Nutrition and Food in Perimenopause and Menopause

by Michelle Dwyer | Oct 13, 2024 | Blog, Groups and Talks, Health, Hormones, Nutrition

Nutrition and Food in Perimenopause and Menopause

October is Menopause Awareness Month and I am on a mission to share helpful information on perimenopause and menopause so that you can be empowered through this transition.

I know it can be frustrating figuring out what to eat as our body starts shifting hormonally. Although what works for each person varies, there are some basic guidelines that can be a helpful place to start!

The basics:

Focus on nutrient-dense REAL foods! Lots of non-starchy vegetables (think eating a RAINBOW!), some whole grains or beans/legumes or fruits, the right amount of lean proteins, and healthy fats.

Protein Power

Prioritize lean protein sources at every meal/snack like poultry, fish, eggs, legumes, and tofu.

Protein supports muscle maintenance and helps manage appetite, crucial for weight loss.

Fiber for Satiety, Digestive Health and Hormonal Balance

Increase fiber intake through vegetables, seeds, legumes, whole grains, and fruits.

Fiber promotes satiety, aiding in appetite control and digestive health.

Mindful Eating

Eat slowly, savor each bite, and pay attention to hunger and fullness cues.

Create a beautiful, inviting space when you eat.

Sounds silly but put your fork down in between bites and really chew your food (I’m still working on this one!)

Healthy Fats for Hormonal Health

Incorporate sources of healthy fats, such as avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil.

These fats are essential for hormone production and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.

Include sources of omega-3 fatty acids like fatty fish (wild-caught salmon, mackerel), flaxseeds, and walnuts.

Limit Sugar and Processed Foods

Minimize added sugars and processed foods, which can disrupt blood sugar levels and contribute to weight gain.

Regulating your blood sugar is probably one of THE MOST IMPORTANT things you can do to support healthy weight in perimenopause and menopause

Meal Planning and Portions

Plan balanced meals so that it is EASY and enjoyable to eat well

Aim for about half or more of your plate as vegetables, palm-size of protein, small amount of starches and 1-2 T. of healthy fats per meal

Individualized Approach

As always, each body is different so it’s important to listen to what YOUR body is telling you!

Need more guidance?: Book a complimentary Discovery Session today to see if working together will help you with your health and wellness goals!

Ready to learn more? Book a Discovery Session today!

I’m also available to give talks, webinars and discussion groups on perimenopause and menopause!

CGM Experience with Michelle Dwyer

by Michelle Dwyer | Sep 20, 2024 | Blog, Groups and Talks, Health, Hormones, Nutrition, Programs

Ready to join the next 2-Week CGM Experience?

Are you ready for more energy and vitality?

Are you curious to see what is going when you have that afternoon crash or wake up in the middle of the night?

Do you want to know more about how sugar and processed carbs affect your body?

And do you want to get personalized insight about your body while also in a supportive, fun environment led by a health expert?

Then Welcome to the CGM 2-Week Experience!

Next one starts October 6, 2024 so reach out today!

Did you know that a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) can be one the best ways to get personalized insight on how food is affecting YOUR body and blood sugar?

Blood sugar fluctuations can affect our energy, weight, hormones, sleep, mood and so much more!

A CGM is gently attached to your back arm for two weeks and allows you to see via an app the fluctuations to your blood sugar based on what and when and how much you are eating.

Why would I want to wear a CGM, Michelle?

Getting clarity about what is going on in real time with your blood sugar can help you support:

Balanced weight
Better energy
Sleep quality
Mental and emotional clarity
Stress and lifestyle management
Personalized food choices

This sounds great! What are all the details?

The Dates:

October 6-20, 2024

Three 60-minute Group Zoom calls (all will be recorded):

Kick-off Call: October 6 at 10 am PT
Mid-way Check-in Call: October 13 at 10 am PT
Celebrations and Next Steps Call: October 20 at 10 am PT

What you’ll receive:

Three 60-minute group zoom calls (before, during and after the “experience”) to help guide you on how to make the most of the two weeks.
Private group page/thread via WhatsApp to post ahas, insights, questions and receive support, encouragement, and guidance from me (I’m a Holistic Health Coach and Certified Nutrition Consultant) the whole two weeks
Michelle’s expertise, encouragement, accountability, support!
Community and camaraderie! It’s more fun to do together!

