I am a very recent 40 year old ( July 2011) I've gained and lost many time over teh last 15 years or so. Some was from having kids, some was from life changes (working, parental illness, stress.) It's usaually around 30 pounds up and down. This time (I gained this 30 the summer I turned 39) I would say I gained much more of it in the belly than I ever have before. AND it's stuck there. I've lost 5 pounds and not a centimeter off the belly! I used to lose it there first. Is it because I'm 40? I know if I keep at it it will come off eventually, but I am used to being a pear not an apple.

I'm not 40 but I've found that after just having one kid it's made me MUCH more prone to gaining weight (and holding onto that weight even while I lose!) in my stomach.

Also, it's pretty normal for me within a small weight range (like the 5lbs you mentioned) to not lose anything from certain parts of my body. For instance, for awhile I was losing a lot from my bust/wasit/hips. Then that stopped for a good 5-10lbs loss where I was losing from my arms/thighs/neck. Now it appears that I might be losing from my waist/hips again.

It's not something to get discouraged over. I know it's annoying, it would be WONDERFUL to spot reduce but, unfortunately, our bodies get to pick where we lose the weight and we have no say in it. That being said we DO have a say in if we continue to lose weight or not and that will eventually help to cut back on your stomach fat.

Turning 40 turned me into an apple, too, and in the next 30 years I still can't lose the belly and I do weights and aerobic exercise and yoga 13 hours a week. Did you know that once you turn 40 you have to reduce your daily calorie consumption or increase exercise by 100 calories a day for every 10 years just to stay at the same weight you are now?

I've always had kind of a pooch in the front.... but I also noticed in my 40s that I hold more in the middle than I used to. Blech.

I'm 43, no matter how much weight I lose, even at my thinnest(104lbs), never lost the belly!!

I lost weight in my late forties and then discovered that due to my relatively large belly, after all my hard work I didn't look the way I expected (like I had younger at the same weight) or wanted (it was pretty demotivating). I re-gained some and am re-losing it now. This time, I am eating lower carb and exercising more.

And this time there is less belly (healthy waist to hip ratio for the first time in years!). I still don't have the waistline I did before pregnancy, but it does show that even in one's forties one can affect the relative size of the belly.

I'd say I carry more of my weight around my tummy these days too. Although don't get me wrong, as my user name suggests, I'm still a fat bottomed girl. I keep reading about all these horrible changes that come with your forties: increased visceral (abdominal) fat, dips in metabolism, hormonal fluctuation, bone loss, inability to blend in at Kings Of Leon concerts...

All I want is the metabolism of an 18 yr old, the energy of a 25 yr old, the determination of a 33 yr old and the patience & wisdom of a 55 yr old. Surely that's not too much to ask?!

I turned 45 this year and it has definitely been a different battle since about 39 or so. The weight comes on easier, and physically things are just not as strong or limber as they used to be. I went through a phase where I realized I had to change the way I thought about myself - I was a 40+ female who still was holding herself to body expectations of a 25 year old. One of the best things I did for myself was that I quit dying my hair and let the greys show. It was good for me. It allowed me to redefine who I am & I now have more realistic expectations of myself.

I've definitely had trouble losing my midriff. I think part of mine is genetics and pre-menopause, but I never had issues like this when I was younger.

I'm glad I'm not alone. I put on weight in the past year from stress (after loosing last year--so I put on that, to where I was, plus more).

I bought some new jeans this weekend that fit and looked in the mirror and saw I was an Apple Shape. I've never been an Apple Shape. When I was a lot heavier in my 20s I was just an all over fat shape (fat everywhere). And even not at my goal weight for several years, I wasn't an apple shape.