The Ultimate Menopause Checklist to Prep Your Mind, Body and Kitchen

Whether you are just starting to feel symptoms of the change, or you are fully in it, this is the perfect time to start preparing your body for what is to come. Most women start their menopause journey without even realizing that it already started years prior. The perimenopause stage can feel erratic with changes in sleep, mood, energy, and menstrual cycles. In my experience, things got worse before they got better.

With strategic habits that you can start implementing today, you can subtly smooth out the hormonal shifts and set yourself up for your next life stage. This checklist outlines what to eat, how to get the right kind of exercise in, and small shifts that will help you navigate menopause easier and in the most natural ways.

Get to know the signs of perimenopause

Knowledge is power, ladies! You won’t feel like you wake up one day and can confidently tell your girlfriends that you’re now in perimenopause; it’s a slow process that happens over a decade. When you start to notice changes in your cycle, sleep, mood, energy and weight (especially around the mid-section), you’re already a step ahead because you’re noticing. Here are some tips to implement for this first stage:

What to do in perimenopause

1. Learn all the signs and symptoms. You might not feel them all, but knowing what you could experience will empower you and give you the tools to help them feel less intense. Some symptoms, according to The Canadian Menopause Society, are irregular menstrual cycles, sleep disturbances, night sweats, hot flushes, and mood swings.
2. Track your cycle. You might find that your periods are heavier, lighter, or both. You might skip a month, or have an extended period in another month. You are still fertile, so don’t rely on irregular cycles as birth control. Track your cycle so you know more about when you are ovulating, with apps or smart rings like the Oura Ring.
3. Get a hormone check. Find a health care provider who can have you tested for fasting blood sugar, insulin levels, thyroid hormone, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Some hormone imbalances can lead to deficiencies in minerals and vitamins, can affect your weight, sleep, mood, and more. When you have a clear picture of what is happening through blood labs and not just guessing, you will be better equipped to support yourself with targeted supplements and diet.

Eat foods that support your hormones

A common symptom and complaint of menopause is stubborn weight gain, particularly around the belly. Many women think they have to diet, restrict calories, or starve by intermittent fasting for hours. These strategies can actually hinder weight loss because they add stress to the body, elevate cortisol, and can cause you to store more body fat. The brain and body’s job is to help you survive. When you are under stress, your body naturally preserves energy by storing body fat to use as a source of fuel to get you through all the stressful moments. Ditch the diets and eat strategically this way:

What to eat in perimenopause and menopause

1. Eat the 3 macronutrients. Meals that contain lean protein, healthy fats, and fibre will keep you satiated, balance blood sugar, maintain muscle and strength, and give you energy. Meals that are too carb-heavy or are missing any of the macros can put you on a blood sugar rollercoaster that leads to cravings, mood swings, disturbed sleep, and weight gain. This way of eating can wreak havoc on your hormones, especially in menopause. Aim for a minimum of 20-30 grams of protein per meal, 30 grams of fibre from grains, fruit and vegetables each day, and a couple of tablespoons of healthy fats from nuts, seeds, egg yolk, avocado, coconut, fatty fish, and dairy. Browse the low carb, protein-rich recipes on hellomeno.ca for best results.
2. Add phytoestrogens. These are plant compounds, found in over 300 foods like flax, soy, oats, wheat, apples, sweet potatoes, coffee, beer, wine, soy, and dairy, that have a similar chemical structure and effects on the body as estrodiol, an estrogen that the body naturally produces. As estrogen declines in menopause, some women find phytoestrogens helpful in easing menopause symptoms. If you have had female-related cancers, talk to your health care practitioner before adding phytoestrogens into your diet.
3. Cut back on alcohol. As a holistic nutritionist, I understand that completely cutting out a food, a whole category, or a food group can feel overwhelming and can cause more cravings or resentment. When it comes to alcohol, especially those high in sugar, greatly reducing is a good strategy. Your liver plays a big role in perimenopause and menopause as it helps to detox hormones. Alcohol can dehydrate you, congest your liver, and the sugar in alcohol can affect sleep and weight. According to Health Canada, The Canadian Cancer Society, and The Menopause Society of Canada, one drink per week could be considered a safe amount to consume.
4. Drink water. To help flush toxins, fuel your cells, and keep skin supple, drink at least 2 litres of water each day. Herbal tea, bone broth, fruit and vegetables also contribute to your water intake.
5. Swap it out. As you are trying to maintain a healthy weight in menopause, you will want to limit your starches and sugars. I want you to still enjoy your favourite foods so, instead of cutting them out, I prefer to swap them out for healthier ingredients. Some of my go-to’s are swapping white rice for cauliflower rice, swapping refined sugar for maple syrup, and swapping bread for lettuce wraps.

Higher-quality carbohydrate intake was found to be associated with lower somatic and psychological symptoms of menopause.

PubMed: Carbohydrate Quality Index: It’s Relationship to Menopausal Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women

Liver and gut health are everything

Your liver is your main detox organ. It helps flush toxins and metabolizes estrogen that your body has used and no longer has use for. Your microbiome lives in your gut and is where you digest and absorb nutrients from your food, is where the majority of your immune system lives, is where your B vitamins and serotonin are manufactured, and affects your weight. Both organs need these:

How to boost liver and gut health

1. Cruciferous vegetables. Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, bok choy, dandelion greens, and brussel sprouts contain enzymes that help your liver and gut metabolize estrogen, minimizing menopausal symptoms. Aim to get at least one of these veggies into your diet each day. Add this Brussels Sprouts Salad and Cheesy Cauliflower to your meal plan this week.
2. Fibre is key. Fibre from fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, and whole grains are food for your microbiome, also known as prebiotics. All those “good” bacteria need food to survive, and fibre collects toxins, excess hormones and cholesterol from the body and eliminates it. Aim for a minimum of 30 grams of fibre each day from foods like salads, smoothies, and chili.
3. Stay regular. Eating fibre, drinking water, moving your body, and managing stress will help keep you regular. This means you are having a bowel movement at least once a day. This is such an important step in a healthy menopause and hormone balance.
4. Take probiotics. You can’t supplement a poor diet with probiotics and hope everything will be ok. Once you have a good diet in place, you are following the checklist above, it’s time to add in probiotics. These bacteria help to crowd out the bad bacteria and populate the good ones that will fuel your digestion, metabolism, mood and immune system. I recommend rotating through different brands of probiotics so that you get a variety of different bacteria strains. I love these food-based probiotics that also contain herbs.

