It may be the end of Amazing 12 but my Amazing Menopause journey continues.
For me, the whole point of the Amazing 12 was to prove to myself that I didn’t have to have a shitty menopause. I knew I was getting a hormonal belly (yes, you can see by the “before” photo that I really was getting one (and I was sucking my belly in because I am not comfortable wearing crop tops. I was quite shocked at my before-belly).
Menopause should not be an awful journey. I know it can be. But you can change the outcome - if you want it badly enough. If you decide to change your journey then you will. I am very chuffed that I finally got rid of the hormone belly but for me the biggest achievement is that I changed my way of thinking.
Woo Hoo. What are we going to do today Claude?
Not in a million years did I think that weight training could be so powerful in changing my mindset. With running, swimming, walking the dogs, paddle boarding and even windsurfing, my mind could wander. And boy does it wander. It dibbles in the past and tells me what I should have done. It then flits to the future to what I should be doing. Never does it stay in the moment and just enjoy being alive. Well with weight training I had to be 100% focussed in the moment otherwise I would get injured. I would have to feel what muscles were moving; how was my back; don’t rush; take it slow; enjoy the moment.
I am not saying it was all about the weight training. I put other things in place.
Clean food (nothing processed). Lots of organic salads and green leafy veggies. Good night sleep and herbs. I see a fantastic herbalist (Andrea Hughes in Worthing). I also put Rosemary leaves in my water during the day to help with memory. I made fresh Sage tea to help with the hot flushes and reduce mental fatigue.
I made sure that I regularly ate alfalfa seeds, bean sprouts and edamame beans which are phyto-oestrogens and phytosterols. They help reduce hot flushes and improve with bone health and sleep.
Sprouted beans add a good crunch to my lunch.
Beetroot and celery in my salad (most days) to support the liver. The liver plays a big role in detoxing excess hormones. Oh and green tea to reduce circulating testosterone and oestradiol. This is what worked for me. You may be on medication or really finding it hard to take that first step to go shopping and preparing a healthy meal and doing some form of exercise. But your body and your hormones will thank you. I promise you.
So back to Amazing 12 and the weight training. It was tough and it was tiring. I was training under the guidance of Claude Abrams for 90 minutes from Monday to Friday. By the time I had got to Wednesday evening (and after legs session) I was bombed. I had to dig deep to exercise on Thursday and Friday. But never once did I regret the sessions. I may have turned up to training tired and grumpy but I always left feeling proud and happy.
I know I look broken in this photo. I remember this day as being one of my best training days. I had slam dunked 10 and 15 kilogram balls. I was finished physically but mentally I was flying. Claude really had to keep me in check with this sort of training to avoid injury.
Someone at run club asked me if it was the weight training specifically that helped or could it be any exercise? I actually think it was the weight training. I got a lot of negative comments from my “tribe” saying I looked tired and I was overdoing it. There is nothing more empowering and liberating than bench pressing a heavy weight to quieten the negative voices. And I miss it so much. I miss the structure and discipline of pumping weights, chatting to Claude, getting my gym kit and lunch and snacks ready for the next day. I literally ate, slept and trained for 3 months and it was fantastic.
This is Claude from Amazing 12 and the impressive gun(s) peeking from the left hand side is his witfe Jamie who is a yoga instructor. Claude taught me how to do the perfect dead lift and also to take ownership of everything in my life. Do you know how much therapy I would have to go through to work that out. Twelve weeks later, I have a stronger body, stronger mind and a new friend.
I haven’t stopped training. I train 2 to 3 days a week, I run 3 days a week and I have a rest day. I take my herbs, eat clean and do my best to get a good balance of work, play and sleep. I will be joining Claude and his tribe of boxing ladies in July as I miss training with him and I miss Core Results.
Amazing 12 was a stepping stone into a new world of not being scared or intimidated by my hormones. Life is a journey. I have choices. Do I want it to be shitty? Or do I want it to be amazing? Amazing of course.













