My Weight Loss Journey
The challenge of dealing with hormonal imbalance is real. If week 2 of my weight loss journey was themed around tiredness, then week 3 evolved to being themed around grumpy-ass bitchness.
I’m documenting my journey to losing 15–20lb in 9 weeks as a woman who is a health coach approaching the age of 40 but already experiencing difficulties with hormonal imbalance and perimenopausal symptoms.
You can catch up on weeks 1 & 2 here:
Week 1 – How I’m Taking Control Of Midlife 40+ Weight Gain
Week 2 – Midlife, Menopause & Weight Loss
This article is a summary of the ups and downs of hormonal fluctuations throughout my third week on this challenge I have set for myself.
If you are interested in seeing more in real time I’m also documenting everything on my Instagram page.
Week Three
Last week was incredibly up and down. One day I was up and feeling ok, then next would feel down and literally couldn’t talk to anyone without snapping.
I have the constant niggling of aches in my body and a dull consistent headache.
Even my husband commented after watching my story on Instagram of me having a good day saying jeyzus woman you are flipping bi-polar.
And he says it as a joke, but this is the reality that many women face with fluctuating hormones and it can feel incredibly confusing and almost like you may be losing your mind.
Though I was struggling with being at the back end of a three-week stint of solo parenting, I was also glad that he was away.
Not only does being in a bad mood affect you mentally. I question myself and my ability as I have always been such a super positive person, I can turn any situation back around. But I have no doubt that if Gav was around he would have likely gotten the brunt of my bad mood.
Instead, it was the kids who got that, to a lesser extent, but I still feel bad about that.
This is the cycle we can get stuck in, if we don’t work on managing the hormonal fluctuations but also our emotions and reactions.
Journaling has always been a powerful tool for me, now I’m finding it even more valuable than ever. It allows me to have that self-awareness and also a daily morning re-set. To have the opportunity to look at what happened and how I could work on giving myself what I needed going forward.
Also to forgive myself for any reactions so that I don’t continue to carry the guilt around. A big part of managing your hormonal fluctuations is having that kindness and compassion for yourself and knowing that this too shall pass, and on the other side you are able to pick yourself back up and once again…..just do your best.
Despite the weight of my low mood and my tired achy body, I felt good about the progress that was achieved last week and I was able to release another 2lb bringing me to 11.1 stone, a 5 lb loss by the end of week 3.
I’m a little behind my 6lb target for week 3, but am I taking all wins with me and the week ahead feels like something of a breakthrough week.
Using the power of journaling, weekly reflections in my planner and also of course documenting everything on my daily mini vlogs means I can clearly see all wins, no matter how big or small and I’m using these to fuel my motivation to keep moving forward.
I know not everyone wants to comment on my posts but the amount of people that I have bumped into locally, or that have messaged me privately to say how much the video’s are helping them too, really means a lot to me. I’m excited to keep on along this journey.
It’s probably been around 5 years since I have been below my weight milestone and I am intent on breaking that milestone this week.
Please note that whilst I am focused on weight at the moment, I am very conscious that this isn’t always the right metric to track for everyone. I talked about this more on yesterday’s mini vlog.
Weight is a good measure for me, because I find its use motivating. I’m also working on maintaining muscle and losing fat. For many people starting out with working out, weight tracking isn’t always the best measure. You also have to be very aware of the massive fluctuations in weight that can take place almost daily depending on hydration levels, if you exercised the day before, where you are in your hormonal cycle.
So just because I am using weight tracking, it may not be the right measurement for you. And also please don’t compare your weight to mine, or anyone else’s for that matter.
It’s also not about that, I’m working towards what feels like a good weight target for me and my body, yours could be something completely different.
Everyone will have a different experience with midlife and menopause, but there are some tools that will help you along that way and I’m working on exploring them all.
I’m sharing everything I’m using in full depth looking at the latest research and recommendations in the Midlife, Menopause and Weight Loss Workshop.
You find out more about that HERE
Midlife, Menopause & Weight Loss Workshop
I’ll be talking about all of the key areas that will influence this stage from how to optimise your mindset, fitness/workouts, nutrition and lifestyle & habits.
To help you navigate this time to really thrive and not just survive it as you learn to work with your body once again.
Have you struggled with menopause and weight loss?? What has been your experience?
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