🌸 Hormones, Hot Flushes & a Half-Eaten Starter

Right. Let's just get the elephant in the room out of the way, shall we?

This week was rough.😅

And before anyone starts — no, it wasn't Mounjaro. Mounjaro has been behaving itself perfectly, thank you very much. The culprit? That delightful uninvited houseguest known as The Menopause. She's been absolutely rampant lately, and this week she turned up wearing hobnail boots and a flamethrower.

Sleep? What sleep. I'm averaging about four hours a night — and I use the word "sleep" loosely because it's less "restful slumber" and more "lying awake sweating through the mattress while my brain hosts an anxiety rave."🕺🔥I genuinely think any weight I've lost this week is purely from the calories burned tossing and turning. Every cloud, I suppose.

The hot flushes have been next level. I am not exaggerating when I say I have been a walking, talking radiator. The kind that the whole family complains about in February and then desperately wants back in March. Except it's March, and nobody is grateful. Just me, drenched, somewhere between a puddle and a sauna.

🌿The Good Stuff — Because There Always Is Some

Here's the thing though. Despite feeling like a sleep-deprived, overheated zombie, there have been some genuinely lovely moments this week.

Spring has arrived, and I am absolutely here for it.🌸Spring is my favourite season — everything feels lighter, the days are longer, and honestly, it just makes me want to move. So even on the days where the gym felt like climbing Everest in flip flops (which, to be fair, it kind of did — I only managed one swim and came over ridiculously dizzy😵‍💫), I made sure to get outside.

Lunchtime walks. Morning strolls before work. Just getting the steps in wherever I could because the sunshine was genuinely calling me out. And that, for me, is progress. A year ago I'd have stayed on the sofa. This year, I'm choosing the walk. That matters.💪

🍽️The Restaurant Incident. Oh, The Restaurant Incident.

Now. Saturday.

We'd had a busy day at home — the kind of productive day that calls for a reward — so I suggested we go out for dinner. A proper sit-down, lovely meal. You know, likeadults who have a social life. The husband agreed, which I'm counting as a small miracle.

We got to the restaurant, we were seated, no drinking for either of us (he was driving, I chose not to), and we ordered our starters. Which were, I have to say,absolutely divine. I was so pleased with myself. Lovely evening. Nice restaurant. Great company.

And then.

The menopause decided to gate-crash.😑

One moment I was enjoying my starter. The next, I could feel it coming — that unmistakable wave ofoh no. Within about thirty seconds I had gone from perfectly fine human woman to a beetroot in a blazer. Full power surge. Bright red, dripping in sweat, dizzy, shaking, genuinely considering whether I needed to lie down on the restaurant floor for a moment.🥵

We had to leave. After the starter. With a main course that was apparently alreadyon its way out to us.

Bless my poor husband — not only did he have to ask the restaurant staff to box up an entire dinner we hadn't eaten, but he also had to pay the bill while I went and sat in the car attempting to cool down.😂

I don't think he saw it as the bargain I did. He paid full price for a meal we ate in Tupperware at home. Honestly though — who says romance is dead?

🛁Sunday Redemption

Sunday, thankfully, was much kinder.

A gorgeous roast dinner at home — proper comfort food, no drama — and then a lovely evening at the spa pool.🧖‍♀️The husband definitely did considerably more swimming than me (overachiever), but I was very happy bobbing about in the jacuzzi, pretending I was a woman of leisure.

And the best part? Not a single power surge. The menopause, apparently, respects the jacuzzi. Take note.🫧

A bit like my ability to sleep, she stayed well away.

📊The Numbers — And Oh My Word, The Numbers

Now, let me tell you something that made all of this week's hot flushed, sleep-deprived chaos completely worth it.

Because I had a look back at where I started.

October 2024: 19st 13.6lbs. BMI 45.1. Body fat 60.9%.

Today: 12st 3.6lbs. BMI 27.7. Body fat 34.1%.

That'sover 7 stone gone.🎉

This week alone I lost1.4lbs— not bad for a woman who barely slept and had to evacuate a restaurant mid-meal.😂

But here's the news I am perhaps most excited about, and if you've been following along you'll know why this is a big deal...

I AM FINALLY HYDRATED.🎉💧🎉

Body water sitting at 45.2% — which, for those playing along at home, means I have crossed the threshold intoactually properly hydrated human beingterritory. It has only taken over 70 weeks. SEVENTY. WEEKS. I have been telling myself to drink more water for the better part of a year and a half, and here we are. We got there. I'd toast with a glass of water but honestly, I've earned a sparkling one.💅

Visceral fat down from 26 to 10. Skeletal muscle up from 22.7% to 38.4%. Protein percentage more than doubled. Metabolic age down a year.

I look at those numbers and I genuinely can't quite believe it. Even on a week where I'm knackered, hormonal, and fled a restaurant after the starter like a sweaty Cinderella —this is still happening. The progress is still there. My body is still changing, still getting stronger, still showing up even when I'm not at my best.

And that, honestly, is everything.🥹

You don't need perfect weeks. You just need to keep going.

Hot flushes and all.

Helen x

Still sweating. Still moving. Still becoming.🌸