It’s time for empowering conversations, normalizing body changes in midlife.
The fact that many women in perimenopause, menopause and beyond feel dissatisfied with their bodies has more to do with the cultural expectations we’ve been taught than any real problem with our health and wellness.
Diet culture drives the narrative that midlife women’s bodies are a “problem” that need fixing; that any and all weight gain or increase in abdominal fat as we age is always bad – unhealthy and unattractive which is the meaning that diet culture has assigned to those body changes.
This messaging is harmful because it can lead women into disordered behaviors with food that are normalized such as “diets” that claim they’re not diets, excessive exercise, eating disorders, and stress our physical, mental, and relational health.
Midlife weight, body changes and our health are complex and individual and aren’t easily explained by just one thing, such as hormones.
Midlife is a time to have empowering conversations in community about menopause, a natural biological event.
It’s a time to support women in caring for their whole selves by listening to our bodies and eating nourishing food for the most part (gentle nutrition), moving our bodies in ways that build us up versus break us down, getting the best possible sleep, rest and recovery that you can and building in stress resilience practices – as midlife can be a particularly challenging time period.
In midlife we can bond by openly discussing the normal and natural body changes as we age instead of connecting over negative body and self-talk.
And it’s a time for us to reflect on what’s most important in our lives now, what makes life meaningful and aligns with our values and priorities.
When you feel drawn to blame yourself or your body, remember that it’s not you or your body that’s the problem.
It’s diet culture. Diet culture has tapped into the global menopause market – projected to reach $24.4 billion by 2030.
Join me Mon. Jan. 8, 12-1pm MST at The Mental Wellness Collaborative in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (in person or Zoom) for an empowering conversation with Yvette Warner, LCSW and her Thriving Through Midlife community. Free and Open to the public. Please RSVP to yvette@yvettewarner.com to attend in person or receive the Zoom link. Hope to see you, Tanya