Peri-what-o-what?!?

"You have entered perimenopause."  Say what?!

It was said quite matter-of-factly to me this past January at my annual doctor's appointment. The woman whom I had trusted with my health since I was 22 years old, the one who doled out great advice to me on everything from nutrition to skin care to hemorrhoids, the woman who delivered my precious baby girl, for crying out loud - this woman was feeding me a line of crap. No, no, no, I insisted. I'm just moody, and bloated, and forgetful, and more irritable than usual, and bloated, and I have a bit of insomnia, my heart has been palpitating some, I can't focus, I get dizzy easy. Did I mention how bloated I was? And I seem to have gained about 10 pounds that refuse to budge. That's all. Oh, wait a minute....Oh!!!

She was right. Perimenopause, that time in a woman's life that resembles puberty in reverse, had found me. Overtaken me. Threatened to out smart me. After going home, processing, giving myself time to cry (yes, I cried. Don't judge.), I decided my hormones were not going to get the best of me. I am reserving the best of me for my family and friends. Hormones will have to take a back seat. 

So I've been educating myself slowly... reading books, perusing blogs, taking what I know from my schooling in nutrition to tweak my diet, learning from others' trial & error in their journeys, adding & subtracting supplements to my daily regime, and beginning to use more essential oils daily (which has been way more helpful than I ever could have imagined.) I'm tackling the issues one by one, starting with the issue that is driving me the craziest. That would be bloating. I am over it. Over. It. 

As I go through this life phase, it helps me to write (okay, rant) about it, so I'm going to use this blog to do just that. And I'll share any tips, tricks, and tid-bits that help me, as well as those that just don't. Maybe someone out there will take something from here that helps them. 

When it comes to bloating, here's a list of foods I've found make it so much worse for me. Chocolate, alcohol, bread, dairy (except Greek yogurt - plain- without the yummy fruit flavors, unfortunately), caffeine, carbonation, gum, pasta, and sugar. That last one is my nemesis. I know sugar does me absolutely no favors, especially as I age. But I love it so! 

I've been doing my best to avoid these bloating triggers, especially sugar, as well as following this list of advice:

1. Don't drink through a straw. This causes you to swallow extra air, resulting in bloating. Plus I've heard it makes your mouth wrinkle and age prematurely.
2. Skip chewing gum and hard candy. Doing these things also causes extra air to be swallowed.
3. Avoid carbonation. The yummy fizzy drinks are full of gas and will bloat your belly.
4. Cut down on caffeine. It may over-stimulate your gut, causing it to puff up. 
5. Cut back on alcohol. It's very dehydrating and constipating, which is another fun peri- symptom in and of itself that quite obviously causes bloating. 
6. Eat potassium-rich foods. Potassium can help relieve bloating by reducing water retention. These foods include in order from highest in potassium to lowest: lima beans, kale, avocado, spinach, salmon, banana, mushrooms, broccoli, beets, cantaloupe, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, cabbage, yogurt. 

Probably the two most important habits I have that help me the most are exercise and staying hydrated. If not for my running and my Indy Adventure Boot Camp, I would be the biggest hot mess in town. I am a full believer that if you are not lifting weights, especially after the age of 40, you are doing yourself an injustice. I love my bootcamp very much and this year, I'm striving to use heavier weights because I know the benefits will way outweigh the struggle.

 Also, I'm recording my ounces of water that I drink daily and trying to keep it at 80 oz. or more. This seems to really help with my bloating problem. The timing of when I drink has become important as well. In the book, The Food Babe Way by Vani Hari, she explains why we should not drink with meals. She says, "If you drink cold water with your meal, energy required for digestion is diverted. While eating, you want all of your energy directed at breaking down food so your body can easily assimilate the nutrients and eliminate waste and toxins." Wow! That made so much sense to me and since I've been practicing this habit, my bloating has decreased significantly. She recommends drinking your water 20 minutes before meals or 30-60 minutes after meals. 

Lastly, there are two essential oils that I'm using to help ease both bloating and just general women issues. Those are Di-Gize and Dragon Time from Young Living, which is the brand I use because of it's purity and track record in the industry. For some reason, the herbs that were recommended to me for women issues did not settle well with my system. I became very dizzy and nauseous while on them. So I switched recently to oils, and though I was somewhat skeptical, I have been more than thrilled with the results I'm seeing (and feeling)! 

Therein lies what I've learned about bloating so far. Mine has eased up since following all this advice, which makes me less irritable, so that's two menopausal dwarfs tackled at once! Now if I could just quit waking up at 2 a.m...