Women over the age of 40, as they move towards menopause, usually experience an increasing waistline and multiplying fat cells...no matter how much they exercise.

Hormonal changes start to affect your weight when your 30 billion fat cells detect a slightly lower oestrogen reading and come to your aid to produce oestrogen for you. And the fat cells in your waist grow the largest because they are better equipped to produce oestrogen than those in your bottom, hips and thighs.

Debra Waterhouse provides her usual sound strategies to cope but also explains the positive side: that the more oestrogen you produce the fewer mood swings and hot flushes, less intense PMS, improved sleep, and a reduced risk of osteoporosis you will experience. And she warns: the harder you try to lose weight by dieting the more powerful your menopausal fat cells become .

Positive actions Waterhouse proposes include:
* Encouraging a positive attitude for your change of life, embracing your body changes
* Following her tailored exercise programme which includes building bone density and gaining muscle
* How much to eat, when and how often. What to eat, including plant oestrogens. And how to start trusting your body's messages and cravings.