The dreaded buddha belly.

My weight has held relatively steady (5'6" 130-135), and my lifting routine has held steady, AND I've been running throughout this time and yet my waist is growing.

I am 54 years old and I know all about menopause. That is why I ask about your meals. It will help you tremendously if you balance your meals. Balance I mean: 4 oz protein, 1 cup veggies, 1/2 cup carbs for three meals per day and then a healthy snack between meals. I promise, if you do this; especially us ladies who are this time of our life.

YES! I think food balancing is super important as well. A question: what do you consider "1/2 cup carbs"? What are the carbs you're thinking of? I guess I've never considered my carbs in "cups" before, so not sure what you're meaning there.

I am speaking of a complex carb that you should have with 3 of your meals per day.

Make sure you know the difference in a complex carb and simple carb. Try and omit simple carbs from your diet. You need complex carbs, those are your energy if you season them healthy and limit them to 1/2 cup per meal. A list of complex carbs are:

Potato
Sweet potato
Yams
Squash
Pumpkin
Steamed brown rice
Steamed wild rice
Lentils
Couscous
Kashi
Bulgur
Whole-wheat pasta
Oatmeal
Barley
Beans (black, kidney)
Corn
Strawberries
Melon
Apple
Orange
Fat-free yogurt
Fat-free milk
Whole-wheat bread
High-fiber cereal
Whole-wheat tortilla
Whole-wheat pita bread
Whole grains

I read your profile. I am a runner too. I actually teach 'learn to run' classes. My plan is to run a 1/2 this October then I am going to back off and become a 5k junkie!

I am a race director too. I direct five races each year in the town I live in.

I wanted to share with you ladies by my own trial and error, if I omit my carb for my last meal of the day, I feel so much better. I just add another veggie or I double my veggie (1 cup to 2 cups) for my last meal. This is what I found for me personally to work. I am not saying everyone needs to do this.

As we approach menopause or are in the middle of it as I am, our bodies do not respond to diet and exercise as it did when we we younger. This was the most difficult for me. I actually got very depressed over it. As a fitness instructor and I teach nutrition classes, I had to do much research on the female body, our hormones, and I even bought a book on how to handle menopause without medication. So far, I am dealing with it through proper eating, exercise and I do take supplements, but I do not take any hormone replacement. I have a very loving husband which helps tremendously.

I am sure most of you take Vitamin D and calcium. And please weight train. When I say weight train I avoid those little pink dumbbells and weight train like you mean it! No, you are not going to get bulky and look like a man and yes you can pick up those bad boys and work out. Find yourself a good well rounded routine and go for it. Don't forget your cardio, you need to build up a strong heart and lungs.

My goal is to get back into my size 6 clothes, but the size of my clothes does not matter if I am flabby; I mean how sexy is fat on a small frame? It's not!

Luckily I only gained 20 lbs with menopause and I have lost 10 of that 20 so far. It has taken me since before Christmas to lose those 10 lbs and that is what so frustrating for me. In my 20, 30 , 40's...shoot I could lose 10lbs in a month. Shew! Not anymore! I am 54 now and I have been dealing with the big M since I turned 49. Enough already. Ya know???

Thanks for reading this! I guess I needed to vent to women in the same boat I am in.

getfit: I'm in the throes of it all, and I find I have to closely watch my carbs and keep them super slow. No cheap carbs for me any more, sadly.

My goal is to stay under 140 til I'm on the other side, then try to get back to my "normal" 130. Fingers crossed.

And yes: real strength training is so important from here on out. Traditional, or otherwise.

I'm 60 years old, 5'1", 113 pounds (lost 22), and tiny everywhere except my waist! I weigh less than I did when I graduated from high school but everything is in a different place! I have such a hard time finding pants that will fit and after losing this weight I do NOT want to have to wear stretchy waist jeans ever again! The trade off is size 8 skinny jeans..... tighter in the leg, looser in the waist. I am pretty firm and toned but I can't seem to be rid of this little belly. I actually had a tummy tuck and lipo 3 years ago after a larger weight loss and while I am 100% thrilled with the result I would not want to do lipo again. I wish there was a way to spot reduce! If I lose any more weight anywhere other than that belly I will quite literally be skin and bones!