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Menopause and intermittent fasting

I've just been listening to this fascinating podcast that a good friend shared, in which Dr Rangan Chatterjee talks about intermittent fasting for women and the impact on our bodies. 

It's no secret that I am facing a huge uphill struggle when it comes to menopause. It all began as early as 40 and we now understand that my bipolar has been triggered by it and I've had several years of mood swings, intense anxiety and weight gain. 

So I've been searching for answers, falling through the gap between gynaecology and psychiatry but slowly but surely things are finally starting to ease. 

I've tried surgery, medication, HRT and vitamins and now I'm also adding intermittent fasting to the mix. I first discovered this thanks to Pauline Cox and her fantastic books especially Hungry Woman. I've been fortunate enough to meet Pauline, who has a wonderful shop in Clevedon, Sow and Arrow, where you can buy all sorts of keto-friendly foods. 

Keto helped me lose some weight but I need to revisit it as listening to this podcast confirms that I am probably insulin resistant, so it's time to get back to fat-burning and reducing the amount of basic carbohydrates I consume.

I'm also going to be buying one of these books by Dr Mindy Pelz, thanks to that good friend for her advice. I seem to remember my mother having lots of self help books at this stage in her life - they were just starting to become popular, occupying their own section in Waterstones, and now I understand why. She never shared anything about her menopause but thinking back, she did read a lot about managing anxiety and low self-esteem.

I plan to start a menopause cafe of some kind, or a PME support group - both of which are severely lacking in my part of the UK. I want to get to a better place myself before I take this on but watch this space. 




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