Love Your Body in Menopause

The changes in estrogen levels that come with menopause can produce symptoms like hot flashes, insomnia, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, and weight gain. While these changes are normal, they can impact your ability to feel at home in your own body. As few as 12% of women report satisfaction with their aging bodies.

Body Positivity During Menopause

Body positivity encourages people to accept their bodies no matter their shape or size. It stresses the importance of understanding your inner worth, self-acceptance, and appreciation for all that your body can do. This can be challenging when experiencing a changing body. However, it’s possible to shift your thinking and begin to appreciate all that your body is capable of.

Strategies to Build Your Body Positivity

Intuitive Eating

Developed by two registered dietitians, intuitive eating emerged in the 1990s as a new way of thinking about dieting and weight management. Dieting is often a vicious cycle of losing weight only to regain it, or struggling to lose weight at all. Dieting also imposes strict rules about when and how much people are allowed to eat—creating

Intuitive eating encourages the individual to listen to their body and not external rules about what, when, and how much to eat. It teaches that you can trust your body to know when you are hungry, when you are full, and what nourishment your body needs at that time.

This method has helped many women develop and maintain a healthy and sustainable relationship with food and their bodies.

Intuitive eating has been associated with better well-being, self-esteem, self-compassion, and life satisfaction. It may also help to reduce stress, anxiety, and concerns about body image.

In one trial, postmenopausal women were very successful in implementing intuitive eating strategies. At the end of the study period, women were able to better trust their bodies, honor hunger and satiety cues, and find food satisfaction.

If you are looking to start eating intuitively, start by reflecting on your behaviors and attitudes about food and eating. Do you eat when you are physically hungry or when you are experiencing unpleasant emotions like boredom or sadness? Take note of your hunger level and what foods sound best to you.

During a meal, notice how the food tastes and how it nourishes you. Eat until you are comfortably full. Reflect on the meal when you are finished. Did it satisfy your hunger?

Get started with a practice of intuitive eating using the programs in the Midday app. They are developed by a registered dietitian specializing in women’s health.

Select Discover from the bottom navigation menu, tap on Wellness and then navigate to the weight management section. Here you’ll find programs to teach you the principles of intuitive eating, help curb cravings and binge eating and cope better with emotional eating. These programs are also linked at the end of the article.

Practice Gratitude

Simply put, practicing gratitude is noticing and appreciating the positive. A practice of gratitude has been shown to improve life satisfaction, optimism, and hope. One study found that women who practiced gratitude experienced increased body esteem and decreased body dissatisfaction. Another study found that five minutes of grateful reflection helped protect women from the harmful effects of mainstream images that encouraged an ideal of thin bodies.

Practicing gratitude may also help to alleviate some common symptoms of menopause. Research has associated increased gratitude with better quality and longer duration of sleep. A study of postmenopausal women found that a gratitude meditation routine for eight weeks also reduced the frequency and duration of hot flashes.

If you’re looking to incorporate a gratitude practice into your daily life, consider these strategies:

• Keep a gratitude journal – Try writing 3 things you are grateful for every morning. You can focus specifically on your body and the amazing things it can do.
• Gratitude meditation – Before bed, reflect on the things you are grateful happened that day. Try the Acceptance, Loving Kindness and Positive Attitude meditations in the Midday app.

Movement and Body Positivity

Many people consider exercise a form of therapy, and studies have shown that it can improve your body image in menopause.

Midlife women who completed a 10-week strength training program reported improved body image and health-related quality of life. The women felt empowered after completing the program and more comfortable with their fitness level.

Change can be hard, and menopause is no exception. It may take time and effort to feel comfortable in your body during a period of transition and to feel positive about a “new normal.” With these techniques in your back pocket, you are capable of anything!