Prioritize sleep

Sleep is one of the pillars of health. I always remind my clients that you can eat all the salads and do all the yoga classes you want but, if you don’t get quality sleep, it all falls apart. Your body and mind repair when you are sleeping. You digest your food, make new cells, heal from wounds, and recharge during sleep. When you don’t get enough of it, your hormones become imbalanced and weight loss can be very difficult. You also tend to make poor food choices when you are tired! Here’s what you can do:

How to get better sleep in menopause

1. Set a bed time. Your body and mind love routine. When you go to bed and wake up around the same time every day, your body feels safe. When your body feels safe, it digests better, your cortisol levels are lower, and you release unwanted weight.
2. Create your routine. Finish your last meal of the day 2-3 hours before bed, get a short walk in after dinner, refrain from screen time and scrolling social media, make a cup of herbal sleepytime tea, and wind down with a warm bath or a good book. As I mentioned above, your body and mind love routine. You won’t fall asleep if your mind doesn’t feel relaxed and safe.
3. Avoid carbs before bed. That late night snacking, carb-heavy dinners (like pasta or rice dishes), alcohol and caffeine can affect sleep. Dinner should be more protein-rich and, if you are going to have dessert or wine, have it with dinner.
4. Monitor your sleep. I use an Oura ring to track the quality of sleep, latency, blood oxygen levels, and how my sleep habits are linked to my natural circadium rythm. Just knowing these numbers has helped me improve in areas I didn’t know I needed improvement in.

Exercise differently

If you are challenged with losing weight during perimenopause and menopause, exercising more frequently or intensly is not the answer. As your hormones fluctuate or decline in menopause, so can your bone density and muscle mass. It’s important to keep both of these strong as you age to prevent osteoporosis and fractures. The earlier you start strength training, the better off you will be. In fact, building muscle has other benefits for weight loss, stress reduction, blood sugar regulation, and cardiovascular health in menopause. Instead of spending hours at the gym, try this:

How to exercise in menopause

1. Walk, don’t run. Unless you have been a runner for years, don’t start as you enter menopause. Running can be hard on your bones and joints, where walking can have more benefits. You can still increase your heart rate when you walk, which is recommended, by increasing your speed for 30 seconds at a time, find a gentle hill, or stop to do some squats at a park bench. I like to set my steps goal on my tracker for 10, 000 each day. If you are just starting out, set a smaller goal for a week and slowly increase it over time.
2. Lift weights. Get yourself a set of light 8-10 pound weights and start building muscle 2-3 times a week. Do bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, overhead presses or rows while you squat, lunge, or walk up and down stairs. A weighted vest is easy to wear as you head out for walks or wear it around the house. Building muscle strengthens your bones, helps prevent osteoporosis, and boosts metabolism in menopause.

Clean up your beauty routine

Chemicals, like fragrance, parabens, sulfates, bleach, aluminum, and microplastics can disturb hormones in menopause. It’s easy to avoid them by choosing skin and body products that are more natural. When you consider how many products you use in your daily routine, those chemicals can add up. Making these small changes can greatly improve your health in menopause and beyond. Also, with hormones changing in menopause, you might find that your skin is more dry and sensitive. Here is what you can do:

Healthy skin care in menopause

1. Go natural. Read labels and scan barcodes with clean beauty apps to get insights on how healthy or unhealthy a product is for you. Avoid fragrance, dyes, parabens, aluminum, plastics, and sulfates which can mimic hormones. Make a list of the 10-12 beauty products you use daily and start swapping those for cleaner options.
2. Hydrate. Products that contain hydrating oils and ingredients like rosehip, vitamin C, primrose oil, and hyaluronic acid will help your skin feel supple and produce collagen. It’s also important to hydrate from the inside out with plenty of water every day. Get yourself a water bottle and fill it with mineralized water for the best results.

Give your kitchen a chemical cleanse

There are many chemicals hiding in pots, pans, storage containers, and baking sheets that can leach into your food and mess with your hormones. Many companies are becoming aware of the health challenges associated with cookware and are making some changes. Here is where you can make some healthy kitchen swaps:

Make these healthy kitchen swaps

1. Ditch the non-stick pans. The chemical coating on some non-stick pans can be a health hazard. Better options are ceramic, cast iron, and stainless steel.
2. Ditch plastics. Swap all plastic storage containers, juice jugs, water bottles, measuring cups and mixing bowls to glass or stainless steel. You can reheat in glass, or use hot liquids without the worry that the chemicals in plastic can leach into your food. If you are using plastics, be sure they are BPA-free.
3. Cleaner cleaning products. It seems ironic that cleaning products aren’t always clean in the chemical sense. If your cleaning products have health warnings on the label, swap them out for natural cleaners or try items you have in your kitchen already. Lemons, baking soda and vinegar make amazing disinfectants, odour absorbers, and glass cleaners that you can actually ingest. This is also important to consider if you have little ones or pets in the house.