Once you hit menopause, things may feel quite different. Suddenly your body, your emotions, and your clothes don’t feel the same as they used to. This can cause many women to feel awkward in their own bodies and unsure about yourself. Many women can experience a slow in their sex drive, as well as their confidence. However, it doesn’t have to be that way ! You can still feel sexy and confident after menopause!
We have put together a list of 10 different tips and hacks that can help you to overcome the negative side effects and the emotional toil that can accompany menopause.
How to Combat a Low Sex Drive
For many women menopause can cause a lower libido. It is important to know that this is normal and that you are not alone.
There are a few different reasons why this loss in sex drive can occur:
- Age – Research has shown that women are two-three https://www.webmd.com/menopause/features/menopause-makeover#1times more likely to experience a dip in libido before men do as they can experience menopausal symptoms long before menopause actually occurs.
- Hormones – Your hormones can be all over the place during menopause which causes a shift within the body’s chemical makeup.
- Stress – Stress has the power to change many things in our lives. If you are going through something stressful in your life this may the cause. Or if you and your partner are experiencing marriage problems this could also be the reasoning behind a loss of libido.
- Health Concerns – Other health concerns could also be the culprit behind your loss in libido. Health issues such as depression, anxiety, bladder control, and medications cna cause a disruption in this area.
When this occurs, you have many different options that you can take to help make you feel sexy again:
- Talk to your doctor – Perhaps the medication that you are currently on are to blame. Your doctor can help you to determine a better option for you.
- Hormone Therapy – Many women consider hormone therapy during menopause to help them feel like their old self again. Menopause causes a disruption in the body’s hormone production and hormone therapy can help to even things back out. Your doctor could prescribe estrogen patches or pills that can help ease symptoms like hot flashes and in result boost desire.
- Lubrication – The vagina tissue may be thinning during menopause which can cause painful sex and lead to urinary tract infections. If you use products such as KY Jelly and Astroglide this can help to add moisture back into the picture.
Revamping Your Sex Life
Sometimes just rethinking sex can help tweak your approach around enough to make a difference in the bedroom!
Try these helpful hints to help reignite that spark :
- Make time for each other – Day to day life can get busy and hard and put a damper on the mood. But if you make sure to find the time to focus on each other this can help make all of the difference. Start planning trips together when time allows, or set a weekly date night where you put all of your focus on your significant other.
- Put your pleasure first – Research has shown that women who are less likely to take the lead during sex have the most unhappy partners. It is time to focus on yourself and set the tempo for what feels right for you. Your partner might just enjoy having you take the reigns for a while! This may even include you taking the time to talk to your partner about what you are looking for or would like to try before actually giving it a go!
- Try new things – Our brains control our sex drive. By trying new things such as changing positions, places, toys, and roles you can help keep your brain highly entertained. This should help keep you in the mood!
- Don’t forget foreplay – As you age, it may take a little while for things to respond in the same way they did years ago. Take the time to cuddle, kiss, and stroke. Spend a little time fooling around before the big climax.
Release those Endorphins!
Exercising and fitness can do wonders for not only the body but for the mind! Research has shown that exercise helps you feel better.
There is a program that is designed to help women going through menopause to work on their fitness with just 30 minutes a day. You can walk, do yoga, stretching and light weights, or even ramping up the exercise with more advanced levels.
The program is designed to help women experiencing menopause to work with their bodies as they have begun to slow down and have so many changing hormones. Working out and keeping active will help to work to resist weight gain and help with muscle toning.
When you exercise you will also feel better about yourself and your body. You will know that you are making a difference and putting yourself first! This can do wonders for your confidence and self love.
Nutrition
By taking the time to eat a proper diet and stay healthy on the inside you are also working to improve your body from the inside out. By treating your body right, you will feel happier overall.
Try to enjoy a diet filed with leafy green vegetables and that avoids alcohol, sugar, and refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, or white rice. It is also advised for women to avoid meat and to eat more fish. There was a student of 17 clinical trials that examined this kind of diet with menopausal women. They focused on isoflavones, which are plant derived estrogens found in soy and other foods. The trials showed that women who ate a diet like this were shown to have a reduction in the severity of hot flashes.
Dr. Nishi Dhawan claims that phytoestrogens within the diet can help women feel better as long as they are included in their overall nutrition. You can find phytoestrogens in soybeans, chickpeas, flax seed, spinach, kale, and broccoli to name a few.
By helping your body to feel better on the inside, you can help yourself to feel more confident and happier on the outside!
Go Shopping
Sometimes taking a little bit of time for ourselves and enjoying a clothing makeover will help to do the trick! During menopause you will notice that your body is changing and your regular clothes may not be fitting like they used to.
Take this time to go invest in a new wardrobe! Go out and find clothes that make you feel sexy in your body again. Find clothes that flatter your new shape and that you feel comfortable in. If you find yourself putting on an outfit and you see a big smile come across your face, invest in it and invest in yourself!
Try Out a New Style
To go along with your shopping trip, take some time to visit your hairdresser! Sometimes the best way to top off a new wardrobe is a new look all together. As you age, your style and outlook can change. Why not find a look to embrace the change!
If you have always had longer hair, maybe now is the time to go for a short look and try out that wow factor! Or perhaps if you want to keep your long hair, try a new layered look to help give your hair more volume and texture!
Even just changing your hair color a bit could be the change you are looking for. Just make sure to find a look you feel comfortable with and will enjoy for months, if not years to come!
Embrace the Change
Embracing change is not always something that is easy to do. Menopause can cause your whole body, mind, and life to feel as if it has been thrown upside down. Instead of looking at it all from a negative standpoint, try looking at it as a part of life and embracing what comes.
Yes, menopause is associated with symptoms that may not be so pleasant to experience and aging, but it also marks a new time in your life. It marks a time where you are no longer the caregiver and can now become a caretaker. You are now much wiser than you were twenty years ago and can embrace your knowledge and experience. Menopause is a time where you no longer have to worry about a lot of the concerns you did when you were younger. You can finally relax, focus on yourself, and smell the roses!
Sexy Comes From Within
We are going to let you in on a little secret, the definition of sexy changes with age! What is considered a sexy 20 year old, is completely different for a sexy 40 year old, or a sexy 60 year old. Women are not held to the same standard of sexy throughout their entire life.
With that in mind, remember that you are in charge of your sexy! No one else can tell you how to feel or how to be. You are a strong, independent woman ! Embrace your body and the new changes happening within!
Now that may take some of the above tips to help embrace your newfound menopausal state, but go out and put on that new dress, with your new haircut, and show your partner you are just as sexy now as you were 30 years ago!
Not only will they thank you, but you will thank yourself! It is always fun to feel sexy!
Most Importantly : Love Yourself
Many of us forget to love ourselves throughout the changes that happen in life. It is so easy to think of how annoying our bodies are when we gain weight, or when you are feeling depressed, or having a hot flash. But, try to focus on the fact that no one person is perfect. Try to remember that every woman will go through menopause and that you are not alone.
Take the time to relax and enjoy your life. When you accept that you are not perfect and that you can still be sexy even if you do not feel sexy all of the time, it can change your whole perspective.
Menopause can cause depression or anxiety for many women, but taking the time to do things you enjoy and putting yourself first can help you to feel better. Do not forget that you are in charge of how you feel, while your body may lead you down certain paths, your mind is strong and you can conquer whatever comes in your way!
Embrace your new lifestyle and start to feel sexy again after 50!