(image from Target.com)
Recently I read The Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jen Gunter (Target link; Amazon link). It seemed like it would be exactly my sort of thing in many ways, and I have liked/reposted many Dr. Gunter things online. I would say I liked the book more than I’ve liked the other perimenopause/menopause books I’ve tried (this one, for example, which I couldn’t tolerate and never finished), but I’d been hoping to end up liking it so much I’d want to buy copies for people I knew, and instead I didn’t feel like doing that. I’d look things up in it, though, because at least she is not using wordplay to create fake reasons for medical things (“MENopause causes many women to want to take a PAUSE from MEN!”).
Anyway, Dr. Gunter has convinced me that exercise will help with many, many things, and I appreciated that she led by saying frankly that it was her goal to convince us of that, and also that she herself had had to be convinced. So I am sorry to say I am trying more exercise. I get a fair amount of exercise at work, so on the three days I don’t work, I am taking longish walks, and also adding a few minutes of sullen core work on the days I can manage to force myself to add it. I absolutely am not going to do all the exercise I am supposed to be doing, I just won’t, but fortunately there is an option between “none” and “the amount that is too much to ask and I won’t do it,” so I will do that.
I also made a list of a bunch of foods that are supposed to help with various periomenopause things and with health overall, with an emphasis on the ones that work with keto (salmon! broccoli! kale! red cabbage! walnuts! cacao!). I enjoy the idea of taking food as a sort of medicine, and I like it when a food is referred to as “a nutritional powerhouse,” and so the thing I am trying to figure out right now is how to get chia seeds and hemp hearts into me as if they were NyQuil, or medicinal brandy, because the usual ways to eat them are not compatible with keto. I started by mixing a couple of tablespoons of one or the other into a glass of water or Powerade and drinking it down quick, and that is more doable than I would have expected (not much taste to either one, and I am good at swallowing pills/medicine, and it turns out I don’t struggle with drinking something that obviously has a bunch of seeds floating in it)—except that like a third of the chia seeds or hemp hearts end up stuck to the inside of the cup, so then I have to add more liquid and swish it around and drink it again, and then more liquid and swish and drink again, and at some point I start feeling like this is too much to do for just two tablespoons of something where the serving size is three tablespoons. Also, the chia seeds and/or hemp hearts get between my teeth. Well. I will keep thinking/trying.
If you eat cereal or toast sprinkle them on those
Weirdly, chia seeds sprinkled on watermelon is awesome. Not slimy, the seeds stick to the fruit because it’s damp, and you mostly just taste watermelon.
I enjoyed “What Fresh Hell is This?” if you’re looking to continue your perimenopause/menopause reading journey 😊
Good book. Also, “Hot & Bothered,” “Flash Count Diary,” and “Menopause Bootcamp”
I really disliked the taste of hemp hearts, but use chia seeds in Keto Porridge from the Diet Dr site. When I want a hot “cereal” for breakfast, anyway. And of course, we’re coming to the season where that is not needed. I’ve seen it used in yogurt too, but I think I’d need to make a mix of seeds & nuts to put in yogurt, like chia & almonds & walnuts & sunflower & flax (and craisins if not keto).
Good luck with the exercise. I sullenly do exercise, unless it’s walking around a store.
I have chia pudding for breakfast a couple mornings a week but I’m guessing that milk has too many carbs for keto. Could you make it with almond milk or a smaller amount of cream? I usually throw some walnuts into it as well (and fruit but you wouldn’t have to do that).
Yes this! My breakfast is overnight oats with 1 Tablespoon chia seeds.
Sullen core work made me giggle. Maybe I could treat it like rage cleaning… resentment sit-ups, furious planks, sweary squats.
I don’t know what is and isn’t allowed on keto, but if you have any kind of smoothie you can make, that’s my favorite way to eat them – blend them with everything else and use a big straw (like a boba straw), and you likely won’t even notice them.
I like chia seeds stirred into Greek yoghurt. I have no idea if that’s keto friendly. My kids like chia pudding made with cocoa and coconut milk but I dislike the texture. Also no idea if that’s keto. Sorry if it’s not.
I have read this! I also preferred it’s “science” flavor compared to other menopause books that were more “woo”. She uses lots of studies to back up her suggestions and I have returned to look things up in it since. I eat chia seed stirred into greek yogurt, or sprinkled on toast with peanut butter, and enjoy it both ways.
