Podcast episode 31: The power of menopause with Martine Prenen
In this episode, Martine Prenen talks about how women can rediscover themselves after forty.
About the myths surrounding “flabby arms” and “it’s my fault.” About rumbling intestines, and why strength training is more important than ever.
A conversation about gentleness and letting go of filters. Because menopause is not the end – it’s the beginning of something powerful: Menopower.
About Martine Prenen
Martine is well-known for her tv work and is active as an author, inspirer, and health coach. She guides women toward better self-care and helps them feel good in their own skin.
She has written nine books on the topic. Through her platform Mar10’s Bubbelbad, she offers retreats and masterclasses about stress, emotions, movement, and nutrition.
Not Menopause, but Menopower
Martine prefers to call menopause Menopower, because it’s a transformation. She has gone through it herself and feels stronger than ever. “That’s why I call it Menopower. It’s not a pause, it’s not a defect. It’s simply a period of change,” she explains.
A lot changes physically during menopause. That’s due to the temporary hormonal imbalance your body experiences while trying to find a new balance.
The production of estrogen – the caring hormone – decreases, which naturally makes you more focused on yourself. If you resist this change and cling to your old lifestyle, that Menopower won’t emerge. It may even feel like you no longer recognize yourself.
Approaching menopause consciously
Martine: “Menopause really causes deep shifts throughout your entire system. Many women can’t concentrate, become forgetful and irritable.” You start fighting over things that used to be effortless.
Her message: “You’re not going crazy. You’re not alone.” Menopause is a phase comparable to a reverse puberty.
When you understand what’s happening in your body, you gain more control. It’s also important for your partner and family to know that this is all completely normal.
Menopause: Still a taboo
Martine herself once had a caricatured image of menopausal women – “all those tragic women with dull hair and a red face.”
Even though it’s easier to talk about menopause these days, the taboo remains strong. We live in a culture that links female attractiveness to youth and fertility. When you enter the phase where you can no longer have children and your body starts to change, it’s often perceived – even by women themselves – as a loss.
According to Martine, we should instead see this new phase as the rise of a different kind of woman: powerful, wise, and beautiful. During Menopower, you become someone who thrives in wisdom, calm, and softness. It’s a time to reinvent yourself.
Preparing for menopause
Menopause is about more than just weight gain or the end of menstruation. “It affects everything – your mind, sleep, joints… But you can prevent many problems,” says Amandine.
Martine agrees that women over forty can already start preparing for menopause. First and foremost, by moving – because declining estrogen levels weaken muscles and reduce bone density.
A combination of strength training and cardio is ideal to make your body more resilient.
Why do I get a belly?
Amandine also promotes movement and strength training to boost your resting metabolism. She sees many menopausal women gaining weight because their basal metabolism slows down. The solutions are to move more or adjust your nutrition.
“Many women gain belly fat during menopause because estrogen is produced in abdominal fat,” Martine explains.
Your body is trying to maintain hormonal balance. Many women think it’s their fault – but it’s really your hormones, combined with your lifestyle.
Martine Prenen’s Tips
- Start your day with a large glass of lukewarm water with lemon. It helps your body flush out toxins processed overnight – great for your liver and intestines.
- Give yourself a light tapping massage every morning. Tap your entire body to stimulate blood circulation and give your organs an oxygen boost. Great for your brain!
- Choose healthy foods. Create a rainbow on your plate with natural colors, full of antioxidants to support your liver. And drink plenty of water.
- Move at least 20 minutes every day and include strength training. It won’t make you bulky – just stronger and more powerful.
- Build in micro-habits, like brushing your teeth in a squat or standing on one leg, to boost strength, flexibility, and balance.
- This is also a phase of letting go. Take time and rest when you need it. Meditation can help you reconnect with your body.
- Fall asleep more easily by thinking of three positive things from your day before bed. The “happiness hormone” serotonin helps produce the sleep hormone melatonin.
- Let it go. Release your worries through creative outlets like painting or journaling.
- Say “no” more often without guilt – at work, socially, or in intimacy.
Hugging and making love
Laughing, making love, and cuddling are essential for your sense of happiness. They release the “cuddle hormone” oxytocin. So cuddle often – with your partner, your children, your cat, or your dog.
Sexuality often becomes more complicated during menopause. “You go through a transformation as a woman, but also as a couple. Often we’ve lost touch with each other,” says Martine.
Many women start making big decisions, go back to school, leave their partner, or make a fresh start. The power of menopower turns us into a kind of volcano.
To avoid drifting away from your partner, you can use this menopower to start conversations you never had or always postponed. Make time for each other and book a night in a hotel together.
Martine: “Menopower is a fiery phase after which a new woman rises. And when her partner handles that well, he ends up with a goddess.”
Feeling good in your skin
At 61, Martine still looks radiant. How does she do it? “A good posture is very important to me,” she says. “My mother had a ballet school and taught me to walk as if wearing a crown. It’s good for your back and your muscles to sit and stand upright. Sports and movement definitely support that. I also like to dance around the house.”
Her secret to keeping her face, skin, and hands healthy is PRP, commonly known as the “vampire treatment,” where your own blood plasma is injected just under the skin. She also takes the amazing collagen shots from Insentials every morning.
Her lifestyle helps maintain her glow: she barely drinks alcohol, doesn’t smoke, and rarely eats junk food.
Taking care of yourself
It’s normal to become a little softer and rounder during menopause. Just try not to gain too much – and avoid rapid weight loss or extreme diets.
Martine: “It’s about maintaining balance, without being rigid. Extreme diets make you miserable, while your body now needs care and love more than ever.
Try to look at your body with kindness. We’re so gentle with our friends, partners, and children – yet so harsh with ourselves. That really needs to stop.”
