5 Steps to Manage Menopause Naturally 

Menopausal hormones 

First, let’s talk about what actually happens to women during menopause, because this is an often misunderstood time in women’s lives. As women approach midlife, sex hormone production slowly begins to decline over the course of 10-15 years, aka menopause! 

During this process, ovaries hand over the job of making sex hormones progesterone, estrogen and testosterone to your adrenal glands. If you are like most women I know, your adrenals might already be taxed with everyday stress, family, work obligations, etc. When the added work of making hormones is given to adrenals, it often leads to a sudden onset of unpleasant symptoms—low energy, weight gain, hot flashes, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, anxiety and depression. 

The decline in estrogen often results in an increase in the tendency towards insulin resistance. So the weight loss habits that once worked for you in your 30’s may suddenly fall short. This means that menopausal women must implement lifestyle changes that adapt to the changes happening in their body, specifically giving more attention to managing blood sugar and insulin levels with fasting and diet, to avoid insulin resistance. 

The final thing you might notice during menopause is the effects of testosterone and progesterone depletion. Symptomatically this often looks like irritability, anxiety, poor sleep, low libido and motivation and an inability to put on muscle. This often requires giving additional support to the adrenal glands in the form of stress reducing activities and adrenal support supplements.

===> Grab my Menopause Survival Guide with products and more hacks here!

So now let’s talk about what you can do…

5 Hacks for Menopausal Women

Hack #1: Stop eating all day. You’d be surprised by how many women are still following the outdated model of eating 6 meals and snacks throughout the day. Adopting a fasting lifestyle will have dramatic effects on relieving menopausal symptoms. I discuss exactly how to do this in detail in The Menopause Reset book, taking you through all the fundamental steps on how to build a fasting lifestyle, starting with intermittent fasting. 

Hack #2: Vary your eating style and foods. While the foundational eating style is ketogenic, you always want to be changing the way you eat to keep the body adapting. For example, did you know that there are many styles of keto, for example low keto, carnivore, keto vegetarian and ketobiotic. Varying your eating style is key to successful results with fasting, as well as incorporate enough hormone building feast days that nourish and support healthy hormones.

Hack # 3: Build a bulletproof microbiome. Women need a strong gut microbiome to efficiently break down and use the little estrogen they are producing. There are a lot of things that affect the microbiome, like diet and lifestyle, but your microbiome is especially vulnerable to toxins. 

  • Are you eating organic foods? Pesticides will deteriorate the inner lining of the gut, creating permeability and what is commonly referred to as “leaky gut”. If you’re drinking coffee, make sure it’s mold free and organic, like Camano Island.
  • Are you drinking clean water? The Environmental Working Group found more than 250 contaminants in tap water. You can check your tap water here. Water filtration is a must, as well as avoiding bottled water and plastics exposure. You can shop my favorite water filters here in the HOME section of my shop.
  • Are you using non-toxic personal care products? Chemicals found in popular beauty, cosmetics and personal care products like shampoos, body wash, hand soaps, toothpaste and deodorant are absorbed or ingested directly into your body. Shop my favorite beauty products here!
  • Are you using non-toxic home cleaning products? Chemicals found in commercial cleaning products like Lysol, Clorox and 409, destroy the microbiome. Our favorite is Branch Basics because it is so versatile and can be used for cleaning and laundry.

Hack #4: Stop the “rushing woman’s syndrome”. This is a term I learned from Libby Weaver who wrote the book by the same name. It is a fantastic book that helped me understand that how I was living my rushed life was not sustainable. I highly recommend this book to women struggling to manage the daily stress of life. 

Hack #5. Mind your melatonin. Melatonin decreases with age, so it becomes important to protect melatonin to prevent sleep issues. My favorite and free melatonin hack is walking at sunset, this helps the body register that bedtime is near and will start producing melatonin. Blue light emitted from screens, like phones, tablets and television deplete melatonin. If you are going to be on your screens, make sure you are wearing blue light blocking BLUblox glasses.

====> Watch my Menopause playlist for more fasting, diet and lifestyle tips!

2023-03-15T07:29:26+00:00Health|

13 Comments

  1. Lori October 18, 2021 at 5:24 pm - Reply

    If your cycle isn’t regular, how can you figure out where you are in your cycle for a starting point?

  2. K. February 5, 2023 at 9:39 pm - Reply

    Trying to get a hold of The Menopause Reset, which I know came out already, and I can’t find it available anywhere! Says preorder only. Where’d it go? How do I get the book?

    • Jessica Coots February 7, 2023 at 2:06 pm - Reply

      Hi there!

      It’s being republished with Hay House this June with an added new chapter on sleep! Stay tuned!

  3. Jessica March 12, 2023 at 1:44 pm - Reply

    Hi, I’m a 44year old who has been peri menopausal (without periods) for about five years and on HRT patches for the last 18 months – but I don’t have any negative menopause symptoms like hot flushes etc. I agonise over whether I should be taking HRT patches or not. I eat healthily, exercise and occasionally fast so am looking after myself! I’d be so grateful if you could let me know – yea or no – should I stop taking them?

    • Ru July 19, 2023 at 4:52 am - Reply

      Hello
      I read your post and thought. …huh how can you be peri menopausal if you not had cycle for 5yrs?
      Wouldn’t that mean your actually menopausal?
      If you’ve sailed through with no symptoms I’d say your diet must be perfect I’d be keen for some tips too.

  4. Laura March 12, 2023 at 9:52 pm - Reply

    Here in the UK there is such a push for HRT but I feel a bit uncomfortable about systemic hormones. I know the drop in oestrogen has loads of downsides (e.g. cognitively) – so should we be contemplating HRT? Or not? I have young kids. I want to be active and learning as long as possible. What is your view?

  5. Pam March 16, 2023 at 12:26 am - Reply

    Post menopausal woman starts 30 days reset on which day of moon cycle? Is it the new moon? Thank you!

  6. Melynda May 24, 2023 at 12:02 pm - Reply

    I bought The menopause reset audiobook. I love the book and wish to do the steps. It would be easier if they would be listed on a pdf . Is there a way to get the différent steps and important information that are in the audiobook without purchasing the paperback book ?

  7. saf martin May 26, 2023 at 8:43 am - Reply

    Really interesting book on fasting and cycle- how does cyclic HRT affect this? I have an enforced 28 days cycle, Estrogen everyday via gel, I then take progesterone days 15-26. Looking at your plan I’m not sure when I start the phases?

  8. Joanie June 24, 2023 at 12:53 am - Reply

    Hi Dr Mindy.

    I’m post menopausal age 67 young. What are best things for me to do. I’m just stuck at the same weight. I do keto & usually a 15 hour fast. I appreciate what you do for us woman!

  9. Alia Kriel July 4, 2023 at 9:41 pm - Reply

    Hi Mindy,

    I am almost 41 and am on the Mirena IUD and have been for 3 years after birth of second child.

    I am wondering if progesterone only birth controls help, hinder or do nothing at all to the menopause / peri menopause era?

  10. Sherri ghee September 2, 2023 at 11:12 am - Reply

    I am a 51 year old woman going through perimenopause. I have adenomyosis and have been taking noresthindrone to manage the symptoms and to keep me from bleeding because without it I just bleed every day. I want to do the reset where do I start. I didn’t naturally stop having a period. If I stop taking the meds I bleed

  11. Esme December 9, 2023 at 9:14 am - Reply

    Hi Mindy – I’m no stranger to fasting and are about 3 years into being perimenopausal and on meds for fibromyalgia. I really want to do your program w some extended fasting. Will my meds interfere with this process? Is there anything I need to be careful of?

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