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If you have landed on this page, then welcome and hello. As the blog title suggests, this is a shared space for navigating the murky avenue of ‘midlife’.   I created this blog, so that I can share with you, all the weird and wonderful things I have trialled, adopted and dabbled in, during this strange transitioning time of life. My life now, looks 100% opposite, to how it was 5-10 years ago. There was a significant period of change for me and in all honesty, my transforming is still evolving. I’m now in a place where I accept that life is a continuous journey and we all have a story to tell, so that we can share, learn and support each other. Let me get straight to it – my roles have changed, my body (internal and external) have changed, my outlook of life has changed, what I place importance on has changed, my relationships have changed, my relationship with myself has changed and my priorities have changed. Please use this platform to recognise that you are not alone and we...
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Weight Gain in Midlife

Hormones and Weight During peri-menopause, our fluctuating and declining estrogen plays havoc with trying to maintain our baseline weight. This is because it effects the way our bodies store fat. Other reasons are also related to decrease in muscle mass, meaning that our bodies require less calories than before. For some people, this is a time of life when we become less physically active, which will also impact on our weight. Our blood sugars can also be affected as we journey through menopause because hormone changes make our cells more insulin resistant, so it's equally important to consider our sugar intake (as in refined sugar) when exploring dietary needs during this phase of life.  It's not uncommon for ladies who are experiencing hormone imbalances, to suddenly start to notice weight gain but without the joy of all those delicious goodies to show for it. This can be very disheartening and lead women to resort to various 'fad' diets, in a quest to keep weight sta...
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Perimenopause and starting HRT

 Perimenopause Symptoms So, for me personally, I believe that my perimenopause symptoms started in my early 40's. This is when I started to notice some subtle changes in my body. My menstrual cycle started to change a little but it wasn't too significant to warrant any concerns at that stage. Even at these early stages I just 'felt' different. As the years progressed, other symptoms developed and at the time, I didn't link it to perimenopause because I didn't really know much about the wide range of symptoms (other than the traditional hot flushes and changes to menstrual cycle). My symptoms included: ringing in my ears, heart palpitations, brain fog, anxiety, joint pain, low libido, random crying, hair loss, sudden onset of odd allergies and of course changes in menstrual cycle - being irregular and unpredictable. I did actually approach my GP many years ago and questioned if any of my symptoms were related to hormone imbalance but I was told I was too young (b...
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Spiritual Journey in Midlife

Discovering My Spiritual Self I've always considered myself a spiritual person, not in the sense of 'religious' but rather having a deeper sense of something 'bigger' than we can comprehend with our human logical brains. It's only been since my children have grown and I'm no longer preoccupied with the day to day parenting responsibilities, that I've rekindled my curiosity of spirituality and what it means for me now. I started meditating and practicing yoga around 6 years ago and I had some really profound experiences when meditating that triggered a feeling of there being something else, greater than what modern day science could capture. This led me to reading lots of books from renowned individuals that were trying to bridge the gap between science and spirituality. My favourite authors have been: Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Dr Joe Dispenza, Michael Singer and Daniel J Seigel. All of whom, have written and discussed in great detail, concepts relati...
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Exercising in Midlife

Why keeping fit in our Midlife is so important It's no surprise that to hear that exercise is important at any age. However, for us ladies going through peri/menopause, the need to exercise becomes greater. This is because of hormone changes that we are experiencing, that directly impact on our physical health.  Estrogen, is required for preserving bone density, so is basically a key regulator in maintaining bone metabolism. Bones are a living, growing tissue in the body and to enable their continued healthy functioning, they require Estrogen. During peri/menopause, we produce less Estrogen resulting in increased risk of bone density and risk of developing osteoporosis.  Women going through peri/menopause may also experience muscle loss and general joint pain and stiffness, all due to these hormone changes. Although peri/menopause is an inevitable process that all women will go through, there's step we can take to maintain our bone health. Ensuring a well balance diet with hig...
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Sustainable Living

 Living a more eco friendly sustainable life As I've got older, I have definitely become more consciously aware of the impact that our everyday, convenient lifestyles, have on the environment. I'm not here to preach about being more eco friendly, I'm just here to share the small steps I've made to try to contribute to some elements of greener living. By no means be under any illusion that I am the worlds top eco warrior, or anywhere close to that but I have certainly made some small changes that haven't been too difficult or arduous to implement, to do my bit. Plus, I genuinely do care about the state of the planet and all it's habitants which motivates me to want to make change.  What changes have I made: Food I decided to give up meat several years ago now. This was mainly driven by my horror in learning more about animal welfare in relation to food production. I've wrote a little about my dietary changes in a previous post. Not only was I disturbed by the...
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Midlife Hair Loss

Hair loss in Peri/Menopause It's well recognised how reduction in estrogen and progesterone can cause hair to  thin and reduce new growth.  Hormonal imbalance at any stage of life can cause hair loss. For instance, with each of my 3 pregnancies, my hair thinned every time. In all honesty, it never really fully re-grew. It did of course grow back a little but remained very fine. My hairdressers used to always state I had thin hair but a lot of it!!  That's not the case now. Since going through perimenopause, the little bit of regrowth I had after each pregnancy has vanished. There's certain patches on my head that really struggle to grow. These are mainly the top sides of my forehead area and more recently noticed it feels very thin on the back of my head (midway).  The thought of losing my hair is very distressing and with each handful coming out after each wash...that stress just heightens. What a vicious circle....ironic that stress also increases risk of hair loss...
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Dietary Changes in Midlife

  Dietary Changes in Midlife Over the last 4 years, I’ve made significant changes to my diet. There have been varied reasons for this. 1)      I felt I was becoming more conscious of ‘food’ production and did not like what I was learning 2)      I was becoming more ‘in-tune’ with what my body did and did not like (we all have unique chemical make up and what 1 person tolerates well, another may not)!! 3)      My personal ethics and values, shifted in relation to animal welfare 4)       I am trying to live more economically 5)      I am learning more and more about the impact that our ‘food fuel’ has on the way our brain and body functions So what were the changes I made…… Meat Free I stopped eating meat. Once my decision was made, that was it….done!! My decision was based purely around appalling animal welfare….bred for slaughter and often living in disgraceful and ...
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