Danielle Assante of The Sweat Zone promotes nutrition for women over 50

Turns out, they have some special needs of their own.

Women start losing calcium from their bones at the ripe old age of 30, and significant mineral loss begins after 50.  Nine out of 10 women over 30 consume only half the recommended amount of calcium each day.The recommended daily calcium intake actually increases from 1,000 milligrams or women ages 19-50 to 1,200 milligrams for women over 50. Weight-bearing exercise should also be part of your active lifestyle.

Adding bulk to your diet can help prevent you from adding it to your hips! A diet high in fiber helps keep you regular, and foods high in fiber provide a feeling of fullness, which can prevent you from overeating at meals. Additionally, fiber aids in lowering total cholesterol levels and has been shown to help prevent colon cancer. Recently, 10 grams of daily fiber was found to cut the risk of heart disease, the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the United States.

Like bone mass, energy needs start to drop after the age of 30 due to lower activity levels. Most women don't take this into consideration, and therefore, the much maligned "middle-age spread" starts to pack on the pounds. Even active women over 50 should keep their calories to approximately 1,900 per day. Regular exercise, as with any age in life, will help keep you fit, trim, flexible and feeling younger.

Even if you're over 50, you're certainly not old. Fifty is the new 30, so take care of yourself for many more fabulous years!