Is Walking Good For The Menopause

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Are you struggling with exercising now that the crazy reality of perimenopause has started? Always unmotivated, tired, and sore in the mornings? On top of that, family, work, and social commitments seem to be taking up all your time, and you just can't find the time to exercise, or you're just absolutely exhausted by the time you get home. And let's be honest, wine, cheese, and biscuits always solve any problem anyway, so why would we need to exercise?

Well, so was I. After not being able to get out of bed in the mornings for months and feeling nauseous, sore, and really, really low, I thought there must be something I can change to help me get out of bed and feel like a normal human being again. So, what did I do? I started walking. 

I tried to increase my step count as much as I could each day and gradually expanded into hiking on the weekends and holidays to challenge myself even more. And it seems that celebrities such as Rebel Wilson, Jessica Simpson, and Chrissy Swan agree—they all claim that most of their recent weight loss was through walking alone. So I thought, if it works for them, let's give it a try.

So Is Walking Good For The Menopause, it's simply YES. According to research, walking is the best and easiest exercise for anyone, but particularly for women who have started perimenopause or are in menopause. It's low-impact, easy to start, and has specific benefits that are perfect for this stage of life. I have been really struggling to get myself motivated to go to the gym or do a workout at home for the last couple of years. I've been dabbling in exercising here and there, even employed a personal trainer, which did help for a while, but let's face it—they're expensive. With the cost of living going through the roof, I just can't afford that. I've always loved walking and find that I do my best thinking while I'm walking, so it made sense to see if walking could help reduce the symptoms of perimenopause and make a difference.

One of the best things about walking is that it's easy to start. You don't need any special equipment, you don't need a gym membership, and you can just incorporate it into your daily life easily. All you need is a good pair of shoes, and off you go. Walking regularly can help manage weight gain, which we all know is a common issue during menopause due to hormonal changes. I seem to have put on a kilo each month over the last couple of months just by looking at a piece of cake or eating the same food I've been eating for years. There's no rhyme or reason to it other than my hormones are changing, and apparently, it is what it is. So walking really supports this weight gain and has, so far, helped me to lose some weight and keep the weight gain under control.

Walking also improves your cardiovascular health by improving circulation and increasing your heart rate. According to research, walking can also help reduce other symptoms of menopause, such as night sweats and hot flashes. If you're struggling with anxiety and depression now that your hormones are running wild, walking can help you manage that stress and lift your mood due to the release of endorphins. I have been lucky so far that my mood and stress levels don't seem to be affected by perimenopause, but I do have quite a few friends who are really struggling and are on hormone therapy because they just couldn't cope anymore. They have told me that being outside in the fresh air and just walking around and doing light exercise has really helped manage those issues for them.

Another reason why walking is fantastic during this part of life is that it helps strengthen bones and muscles. This is crucial during menopause when the risk of osteoporosis increases. Walking regularly keeps your bones strong and reduces the risk of fractures. Let's be fair—who wants to break a bone at our age? We don't heal that quickly anymore. Of course, doing some strength training would be really helpful as well, and I will probably have to start doing that again soon to build my muscle mass even more. But it's winter, it's cold, I'm busy, and I find it really difficult to motivate myself to lift weights right now. So walking it is for now. My plan is to incorporate at least two sessions of weightlifting—just 20 minutes here and there with the big muscle groups to strengthen my body even more. Research has proven that the amount of muscle mass you have when you age determines how well you are in old age.

To keep myself on track, I set myself a challenge for the last three weeks during school holidays. I challenged myself to avoid all added sugars because I wanted to see if that also made an impact on my well-being and how I felt physically and mentally. I was walking 20,000 steps each day, which is around 15 kilometers. It was quite painful to do, but it was a great challenge and experiment. I can say that the more I walked, the better I felt. The longer I didn't eat sugar, the better I felt. I was able to get out of bed in the mornings fully energetic. I didn't feel nauseous or low on energy. I wasn't in a bad mood. My bloating was gone. I felt lighter and was basically skipping through the daisies for the last three weeks, which was a new feeling because I hadn't felt like that for a long time.

Now that the challenge is over and I'm back at work, following my usual daily routine, I'm not walking 20,000 steps every day, but I still try to get up to about 10,000 to 15,000 steps each day. I'm trying to stay away from sugar. Although I did have a few occasions in the last few days where I fell off the horse because of special birthdays or treats that were really worth having, I immediately felt bloated again and heavy. Overall, I wasn't feeling as well. So from tomorrow on, I'm back on track and off the sugars. I will definitely make a point of getting those steps in because I liked how I felt while doing it. Fingers crossed I can get back on the horse.

Here are some tips to get the most out of your walking routine:

1. Start slow: If you need to exercise, start with short walks and gradually increase the distance.
2. Stay consistent: Aim for at least 30 minutes of walking most days of the week.
3. Mix it up: Vary your routes and include hills or different terrain to challenge yourself.
4. Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water before, during, and after your walk.
5. Listen to your body: Pay attention to how your body feels and don't push yourself too hard.

I find these tips really important because on days when you're not feeling up for it, it's not worth pushing yourself to the brink. If you're tired, have your period, or just feel hormonal and exhausted, just go for a short stroll around the block. The same with water intake—it's winter, it's cold, and I'm struggling to take in water because I'm not thirsty. I try to have my water bottle with me most of the time and just sip along while I'm working. Other than that, I try to include quite a few herbal teas because they're nice and warm and still help hydrate.

To sum it up, walking is good for the menopause and walking is more than just exercise—it's a great way to improve your overall health at any age, but especially during menopause. It's really easy to do and incorporate into your busy daily life. Just start slowly. If you have a step counter, check how many steps you're doing currently and start slowly by increasing your steps by 1,000 each week. That way, you won't even feel the difference, and you can hopefully see the benefits really soon. Increasing your step count is easier than you think. Just take the stairs instead of the lift at work. Get off the train or tram a stop earlier and walk the extra meters. Pick up your kids from school and walk them home or walk them to school if you live close by. It's great for them, it's great for you, and you'll be surprised how quickly those steps will add up.