Investment: NOTE: There are TWO pieces

#1: The Sensor

Everyone: $99 for TWO CGM devices (Each one lasts for two weeks)—you will order this on your own with a link I’ll provide (you are paying face value to the company—no affiliate or benefit to me—this is just what it costs out of pocket). You are also welcome to order it elsewhere but you do need a CGM sensor (Abbott and Dexcom are the two main companies).

NOTE: You may be able to use your HSA/FSA for the CGM–please check with your provider for details.

***If you can get a prescription from your doctor, there is a way to get it for FREE as your first trial or for a discount.

Ask your doctor for a prescription for the Abbott Freestyle Libre 3 and that you will be paying CASH (not asking for it to be covered by insurance)

#2: For the group experience with Michelle as the guide

$200 Regular rate for the two-week experience together

$100 off if you are a returner

Special bonus for new clients only: If you decide you’d like to work with me 1:1 when the CGM Experience is over, you can apply the $300 you invested towards my services!

What previous clients have shared are the benefits of wearing a CGM:

“I sometimes have a strong urge for a carb or sweet in the late afternoon and was able to see that it often correlated with a drop in blood sugar. Knowing that helped me pick a protein/fiber snack instead of a carb/sweet. It also helped me correlate my frequent afternoon emotional slumps (feeling overwhelmed, sad, distracted, wanting to give up on productivity for the day) with a drop in blood sugar. There is power in knowing that the emotional piece is caused by something physiological.”

“My CGM did so much to raise my awareness of how food impacts my body, and it has helped me make wiser decisions about what I eat.”

“After consistently wearing a CGM for a couple months and making changes to my eating patterns, I’ve lost the ‘stubborn’ ten pounds in my belly, my energy feels great, and I know I’m making positive changes for my long-term health.”

“I realized that not only what I ate but how much and at what time really affected my blood sugar. I’m not sure I realized the impact before seeing it in the app and now I feel motivated to make shifts that have me feeling more sustained energy and sleeping better than before.”

Who is this NOT for:

X No one pregnant.

X No one under 18.

X No one with diagnosed Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. (Okay if you have been diagnosed with “prediabetes.”)

X No one with active cancer, liver disease, kidney disease or other major illness.

X No one in a current place of an eating disorder.

Please consult with your doctor if you have any questions on whether a CGM is right for you.

FAQ:

Will it hurt?

No, there is some slight pressure applying the device and maybe a little soreness after but it is mild to nothing.

Can I invite a friend or family member?

Yes, please do! It really is more fun to do with a buddy or partner.

What do I need to participate?

You will need to purchase a CGM out of pocket (insurance only covers it if you have diabetes) and you will need to download the free app that comes with a CGM. I will provide a link for an easy place to get a CGM but you are welcome to get it elsewhere. Note: I receive NO MONEY from you ordering a CGM.

If you’re interested in joining the next round, the best next step is to EMAIL me at [email protected] and I’ll send you all the details to join!

Riding the Perimenopausal Wave with More Energy, Balance and Clarity!

by Michelle Dwyer | Feb 15, 2023 | Blog, Groups and Talks, Hormones, Programs, Special Offers

Does this sound like you . . .

Unexplainable weight gain, especially in the belly?

Fatigue and brain fog?

Poor sleep?

Mood swings?

Hot flashes?

And did you know you can still be getting a period AND be in perimenopause?

And what exactly is perimenopause anyway?

Join me, Michelle Dwyer, Holistic Health Coach and Certified Nutrition Consultant for this recorded, proactive workshop where we will focus on doable steps to better support your body through perimenopause.

We’ll focus on food, strategic supplementation, and lifestyle choices that best address your body to help bring more energy, balance and clarity back into your life.

