Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell: Winning Weight Control Strategies for Women Over 35 to Stay Fit Through Menopause (Paperback)

by M.p.h., R.d., Debra Waterhouse (Author) "Have you recently looked in the mirror and wondered where that extra body fat was coming from?..." (more)
Key Phrases: menopausal fat cells, midlife fat cells, midlife weight gain, The Meno-Positive Approach, Suggested Reading (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Menopausal weight gain is "the most stubborn weight gain you'll ever experience," says Debra Waterhouse in Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell. This book follows her bestselling Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell, customizing the program for women ages 35 to 55. The book is easy to read, makes difficult concepts simple to understand, and has helpful checklists to keep you on track.

Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell explains the role of fat cells before and during menopause and why midlife weight gain is such a pervasive problem. A woman's 30 billion fat cells get bigger and "more stubborn" during midlife, explains Waterhouse, because when they detect a lowered estrogen level, they step in to produce more estrogen and get larger as they get more active. Dieting doesn't work; instead of slimming your body, it thins your hair, muscles, skin, bones--and thinking. To combat these effects, Waterhouse explains how to work with your new menopausal physiology to minimize weight gain. You learn strategies of attitude, exercise, eating habits (including dealing with cravings), food choices, and stress management. For example, exercise at midlife fights fatigue, reduces mental sluggishness, improves sleep, stabilizes moods, reduces the severity of hot flashes, strengthens bones, and reduces the risk of breast cancer and heart disease. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Waterhouse (Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell, LJ 3/15/93) now turns her attention to the perimenopause, which she says can last 20 years, from the mid-30s to the mid-50s. During this period, the body is programmed to gain weight and to redistribute it on the body, since fat cells in the waist area produce estrogen and help the body to deal with its dwindling supply. Diets simply spur the body to conserve more fat. The fat actually helps to reduce the unpleasant effects of menopause, so we don't really want it to disappear. Waterhouse's "meno-positive" approach emphasizes eating a variety of foods at five or six small daily meals and incorporating a muscle-building exercise regimen into one's daily life. Sensible and sane, this volume deserves to be as popular as her previous book. Highly recommended.
-ASusan B. Hagloch, Tuscarawas Cty. P.L., New Philadelphia, OH
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (May 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786884126
• ISBN-13: 978-0786884124
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,242 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Number one on my list of recommendations!, December 4, 2000

By	The Booklass "booklass" (Texas) - See all my reviews

I read a lot. A whole lot, and it's not just limited to health and fitness books, either. However, the book that I recommend the most is this one, Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell by Debra Waterhouse. I have it on my wish list, but I've already taken it out of the library and read it four times, front to back. Why? Well, Dr. Waterhouse has written a clear, concise, sometimes humorous self help book that is actually HELPFUL! She explains what the changes are that a woman from around 35-55 might go through, why it is so easy to gain weight and so difficult to get it off, why we start gaining in our tummies, why all of the things we did in our twenties to lose suddenly don't work anymore, and why we need to make peace with these changes and respect what our bodies are trying to do for us. Her writing style is practical, upbeat, and motivating. Her recommendations for how to halt spare tire encroachment make sense and genuinely work. Her advice also provides the added benefit of halting osteoporosis, and maybe even reversing it. No gimmicks here. No magic bullets. But you also won't have to live on bean sprouts and tofu(unless you want to). The author gives you permission to weigh a few pounds above the recommended insurance charts, and the means to see that it looks good on you. I've read and recommended some other health and fitness books that are quite good, but none surpass this one. It needs to be on every woman's shelf. Period.

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy "Must Read" for women over 40, September 11, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Park City, UT.) - See all my reviews

I'm 45 and exercise regularly and was dieting yet continued to gain weight. This book helped me to understand why my body was not co-operating with me. I started eating more often and increased my activity level and in two weeks I finally lost 4 pounds. The book has a very positive approach to the menopause experience.

110 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ONLY "diet book" I'll ever recommend, September 13, 1999

By	P. Lozar "plozar" (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I'm a fat acceptance advocate who hates diet books on principle. Someone suggested I read this book anyway, and I'm glad I did. It confirmed the conclusions I've come to on my own after many unhappy years of struggling with an illusory "weight problem": diets make you fatter, skipping meals is bad for you, there are no "bad foods," you should listen to your body and eat when you're hungry, and the only way to stay in shape is to exercise. Her theoretical explanations made a lot of sense, and her attitude was reassuring: this is the way a woman's body WORKS, and if you gain some weight or change shape in midlife it's not because you're "doing something wrong." I don't agree with her completely: I think she's unnecessarily judgmental about "emotional eating" (if you're under stress and can't do anything else to alleviate it, is it better to overeat for a few weeks or to take up smoking?). Also, she seems to feel that the only way to build strength is to work out with free weights, but many other exercise programs can have the same effect -- even yoga, if you select the right asanas to practice. Still, in general, hers is the ONLY sensible approach to managing one's weight that I've ever read (any diet book that lists the National Association for Fat Acceptance as a "support group" is all right with me!), and I'd like to recommend that every woman (fat or thin) read it as she enters midlife.