Letting go of expectations in peri/meno/post/pause

Wherever you are at in your journey I hope that you are finding the level of support you need that feels right for you.

A few weeks ago, Jen Schroer of Clarity Health and Wellness Coaching was part of the Women’s Wellness Collective at Faithfully Fit Community.

I had heard Jen Speak before (and you can hear her again coming up this weekend! More to come on that in a minute…)

What I loved about her advice at this stage in life is that we need to honor our biology and let go of the expectation that we should feel and function the same every day – that’s not how women’s bodies work! So instead of asking ourselves, “What is wrong with me?!” try asking “What is my body trying to tell me?” It’s a total mindset shift to help lighten your load and to stop fighting it, and start to work with it.

Jen shared her top 5 tips to learn our patterns and to stop pushing through symptoms – helping to manage in a way that feels doable with the goal not being perfection but awareness of what works, what doesn’t and how we can plan around it.

Here are her Top 5 (as I captured in my notes!)

1 – Track! The more information you have, the more help you will get. She recommends the balance app but you can also use pen/paper/calendar whatever works best for you.

2 – Exercise – but don’t over exercise! This is a big one for me. Prioritize recovery over hard cardio. Start lifting! Repeat after me – What we did before doesn’t work now. Recovery activities look like: walking, yoga or JUST DOING NOTHING. I said it! Set boundaries on your exercise habits.

3 – Food – Fuel your workout! Undereating adds more stress to your already stressed body. Add more protein, fuel your body with whole foods.

4 – Sleep – It impacts everything! Diet, exercise, etc. Establish a consistent sleep/wake schedule to start small.

5 – Stress – Its inevitable. Treat yourself better! Some simple ways to start are to incorporate breathing exercises and establish that quieting bedtime routine.

The whole goal here is to manage expectations and to make it work with your every day. Don’t try to change everything at once!!

If you want to hear from Jen this weekend, register for this virtual webinar here: A Balanced Summer of Thriving in st louis – Checkout Even more meaningful … all event profits benefit It’s Your Birthday, Inc. , a beautiful St. Louis nonprofit that brings joyful birthday celebrations to children in area homeless shelters. 🎂

Learn more about Jen’s journey and connect with her on Instagram.