My Journey with Cushing’s disease
At 30 years old, I was fit, healthy and naturally a size 8–10. I knew my body well, which is why, when it started to
Three years ago I started to experience menopause symptoms, loss of energy, poor sleep, loss of appetite, anxiety and depression—things I’d never really experienced before, along with sudden weight gain.
Having always been a UK size 10, it was a shock to the system. I struggled. My clothes felt frumpy, things didn’t seem to fit the same way and even going up a dress size didn’t really help.
As an experienced image consultant I had to take a moment and listen to some of my own advice! It was then that I realized my body shape had actually changed and just by tweaking how I was wearing my clothes and the styles I was wearing I could very easily get back to feeling like myself.
That’s when I became “The Menopause Stylist”. I took my 15 years of experience helping women understand their figures and how to dress confidently and focussed all of that on empowering women in menopause because, if I struggled, what were other women going through?
It’s a story I hear over and over from women who didn’t realize weight-loss isn’t their only option. Here’s some simple things you can do to avoid feeling frumpy and to get your sparkle back!
Take a moment and appreciate your body and all the amazing things it’s helped you do in your life. Gently tell yourself it’s normal for your body to change throughout life, it’s not a bad thing and you do not have to conform to looking any particular way at all. You are unique. This might take time to wrap your head around, as we’ve been conditioned our whole lives that we must be skinny. The 80s were brutal to us and have a lot to answer for when it comes to women’s self esteem.
Get yourself refitted for a bra. It’s common for boobs to get bigger and a well fitting bra can completely change an outfit.
Instead of focusing on covering up and hiding the parts of your figure you’re not happy with, use colour, prints and accessories to draw the eye away from those areas.
If you’ve lost your waistline, which is common and down to our hormones, you can recreate a waist by belting in a billowy dress or tucking a voluminous top into high waisted trousers or jeans.
Take some time to understand how your shape has changed and dress for the shape you have right now. You can download my Shape Up Your Style pdf guide to help you do this and find out which styles will work best for your new fabulous figure.
Menopause is a time to stop trying to conform or fit in, it’s a time for you to fully and completely unapologetically express yourself, your views, your experience and your personality through your style. Don’t let weight gain and body shape changes hold you back, it’s time to be you, it’s time to shine.
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