I am trained as a Hormone Cure Coach with Dr. Sara Gottfried and I’ll bring my ten years of experience working with clients to guide you to best support your health and well-being.

And at the age of 48, I get it because I’m riding this wave with you!

I hear it all the time, the frustration that people feel when they know they are going through some hormonal changes but they are not getting any helpful answers. I’m also done with us feeling alone in these changes. Let’s come together, open the conversation, and begin to take doable steps today to support you feeling better! It’s time for a perio-party!

What you’ll receive:

Hormone Questionnaire to help you prioritize where to start to best support your body.
Actionable, doable steps that you can implement right away.
Better understanding of your own body since we all experience perimenopause differently.

This webinar is a self-paced two-hour webinar that you can watch again and again!

And because I’m committed to spreading the word about a better, more empowered way to RIDE THE PERIMENOPAUSAL WAVE, I’ve made this program only $30!

Why Breast Health Awareness Month is Personal PLUS Tips for Happy, Healthy Breasts

by Michelle Dwyer | Oct 15, 2020 | Blog, Health, Hormones, Mind-Body-Spirit Connection, Movement and body, Nutrition

October is a poignant month for me. You see, my mom passed away on October 15, 1995 from complications from metastatic breast cancer. I was 21 years old. She was only 48.

Way too young. Both of us. Me, too young to lose my mother. My mother, way too young to die.

And ironically October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. However, I like to call it BREAST HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH instead.

This is more than an abstract pink-ribbon month for me. It’s personal. For me, I’d rather focus on having a healthy and balanced body.

At the age of 21 I made a choice. I was not going to go down the road of my mother’s body. I was going to do what I could, on a daily basis, to take good care of myself. I realized I had two choices: I could choose FEAR or I could choose LOVE. I chose LOVE. Love for myself, my body, my breasts, my health, my future.

And so, decades before I would eventually become a holistic health coach and nutrition consultant, I started to pay attention to my health in a way most 21-year-olds don’t. For years I’ve been clearing out potential carcinogens like harmful beauty products and cleaning supplies, unnecessary plastics, toxic food, and even harmful stress and mindsets (and people). I wasn’t anywhere near perfect (and I’m still not) but I have been making a conscious effort to be mindful of what goes on my body, in body, near my body.

Let me take a moment to tell you a little about my mom because I don’t want her to be defined by how she died. My mom was a strong woman and taught my sister and me to be strong women, too. She put herself through college at UC Santa Barbara and taught high school her entire adult life (first home economics and then history when they began to phase out home ec classes). She loved to shop and had a great eye for color. She was a fantastic gift giver and would shower us with presents at Christmas, often with gifts she had been collecting for us all year. She was actually very “crafty” and made all sorts of decorations (many of which we still have). She loved going to Hawaii, visiting historical sites, and planning amazing trips for our family. She could be incredibly “thrifty” but also was incredibly generous. We didn’t always agree (what mother and daughter do?) but I never doubted that she loved us deeply. Or that she continues to watch over us.

This is a picture of my family at my sister’s graduation from high school, just four months before we’d lose our mother. (My sister asked me to crop it! LOL!)

FIVE steps you can take TODAY to support HEALTHY HAPPY BREASTS:

1. Eat a healthy diet: Did you know that increasing your fiber intake can help lower excess estrogen levels and decrease your risk of breast cancer? Best way to get that fiber is to eat at least 3-8 cups of organic, seasonal vegetables every day (along with 1-3 servings of fruit)! Think dark leafy greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, bok choy and other colorful foods. And if you’re eating all those veggies, you probably will have less sugar cravings too because your blood sugar will be more stable. Avoiding processed sugar and other foods that spike your insulin levels is another helpful thing we can do for our breast health every day.

2. Exercise regularly: Regular exercise has numerous benefits: we feel good, it helps us manage our stress levels, we often do it with others so we get to connect, it can help decrease excess estrogen levels, and it lowers the risk of breast cancer. Find something fun to do! And do it often.

