It is a blistering Thursday afternoon in August and I am sitting at my desk on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, glistening in sweat as I wait for David Borenstein, MD, with my Zoom camera on. “Thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me today,” I say when he appears. I’ve been gently fanning my face with a Gucci Lovelight floral-print fan that was gifted to me for my 50th birthday a few months ago—an omen of hot flashes to come.
For the last year, I’d been a hot mess, literally: anxious, moody, prone to waking at 4.32am swathed in a damp tangle of sheets. My hair was thinning, my ‘elevens’ (vertical glabellar lines Manhattan dermatologist Dendy Engelman had been zapping with Botox since my early forties) now resembled twelves, and perhaps most unnervingly, my waist seemed to be expanding.
Like countless other women swan diving into their fifties, I was entering the twilight zone that is menopause. I could deal with the hot flashes (thank you, Pause Well-Aging Cooling Mist). But the weight gain around my midsection—the motivation for today’s consultation with Borenstein—troubled me. “I feel like I’m eating and exercising the same way I always have,” I tell him. “But I’m still gaining weight, especially here,” I continue, motioning toward a small bulge under my cream-coloured Chloé blouse. Borenstein nods as he peers through his screen. “There’s very good data associating menopause with a decreased metabolic rate.”
This story is from the May - June 2023 edition of VOGUE India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May - June 2023 edition of VOGUE India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
HEART AT WORK
London is a stomping ground for many South Asian creatives. AKANKSHA KAMATH meets an artist, an author-stylist and the duo behind a first-of-its-kind label on Savile Row to see what their work desks reveal about their unique expression
TSUNAINA
Otherworldly and bewitching are two words associated with the multi-hyphenate model. But who is the person behind the sculptured mask?
Viscountess of Hearts
She was catapulted into the stratosphere as Bridgerton's leading lady in 2022, but Simone Ashley is quite enjoying the descent as the spotlight shifts to a new couple this season. Speaking with Grammy Award nominee and fellow South Asian artiste Anoushka Shankar, she reflects on navigating fame, where she's headed next and if her path will lead her to India
Waning and waxing
The terror of inherited trauma always made SHYAMA LAXMAN keep her mother at arm's length. Now, with both of them older and wiser, there's a new dynamic to their relationship
Three's company
For as long as she can remember, SADAF SHAIKH has only ever hung out with her friends in groups, rarely one-on-one. Finally, she enlists help to excavate her passive pal origin story
Welcome to paradise
In the heart of the Mediterranean, a sisterhood gathers to pray, paint watercolours and pursue peace through spiritualism. MEDINA TREVATHAN reflects on the heaven to be found within The Women Sanctuary
The long game
Tamannaah Bhatia knows exactly what her skin needs-simple rituals, serums and stress-free days.
Current affairs
Can you plug into better skin with microcurrent therapy?
Ice me out
Torture method or genius life hack? NIDHI GUPTA investigates whether ice baths are really as cool as they're cracked up to be
She's got the look
Pop on a Punjabi song, fill a bowl with ice and get ready to immerse yourself in Kriti Sanon's skincare universe