A Menopause Happiness Diet? Absolutely! As I have said before, your menopause journey is your own. Ya gotta do what makes you happy. Give up listening to all the outside judgey noise and rediscover your own happy.
Wine
A friend & I were chatting about a particular food she broke up with & thus was craving. I did one of those head twitching danger faces followed by raucous laughter because it was a food with which I’ll NEVER part.
Lucky for her it wasn’t wine—that’s one neither of us could ever give up. Hot flushes- you can kiss my luscious lips. I am not breaking up with wine no matter how much sweat you draw from my pores.
Back to her break up food—it was one of those lip-licking calorie-laden naughty food groups. One with which I’m quite indulgent. And it shows. Yup—I’m a big gal. Let’s just get the F word out there- I’m fat. Happy Fat.
I’ve half-heartedly dieted with friends over the years to be a good sport: The 1980s Cabbage Soup Diet (it actually worked). The Cider Vinegar diet. That Ferguson starving one you had to do through your local chemist back in the day. And the rest.
The food she gave up? The one with which I’ll never part? Fromage. My, oh my, how I love a fine crafted cheese.
Cheese
I once divorced cheese to see if the kilos would magically disappear. That’s torture for a turophile. We remarried.
As with anything, if your heart isn’t in it or you’re doing it to please others rather than yourself, it ain’t gunna work.
Turns out fat or skinny, ce n’est pas grave– I’m just plain happy. As I am.
Life
Menopause is more manageable from within that sweet spot of contentment. From that place where we can simply be. And be happy with who we are.
I found my way back to happiness during menopause. Mind you I did begin to question my sanity when I could not find a way to soothe my vaginal dryness– hence the reason for creating HappyPause Menopause Balm and this website/blog.
Pre-menopause, I found my way back to happiness after losing my adult brother to suicide. I found my way back to happiness through tragedy, heartbreak, liars, jerks & bullies. Dig deep, your capacity to rise up has not dwindled during menopause. It is still there.
The Menopause Happiness Diet is simple- if it makes you happy or gives you joy, do it. In spades. Make time for it and don’t feel guilty. Grab hold of your happy, hang on and don’t let go. Be it embracing your warm wonderful cuddly bits like me, training to complete a marathon or revelling in a chilled out messy bliss; make the definition of happy your own not anyone else’s.
You’ve earned it. Be happy and bask in what makes you content.
If you’re struggling to rediscover your happy spot, hang in there. Its just around the corner.
