Stay Slim & Healthy In Your 50s

This is a decade of transition: You’re going through perimenopause or menopause and battling a sluggish metabolism, too. The scale can creep up—if you let it. “The reality is that many women do gain weight in their 50s, but that doesn’t have to be the case,” Brown says. No need to bid your sleek stomach good-bye—you just have to work a little harder to keep it.

Aim for volume
Now that you’re burning about 200 fewer daily calories than you did at 30, you may need to cut portion sizes and snack strategically. Also, munch on foods that contain lots of fiber and water—like air-popped popcorn and whole fruit—so you can fill up on fewer calories.

Think fiber
High-fiber foods like whole grains and beans, “speed up overall digestion and keep blood sugar levels steady, because fiber takes longer to digest,” says Marissa Lippert, RD, author
of The Cheater’s Diet. “You don’t get hungry as quickly.”

Put the time in
Aim for 60 minutes of moderate exercise every day, says Jennifer Huberty, PhD, associate professor of physical activity and health promotion at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. If you’re time-crunched, 30 minutes a day of vigorous activity can do the trick, too. Also, do two to three strength-training sessions per week to help speed metabolism.

Work the right ab muscles
While cardio workouts will help zap postmenopause belly fat, it’s also crucial to target those hard-to-hit deep, lower-ab muscles—where traditional crunches won’t reach, says Donald Hensrud, MD, medical editor in chief of The Mayo Clinic Diet. 
To tone deep-ab muscles, he says, do this several times a week: Pull your navel in toward your spine while on all fours; do 10 rounds of holding for 10 seconds then resting for 10 seconds. For lower abs, he likes this move several times a week: Do 10 to 20 reps each of pelvic tilts and pelvic lifts while lying on the floor.