I have shared a very raw clip on my Instagram of me feeling very and emotional after watching Davina McCall’s Menopause Documentary ‘Sex, Mind and the Menopause’ on Channel 4. I highly recommend watching it.
It really hit home as I have been suffering with perimenopausal symptoms for a few years now and at age 44, people still say I am too young! I burst into tears and my husband and youngest son actually sat with me to watch it holding my hand.
The documentary featured shocking statistics from a Channel 4 survey revealing that of the 4,000 45 to 55-year-olds asked, 70 per cent reported suffering from brain fog. Almost half said menopause symptoms affected their ability to do their job while nearly 85 per cent said there was nobody in the workplace to turn to about their problems. One in 10 had quit their job as a result.
It is devastating to hear how many women quit their job, marriages break up and can become suicidal. From the massive response on my Instagram stories it breaks my heart to see so many women suffering.
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One of the biggest revelations for me were around the change in the brain and brain fog. As a supporter of Alzheimer’s Society and losing my grandma to it, you have seen the work I do around raising awareness of the power of exercise but to hear that we can reduce our risks of Alzheimer’s by up to 50 per cent with HRT is insane.
I have done an Instagram live interview to share my journey so far and the symptoms I have been experiencing. I will be bringing on some Menopause experts on to my Instagram platform.
This is to break the taboos. To raise awareness. To make it normal to share and talk about peri/menopause. To support one another. To know that we can get help and that there are solutions. You are not alone. Don’t suffer in silence. Let’s feel empowered to get help and find solutions that make us Feel Good.
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I want men to also be involved in these conversations. It’s important to understand and support the women around you – your mums, your daughters, your partners, wives and in the workplace.
Let’s start normalising the conversation in our South Asian communities.
Lavina Mehta was awarded an MBE for services to health and fitness during Covid-19. She is passionate about promoting the health benefits of exercise to treat, prevent and reduce risks of common chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis. She is an Ambassador for Diabetes UK and also a big advocate of the mental health benefits of exercise, with her slogan to “Exercise for Sanity, not Vanity”.
In her ‘Feel Good’ series with ‘iGlobal’, she shares stories from her journey into fitness and workout tips.
To help you Feel Good physically & mentally, use Lavina’s FREE “Exercise Snacks” & “21 Day Feel Good Workout Plan” on her Instagram IGTV & Gym Snacks on her Instagram REELS
Lavina also has special offers to join her NEW Online Training Package, which includes access to her private Feel Good Facebook Community with over 175 saved workouts for replay on demand, in a supportive community for women to share meals, recipes and tips!. It also includes to her Exclusive Feel Good App, which provides structured plans for the Gym & Home, to log and track your workouts, food, measurements and progress.
Tune into Lavina’s FREE seniors workout sessions every Friday at 10am GMT on Zoom. She also has over 100 saved sessions you can replay anytime that suits you, many translated into Gujarati with her mother-in-law on YouTube.
*Contact info here