Kurt, your post was great. I can say with 100% certainty that those things you listed worked for me, UNTIL I got off track with the sale of our house back home, leaving the place we raised our children, moving here, building house, etc.... then I got frozen shoulder which is hormone related and got into a downward spiral of less exercise (drat that cold winter too - didn't help), eating out more, eating more processed foods and OFF of my progesterone cream.
Now I am back on track and although things aren't perfect they are getting back to being 100%. I'll be 52 in October and I've had 2 children ages 25 and 22. I had my last cycle the month I turned 50.
Everyone is different, but for me the following works and I can say I stick to it most all of the time. There's always exceptions but I try not to give in to them or the healthy lifestyle will become the exception.
- Little to NO caffeine
- No booze (I stopped years ago - helps with menopot and hormones for sure) I have had an O'Doul's or Kaliber when out (those are the non-alcohol beers)
- Lots of raw foods - this time of year it is SO easy to eat mostly raw
- Minimally processed foods
- GOOD fats, almonds, walnuts, hemp, avocado, olive oil, etc...
- For me, vegan meals and the exception would be some fish or grass fed bison and a few of Renee's eggs from Twin Oaks (of course there is always the anniversary tiramasu
)
- Limited grains - my favorites are brown rice, quinoa and sprouted grain breads - but breads are rare.
- Sweating through lots of exercise on a regular basis
And finally, I use Life Flo Progesta Care cream
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Life-Flo-Progesta-Care-Natural-Progesterone-Menopause/dp/B000FF9OLQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1273947780&sr=1-4"]Amazon.com: Progesta-Care By LifeFlo - 4 oz Cream: Health & Personal Care@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41qK54VBZfL.@@AMEPARAM@@41qK54VBZfL[/ame]
25 nights on and 5 nights off.
I also use a tad bit of estrogen cream on my lips at night to combat those dreaded lip lines. It isn't a cure all but combined with retin a it helps. (I used to smoke in my youth!) :roll:
I also find that calming things like meditation, yoga, facial exercises, etc... help with hot flashes and mood swings. :funn:Limiting TV and having nightly massages are important too. Moondoogie and I exchange a 30 min massage each night (not much gets in our way when it comes to massage time)
I worked at a ladies fitness club as my last place of employment and we shared our menopause stories. There were those who drank pots of coffee, wine at night, ate chips and McDonald's, were overweight, barely exercised AND they had zero menopausal symptoms. They just stopped their cycles.

Go figure!!
I have pretty low body fat and I have found, through conversation that having a little MORE body fat is sometimes beneficial at menopause. IDK if that is true, but I'm not willing to find out.
Good luck ladies. Each person has to find a program that works for them - sounds like there's lots of good info on this thread.
G