Fit And Sexy for Life The Hormone-free Plan for Staying Slim, Strong, And Fabulous in Your Forties, Fifties, And Beyond

1 Your Changing Body A HeadtoToe Guide One thing that I have learned about getting older is that every woman's experience is unique. For some, it can come with a tremendous sense of freedomfreedom from menstrual periods, childrearing responsibilities, and worries about unintended pregnancy. For others, it can be filled with feelings of sadness, anxiety, shame, and lossthe loss of our fertility, our femininity, our figures, and our looks. Likewise, there's a lot of variability when it comes to the physical and emotional side effects. Approximately 75 percent of women report some troublesome symptoms, but the type and severity can vary drastically from one to the next. For example, some women are plagued by night sweats and insomnia, while others never have a single hot flash or lose a wink of sleep. Some start noticing a change in their periods as early as their thirties, while others continue having regular menstrual cycles until they're well into their fifties. I have to admit that before I started working on this book, menopause was a bit of a mystery to me. I really didn't know what to expect, or how it might affect me, and that was just fine. I vaguely remember my mom going through it, though I didn't realize the significance at the time. And of course, when you're younger, it's the furthest thing from your mind. But now that I'm on the brink of perimenopause myself, I realize that it's important to understand what's happening to my body. After all, knowledge is the key to staying healthy and getting through the changes that lie ahead. Demystifying Menopause Literally speaking, menopause is the time in your life when you stop having menstrual periods.Menocomes from the Latin word meaning "lasting a month";pausecomes from the Greek word with the same meaning. In other words, a pause in monthly events. But it really isn't an event that occurs suddenly, without any warning, as the definition implies. Rather, for most women, it's a change that happens gradually over a period of years. The first stage of menopause, known asperimenopause, is when the changes and symptoms typically start. During this time, your ovaries begin producing lessestrogenandprogesteronehormones that play important roles in ovulation and menstruation. Estrogen causes theendometrium(the lining of the uterus) to start to thicken in preparation for a fertilized egg. Progesterone prepares the lining of the uterus for the implantation of a fertilized egg. If a fertilized egg does not reach the uterus, the endometrium is shed as a menstrual period. As their estrogen and progesterone levels drop, most women notice their menstrual cycles becoming irregular. You may skip a period, or experience lighter, heavier, shorter, or longer flows than usual. This shift in hormones also affects other organs and systems in your body. The result can be disturbing side effects including hot flashes, headaches, mood swings, and forgetfulness. It also may cause problems such as achy joints, urinary incontinence, and vaginal dryness. Throughout perimenopausewhich can start as early as your thirties and last up to ten years or moreyour levels of estrogen and progesterone continue to decline until your menstrual cycle stops for good. Once twelve months have passed since your last period, you've reached menopause. On average, this stage occurs between ages fifty and fiftyone, but it can also happen much sooner or later. You're likely to go through menopause around the same time that your mother, grandmother, or sister did, give or take a few years. In the final stage of menopause, whicKaehler, Kathy is the author of 'Fit And Sexy for Life The Hormone-free Plan for Staying Slim, Strong, And Fabulous in Your Forties, Fifties, And Beyond', published 2007 under ISBN 9780767916189 and ISBN 0767916182.