Episode 91: Body Image and Weight Gain with Lisa G - Mini Menopause Pod Series
Welcome to our mini menopause series with nutritionist and health coach Lisa G where we chat about some individual aspects of the menopause.
Or as we’re calling it Four Short Dives from Two Short Divas.
First up: Body Image and Perimenopause.
We discuss the mind**** nature of our bodies changing, when there’s nothing you can do about it.
Hormonal fluctuations. Embracing the change. Ways to get in touch with your body. Seeing menopause as a wonderful opportunity for a new beginning.
And there’s an extra add on where Lisa asks me some personal questions!
Lisa is offering a free 20 min consultation, you can find her contact details on her website.
EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:
[01:01] - Understanding Perimenopause and Weight Gain
[03:58] - Body Image Challenges During Menopause
[06:12] - Embracing the Menopausal Journey
[07:25] - Top Tips for Connecting with Your Body
[09:44] - Recognising Perimenopause Symptoms
[11:05] - Personal Experiences and Advice
[11:36] - Q&A: Relationship with Food and Menstrual Cycle
CONNECT WITH LISA G:
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!
If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know your thoughts on Instagram @lovethisfoodthing and consider leaving an honest review and rating for the show - we’d be extremely grateful.
WAYS WE CAN HELP YOU:
EPISODE #91 TRANSCRIPT: Body Image and Weight Gain with Lisa G - Mini Menopausal Pod Series
Jemma: Welcome back to Love This Food thing for number one of four bite-size menopausal pods with nutritionist and health coach Lisa G. Hello. Hello. It's lovely to be here. Why are we doing these? That's not a question for you. I'm gonna answer it right away. Rhetorical. Well, if have a history of eating disorders like me, or if you still have food stuff going on, the menopausal years can be even more.
Challenging, and we think that fundamentally women want to know about weight, mood, and sex. So first up is weight gain in perimenopause and body image, and as I am. As I have done before, I'm gonna set a pinger. Is that all right Lisa? That's great. Gonna set a pinger and when the pinger goes off, we're gonna stop talking.
Otherwise we'll just witter on endlessly. We'll be here till tomorrow. Exactly. Okay, so I'm gonna set the pinger go. There we go. So perimenopause kind of crept up on me, Lisa. Okay. And I had, uh, plenty of symptoms. I know we're repeating what happens in your podcast episode, but this is for kind of like a new audience.
So, and I suddenly, and for someone who'd struggled with body image and weight until that point all my life, suddenly I put on a lot of weight and my middle, the middle of my body thickened. Yeah. And. I started having felt very well and recovered from what in my eating disorders. I suddenly felt myself become disembodied again.
And I really struggled for the first three or four years. I think I told you before, I just wore black trousers with an elastic band as a waste. So what can we, what would you like to say about
Lisa: that? I think it's a really, um. Challenging time for women, especially if they don't understand what's going on, what is going on, what is going on.
There's a whole host of stuff going on. Um, you've got your main sex hormones, your estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and what's happening in these, in the perimenopausal. They are fluctuating. So they're going estrogen rises, progesterone's going down, estrogen goes down, progesterone goes down, testosterone goes up.
So with that massive vicious hormonal cycle, naturally comes the changes. Okay. So. With regards to the weight gain, maybe around the middle. You, you, you mentioned. Yeah. So when we go through menopause, our, our body shape changes. We, we were sort of more pair like
Jemma: Yes, because your, everything that was in your ovaries Yeah.
Is all, all the hormones that were in your ovaries. 'cause your ovaries are no longer. Gonna function. Yeah. The hormones get stored in the fat areas of your body. Exactly. In your balm, your thighs, upper arms. Exactly. So
Lisa: we, we, we, we change to more like an apple shape. Okay. In menopause. So. E lowering estrogen affects our metabolic rate.
Okay. Do you know, shall I explain to you what the metabolic rate is? Do understand metabolism? Yeah. We all understand. Okay. The rate at which you burn energy. Exactly. Yeah. So that changes our muscle. Lean muscle changes and muscle is a metabolic organ. Okay? We gain more, um, weight around the middle, and then we gain what we call visceral fat.
