I’d read about it for years: Weight gain around the middle is common in menopause.
And in recent years, I’ve read more and more: Weight gain around the middle is dangerous, especially in menopausal women.
Dangerous not just for wearing a bathing suit when you finally get to visit Hawaii.
Dangerous for your health.
Rats.
I’ve never had a great stomach.
Well, let me clarify.
It’s great for eating cake with buttercream frosting and burritos lathered in sour cream.
It’s just not so great for looking svelte in knit dresses or bathing suits of the one or two piece variety.
The Menopause Goddess (who we all know is Ms. Qurikypants Do As She Pleases) has not been gracious to me in this area: the area of my marshmallow stomach.
Or is this not menopause at all? Is this just me eating too much and paying oh so NO attention to that distasteful word: MY CORE.
Not the core of my being. I like working on that.
The core of my body.
Menopause or sloppiness or a bit of both, I’m going to try to have some of my marshmallow melt away by summer. My friend for this ride is going to be My Fitness Pal.com. Since this program means I get to spend more time online, I’m having fun with it so far.
May I have a few volunteers to promise to question me about my success (0r failure) come the First of July?
Photo: In lieu of a photo of my menopausal stomach, I offer this old Campfire Marshmallow tin. It’s a good thing the tin isn’t filled with marshmallows anymore. A few weeks on My Fitness Pal, and I might be ready to woof down five pounds of marshmallows in nothing flat.
P.S . For those of you who remember my Naked Church post at the start of the new year, the visualizing, bad as it was, wasn’t scary enough. Hence, the new plan.
P.P.S: The winner of the tube of Valera has been notified. Thanks to all who entered the giveaway.
Friend For The Ride 
I hate this middle “menopause” stomach! And it doesn’t seem to change no matter how many crunches, how many miles I ride or how I try to eat less!
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Oh gosh, that’s discouraging. I haven’t even tried any crunches yet. Rats! Well thanks of the heads up.
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I don’t think I have to volunteer to monitor you!
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Ha! But I’m going to have fun monitoring your stomach in the months to come…
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what type of questions do you need? Is there a healthy [read diet] program? In my yoga class
our instructor has been sneaking in “core work which we all need”. There are a couple of us
who do major eye rolling and groaning, even though we know it helps. I prefer funky core
exercises where I am tricking my body to think it is a brand new yoga pose!
Good luck…….why the July date?
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I know I need to do yoga. July is just cause each beach weather
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Good for you, Barbara. It’s difficult to tackle the old marshmallow middle in silence because it’s rather easy to hide… Spanx, roomy shirts. So, you gotta make a public declaration (like you did) and be accountable. That’s the ONLY way exercise has worked for me. Yeah, I slip back routinely, but I always get back on track.
My best ever core exercise is bike riding. It has melted my middle when nothing else could. It burns the fat and builds the core, so it’s a full body workout. Aside from that, I like my floor ball. Anything that forces you to maintain your balance works the core. Or so they say. That’s why these exercises, biking and floor ball, really do the trick.
I still like the Naked Church idea and hope you will let us know how that works out… 😀
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Wow so biking is that good for the middle? That’s encouraging as I’ve been thinking about a bike. Those balls are fun looking too though and better in the rain!
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Ms. Quirkypants! I love it! That could be Mother Nature as easily as it could be the Menopause Goddess. Ms. Quirkypants decreed from the moment of my conception that I would have a marshmallow stomach for life. No amount of exercise can divest that marshamallowy fat from my stomach and I’m too chicken for lipo. Too bad menopause doesn’t include a natural whittling of our figures instead of widening. I hope the R2D2 figure comes into style soon…I’m ready.
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There was a fun Super Bowl ad last night with something about the rain now being able to melt fat. Now how cool would that be!
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Barb, I’ll volunteer to ask you about your marshmallow middle in July. I’m working on mine also. I also have not forgotten naked church. I find it a good visualization while I work out. It makes me smile!
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Yes bug me. Not doing so well today–eating conversation hearts. So glad you are using Naked Church!
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Working hard here too! When I saw the tin, I wondered if there were original marshmallows in there if they would still be as identifiable as the ones sold today in plastic bags with the ingredient list as long as your arm would be after many decades. They don’t change, but do get hard. Kinda scary.
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Good luck on that..I’ve been trying for years to get rid of the marshmallow belly…lol Now you tell me that it gets worse in menopause…damn, now I have to try extra hard…lol By the way, congrats on becoming a grandma this summer.
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Thanks about the grandma news! Bad news on belly though….Well not for Kath. Hers will go down again. Bad news for those of us who are older.
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Congratulations!!!! You’re going to be a grandma!!
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Thanks! I’m thrilled.
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I use a little gadget called a Fitbit (fitbit.com, I think), to keep myself on track.It’s like having a personal trainer attached to your body. But discreet – I hook it to my bra. Counts my steps, assesses my level of activity, and lets me know how far I’ve gone in one day. The website has a calorie counter, if you do that sort of thing. Scary to know how many calories are in a piece of fudge!
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So more detailed than just a pedometer or step counter?
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