Weight Gain: What does menopause have to do with it?
Weight gain in midlife…
What does menopause have to do with it?!
Perhaps less than you think.
So before blaming menopause for all of your recent or longstanding weight gain, consider your health habits in these four areas for a second:
Sleep, Food, Mood, and Exercise.
These are just four small words that have a huge impact on our lives.
In fact, you need each one to be working well independently, as well as collectively, if you want to live the healthiest and happiest life possible.
Why are your sleep, food, mood, and exercise habits so important?
First of all, the mind and body are connected.
When we’re not sleeping well or our stress level is high, we’re not getting enough regular physical activity or we’re not eating healthy, we’re not at our best – we look and feel tired and overwhelmed.
Your sleep, food, mood, and exercise habits are connected with one another.
In other words, when one area is lacking, the other areas are affected as well.
Over time, this can lead to a downward spiral.
Let’s take a minute to see where you are today – what’s going well, what’s not going well, and everything in between.
Take a moment to rate yourself on your current health habits based on these criteria:
Sleep: “I get 7.5-8.5 hours of quality sleep each night.”
Food: “I eat healthy, whole foods in an appropriate quantity.”
Mood: “I tend to carry around little stress.”
Exercise: “I am physically active on a regular basis.”
Based on the criteria above, put an “X” in the appropriate box according to where you are right now:
If your results were not where you’d like them to be, that is, all in the Excellent or Good categories, not to worry.
Ready to make a healthy change that LASTS?
Take my quick and easy 7 question quiz to see just “how” ready you really are:
It’s not easy to take an honest look in the mirror, but it is the first step that’s going to propel you to make some changes, if that’s what you want to do.
If you want to improve these areas, you can get started today by figuring out what it would look like for you to score an Excellent in each area.
Don’t worry about not being sure how you can there; just take some time to paint a picture of the BEST YOU in these four areas: Sleep, Food, Mood, and Exercise.
Here are some questions to help you get started painting this picture of your healthiest self – not just how you look, but how you would feel and perform.
No need to rush. Take your time on these:
Imagine that you’re getting 7.5-8.5 hours of sleep every night.
How would this specifically improve…
How you look?
How you feel?
How you perform?
Imagine you’re feeding your body healthy, whole foods and you’re also in control of your choices – not eating too much or too little – rather just the right amount for you.
How would this specifically improve…
How you look?
How you feel?
How you perform?
Imagine your day is filled with positive energy and little stress.
How would this specifically improve…
How you look?
How you feel?
How you perform?
Last, but not least, imagine you’re enjoying exercising on a regular basis.
How would this specifically improve…
How you look?
How you feel?
How you perform?
Okay, great work!
Notice that I underlined specifically because the more specific you can get with the vision of your healthiest self, the more likely it is to come about, believe it or not.
Don’t get me wrong.
This doesn’t mean you can wish yourself to thriving health in your fifties, but the clearer your vision, the more motivated and inspired you will be to start taking the smallest action toward achieving it.
Yes, the smallest action.
That’s what I’m all about: small, realistic tweaks to your sleep, food, mood, and exercise habits that you can begin to implement immediately so that you don’t spend another day, month, or year not looking, feeling, or performing at your absolute best.
Now that you’ve completed the first two steps:
- Evaluating where your health habits are currently, and
- Painting a picture of where you want to be
You can’t stop there — you’re already on your way!
It’s time to start moving toward that vision of your healthiest self.
Like I said, I’m about small, manageable changes that you can start doing right away that will create lasting changes.
But, before you start trying to make these changes, I recommend first taking my “7 Crucial Questions” quiz to see how READY you are to making a healthy change that lasts more than a few weeks this time, rather the rest of your life… that is, if you’re done with the short cuts and quick fixes and are determined to create LASTING healthy changes in your life from now on.
Your answers to these questions will help you determine where you are right now on your healthy journey. It’ll only take a minute to answer these questions — time well spent!
I’ll see you inside the “7 Crucial Questions” quiz!
Sara, I love this commitment. You’re making YOU a priority. Investing in yourself is always the best investment because it always yields the best returns. So excited for you, Sara!