If you eat eggs for breakfast, you could stir the seeds into eggs, then cook/scramble. I put ground flax on my eggs for fiber and omega 3.
I love hemp seeds in salads, especially Caesar salad. Chia I have a hard time if it’s not in smoothies but I’ll have to try some other options
I agree that Menopause Manifesto wasn’t super engaging to read cover to cover, kinda dry. I ended up using it like a reference book – skimming it for the topics I wanted to know more about. It has lots of good info and references studies and medical society standards. She’d be awesome to have as a personal doctor!
In an interview, Dr. Gunter said that getting enough fiber was her #1 recommendation for menopausal women. It will help with all the standard menopausal complaints except hot flashes. I happened to be seeing my doctor a few days later, so I asked him about it. He enthusiastically agreed. I asked how I could figure out how much fiber I was getting, because we rarely eat packaged food. (Also, I have a teen and a tween in the house, so I didn’t want any food tracking to be too big a deal. Regardless of the reason, it’s not what I want to model.) He said that he actually recommended I take two tsps of benefiber daily. It doesn’t have anything extra in it, and between that and a healthy diet I could be confident I was getting enough fiber. Sure enough, my weight stabilized and my bloating all but disappeared.
In the book, she says the same thing, but with “exercise” instead of fiber. I can’t picture fiber helping with the majority of menopausal complaints, so I wonder if she misspoke in the interview.
Hemp hearts I enjoy sprinkled on top of veggies. I used to do baby carrots and lemon juice and hemp hearts. I think they would be good with kale or with broccoli too.
I really like chia jam, especially with raspberries since they already have a kind of seedy texture. I made some a few weeks ago- I cooked down some frozen raspberries until they were mushy, then added chia seeds until it got a nice jammy texture. Then I added some sugar-free sweetener (I used monkfruit), and a squeeze or two of lemon juice to make it last a little longer in the fridge. It’s wonderful in yogurt, and I find that the seeds are not quite as prone to teeth-sticking when they’re in jam.
Just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you yesterday.
Me too!
Yes! I don’t care that much about my own Mother’s Day (I mean, I want it not to be terrible, but whatevs), but i care a lot that Swistle’s kids come through for her.
I don’t have big hopes for Paul, but I cling to optimism about the next generation.
<3 <3 <3
It was good enough that it makes me think it is...solved?? Somehow?? Despite all odds??
And I care about YOUR Mother's Days, so let's have a post in the next few days! I want to hear about it!
<3 <3 <3
<3 <3 <3
It went well enough that I have no need for a venting post! Though I will probably do a COLLECTIVE venting-if-necessary post!
I just pop a teaspoon in my mouth dry and then follow quickly with a swig of a warm beverage, then make sure to get lots of water in the next hour or so.
I put hemp seeds on salad along with toasted chopped pecans or some other seed and nut combo. I eat it for my zinc deficiency.
The only menopause book I’ve read is Hot and Bothered and it was pretty good. It’s science-backed, but also very anecdotal. The conversations between the author and her friends or husband sounded so corny, but I think that’s because talking about menopause is not normalized yet.
“I am sorry to say I am trying more exercise” HA HA I LOVE THIS. I love Jen Gunter on Twitter (well I did when I was still on Twitter) and then I heard a couple of people say her book was disappointing, but I haven’t actually read any menopause books because I just like to complain and not do anything to improve things, apparently.
I am also trying more exercise. I am actually to the point where on days I don’t work I miss doing yoga if I don’t do yoga. The walks are slow because of my gimpy dog, but improving.
I bought a package of hemp hearts once, and then kept it for five years and threw it out. I do take metamucil in water every day, so I could just maybe stir in some hemp hearts? Or chia seeds? Are these two different things? Maybe I should read the damn book?
They are different things, but the same in that they do not stir well into water. But chia seeds will actively attempt to stick to surfaces, while hemp seeds are mellower and more like…oats, or something.
My first package of chia seeds is still in the back of the fridge somewhere, I think, and my second package is on a shelf in the cupboard, and I need to throw it away because it was supposed to be refrigerated after opening. My THIRD package, though! THAT ONE is going to be the charm!!
