Perimenopause and Performance
Perimenopause is a natural life phase, however it’s one where female hormones (especially oestrogen) are fluctuating and that can lead to wide ranging symptoms which may be erratic and even dramatic.
We talk about:
The good news is that regular exercise of moderate intensity appears to help minimise symptoms and alongside nutrition and lifestyle strategies will support a smooth transition through perimenopause.
Show Notes
(00:36)
We share our experiences of perimenopause.
(05:35)
What is perimenopause?
Perimenopause means "around menopause" and refers to the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years.
Women start perimenopause at different ages, mostly mid to late 40’s but sometimes earlier – oestrogen levels rise and fall unevenly during peri menopause leading to various symptoms
For women under 45 a diagnosis of peri menopause would usually be made based on symptoms i.e. vasomotor symptoms and irregular periods - if you are younger your doctor may check hormone levels
Signs that you may be peri menopausal:
Perimenopause may continue for a few years – different for every woman
Once you've gone through 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, you've officially reached menopause, and the perimenopause period is over – however some of the symptoms may continue
(12:11)
We look at the perimenopausal challenges female runners experience such as:
Unexpected Weight Gain – Disturbed Sleep – Hot Flushes and Night Sweats – Unexpected Injuries and Aches & Pains, Low Energy/Fatigue/Poor Recovery, Low Mood/Irritability/Foggy Brain
One of the aspects of perimenopause is the unpredictability of the symptoms which often leads to a woman feeling out of control. I know it all feels very serious, but I believe that if you understand what is going on and a have some personal nutritional and lifestyle management strategies you can feel more empowered to guide yourself through this life stage and minimise symptoms.
(14:41)
Weight gain is common in in perimenopause - especially around the middle or developing a higher fat: muscle ratio will often this affect how we feel about ourselves/self-esteem and how we perform as a runner.
(17:30)
Women also talk a lot about ….
Disturbed sleep often related to night sweats – as we know poor sleep impacts on many aspects of health and performance – particularly the energy we require to get out on our run training sessions.
Hot flushes at any time in the day or night and even during a run training session – sudden changes in body temperature can be unpleasant, shocking, embarrassing and if you are training perhaps a distraction.
(19:18)
More frequent injuries and aches and pains and experiencing low energy and fatigue are also common in runners.
Unexpected injuries and aches and pains in muscles and joints, which could potentially lead to time out of training and races and also demotivation – there is limited research in the area of the effect of oestrogen on tendons and ligaments however it’s thought...
