AIBU to hate my belly?

[McGingery]

I’m 47 and I’ve been on HRT for 6 months. I have been sizes 8 (pre husband) 10 (pre kids) and 12 (post kids) but in the last month I now have this paunch belly! I hate it. My diet and exercise haven’t changed, my youngest is 6 and I swear it wasn’t there last year!

What is it? Where has it come from? How do I get rid of it? Ageing and menopause suck!

My diet and exercise haven’t changed

Youve already answered the questions in your last paragraph…

Why would you hate any part of yourself? It's all part of the system keeping you alive.

Hating yourself - and even more hating random bits of your appearance - is always unreasonable.

How do I get rid of it?
Try some pilates. Its fabulous for toning up areas that dont want to be toned!!

Or yoga / weights.

Get on the weights. Eat a calorie deficit and eat a gram of protein for every pound you weigh.

That's easier said than done I'm afraid. I think a you'll find a large percentage of women hate / strongly dislike something about them.

I absolutely hate / loathe / detest my saggy skin post c-section / weight loss belly. It's a huge issue for me and affects my self confidence hugely, so much so that combined with my wobbly thighs (hugely dislike but tolerate) I have refused to wear a swimsuit and get in a pool for the past 5 years.

I can totally understand OP's frustrations. But unfortunately I've heard it's a lot harder for peri & post menopausal women & those on HRT to shift the belly weight. I'm sure someone will be along with helpful advice, but comments like the above saying someone shouldn't hate a part of themselves aren't very helpful tbh. You're hardly going to change her mind, but instead trying to shame her for how she feels.

OP I do know a lot of women find eating low carb successful. Have you tried that?

Also agree that you'll likely need to switch up things like adding in exercise & changing your diet as what works before sometimes stops / needs adjusting due to metabolism & hormone changes

Pilates should help but it gets a lot harder as you get older (staying toned and wash board stomached, not Pilates)