Winter brings cozy sweaters, hats, and mittens to keep us warm during the chilly months. Unfortunately, winter can also bring itchy, dry skin, especially for women in menopause. Not only does dryness make our skin look dull, but it’s also downright uncomfortable. Lotions and oils sometimes work, but often they leave us with sticky skin that clings to my clothes (and who wants that?). If this sounds familiar, it’s because of the biological changes we go through in menopause that even impacts our skin.

If you are a planner like me, this whole ‘no plan’ holiday season is really hard. This time last year, I was writing out lists, prepping food, coordinating travel and stay logistics, and getting into the holiday spirit. If I shut my eyes and imagine Thanksgiving, I see my family cooking together in the kitchen, laughing, and eating yummy food. I don’t think I am the only one feeling a little lost without my traditional Thanksgiving routine or even a plan that I know won’t change at the last minute.

It turns out that for women in the menopause years (and that is me for sure), fiber is the key to keeping the bacterial in our intestinal tracts healthy and preventing that stubborn bloat. Wait. You eat a salad every day for lunch, doesn’t that count? Yes, it does, but the fiber is more than just lettuce. That’s because there are two kinds of fiber in our diets: soluble and insoluble.

The inevitable return of fall makes most of us think more about cooking nightly dinners, eating better, exercising more, and establishing a healthy routine that sticks. But in reality, what worked six months ago may not work now, and what worked well ten years ago really won't work either. Aging requires us to make adjustments in our eating and exercise habits and honoring where we are, not where we should be or where we were.

So, shouldn't this be the same for how we approach our style?

I know that It’s tough to think about weight loss when we are in the middle of a horrific pandemic. There’s the thought that maybe it’s self-indulgent and or unnecessary. Truthfully, good health matters now more than ever, and this is not the time to overlook the numbers on the scale or how your white jeans fit.