For Women, Aged 35-50

This may be TMI for you guys, so feel free to either pass this link on to your wife or sister, and I’ll see you on the next one. ;)

My mom gave my older sister a book when she turned 40, 10 years ago. Last year, as I approached my 40th birthday I reminded her of the book.



"I’d love a copy of that book you gave to Sister, Mom”, (we’re very unique with our nicknames for one another aren’t we? ;) ) “my body’s doing some weird stuff and I think I may be in the beginning stage of perimenopause.”
“Oh TRACI, you’re young and in such great shape – you’re already having symptoms?”, my mom asked, trying to remember the name of the book. “Terri (my sister) and I were at least 45 before we started in.”

But you know your own body. You KNOW when things are different. I was barely 40 years old and suddenly everything I knew to be pattern, routine and normalcy with my body suddenly were all over the map. My “28-days-to-the-hour” cycle now was anything but predictable. I noticed a layer of fat forming over my abs and backside that had NEVER been there, even though my eating was the same. I was VERY tired, though I was faithfully taking my supps, eating clean, and drinking my Shakeology healthy meal replacement shake and exercising 4-6 times a week. I was more emotional, was experiencing insomnia, and waking up drenched in sweat. Sound familiar? Well, if so, this book will help you navigate this new path in your health journey informed and educated as you decide what you’ll do to manage and monitor your hormone levels.

I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that I have spoken with my gynecologist about the changes. She ran quite a few tests to make sure it is the natural process of perimenopause and not something more serious or dangerous. (I had a mammogram, blood work, and a uterine scrape (in addition to my regular pap exam) to test for uterine cancer. Everything came back normal after a brief scare. whew!) Together, she and I are charting the best plan of action for me, but I’m also researching additional ways to help with mood swings and night sweats. This is a day and age of knowledge on the web and I want to encourage all of you reading this to not just take a medication just because your doctor tells you to, but to search for what is THE BEST plan for YOU. I’m researching and finding out what works for me, and I encourage you to do the same. Times are changing and so is the way people approach aging and change. “Taking your health back” doesn’t just mean getting fit again but also researching whats out there now. Reading a book like this is a GREAT help.

We’re in this TOGETHER. :) I’ll keep sharing with you as I learn, and I hope you’ll do the same with others.

Closing out with page 11 from the book, where there is a check list of symptoms for you to see if you may be in perimenopause. Every woman won’t have every symptom obviously, but see if any of these match up for you:

Irregular Periods
PMS symptoms – bloating, cramps, breast tenderness
hot flashes and night sweats
insomnia and fatigue
heart palpitations
mood swings and irritability
migraine headaches
memory problems
fuzzy thinking or inability to concentrate
dry, itchy, irritated skin
dry or thinning hair
brittle nails
weight gain, especially around the middle
pain with intercourse
loss of interest in sex
joint pain
irritable bowel syndrome

If this lines up with what you’re going through, please purchase the book and make an appt with your gynecologist. We’ll get through this…TOGETHER. :)