Guest post by Diana Kumar, MD, Premier Integrated OBGYN

One of the more frequent questions I am asked by my patients in their 30s is, “Why am I so tired and gaining weight?” Most of us think of these symptoms as early signs of menopause, which usually manifests in our late 40s. So why are these young women suffering?

Fatigue can have many components including physical, emotional, and hormonal causes. Our 30s is usually a time when our lives are not just about us anymore: We are successful in our careers or making job changes with longer and sometimes more stressful hours. We are getting married or adding to our families. These life changes all can result in weight gain by affecting our time, or simply put, our lack of time.

Women are natural caretakers who multi-task, whether for their families and friends or their careers and workplace – or all of the above. The end-result can be that the priority to take care of our own physical and emotional well-being falls lower and lower on the list; however, these are the keys to feeling healthy and well!

Physically, there may be changes in a woman’s metabolism and how her body reacts to different foods. You may notice you could eat the large pizza and dessert in your 20s, but now those same foods suddenly cause heartburn, changes in your bowel, and a more sluggish feeling after a heavy meal.

My patients tend to say that during their “30s is when I felt like an adult, finally!” Of course, independence brings along stressors. How people cope with these stressors can change their sleep habits and eating habits. Hormonally and health-wise, this is the decade where genetics and lifestyle catch up with us. For example, this is typically a time when a family history of diabetes or thyroid disease makes an appearance.

The good news is that 30 is not the new 40. If anything, it is the opposite. The early 30s is a great time to make lifestyle changes. It is the time when we realize the lifestyle we were living in our 20s – whether it was staying out late at night, staying up with our electronic devices, sloughing off exercise – may not be the best choice anymore.

We are learning how to take better care of ourselves than ever before. We are always trying to achieve the balance, and accepting and recognizing that sometimes this is really difficult to achieve is normal.
Here are some lifestyle tips I recommend for women in their 30s:

• Take a look at your diet and keep a food diary. Visit a nutritionist.
  
• Set small goals such as walking daily for 20 minutes.
  
• Have a set time to meet your friends or exercise together.
  
• Try to make a family goal, such as riding bikes or going swimming every Saturday morning.
  
• Evaluate what motivates you and use that to incentivize yourself. It could be simply getting to buy the new pair of shoes if you add a salad to your diet daily for a month.

Ask your doctor if you are noticing any changes in your body. Or make an appointment at Premier Integrated OBGYN. Visit PremierOBGYNdenver.com or call 303-393-4330.

About Diana Kumar, MD
Dr. Kumar earned her medical degree at Texas A&M University. Always drawn to taking care of women, she completed her internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver. Fluent in Vietnamese, Dr. Kumar enjoys sharing all the life milestones with her patients and taking care of them and their families. Outside of the exam room, Dr. Kumar enjoys trying new restaurants, traveling, and trying to keep up with her husband and two kids. Make an appointment with Dr. Kumar online or call 303-393-4330.