The visceral fat is fat that is around our organs. You can't see visceral fat, and that becomes central, which is why women lose that pear shape. Mm. And some women become straight. Okay. So these are the natural changes that happen, but on the journey that you have been through and many of your listeners have been through, dealing with that change in body image is, I'm not gonna swear on here because, oh, do I love swearing?
It's a mind F,
Jemma: yeah. Yeah. It is a mind because myself and many other women, I have heard saying. It's like you wake up and you are in a different body. It's like, who am I? Yeah. I looked in the mirror. Yeah. And I saw my grandfather staring back at me. Yeah. I it, my face changed. My body changed, yeah. Apart from all the other symptoms that I had, and it was really, really challenging.
Yeah. And I just want to say, why didn't I go downhill? Because I'd done enough work beforehand. Yeah. So that I was very stable. Yeah. So I could kind of weather the storm. Yeah. But what happens if you haven't? What happens if you've still got your issues going on? And then I think it's, this happens, I think
Lisa: it's really important.
I think as I explained to you previously in the, in the podcast, my journey mm-hmm. To menopause. Yep. Um, and it was an incredibly lonely time. Because no one explained to me what was gonna happen. And how I dealt with that was seeking support from someone, whether it was an accountability buddy, a friend, or going to speak to someone.
Because being in that lonely space when you are going through stuff and you don't recognize who is looking back at you in the mirror. It can lead to a very slippery slope.
Jemma: I think also, and this isn't very pleasant, but it works. 'cause Lisa and I were talking about the feeling of being disembodied so out of your body, and particularly if you've had any kind of eating disorder history or issues, then you will have worked really hard.
Yeah. To feel m bodied. Yeah. Is not to then take it out on yourself. Absolutely. It's learn to sit. It's learn
Lisa: to sit in this
Jemma: new body and
Lisa: feel how you feel. Exactly. And it's not about, you know, you go through menopause and it's like, like, oh God, I've gone through menopause. Everything's really bad. Mm. It's about learning to embrace this new journey because it's a natural biological change that if you are fortunate enough to reach that age is absolutely gonna happen.
Jemma: Also, we touched on this before, but I can't emphasize this enough, is that menopause is like a adolescence, but with years of wisdom and experience. Absolutely. And you get this incredible opportunity and I think this gets missed 'cause we get so caught up in the symptoms, this incredible opportunity to start again.
Absolutely slightly clean. It's it's, it's a
Lisa: new reborn, it's a transition and it doesn't mean that it's a negative transition. And it's why lots of women start
Jemma: saying, I just don't care anymore. I'm just gonna do what I want, say what I want, and I think behave how I want, dress, how I want. I think
Lisa: that's really, really important.
And I think for me, I'm not sure about you. It was actually quite liberating when I realized I don't care what so and so thinks anymore. This is my new journey. But it takes a while and I think. It is so important to find support top three and not go through. Okay. Yeah. '
Jemma: cause I'm looking at the pinger.
Yeah. Top three ways of getting in touch with your body when you're feeling very uncomfortable with your body.
Lisa: I think, um, some journaling I think is a really good idea. Okay. I think me get is a really good idea. Just any type of meditation, any type, just learn to sit with yourself. Sageo frequencies.
Fantastic. Yep. People.
Jemma: Yep.
Lisa: Um.
Jemma: And
Lisa: nature.
Jemma: Ah, lovely. We're gonna talk about food in the next episode. I think it's just part of the kind of maturation of menopause is learning to sit learning with all the changes and
Lisa: learning to sit with the uncomfortable Yeah. Gets you feeling comfortable because we can't just think my body's changed and ignore it.
Yeah. We have to work with our bodies, not against them.
Jemma: Yes. And that requires being still and conscious. And I think really tuning in to how we feel, hence why you're talking about journaling. Yeah.
Lisa: And also this self language is really important. What you mean? That internal dialogue? That internal dialogue.
