049 - Amanda Thebe - The Menopocalypse Is Coming For You!

On this podcast, we chat to Amanda Thebe, fitness professional and author of the book Menopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too!

Amanda has over twenty years of experience in the fitness industry. She is a popular guest on podcasts and online summits, and her health and fitness tips have been featured in media outlets like Shape, Prevention, Healthline, and Global News. She lives in Houston, Texas.

In this episode we talked about:

• Amanda’s recent experience with COVID-19 and how it knocked her for six for a few months. The post-viral syndrome left Amanda with a lot of fatigue and she struggled with daily activities for a long time, but is thankfully now on the mend!
• her story about when she first started experiencing symptoms of menopause (ie migraines, vertigo and depressions) and how it took two years and several health practitioners to find the answers she was looking for
• how surprised she was to find out that she was perimenopausal at the age of 42 and how so few people were talking about the subject! This led Amanda on a journey of discovery - she dived deep into the literature to learn more about menopause so that she could help herself and others. This led to her writing a book on it!
• the frustration that Amanda felt when she couldn’t find the answers to what was going on. She felt so much despair and thought that she was going to be feeling like that forever.
• how little medical professionals get trained on the topic of menopause -including the management. But this seems to be changing in the UK with new guidelines and mandatory training
• some of the common symptoms that women experience through the perimenopausal period (that no-one talks about!), such as vaginal dryness, urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
• what happens to oestrogen and progesterone during the perimenopausal period. Amanda also talks about leptin and ghrelin and how these hormones can impact our hunger and satiety cues.
• some of the physiological and psychological changes that occur through the perimenopausal period and how we can become more susceptible to things like cardiovascular disease, Alzheimers disease and osteoporosis
• the controversy around hormone therapy, how the medication has changed over time and how incredible helpful it is for so many women
• how physical and emotional stress can impact on symptoms during perimenopause - and some things that you can do to reduce these!
• why women tend to put on weight around menopause and how there is often a change in body shape around this time.
• how perimenopause can be a tough time for many women as they are often not only working and raising children, but also looking after elderly parents too. She discusses how useful it can be for women to spend some time exploring their values (see website below) and learn to make values-based decisions. And say no!

Resources
Menopocalypse book! (BUY HERE: https://www.fitnchips.com/books/)
Oestrogen matters - Dr Blooming and Dr Tavris
XX Brain book - Dr Lisa Mosconi
www.viacharacter.org
www.valuescentre.com

You can find Amanda at
fitnchips.com
amanda@fitnchips.com