28. My Essential Health Hacks for Thriving in Perimenopause
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In this episode, we covered my own essential, non-negotiable health “hacks” to help me thrive in perimenopause.
Today I thought I would talk about some of my own essential, non-negotiable health “hacks” to help me thrive in perimenopause.
Look, these aren’t really “hacks.” These are things that all humans need in order to thrive—the not-so-sexy things like supplements, testing, and biohacking tools.
While those things certainly help, and I use them myself, what I’m covering in this episode are things that truly move the needle when it comes to your health. These are things we’ve seen work with clients and things I make time for every day that give me energy, help my mood, digestion, maintain my weight, and more.
My personal experience
I’ve shared in previous episodes how I started to experience symptoms of peri in my late 30s. I wasn’t sleeping well, I felt anxious, weight was hard to come off, I had debilitating joint pain, vaginal dryness, couldn’t focus, and was very forgetful, despite eating healthy, working out, taking supplements, and all the things I knew to do as a Functional Health Coach.
When I came to terms with the fact that I was starting perimenopause, I knew based on my years of education and experience working with clients that I had to make strategic changes to navigate the hormonal rollercoaster that is perimenopause.
Let’s get to it.
Prioritize Sleep
It’s very rare for me to stay up past 10:30-11 anymore. I aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. I’m not saying every night is perfect, but sleep is a must for me. In perimenopause, it’s hard to come by with the changes in hormones, so it has to be a top priority. I always wear an eye mask to ensure I’m in complete darkness, our room temperature is cool, there’s no clutter, I keep my phone in another room, and create the most tranquil environment that I can.
Get Morning Light
I get morning light in my eyes—whether I sit outside or go for a walk, I don’t wear sunglasses in the morning, so natural light gets into my eyes. This resets my circadian rhythm, increasing cortisol and telling my body it’s time to wake up and start the day. It gives me the energy that I need.
Hydrate
I hydrate with filtered water out of a glass (I avoid plastic bottles as much as possible) with sea salt or electrolytes and, when I remember, fresh lemon juice. I drink about 12-16 ounces when I wake up and get at the very least ½ my body weight in ounces of water daily.
Move Your Body
Every day, I walk my dog three times per day and sometimes I go on solo walks. I aim for 10-12k steps per day, and I often do more than that. In the summer, I can hit 14k steps per day. That feels good to me. Currently, I strength train two times per week (some weeks three) with my friend and personal trainer, Jessica Caton. She’s wonderful so I’ll link to her in the show notes. And on other days I do 15-20 minute Pilates workouts that I find on YT. They’re easy and efficient because I hate boring workouts.
Eat Three Times a Day
I eat three times per day, sometimes with one snack, typically in the afternoon. I start with breakfast about 2-3 hours after I wake up or whenever I’m hungry. I’m not strict with fasting—I listen to what my body needs. Each meal has quality lean protein (whether that’s eggs, chicken, turkey, salmon, beef, shrimp) plus fiber in the form of vegetables and fruits. Vegetables are typically non-starchy, lots of greens, carrots, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and I eat berries pretty much every day. Sometimes I’ll have a small apple, cherries, grapes, melons, or those mini oranges—cuties. I love those.
Minimize Consumption of Sugar, Alcohol, and Gluten
I minimize consumption of sugar, alcohol, and gluten. I went gluten-free about 10 years ago and it’s been pretty easy for me. I don’t eat a lot of carbs like pasta, bread, cookies, crackers, so the few times I want that stuff, I just grab gluten-free options. I used to drink alcohol fairly frequently, definitely wine on Fridays and weekends and social events. And I just realized it was empty calories, affecting my sleep, mood, hormones, and another thing my liver had to metabolize. So I rarely drink anymore and I don’t miss it. Sugar is my downfall—there’s an Italian bakery in town that has a bunch of GF cookies—omg I can’t help myself and it’s never a good idea for me to go there, but I indulge every now and then because life is too short. And when I’m at the Jersey Shore, you bet your ass I’m gonna get ice cream. Otherwise, I really don’t keep sweets in our home other than dark chocolate and the occasional dairy-free ice cream.
Take Targeted Supplements
I take targeted supplements based on my needs via testing. I take a lot of minerals, like magnesium, sodium, potassium, as well as digestive support to ensure I’m absorbing nutrients properly and warding off bad gut bacteria.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Take hormone replacement therapy. I can’t stress enough how much this has helped me. I take estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. I also take thyroid hormone and likely will need to long-term because of my prolactinoma. I also take low dose melatonin every night because it’s far more protective to the body than just sleep. I’ll link the one I use in the show notes.
Connect with Joyful People
I connect with people who bring joy to my life and I avoid people who don’t. I’m a very compassionate person but it pains me to see people who don’t prioritize their health—mental, physical, emotional. Because I have a bad habit of wanting to fix people and it’s not my job. So it’s a boundary I’ve had to form in order to take care of myself.
Work-Life Balance
After many years of not having a good work/life balance, I now have a pretty good balance, where I typically work Monday-Thursday and do my best to take off Friday-Sunday. While I’m passionate about the work I do, as you can imagine, it takes up a lot of energy. I lead a team, we have many clients to support, I create content on social media, I have this podcast, program updates, constantly doing research and learning. So it’s really important for me to rest & recharge so I can continue to do this work.
Find Joy
I pay close attention to what brings me joy in this life and I make time for it. Things that bring me joy right now: being outside in the warm weather because it’s short-lived in NJ, so I take advantage of this time of year; dinner with my partner, Mike—whether it’s at home or trying a new restaurant, playing with my dog, spending time with my cousin’s little boy, swimming—I’ve been in a lot of pools this summer and realize how happy I am when I’m near any body of water. I also like to work in different cafes, I love to read, watching scary movies, and have a good matcha.
So that’s about it—nothing groundbreaking—but I hope I inspired you to create some changes in your life and find more joy.
~Claudia XO
Products I Mentioned:
Electrolytes (save 20% with code: healthcoachclaudia)
Oura Ring (HSA/FSA accepted)
Jessica Caton (my personal trainer)
Herbatonin (I recommend 0.3 mg for long-term use)
Purity (save 20% with code: healthcoachclaudia)
Claudia Petrilli is a Functional Health Coach, Integrative Nutrition Coach, Women’s Health Educator, and creator of The Hormone Rescue program. Having experienced debilitating periods, digestive issues, a sluggish thyroid, a pituitary tumor, and perimenopause symptoms in her late 30s, she knows exactly what it’s like to get dismissed by doctors and spend years searching for answers.
To connect with Claudia Petrilli:
FREE GIFT: Peri-What?! The Must-Have Guide for Navigating Hormone Changes in Your 40s
WORK WITH US: The Hormone Rescue Program
QUESTIONS? EMAIL: claudia@claudiapetrilli.com
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