Oh no! Do Chia seeds really need to be refrigerated after opening? I’ve been storing mine in my pantry (cool, dark etc..) with no issues. But now I’m wondering? Google is giving me mixed answers. I do live in a particularly dry climate so perhaps that is a factor?
On the three packages I still somehow own, it says on the package that they should be refrigerated after opening. Or, more dimply: “After opening, I belong in the fridge!” But who knows if this is like the “best by” dates where it’s still perfectly good afterward, or if it’s, you know, now you might as well not consume them at room-temperature, so stripped of nutrients are they, etc.
I put my chia & flax in mason jars in the freezer. They do keep better. I found that they “clumped” when kept in the pantry. (I assume that was something nasty growing in/between the seeds!)
In other news, I keep instant dry yeast in the freezer in its jar, and it keeps (still makes bread/pizza dough rise) for over two years past the “use by” date.
Out of curiosity, I clicked through to see what menopause book you hated in 2013 and now I must let you know–if you don’t already–that the author went on to be become an extremely famous COVID-denier, anti-vaxxer and MAGA heroine. SO. Your instincts were A++++ on that one. I thought you might appreciate knowing that.
I DO appreciate knowing that!!!
I can’t be the only one who clicked along to find out who we’re talking about, and welp, that name gives me a big old shudder from her days as a Judgy fertility windbag, so yikes.
But I enjoyed Swistle’s post and the evidence that she AND her readers are the best.
I’m in one of the doing more exercise parts of my ‘doing more exercise/doing less exercise cycle’* and succeeding fairly well with getting a few things done while I wait for other things. E.g. while I wait for a bucket to fill, I can do 10 squats or 20 back exercise swivelly things. While I wait for the microwave to finish its last minute I can stand on one leg for 15 seconds, on the other for 15 seconds, and then do 3 hip circles on either side.
*(it’s a catchy name)
Doing a few things like that, and 30 mins gentle cardio 5-6 times a week, definitely helps me feel more with it. I’ll lose momentum again at some point and will do less again. But the exercise still counts even if it’s followed by me not exercising, and doing the non-cardio exercise this way is (currently) easier than trying to carve out time for it.
I find this kind of idea very motivating. Maybe I can’t make myself change into exercise clothes and do 30 minutes of whatever, but I am always looking for something to do while re-heating my coffee in the microwave, or waiting for the hard-boiled-eggs water to boil so I can set a timer and leave the room. I think I need to learn more quick exercises for those times.
Here are some bodyweight exercises! I realize that doing pushups and planking on your kitchen floor is probably not ideal, but squats, lunges, step-ups all sound pretty reasonable to me. I should probably try them, haha.
https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/ss/slideshow-bodyweight-exercises
I’m sure there are other sources for bodyweight exercise besides “youredying.com”, but it’s a start.
THANK YOU!!
And I love the “youredying.com”—so true.
Ooh, I have bookmarked that website, that’s really helpful!
And that made me cackle.
Yes, that sounds good! I am very happy to take it easy and relax – I don’t need to fill every minute of every hour. BUT little bits of time like that can feel so wasted. When it’s just a couple minutes and there’s no point leaving the room to do something else, it can be really heartening to do a couple quick exercises.
I’m more likely to do that, than to do ~30 mins later and try to work every muscle and joint that really needs it.
Currently I’m focusing on squats and lunges, because I read somewhere that those increase your muscle mass (v important for perimenopause), a couple simple things I found on YouTube for the arthritis I get in my hips (and somewhat in my knees), and balance. I throw in a couple little other things now and then like back exercises. I like to think about things that will help me personally function for the next 20-30 years – stuff that’s causing me a bit of pain now and might cause more later, and stuff that I need to be able to continue doing. E.g. I don’t want to need a cane until I really need one, I want to be able to get in and out of chairs, etc.
Also, I need things that are VERY EASY because otherwise I just won’t do them, and this is embarrassing lol. E.g. I have some small handweights at my desk that I use sometimes, but will I take literally 5 seconds to go get them if I’m in the kitchen and have time? No, I will not. So I have to do extra easy things.
As I’m at a similar age to you, and also am not super fond of exercise/eating nothing but health food, it’s really helpful and interesting to see your posts.