And if we can learn to speak to ourselves with kindness and lovingness, but. I can't support enough how having somebody in your corner, whoever that person is, will be, will benefit you.
Jemma: Yeah. And we're not just talking about getting your, you know, HRT or whatever you're doing, sorted. It could
Lisa: be, we're talking about whoever is right for you individually, having someone that can hear
Jemma: you.
And I think that point about being in nature, if you can get out. And witness the cycles of nature. Absolutely. I mean, we're in autumn right now.
Lisa: Yeah.
Jemma: So we are seeing the beauty, the colors. The colors, beautiful colors, but to remind ourselves it's a natural process. Yes, exactly. And not to go against the tide.
Absolutely. Because that's like blowing water uphill, isn't it? Yeah.
Lisa: Yeah. Absolute. Absolutely. I think it's, so, I think we
Jemma: should be open arms embracing it.
Lisa: Yeah.
Jemma: I, and as, as we should, should be with
Lisa: menopause. Yeah. We need to embrace this new chapter in our lives. How do people know that they're in perimenopause?
You'll start to see your periods fluctuate. Okay. And your cycles either lengthen or
Jemma: shorten. And how will people feel women be feeling? Because you must have spoken to lots of women. What's the, is there a commonality? Yeah. Some
Lisa: women get heavier periods. Mm-hmm. Some women skip periods for a month. And if, but how will they be feeling?
Some women will be feeling very anxious. Okay. Slightly depressed. Tired. Tired. Fatigued. Pointy joint. Achy joints. Achy joints. I mean, the perimenopausal journey could go on maybe for 10 years. No way. Yeah. Really. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can be perimenopausal for 10 years prior to menopause and, but everybody is different.
Some women will sell through it. They won't even know that they're going through it, and then one day their periods will stop. It's a bit like PMS. Yeah. Before a period. It's those hormones have their own minds and their own journeys and it's really hard to understand or navigate how you are gonna be in that, and that's why.
Preparing before the menopause I think is really important. Oh
Jemma: my goodness. I've turned it off. Oh my God, I haven't turned it off. Um, now I really want to talk about preparing for the menopause, but let's pick that up in the next episode. Also, just at the end of every episode, we're gonna say that Lisa is offering, what are you offering?
Lisa: I'm offering a 20 minute free consult
Jemma: consultation with Lisa G. Okay, fantastic. Okay, so this is a little extra. Lisa had a couple of questions she wanted to ask me. I did, and I dunno what the questions are 'cause I love flying by the seat of my trousers. Um, yeah. Ask me the questions. Is
Lisa: this to do with perimenopause?
Well, yes. It's about to do with your relationship with food. Oh, oh gosh. And how it affected you and your menstrual cycle. Oh, the, the perimenopause. Yes. Have you asked a question? Is that it? No. I'm going to ask you the question, so it's about what, how old were you when you realized that your relationship with food wasn't serving you as well as you wanted it to?
Jemma: 11,
Lisa: 12. Okay. And. That was around your menstrual cycle? Was that around your menstrual cycle? I always wanted more. Okay.
Jemma: I never felt satisfied. Okay. So yes, it probably was around my menstrual cycle. Okay. That okay, that makes sense. So, because I started my periods, can I just say Yes in a field? Oh gosh.
Behind some stables.
Lisa: Were you alone?
Jemma: No, I think there was a horse there. Not right there, but kind of like 20 feet away. So I was 12 when I had my first period.
Lisa: Okay. So that's, that's interesting that that's when that whole relationship changed. 'cause obviously there's all those hormonal fluctuations that are going on then Okay.
As well. So how then did that affect your, your relationship with food? How did that affect your menstrual cycle?
Jemma: I am not aware of how my relationship with food affected my menstrual cycle. I never had a difficult menstrual cycle. Okay. Other than getting very, okay, so I used to get very bloated. Okay.
Lisa: Yeah.
Jemma: So that would upset me. So that would make me later on, not when I was 11 or 12 later on. That would make me restrict my food.
