Becoming Empowered in Menopause without Dieting with Amy Ozier, PhD, RD, LDN
Are you feeling out of control with your body during menopause?
With fluctuations in hormones, your body goes through a major transition and can leave you with symptoms like:
Irritability
Hot flashes
Palpitations (like a horse racing in your chest)
Anxiety
Painful sex
Low libido
Joint pain
Sleep issues
Brain fog
Weight gain
UTIs
While this list isn’t exhaustive, it can feel exhausting just reading it, let alone feeling it.
Going on a diet with black-and-white rules can make you feel in control with your weight and other symptoms, but what’s even better than control is empowerment.
Whether you are going through menopause or haven’t quite hit that stage of life yet, this conversation is for you if you want to stay connected with God and proactive for your health for life.
Listen to Episode 51 of the Joyful Health Show for stories, humor, and practical tips for embracing menopause from a godly perspective.
Want to Connect with God for Your Diabetes Journey?
In this episode of the Joyful Health Show, we dive headfirst into tumultuous journey of menopause and how to be liberated from the dieting mindset that plagues so many women during this transition. Amy Ozier explores the physical and emotional challenges of perimenopause while shedding light on the deceptive messages surrounding body image and weight gain. Drawing inspiration from 1 John 2:26-27, we uncover the importance of trusting God's design for our bodies and resisting societal pressures. We discuss common menopause symptoms, offering practical coping strategies and emphasizing the purpose in pain.
We discuss:
1. The beauty of aging: Recognize the wisdom and sanctity that come with experience.
2. Listening to your own body: Tune into hunger and fullness cues rather than external indicators.
3. Building a coping toolkit: Equip yourself with support systems and tools to navigate this important developmental phase of the female body.
Join us in this faith-filled conversation and discover how you can move beyond menopause with grace, humor, and a renewed sense of freedom in the Lord.
Scripture to Self-Examination During Menopause
If you or your loved ones want to encounter menopause from a place of empowerment rather than tight-fisted control, we have a verse for you:
I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. 1 John 2:26-27
From this verse, think about:
Paying attention to how the world is trying to deceive you in regards to menopause.
How are you abiding, or resting, in Christ alone during menopause?
Consider this: can anyone teach you better than Jesus Himself?
What are the lies you are believing about yourself, or your weight?
What is God’s truth for you during this season?
How can you remember what God has already taught you?
Resources for a Grace-Centered Menopause Experience
Here are a few of the resources mentioned in our conversation to help you rise above the stigma and start seeing menopause as an opportunity to grow in the Lord:
Lost in the Middle: Midlife and the Grace of God by Paul David Tripp
Feeding Yourself with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn Satter
Feed Yourself: Step Away from the Lies of Diet Culture and into Your Divine Design by Leslie Schilling
“When Thinner Isn’t Better: Extra Pounds May Be Keeping Some People Healthier After a Certain Age” by AARP
Freebies from Tracy Brown, RD: www.Tracybrownrd.com/free-gifts
Ellyn Satter Institute: https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/
Health at Every Size weight-neutral health information: https://haeshealthsheets.com/
Body BLoved: https://www.bodybloved.com/
Jokes About Menopause
Amy encourages us to use humor as part of our menopause coping toolkit, so here are a few jokes to help lighten the mood and help us laugh a little when we’re gripping too tightly to a menopausal outcome:
Who finishes their sentences without a period?
Menopausal convicts.
Jokes about menopause and PMS are never ever funny.
Period!
How do you know your fridge is going through menopause?
It’s all out of eggs.
What is Menopause?
When a school of small fish stops suddenly.
Knock, knock.
(Who’s there?)
Menopause.
*awkward silence*
Do you know about the origin of menopause?
It’s called menopause because men would do well to pause before they speak.
Take Our Body Blessings Course to Become Empowered Just as You Are
Do you want to become empowered in your body to know what you need and praise God for His provision?
As Amy recommends, it’s important to know how to tune in to your body sooner rather than later, because it only gets harder while aging (although it’s NEVER too late)! We know that a mindful experience requires having a peaceful relationship with your body, and we believe that starts with God.
If you want to start tuning in to how you were made to move, our Body Blessings Course will walk you through intuitive health tracking pages, prayer journaling, and more exercises to move you from being preoccupied with culture’s impossible standards and leaning into your own God-given body.
If you can answer "yes and amen" to the following, then we think this course would be a great fit:
Get unstuck with a body image centered prayer practice
Integrate emotions and sensations into a healthy body image with printable guides
Discover intuitive eating and movement patterns and respond with kindness
Uncover how to fully enjoy God in your right now body
Move from preoccupation with self to worship and praise
Share your menopause without dieting takeaways here:
Pin these images on Pinterest or share to Instagram and tag us @joyfulhealthco!
Connect With Us!
Do you need a space to talk about the podcast with other like-minded Christian women? Join the Facebook Group and share your thoughts with us! We can’t wait to connect with you.