Why Blog - Oversharing About the Menopausal Journey

In person, I'm a fairly private person. Most of the people I know firsthand don't know I write, though a few close family members know I write for one site or another - just not how many - and a few close friends know I write for large businesses - but the personal stuff. like this blog - my secret - in other words, no one in my "real" life knows about Fat and Cranky.


This is because I like the sense of being able to honestly just say whatever's on my mind - sure - it's not total anonymity, but it's pretty close.


Even with as old as I am, someone is always trying to run my life and tell me what to do. I get that it's because they care about my best interest - at least sometimes - but it still leaves me completely isolated ans alone - no matter how many people are around me.


But, you know what? If I haven't handed the reins over to anyone in 51 years, I'm probably not going to now - and this leaves me without one single person in the world I can talk to - so I share here - information I find about menopause or weight loss - my feelings - in the hope someone will stumble across the site and either be inspired by my efforts to be healthy, or feel like they've found a friend in a  world that can be really cold and hard, or that information I have found in my own quest to be healthier during menopause can help someone else.


I recently made an appointment with an attorney to discuss divorcing my husband of over 20 years. It wasn't an easy call to make - I cried, holding the phone and looking at the number I had entered for a long time before hitting send - and it would be so easy to chicken out and just stay here - unhappy - but without the nastiness of a divorce. I haven't met with him yet, but I'm sure after I do, I'll be back here, oversharing, because it's part of the journey and it's authentic. A lot of women find themselves on one end or the other of divorce during menopause.


Do you ever feel like that? like there's not a single person in the world you can talk to?  If you need to share but would like to do so in anonymity for reasons like mine, feel free to drop an email to info@fatandcranky.com and - with your permission to share - we will share  your story here under a pseudonym.

Do Menopause Supplements Help?

I will share my experience, but would really like to hear your thoughts on this... Have you tried taking supplements to ease menopause symptoms?

As a person who gets sick (I actually vomit) after taking regular, everyday multivitamins, I was really skeptical about the idea of taking menopause supplements.

I did a little research to find out which supplements I needed most for my symptoms - mainly crankiness and weight gain - and the home remedies that came up the most often for me were green tea capsules, evening primrose oil (which didn't surprise me because it used to calm my PMS symptoms completely when I took it regularly. My results were mixed - or maybe I should say indefinite... I felt about the same but I quit taking them after about four weeks, so I didn't really give them a fair chance.

I also jumped on the green coffee bean extract wagon to help with quicker weight loss - it worked for me - really quickly - but I didn't stick with it long either - I just don't like taking pills.

I have also heard great things about some of the blended supplements, available in pharmacies, that contain black cohosh.

How about you? Have you tried any of these blended supplements, and if you have, do you recommend them based on your experience?

Share Your Experience With Weight Loss After Menopause

I have read a lot about how much harder it gets to lose weight after menopause, and I have certainly noticed changes in how easily I put on weight during the pre-menopausal and peri-menopausal phase compared to when I was younger.

What has YOUR post-menopausal weight loss experience been like?

I can't really speak to the experience of weight loss after menopause as I'm not quite there yet, but I would love to hear from any of you who would feel comfortable telling me and my other readers about your experience.

My current plan is to keep calm - except for when I'm not in the mood to be calm - and maintain a steady pace as far as eating as healthy as I can manage and exercising regularly, such as light aerobics for cardio fitness and weight lifting for strength building.

What Is Your Menopause and Weight Loss Plan?

Have you ever WANTED things to turn out a certain way, and then instead of taking action, just waited to see how things turned out?

If you answered yes to that - how did things turn out? The way you wanted? Or maybe not so great... When I have sat back and waited to see how things went instead of making  a plan and taking action, things turned out pretty darn awful! Fate can be cruel, and truly, that is an understatement.

If you don't want to trust your future to the cruel hand of fate, this is a great time for you to take charge of your destiny and develop your own menopause and weight loss plan.

I'm not a medical professional, so I can't give you medical advice on weight loss, other than to chat with your doctor about your concerns - but I can tell you what has worked for me and offer you a place to share your own experiences if you feel like it.

As I move into the menopausal phase of life, I notice my weight shifting around, settling around my middle, and I've noticed a few unkind kicks from gravity, too.

I started my own weight loss plan a year ago - and actually it was for t sake of being able to climb a flight of stairs without having to gasp for air. I gave up second helpings at meals - except for when my family goes out to eat at a buffet - then - I can indulge in seconds - if I feel like it. After a bit over a year - I rarely ever have the desire to go back, even at buffets, because I am simply used to eating less. A miracle that has left me a touch over 35 pounds lighter. I also started lifting dumbbells but didn't stick with that past the second month.

My next change, and I decided to do this one as a New Year's resolution, is to add exercise a minimum of 3 times per week. To help myself keep on track with this, I've programmed the aerobics classes and cardio-mix classes I can attend free as a perk of my YMCA membership in my planner with a one hour early notification to make sure I'm up and have time to drive in for the classes.

I would love to hear about your plan for managing menopause and weight control, or if you think it's crazy to make a plan like this, I would love to hear that, too, so feel free to comment below - if you want to.