Womens’ bodies go through many changes throughout life. We go through puberty, our childbearing years, and finally, menopause. Menopause is just another natural stage of life in which our bodies are going through change. It’s normal for menopausal women to be afraid of eating and gaining weight during this time. If you are going through your intuitive eating journey during this stage of life, it can be very difficult. I want to share some tips on how you can approach menopause with intuitive eating.
Tip #1 – Focus On Compassion And Grace
It’s really important to take a step back and focus on having compassion and grace during this time. Menopause is not easy. There are a lot of physical, emotional, and mental changes happening. We receive so much attention and support throughout the other stages of our lives like puberty and pregnancy. And yet, we go through menopause and it seems that nobody wants to help and there is no support. Our bodies are changing and we don’t know what to do about it. Give yourself a break and navigate this natural process with compassion and grace.
Tip #2 – Understand You Fears Of Weight Gain
Understand what you are scared of in terms of gaining weight. Often, the weight is not actually the problem. The problem revolves around the core belief of how you feel about yourself. Sometimes, we fear weight gain because we believe that people are only going to accept us if our body is a certain size. Others think that they won’t feel worthy enough if they are in a larger body. You are worthy no matter what and you decide what constitutes acceptance and self-worth. Really go back to your core beliefs of what you find is important in your life.
Intuitive eating is all about giving yourself permission to eat all foods. When you do that, you find over time that you start trusting your body to know what it wants and how much it wants. While that may mean that your body settles at a weight that you might not like, it’s a weight that your body finally feels comfortable and trusting.
Tip #3 – Spend More Time Focusing On Things You Love
By the time you reach menopause, you have probably spent a lot of time wrapped up in diet culture. After years of obsessing over diet and exercise, it comes to a point where you ask yourself “How much more of my life do I want to spend consumed by diet culture?” Don’t waste one more minute of your life worrying about your body and what other people think. There are so many other things you can enjoy and spend time on going into the next few decades of life.
Menopause is a physically, emotionally, and mentally challenging time. The greatest thing you can do is give yourself compassion and grace when navigating these changes. Think about your core beliefs and what you value most in life. Ask yourself if you still want to be worrying about diet culture at 80 years old. These should be the best years of your life. Learn to fill your time with things that are so much more important.
I know this may not be an easy journey. The tight grip of diet culture in our lives can make finding food freedom feel impossible, but I promise it’s WORTH IT! It’s so important to invest in professionals that have the tools to support you on this journey.
Click here to check out a FREE beginners intuitive eating training. If you loved this blog, I know you’ll also enjoy my blog titled: Feeling Your Fullness
