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Hormones, peri-menopause & more!🙌



Hope that you have all had a great week and a warm welcome to any of you who are receiving my newsletter for the first time.

I started writing the newsletter as a resource and to answer some of the questions that often crop up in class or chatting with friends, so if you have any food/health or exercises questions that you would like to know a little more on, drop me an email and I will try to include and answer in a newsletter.
Well last week’s little piece on hormones really got the conversation going and I suppose with many of us (myself included) being in the women of a certain age bracket 🙂 it was hardly surprising!

So here is a little further health information on “the time of life” that may be helpful to you. The effect that nutrition and lifestyle choices can have around this time of our lives can make a big difference to managing symptoms.

The female menopause is technically just 1 day – the last day of the last period. The time leading up to this is known as “Perimenopause” and can last for up to 10 years. During this time there are lots of subtle shifts going on in our bodies, often barely noticeable but for some, quite problematic.

Wildly fluctuating hormone levels can cause symptoms such as night sweats, hot flushes, mood swings & inability to lose weight amongst a long list of others.

Many ladies, in desperation, will turn to HRT which for many will just make the situation worse. Often it is not the declining oestrogen levels that are the problem but the rapid drop off of Progesterone compared to Oestrogen.

It’s not all doom and gloom though and just a natural part of our life cycle. If we take care of ourselves, balance our hormone and blood sugar levels through what we put into our mouths and the lifestyle choices that we make, things can be a whole lot easier.

My Top Tips are:

*Manage stress and sugar levels.

Adrenals are the glands that produce cortisol, a stress hormone. However, in menopause, the adrenals take over hormone production from the ovaries, which go into retirement. Too much stress (and sugar) equals too much cortisol. If your adrenals have been over-loaded to produce cortisol in your 20s and 30s, they won’t be able to maintain optimal hormone levels in menopause. This in turn puts extra stress on the liver which is a disaster (see blogpost Love your Liver for more information on this).

You can help support your adrenal health by minimizing your sugar and caffeine intake, nourishing the endocrine system with the right kinds of food and taking time out to relax and minimise stress.

* Watch the alcohol.

Alcohol is the ultimate sugar buzz — and as we know, anything that raises blood sugar could increase cortisol. Remember, overproduction of cortisol stresses the adrenal glands. You also metabolize alcohol less efficiently as you age.

*Exercise

Exercise is undoubtedly a big part of a healthy life. It’s never too late to start, but the sooner you find something that you enjoy and stick to it, the healthier you’ll be during perimenopause. And remember exercise is a great stress buster, so its a win win situation.

* Make sure you’re getting good fats, fibre and protein.

You need nutrition on a cellular level in order to build your hormones and neurotransmitters. If your diet consists of processed, sugary foods , your body isn’t going to have what it needs to carry out its advanced functions, like proper hormone signaling. Yes, it will keep you functioning, but not at an optimal level and this is where many of the symptoms start to show up.

At every meal, make sure you’re getting healthy fats, fibre and quality protein along with the healthy carbs, the very principles we work through on the SSS programme.

Other News
So we are almost into week 4 on the current SSS course and all ready for the weigh out & measure on Wednesday. So time to pull out all the stops, finish strong and give it your all this weekend for great results!

The next course begins the week after half term, Weds. 21st February This is a 6 week course leading up to Easter (eek), so a great time to Spring into shape.

Bookings and payments for the SSS course can now be made online here or contact me asap if you have any questions.

Have a happy, healthy and active week

Marie 🙂 x

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