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Menopause Is Over. Now What? · My Sexy Menopause Body

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to my sexy menopause body.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Not just a podcast, but a movement.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Menopause isn't something to dread.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's something to own with strength, confidence, and yes, sexiness.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because menopause doesn't mean fading into the background.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: It means stepping fully into who we are.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: And now here's your host, Kim Nicholson.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get started.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: When I was in my 20s and 30s, I heard horrible, horrible things about menopause.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I spent years thinking menopause was something I had to get through.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you hear those horrible things about perimenopause, you hear about hot flashes, hormones, sleep, weight gain, mood changes, brain fog.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the list goes on and on, right?
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: There are books and podcasts and supplements and doctors and a ton of social media accounts.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: And apparently everyone on Instagram has suddenly become an endocrinologist.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: But then one day I realize that something that nobody else has really explained to me.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: Menopause ends.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it does.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: Menopause does end.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: Postmenopause is where I may spend decades of my life and knew nothing about it.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: And that completely changed the way I started thinking about this part of my life.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: Hi, I'm Kim, and welcome to My Sexy Menopause Body, the podcast where we have real conversations about your body, your health, your relationships, and what it means to live really well on the other side of menopause.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: And today I want to talk about something I don't think we talk about nearly enough.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: What happens when menopause is over?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because it, if you think it's something about a woman's life, it really is kind of a fascinating subject.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we go through childhood, then puberty comes along, and suddenly our bodies start to change, right?
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: And then we enter what the reproductive years, which can last for decades, and then comes perimenopause, that sometimes that confusing stretch when hormones begin to, you know, changing and your body may start going through things you absolutely didn't give it permission to do.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Then there's menopause.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: But here's something that's really important that gets lost in the conversation.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Menopause itself is actually a point of time.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: So clinically, you reach menopause after you've gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's when you hit postmenopausal.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: And you remain postmenopausal for the rest of your life.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Think about that.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: Puberty was relatively short.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Perimenopause may have only lasted a few years.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: Menopause is technically one milestone, but postmenopause, that could be 30 years.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: It could be 40 years, maybe longer for Lucky.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: So depending on when you reach menopause and how long you live, this may be one of the longest stages of your entire life.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know about you, but I don't want to treat decades of my life like some sort of, you know, epilogue.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: I am proud to have made it here.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: I really am.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really proud of myself because getting older sometimes gets talked about as though we should apologize for it.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: But you know what?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: I don't feel that way.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: There are people who would have given anything for more birthdays, right?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: So when I look at my age now, yes, I notice changes in my body.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: Of course I do.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: There are things that aren't as easy as they used to be.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, recovery matters more, um, muscle matters more, balance matters more, what I eat matters more, how I sleep matters more, and frankly, some mornings I kind of make a noise getting up from the floor that I don't remember I made 20 years ago.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Where did that come from?
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: But it happens.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: But you know what?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: So what?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's honestly how I feel.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: So what?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: My body has changed.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, what am I gonna do with the body I have today?
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Because you know what?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: I am resilient, I can get stronger, and I can learn something new, and I can change a habit.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I am the daily habit coach, right?
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: I can take better care of myself.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: I can stop doing some of the things that aren't serving me anymore.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: Gotta recognize what those are, but yeah, I can do that.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I can decide what I want these years to look like.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's the shift I think that happens after menopause.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Because for years the conversation is about symptoms, right?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you hear about the symptoms to nauseum.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, how do I stop the hot flashes?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: How do I sleep?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, why am I gaining weight?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: What happens with my hormones?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Should I be taking hormone therapy?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: What supplements should I take?
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: Are those, but you know what?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: All of those really are legitimate questions.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: But eventually I think that the question gets bigger than those questions.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: It becomes, how do I want to live now?
