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.