I am a 40 something wife and mom who is starting to enter my next “stage” in life. Yup, you guessed it, that lovely “M” word that we women hate to think about and discuss.
The thing is, each day I find something else that has changed because of the stage of life I’m in. For instance, I have a passion for French Fries, especially McDonald’s fries! BUT, I’ve discovered that I can no longer eat them because every time I do, I have to make a mad dash to the restroom within 10-15 minutes. Now, I was thinking that maybe it was a fried food problem, but it’s not, because I can make fried foods at home and they don’t bother me. It’s just fried foods, specifically french fries, from fast food restaurants. Since speaking with my mom, I found out she went through the same thing when she was in the very beginning stages of menopause. BUT, I’m not my mothers blood child, I’m adopted, so I know it’s not something that I inherited from her.
Another thing that has changed with me is my sleep pattern. I used to be able to get by on 6 hours of sleep per night maximum, now if I get anything less than 7 I can barely make it through the day. So, I’m learning that I need to make adjustments in my lifestyle so that I can make sure I get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, more than that is even better 
Now, add to all of this the fact that I do not eat red meat or eggs and you get some very interesting situations. I’m not vegetarian because I will eat things like pepperoni and occasionally a hot dog, “IF” it’s grilled, and I also eat eggs if they are in mixed things, like cakes and cookies, and one of my favorite types of pie is egg custard pie. I don’t eat meat because I do not care for the texture and taste of it. And I have been this way for a very long time. My mother said even as a baby eating jarred baby foods I wouldn’t eat meats, nor did I care for eggs starting at about the same time. To this day if my husband cooks certain types of meats and sometimes eggs, if I catch a smell of them I start gagging.
I do, however, eat a very large variety of vegetables and some of my favorites are brussel sprouts and asparagus, but I’m not a fan of squash or beets. But things like broccoli, cauliflower and carrots are very commonly eaten around here. I also drink plenty of milk (my preference is whole milk) and cheese is often added to food for extra flavor. I eat a fair amount of peanut butter and beans and snack on things like peanuts and almonds as well as fresh fruit and vegetables.
So, from what I’ve read, because of the things I don’t eat, I may have a very difficult transition into menopause. I know that my periods are much different than they ever have been. Last month I had the most horrible cramps, and I’ve never had cramps before. They’re also longer and heavier than they normally are. I’ve found that if I’m able to get up and move around or walk when I’m having heavy cramping, the cramps do tend to subside, but, for instance, if it’s bed time, I take something like tylenol or Midol and use a heating pad. If I’m unable to use a heating pad, I’ve discovered that those new heat wrap things made specifically for menstrual cramps are VERY nice and work for up to 8 hours easily!
So, that’s where I’m at for now. I’m working on getting more tips on dealing with this stage in life as well as diet and nutrition info that is pertinent to women who are going through this stage in life. If you have any suggestions or tips that you think would be helpful feel free to pass them along and I’ll see that they make it to the site!
I’ll eventually set up an email address specifically for this blog that you can contact me at so that you can email me things that you’d like to see talked about or information that you think would be helpful to be posted. I appreciate any info you have and would like to share!
Holly
P.S. update, if you go to my “about” page in the column on the left, you’ll find the email address I’ve set up for the blog. Feel free to give me a yell!
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