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's a very different question.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: Because guess what?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: My priorities have shifted.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: I don't exercise today simply because I want my jeans to fit.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Or, you know, do I still want to look good?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, of course I do.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to pretend I suddenly became enlightened and no, I no longer care for what I look like.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: I like feeling good in my clothes.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: I like having definition in my arms.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: I like fixing my hair and putting on makeup and feeling attractive.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: There's nothing wrong with that.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I also want something much bigger now.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: I want strength that allows me to do things that I love and will continue to love.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: I want my leg strength, you know, strong enough so I can climb stairs and go hiking and travel with my husband and get myself up and off the floor.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I also want balance that keeps me steady throughout my day.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I want my bones to be strong, and I want a heart that, you know, keeps carrying me through this life.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I also want to protect my brain, and which, of course, I want to protect my independence.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think that to me is such a motivator for me personally.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: I want enough energy to enjoy my family instead of simply watching everybody else live around me, right?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: That changes the reason behind so many of the choices that I make today.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: So strength training isn't just about muscle definition anymore to me.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: Muscle is a part of my retirement plan because balanced training isn't something I do because it makes a good, you know, fitness video.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: It makes a terrible fitness video, actually.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: I want to be steady on my feet 20 years from now.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Same thing with protein.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Protein isn't just about hitting some number on an app, it's one of the tools that I actually use to support my muscle.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, walking is the same way.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: It isn't punishment for something I ate.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's something I can do for my heart, my metabolic heart, um, my mood, and sometimes just because I want to get outside, because it makes me feel so much better.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: And guess what?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: Food?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: Food has changed me too in this time of my life.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to spend the rest of my life on another diet.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I've tried them all.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to go on another diet ever.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: I want to sit at the table with the people I love, and I want, let's see, great olive oil, and I want fresh tomatoes, and I want grilled fish and beautiful vegetables and bread.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yep, yep, yep, I said bread.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I want birthday cake too on my birthday.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to travel and I want to taste food around the world, and I want to enjoy dinner with my husband.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I also want most of the food that I eat to help me keep this body functioning really well.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Both things can be true.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's one of the gifts of getting older.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: You start realizing that health isn't about, I don't know, doing everything perfectly.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's what it's about is understanding what matters enough to do it consistently.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: And that's like those daily habits that I had I talk about all the time.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: And research has given us good reasons to pay attention during these post-menopausal years because the hormonal change that happens to our body really does kind of dictate what our life will look like.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, it's things such as prevention, you know, it's like this doesn't mean that something terrible is going to happen to you.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: It means that something like prevention becomes increasingly important.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: So rather than become frightened by aging, I think this information gives us something incredibly valuable at this time.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: This time in our life is a chance to act.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can strength train, you can eat enough protein and get plenty of plants, and you can walk, and you can challenge your balance, you can and you can protect your sleep, and you can know your blood pressure, and you can know your cholesterol and your blood sugar and other important health numbers, and you can get the screenings that are appropriate for you.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: And you can guess what?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: You can talk to your healthcare provider about personal risks instead of getting, you know, medical advice from somebody dancing besides a bottle of supplements on TikTok.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: You can start at almost any age.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: You know, this is information that my mom and my grandma and my great-grandma didn't have, but we have this information today, and that's so important to me because I never want health information to leave you thinking, well, you know, I should have started that 20 years ago, so why bother?
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, no, that is not the answer.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe 20 years ago would have been great.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: 20 years ago isn't available to you now.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: But guess what?
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: Today is, and what you do repeatedly from here still matters.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like that, it's the cumulative effect of your choices that you know make you who you are over time.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: And that is where I want our attention today.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: Not regret, not chasing the body that we had at 35 years old, and not trying to turn back a clock that isn't going to go backward anyway.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: So stop lying to yourself.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: You can build the strongest and healthiest life you can from where you are today.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you can.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: And there's another part of postmenopause that I think deserves just as much attention as your muscle bones and cholesterol levels.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that's your life.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because somewhere in all of this, our roles start changing too, right?
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: Our kids grow up, my your parents are getting older, relationships change, uh, caregiving becomes a part of life.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: I know it is for me.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, career shift.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, for some of us, retirement starts coming into view.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you can find yourself asking questions you haven't ever even asked or thought about in years.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: So, some of the questions that maybe you start asking yourself today is, what do I want?
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I did a podcast on who do I want to be when I grow up?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: You can still ask yourself that question.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what do you want to enjoy?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Who who am I when everyone doesn't need quite as much time from me?
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: So when I'm alone, who am I?