Lisa: Right. And how did the restriction of food affect your menstrual cycle?
Jemma: Oh, so then my period stopped when I was in my, um, early twenties. Yeah. Yeah. For a couple of years.
Lisa: Yeah. Which makes absolute sense.
Jemma: Completely. Yeah. With those lack of
Lisa: nutrients, your hormones aren't able to do the job that they were doing. Yes. Yes. And then. After you noticed that your cycle was affected, how quickly did your cycle regulate?
Jemma: Okay, well, let me, I got pregnant without realizing it because I had no periods Right, of
Lisa: course.
Yeah.
Jemma: I didn't care that I didn't have periods. I didn't care that my menstrual cycle was affected because I was so in that eating disorder zone. Yeah. All I cared about was being really thin. Yeah. Yeah. It wasn't until later in my thirties, forties, fifties, that I realized the impact of those years. Yes.
Lisa: Yeah.
Jemma: Because then when I, oh yeah. When, when I came to try and get pregnant. When I was like 38, it was very difficult and it didn't happen. I think it did, but they were very early pregnancies and I found that I had um, I had fibroids and I had a dermoid cyst. Right. I dunno if I mentioned this when I spoke to you before, but I read a paper many years ago about women who.
There was a link between dermoid cysts and bulimia. Right. And there was also some interesting information about mothers taking a drug called Priot Depot.
Lisa: Okay. Yeah.
Jemma: Causing addictive behaviors in daughters much later. Wow. But I've never been able to find it again. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. So, um, I've now kind of, yes.
So I, I couldn't get pregnant because I'd messed my hormones up so much. Yeah.
Lisa: Yeah.
Jemma: And then when I was given the opportunity, I mean, this isn't what you asked, but when I was given the opportunity to then maybe do egg donation or IVF, I just got myself sorted. Mm. I couldn't bear the thought of taking all those hormones again and having that upset.
Yeah. Even though I had a team around me saying, don't worry, we'll sort you out within the year. I couldn't give my body over to it.
Lisa: Yeah.
Jemma: Because. I just kind of got myself back.
Lisa: You just got your body back.
Jemma: Yeah. Yeah,
Lisa: that makes sense.
Jemma: And my sanity and my sense of worth and yeah, I just couldn't do it.
Lisa: Yeah.
And it's so lovely to hear that you had that team of people that could help you. And I had a husband who said, whatever's right for you. Yeah. So what advice would you then give to someone that didn't have that team of people?
Jemma: You have to, as you are saying, you have to reach out and find someone. Yeah, absolutely. You have to take action. Yeah. And find a, a professional or a book or Yeah. A friend. Yeah.
Lisa: Or something. It's so important to know. You have to have a hand to hold wherever you are in life. Just to know there's always someone, whoever, whoever that person is.
Yeah, we can reach out and there is, you know, if it's not a person, there is books. There's so much stuff online these days.
Jemma: Yeah.
Lisa: There's, we're, we're not islands. We don't want to create being an island for ourselves.
Jemma: That's your, and that's very much about eating disorders. That's very much about, like, I have no needs, particularly if you're restricting your feed.
Yeah. I don't need anything. I don't need anyone. Yeah. You know, that is in the mix there somewhere, but that's very much your thing, isn't it? Absolutely. Is. Like, don't be alone. Don't be alone. Don't feel because you don't need lonely
Lisa: because I. Did feel that
Jemma: Mm.
Lisa: On my journey, but we, we just, and it was at a very different time because there is so much information available to us.
Yeah, yeah. These days, as I said, if, if you don't have that person go online. There's, and or read a book or whatever.
Jemma: Yeah.
Lisa: You don't need to be alone. So yeah, that's very much my, we just want, we need our hands holding. Do you want to ask me anything else? No, I think
Jemma: you Okay. We're done that beautifully.
Thank you. Oh, thank you very much. That's a pleasure. Thank you. And again, if you want to reach out to Lisa then um, all her details will be after this episode and the next three.