Gabrielle Union Gained 27 Pounds Due To Perimenopause

Gabrielle Union Wade

Gabrielle Union Gained 27 Pounds Due To Perimenopause 

Gabrielle Union gets transparent about sudden changes in her body. 

Actress Gabrielle Union sat down with talk show host Drew Barrymore on the Drew Barrymore Show, where she confessed that during the early stages of perimenopause, the time around menopause when your ovaries gradually stop working, something felt a “little off.” Gabrielle Union, unsure of what was happening at the time, confided in her mother and then a doctor who diagnosed her with perimenopause. She went on to say,

“No one talks about it. They’d rather just say that you’re crazy or bitter or you’re a B, and you’re like, I’m a human being and something is going on.”

Drew chimed in and shared,

“I took a walk in the park this morning because I was just struggling so much when I woke up” 

She added,

“You just go through an emotional rollercoaster” 

Gabrielle Union opens up about the emotional rollercoaster of menopause. pic.twitter.com/xFXSh8bYlx

— The Drew Barrymore Show (@DrewBarrymoreTV) November 14, 2023

OB/GYN Dr. Kameelah Phillips was also a guest on the show, and she added that women can gain up to thirty pounds during menopause. Dr. Phillips invited Barrymore and Union to help her give a visual example of how that weight is gained. Dr. Phillips demonstrated how these factors are indeed common by using buckets of sugar labeled to represent stress, life, and lack of exercise. 

The “Think Like A Man” star continued to share the pitfalls of entering menopause; she stated that she experienced drastic weight gain to the sum of twenty-seven pounds in what “felt like overnight.” Union also said, 

“I reached out to a healthcare professional, and they were like first things first, no gluten, no dairy, no alcohol, no caffeine.”

Drew and Gabrielle Union share their experiences with weight gain during perimenopause. pic.twitter.com/At6081z3EV

— The Drew Barrymore Show (@DrewBarrymoreTV) November 14, 2023

Though seemingly hesitant to exclude alcohol, jokingly, Union followed her doctor’s orders and, after three weeks, admitted that the change was dramatic. 

Gabriel Union is not alone in dealing with pre-menopause and its effects. Earlier this year (Jan. 2023), award-winning actress Tracee Ellis Ross also opened up about her experience. We reported that Tracee candidly talked about going through perimenopause at age fifty. In a podcast interview, Ross reportedly shared, 

“I have, for my entire life, been tethered to a very routine cycle. And I’m very connected to my body, so I would know I’m ovulating. I would have all the feelings of knowing that and all of that is out the window. And I turn 50. And here I am in this open space now, sort of allowing the bubbling up of whatever might be here.”

Hopefully, the transparency of these influential women will shed more light on the topic of perimenopause so that not only can women be better educated, but they can also be equipped to handle it.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below! 

[VIA 1]