3. Be social: As humans, we need connection to our “tribe.” We are social creatures and it’s important to cultivate meaningful relationships with others as part of our health and wellness plan. Women especially need to connect with other women often.

4. Be mindful of the chemicals you bring into your home: How toxic are your cleaning supplies? How about the beauty products you put on your skin every day? What’s in that lotion? Or your shampoo? Check out the EWG’s Skin Deep Database to find out more.

5. Practice Self-Care and Self-Love Every Day: As Dr. Christiane Northrup, women’s health expert and OB/GYN, so beautifully states: “This is the most important factor in creating health because carving out time to care for and love yourself unconditionally feeds your cells the positive thoughts and emotions they need to reproduce in a healthy way.” I love this and in fact this exactly what I guide people through in the Whole Life Nourishment for Changemakers group program!

Each year I choose a different way to honor and celebrate my mother.

This year please consider making a donation to Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP).

BCPP works to prevent breast cancer by eliminating our exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation linked to the disease. They are a founding member and national coordinator of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition working to eliminate dangerous chemicals from cosmetics and personal care products.

Using The Hormone Cure to Address PMS

by Michelle Dwyer | Mar 23, 2016 | Blog, Health, Hormones, Movement and body, Nutrition

As many of you know, I was trained in Dr. Sara Gottfried’s Hormone Cure program to become a Hormone Cure Coach. I find that addressing people’s health challenges like fatigue, struggle with losing weight, stress, and cravings, it is helpful to include an assessment of their hormones gives me more tools to guide my clients back to a place of balance.

One hormonal challenge many women struggle with is PMS or pre-menstrual syndrome.

According to Dr. Sara Gottfried in The Hormone Cure, “PMS is related to a problem with progesterone, but frosting yourself in progesterone cream does not automatically fix the symptoms in all women. Our best science shows that PMS is the result of the poorly synchronized interplay among four entities: progesterone, allopregnanolone (a derivative of progesterone), and in the brain, the GABA and serotonin pathways. It’s a complicated neurohormonal mix that results in progesterone ‘resistance,’ which is why topping off your progesterone may not be the answer. Your body may respond better to a ‘cure’ that addresses upstream causes—including precursors, such as vitamin B6, that help you make serotonin, or perhaps an herb that alters progesterone sensitivity, such as chasteberry, as well as lifestyle techniques to calm your brain.” (page 50)

Not only can progesterone, GABA and serotonin affect PMS symptoms, but so can cortisol, the body’s stress response:

“When stress is high, cortisol rises and PMS worsens. When progesterone is low, PMS also worsens. In other words, there’s a dance between cortisol and progesterone in the development of PMS, and you want to address both adrenal function and your production of cortisol as well as your progesterone to minimize PMS.” (page 283)

When addressing something like PMS, it often can take a multi-prong approach: food, exercise, mindset and maybe even some complimentary treatments or supplements.

Let’s take a look at some of these suggestions here.

Exercise frequently: 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes
Nourishing whole foods eating plan (Not sure what that looks like for you? Book a complimentary Discovery Session with me today!)
Limit sugar (especially added and refined sugar)–join my next 10-Day Sugar Retreat to banish those sugar cravings!
Reduce caffeine
Acupuncture
Reflexology
Address cortisol levels and chronic stress
Increase fiber
Support your liver (because all hormone processed through the liver)–check out Andrea Nakayama’s Replenish PDX excellent handout on supporting your liver!)

Some supplements can also help but aways seek advisement from your health practitioner:

Vitamin B6: 50 to 100 mg/day (or if you are on a birth control pill, you may want to consider taking a B Complex)
Calcium (carbonate or citrate): 600 mg 2x/day
Magnesium (citrate, glycinate taurate, aspartate or chelated forms like malate, succinate, fumarate): 150-300 mg/day (for more on the benefits of magnesium, check out this great article from Dr. Mark Hyman)
Vitex (chasteberry): 500-1000 mg/day (take in morning if possible)

What have you found helps with PMS? Have any of these approaches worked for you? Need more personalized guidance, please contact me today!