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: And what still matters to me?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: And what doesn't matter anymore?
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think these are some powerful uh questions to ask yourself about getting old.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: And it recognizes that your time is so valuable.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm much more aware today of that than I was 10 years ago, even.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want every hour of my life filled simply because I can fill it.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to spend my good years constantly rushing forward toward the next thing.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: I want time with my husband.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: I want time with my family.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: I want to travel.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: I want to cook.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: I want to laugh.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: I want mornings where I don't have to be anywhere.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: I want to keep learning and I want to keep challenging myself.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, I want to keep working on my health.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: But here's the difference.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want health to become my my priority or my in life.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: In other words, I don't want to be obsessed by it.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: I don't mean it's not a priority because it is a priority.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to be obsessed with it.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: I want my health to help me live my life.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I want my health to do.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a huge distinction, right?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Your health is not the destination.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's the vehicle, you know, to get you to your destination for that independent living that we all strive for.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because strength matters, you know, when there's places you still want to go to.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: And your brain health matters because there are conversations you still want to have.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: And balance matters because there are streets that you still will need to walk and you don't want to be falling off a curb.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: And heart health matters because there are still people you want to love.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, nutrition matters because this body is carrying you through all of it.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: And that to me is what post-menopause should be about.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Not spending the next decades obsessing over menopause.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm over menopause.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so over it.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Menopause happened.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: So what?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: Now what?
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we need to ask ourselves.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: Now we build, now we protect, and now we choose what deserves our attention, right?
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: Now we stop measuring ourselves against the younger version of ourselves and start asking the question that you see in the mirror: what are my needs today?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's a big question.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe that's the biggest aha moment for you.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to be 35 again.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: I loved her, but she didn't know what I know today.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: And she hadn't lived through what I lived through.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: And she hadn't experienced the losses, the joys, the mistakes that I've made, the people that I've met, the places, and all the ordinary days that eventually became my life.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't trade all of that just to have younger looking skin.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe I borrow the skin back again.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna be truthful here.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm keeping the wisdom.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that we need to start telling a different story about women getting older today.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, our bodies change.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, our health risks do change as well.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, some things become harder to do, and uh and but that's not the whole story.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know what?
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because even where, like I said, even where you are today, you can become stronger, you can change your health, you can fall in love with something new, and you can travel somewhere you've never even been before.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you can repair relationships and you can make new friends, you can leave something that you know no longer fits you.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: So let it go.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: You can start something, and you guess what?
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: You can change your mind too.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: And you can decide that the way you've done things isn't the way you want to do them anymore.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: Guess what?
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's the power you have right now.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's called wisdom.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you don't have to worry about those things.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: You are still living, and that's why I'm proud to say I'm postmenopausal and I made it here.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not interested in spending the next several decades mourning about what my body used to be able to do.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: I am interested in finding out what I can help it to do next.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're postmenopausal too, here's what I want you to take away from this episode.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: First thing, menopause wasn't the finish line, it was only a transition.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: Second, the choices you make now still matter enormously.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need perfection.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: You don't, you you all you need is enough of the right things done consistently over time, those daily habits.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: And guess what?
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: And third, most importantly, don't make the entire goal of taking care of yourself simply just living longer.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to ask yourself, what do you really want those years for?
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Who do you want to be with?
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: Where do you want to go?
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: What do you want to be able to do?
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, what would make an ordinary Tuesday feel like a good day, right?
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because once you know what you're protecting, you can start taking care of yourself.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it starts to feel a whole lot less than an obligation or feeling overwhelmed.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: It becomes a way of saying, you know what, I still have things I want to do in this life.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: Menopause is over.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: Now what?
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Guess what?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know what happens?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Now we live.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Kim, and this has been my sexy menopause body.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for spending this time with me.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if this episode made you think about post-menopause a little differently, share it with a woman who needs to hear that.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: There is so much more to this conversation than just getting through menopause.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: So until next time, keep taking care of that body that's carrying you through everything you still want to do.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I will talk to you soon.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's a whole new beginning.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is your time to own your power.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Rewrite the rules and show up unapologetically because sexy doesn't expire.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: You define it.