My friend Holly's son finally reached the age of consent and decided to move in with his girlfriend. Holly had a big celebration the day after he left. She had the apartment all to herself and didn't have to worry about her son walking into the bathroom while she was in the shower. Holly was thrilled. A week later Holly became a little lonely and bought herself a cat which she promptly named Nigral.
Nigral was a nice cat. Holly once found Nigral playing with a mouse as opposed to killing it. The cat ran away whenever anybody walked into the apartment. Nigral's home base was Holly's bedroom closet. As I said, a nice cat.
There came a time when Nigral became a bit antsy and Holly's vet suggested that the cat be "fixed." A short time after the operation, Nigral started to get a little heavier. Holly was concerned because she wasn't feeding the cat any differently. The animal was brought back to the vet for a check up. The doctor assured her that this was a very common occurrence in all spayed cats. Holly was told that "fixing" the cat more or less had the same effects on the animal as menopause has on women.
As women get older and enter perimenopause and menopause, they tend to gain weight. The hips start to spread and the waist thickens. There's not much that can be done about it. What bothers me is that women are still taken to task for this very natural phenomena. Men gain weight as they get older also but It's easier for them to take off those unwanted pounds. They don't have their bodies working against them like women do. Instead of explaining this natural process to women and their spouses, women are made to feel inadequate and out of control. They can't control the chemical changes that are transforming their bodies yet they are blamed for the weight gain.
All female animals go through the same process. We all see our pets getting heavier while not eating any more than they did before. Weight gain is acceptable for animals but not for humans.
I've seen many people blame women for this natural weight gain. Women are told that they don't take care of themselves because they have lost the ability to have babies and that they no longer have any self respect because of that fact. Sounds to me that some of these theories are outdated. Society has to stop blaming menopausal women about their weight gain. It is something that happens whether women want it to or not. It should be accepted as a natural occurrence.
It's time for all of us to accept the truths about aging. We all might want to live forever. We all might watch our diet, exercise, and take all kinds of miracle pills so that we can live past the age of 100. But, no matter what we do, our bodies are still getting older and with increased age every person's body changes. Keep healthy, eat smart, and exercise but understand that changes are going to occur as we get older. Hey, what's the alternative?
