tested. In addition, exercise may slow down the loss of dopamine, a neurotransmitter which helps prevent shaking and stiffness that come with old age.
What type of exercise routine should you plan if you’re gearing up for (or going through) menopause? Generally there are three components to a healthy routine: appropriate stretching exercises to improve and maintain flexibility, resistance training to delay loss of bone and muscle tissue, and aerobic activity that will strengthen your overall health and help you maintain a sensible weight.
The bottom line is that whether you crave solitude and independence on an early morning walk or an exercise class that’s always a social occasion, you’ll be much better prepared to soar through menopause if you’re taking care of the body you’re in. You may still have those flashes— but they may be warm rather than hot, and a lot easier to endure!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)