It is hard to digest the fact that I am right on the cusp of the inevitable once again. Yes, I am approaching Menopause or “The Change.” I’m not sure which word I am less fond of; it may be a tie. How did such a benign word like “change” take on such a negative connotation for women my age?

As women; how many changes can we endure? Obviously alot. All men and women deal with changes throughout life. We start school in kindergarten, move through grade school and eventually onto middle school and for an adolescent girl this brings the onset of the most dreaded event to date…starting your period or “The Curse” as it was so delicately referred to where I grew up. By the time my two older sisters explained what to expect when I was afflicted with ”The Curse” the Stephen King novels I religiously read no longer took the forefront of my nightmares.

At the age of thirteen I lived in fear and waited for this “Curse” to afflict me. That is exactly how I imagined it, an affliction, the beginning of the end. Cramps, bleeding, bloating, mood swings…all of the things I had nightmares about. I will never forget that anticipation and fear of the unknown. Now, at a different age, I find all of those same feelings and fears flooding right back to me. This time, however; it’s not the “Curse”, but the “Change.”

Talking to my fifty+ old girlfriends is exactly like listening to my not so much older sisters at the age of thirteen. However; the difference being that today I am armed with more than the chatter and fears of my older sisters and friends. I have done my research. I am walking in with my intellectual guns loaded.

For starters I know my fears. Hot flashes, irregular sleep patterns, mood swings, weight gain and list goes on. I plan to use this knowledge to combat menopause. What did legendary basketball coach Bobby Knight always say? “The best defense is a great offense.”

I have learned that to help alleviate or eliminate these symptoms that I have to treat them as my opponent. I’m simply not going to let them inside the perimeter. So this is how I plan to stave off, or at least ease these common symptoms.

The two approaches that appear to be most effective are close attention to diet and exercise and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy or BHRT.

BHRT is an amazing alternative to traditional synthetic hormone replacements. It is specifically created for you based on your DNA. It has effectively been used to treat symptoms of menopause and has not been connected to an increase in breast cancer as traditional synthetic HRT’s have been. Talk to your primary care physician today about how BHRT can help you through menopause.

As always, being conscious of diet and exercise clearly makes sense. When it comes to managing uncomfortable side effects of menopause this is a practical and intelligent choice. Unfortunately with the lower levels of estrogen in our bodies we tend to crave more sugars and fatty foods than before, and with the onset of fatigue during this time we tend to limit our physical activity. Several studies have shown that regular, moderate to rigorous exercise can actually help control and in some cases eliminate those dreaded hot flashes. These symptoms, combined with a decrease in our resting metabolic rate (RMR) combined with perimenopause and menopause; we can expect to burn from 40-60 calories less per day. Although this doesn’t sound like much, it can amount to over 5 pounds of weight gain per year if proper adjustments are not made. Keep in mind that perimenopause, the time leading up to actual menopause, can last up to 10 years. Without keeping these facts at the forefront of our thinking it is easy to let the negative effects of menopause creep up on you. Now, having this information in your pocket creates an awareness that you might not have had before. Simply increasing your exercise intensity or length by a few minutes a day and paying closer attention to your food choices will make up for this difference.

Knowing that menopause is imminent in my own life I have decided to be proactive, eat well, exercise regularly and explore options such as BHRT. Bring it on.