Overcoming the Menopause Lies
Women get the short end of the stick when it comes to middle age and beyond. So many suffer from changes they cannot control, unwanted added weight, mental shifts, and many more life-altering symptoms.
Meet Diana Thornton, fitness trainer/coach/mentor for women over age 40. She has used her will and determination to buck the system and has found ways to overcome the trials and tribulations women face during and post-Menopause. Learn about her journey to becoming the first-place winner in fitness competitions in her senior years and her mission to help others plan for mind/body/spirit balance and whole body health.
Eileen: You have been in fitness for a long time. What got you started?
Diana: I truly started my fitness journey when I was close to 20 years old. I discovered that certain exercises made my legs feel more solid, and that felt good. I stepped into the bodybuilding world after the birth of my third child. From the first time I noticed muscle definition in my triceps, I was hooked. I became fascinated with the ability that we have to completely transform our bodies by carefully planning out workouts and eating properly to support the muscle we are trying to build. I’ve never looked back!!
Eileen: Women empowerment is important to you. Why?
Diana: In today’s world, women are notorious for being extremely competitive with each other, and focusing on tearing each other down, instead of building each other up. It seems pervasive in today’s culture, and it makes me very sad. Because of all that I have been blessed to accomplish, I realize that the best way to live my life is to help every woman to believe that she is just as capable as I am, just as beautiful as I am, and believe that they can accomplish anything they want to. I am always willing to help lift up, inspire, and motivate because I feel it is my moral obligation to do my part to help women be the very best they can be.
Eileen: Your mission is to provide guidance and support to help women achieve all their health and fitness goals. How are you doing this?
Diana: I feel that the best way to provide the guidance and support women need is to get to know them on a deeply personal level. That’s why when I started up my business, I wanted it to be totally different from other training programs. It’s more than just workouts and nutrition. It’s about moral support, being there for the client, emotionally and spiritually, and always being available.
Eileen: What would you say are the top 3 things that prevent women from being able to stay positive, engaged in a health regimen, and achieve the goals they have?
Diana: This is a tough one. There are so many things that can derail or distract anyone from accomplishing goals. The constant busyness of daily life can be an obstacle if we allow it to be. Negative influences in our lives in the forms of family, friends, and people not wanting to see us succeed can be a hindrance as well. I would say that not having a clearly defined goal would be another potential problem. Not having a goal that we carefully plan out, can prevent us from being totally focused and determined to achieve that goal.
Eileen: Women go through tremendous change as they get older. You are educating and helping them with understanding hormones and treatment. Tell me more about this.
Diana: At the age of 51 I found myself in the middle of full-blown Menopause and going through a divorce all at the same time. I couldn’t understand how teaching five high-level spin classes a week and working out intensely six days a week would leave me feeling gaining weight and feeling “fluffy”. My body was out of control and I was having hot flashes several times every hour. I wasn’t sleeping well at all. A friend told me about bio-identical, hormone replacement therapy, and the miracles that it can produce. I was extremely skeptical but scheduled a doctor’s appointment. When the doctor told me that by getting on a bio-identical HRT program, I would be able to return my body to the condition it was in my 30s, I was laughing inside at the doctor. But I can honestly say that when I stepped on stage in my first fitness competition nine months later, and I won the overall, I was totally convinced that this form of therapy is a total life changer. I have been on a crusade since that time to make this critical information available to as many women as I possibly could.
Eileen: You are an incredible inspiration. What motivates you as a woman in her mid-60s?
Diana: I’ll actually be 67 in the next few weeks. These days I am motivated to be the best person I can be so that I can leave every person that I meet better than I found them. It is my sincere desire to bless people everywhere I go. My divine motivation is to inform as many people as I possibly can about the importance of hormone health. Accurate information is so difficult to find for women who are suffering from the symptoms of Menopause.
The medical community pathetically doesn’t address the problem or the solutions for Menopause. They simply want to treat the symptoms leaving the woman with lifelong weight problems.
I feel it is my moral obligation to share the truth with men and women about finding the right hormone specialist to address their hormone needs so that our later years can be our best years.
Eileen: I know you have compassion for others and truly want them to feel and look their best from the perspective of health. You were my personal trainer!! You helped me take back control of my body, what steps are necessary in mid-life to do this and make it stick?
Diana: The first step would probably be addressing out-of-balance hormones for any woman over the age of 40. Once hormones are properly balanced, then a workout program designed especially for the woman and her lifestyle would be the next step. Optimal nutrition would be right there with a good workout program. Because you can’t out exercise a bad diet. To stay on track, I believe everyone needs to have some sort of goal to work toward to stay motivated. I personally stay motivated by choosing projects in my own body to work on and improve.
Eileen: What do you believe women are doing wrong for optimal health?
Diana: I believe that there is so much overwhelming information available both good and bad, right and wrong on the internet when it comes to anything fitness or nutrition-oriented. It pretty much sets people up to fail because they get so overwhelmed. Then they don’t know what to do. Finding professionals that they trust to give them the proper information is critical. Whether it be medical professionals, or fitness and nutrition professionals.
Eileen: What is your favorite workout to do and why?
Diana: That’s an easy question for me! Because my project has been building glutes from absolutely nothing for about 10 years now. To do my best to make that happen and to keep good quality muscle in my lower body, I do two intense leg days every week and an additional glute-focused day as well.
Eileen: Words of wisdom for any woman who has given up or is about to throw in the towel on losing weight, tired of being tired, and/or frustrated with the uncontrollable body changes?
Diana: My words of wisdom would be don’t give up and don’t believe the lies! I experienced the same difficulties as every other woman going through Menopause. I was blessed to discover the miracle of bio, identical HRT. In the last 15 years, it has literally changed my life and made all of my accomplishments possible. BHRT provides energy, better sleep, the ability to control weight and build muscle, and also provide a healthy libido! Since I’ve had such an amazing experience with bio, identical hormones, I have made it my mission to share this miracle with as many women as I possibly can. It is extremely difficult in our country to find a doctor who specializes in bio-identical HRT, and who administers it properly. After searching for over a year and a half I found a group of expert doctors who are all specialists in hormone issues. Because Evolve is a TeleMed group they are available to anyone in the United States. I am beyond excited to be working with them to make my vision become a reality and make the Menopause solution available to everyone by providing the hope and relief they need.
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