Me and my Menopot

I think one of the worst side effects of menopause is the pot belly that develops as a result of estrogen loss. Dr. Pamela Peeke, in her book Body for Life for Women, calls this rounded belly a menopot, a clever term linking it directly to menopause. Now I have never been a willowy person, but until the last decade I could always boast a flat stomach. Not any more. If I tucked my shirts in (which haven’t done in years), I might look similar to Twiddle Dee.

Peeke compares menopause to a reversed adolescence. Just as estrogen flooding the system changes young bodies quickly, the end of estrogen does the same. Despite all the happy-face books on how we should honor this stage in women’s lives, many of the changes are not for the better—muscle loss, bone density loss, and the migration of fat upward to the belly. There are solutions, however. Eat a lot less and exercise a whole lot more. The good doctor recommends marathons.