Missed it, but a lot of people recommend green tea. Personally,I don't believe anything works as well as exercise. Tea is a natural diaretic, so it does help with water retention. I find the best thing to do is to figure out why you have a belly first. Even in periomenopause it can be a number of things:
1. We may not realize it; but "the older we get, the less active we are." Best exercise is walking, but if you can do something more strenuous then do it....crunches, squats, leg lifts, aerobics, dancing, swimming, etc. The more you exercise, the more your muscles will tone back up. Ever see those female senior citizen body builders? They don't sit around watching TV or just take care of the family. They find "me time" and use it for exercising.
2. Water retention...As we hit periomenopause we start retaining water like a camel.
3. Gas...Yep, there is a true meaning to the term, "Old Fart." As we get older, our bodies just aren't as good at digesting stuff like when it was young. So you might want to stay away from gassy foods like sodas, beans, etc.