Yo-yo diets, sugar binges and too much cardio: Why women's derrieres vanish as they near 50

  • Claudia Connell used to have a pert bottom to rival that of Kim Kardashian
  • But at 48, the writer says her curvacious figure is fast disappearing
  • Can she ever get it back? A fitness coach shares her expert advice

Previously I’d always thought I was fairly up to speed when it comes to the hideous changes I can expect my body to undergo as I crash into middle age.

For example, I wasn’t surprised when I suddenly went up a shoe size as I know that our arches start to fall and our feet get bigger as we age. I’ve got quite little feet anyway, so not a big deal.

I can’t say I’m overly bothered by my declining eyesight either. I rather suit glasses.

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'Previously I’d always thought I was fairly up to speed when it comes to the hideous changes I can expect my body to undergo as I crash into middle age,' says Claudia Connell

'Previously I’d always thought I was fairly up to speed when it comes to the hideous changes I can expect my body to undergo as I crash into middle age,' says Claudia Connell

Flappy bingo wings are easily covered with sleeves, and the fact it takes half the day for the pillowcase creases on my face to disappear is a source of amusement rather than annoyance, since I have daily bets with myself as to when they’ll finally fade. Five o’clock in the afternoon is the current record.

In other words I knew I was going to sag, bag, wrinkle and expand and generally have days where I felt like I had the sexual allure of a sack of spuds. But what I didn’t know was that I would examine my rear view in the mirror one day, at the age of 48, only to find that my once bootylicious backside was missing in action.

During my 20s and 30s I was the proud owner of a bottom that you could have rested your coffee mug on (and actually did a few times as a party trick). It extended so far behind me that it entered the room 30 seconds after my chest.

Yes, if I say so myself, I used to fill out a pencil skirt or a pair of tight jeans rather nicely.

But what I didn’t know was that I would examine my rear view in the mirror one day, at the age of 48, only to find that my once bootylicious backside was missing in action. Picture: Claudia age 38
Claudia now, age 48, with a decidedly less pert derriere

But what I didn’t know was that I would examine my rear view in the mirror one day, at the age of 48, only to find that my once bootylicious backside was missing in action. Left: Claudia age 38. Right: Claudia now

But what once looked like a couple of juicy grapefruits inside a hanky now resembled a sat-on, flattened cushion.

Since noticing my deflating derriere I’ve become obsessed with looking at other middle-aged women’s bottoms, and have noticed I’m not alone. Instead of a peachy bum, more often than not you just get an extended back.

Currently there’s a little bit of a mound where my pert bottom once was but, give it a couple of years, and I reckon you’ll be able to rest a spirit level between my back and bum when I’m lying down and get the bubble bang in the central window.

After a life spent yo-yo dieting, overdoing the cardio and eating foods high in sugar, Claudia says she fweels like a 'reverse Kim Kardashian with a protruding dart player’s tummy and flat-as-a-board bottom'

After a life spent yo-yo dieting, overdoing the cardio and eating foods high in sugar, Claudia says she fweels like a 'reverse Kim Kardashian with a protruding dart player’s tummy and flat-as-a-board bottom'

So where did it all go wrong? And if I had to wave bye-bye to a sizeable piece of wobbly flesh, why the hell couldn’t it have been my bean bag of a belly?

Karen Austin, a Manchester-based weightloss and fitness coach specialises in getting women over 40 in shape, says that shrinking backsides are a common cause of complaint among her clients.

 As we get older we lose muscle. But things like yo-yoing in weight, a sugar-heavy diet, calorie restriction and too much cardio exercise will accelerate the process.

Alarmingly, after talking to her, I now realise that, in my 40s, I’ve done everything wrong that I possibly could have. Short of packing it in a suitcase, there’s not much more I could have done to have speeded the disappearance of my bottom.

‘As we get older we lose muscle,’ says Karen. ‘But things like yo-yoing in weight, a sugar-heavy diet, calorie restriction and too much cardio exercise will accelerate the process.’

Not music to the ears of a woman who has recently shed 3st by calorie restricting, has yo-yoed all her life, used running as her primary source of exercise and mainlines Haribo sweets.

‘Oh dear,’ says Karen. ‘That’s not so good. And have you found that even though your bottom, arms and legs are getting thinner your tummy is getting bigger?’

Bingo.

Claudia wants to ask the question ‘does my bum look big in this?’ and hear a resounding: ‘Blimey, not half’

Claudia wants to ask the question ‘does my bum look big in this?’ and hear a resounding: ‘Blimey, not half’

‘It’s the classic shape of a lot of middle-aged ladies, particularly ones who are apple-shaped to start with,’ adds Karen. ‘As we near the menopause, our oestrogen and progesterone levels diminish. That, in turn, has a knock-on effect on cortisol, the “stress hormone”, and insulin. Oestrogen encourages our bodies to burn fat instead of muscle when there’s a calorie deficit.

‘Oestrogen and progesterone together stop cortisol from laying down fat stores around our middles. But when they wane, it goes a bit haywire.

‘Suddenly we’re more sensitive to stress and less able to burn fat and build muscle. Exercises and diets that once worked no longer do.

‘Too much hard-core exercise, calorie-restricted diets and lack of sleep put the body under stress, which makes cortisol levels soar. Our bodies deal with this by zapping the fat stores in places like our bottoms and laying them down in our bellies instead, where there are more cortisol receptors.’

 You are not going to have the figure and muscle tone you had two decades ago, but you can definitely halt the deflation and pump things up a little. Short-burst exercises, like squats and lunges, will be far more beneficial than running or cycling.

Hey presto, suddenly you end up like me. A reverse Kim Kardashian with a protruding dart player’s tummy and flat-as-a-board bottom.

A back pain problem has meant I haven’t exercised strenuously for more than a year, but I hoped all that guff I’d read about ‘muscle memory’ might have had some substance. Turns out my bottom is suffering from amnesia.

Of course, one can buy bottom-lifting jeans, but the tight waist bands only make the muffin top look even worse. As for padded knickers –— they just make me look, and feel, like I’m wearing an adult nappy.

So, what’s the solution? Is my rounded bottom lost for ever? ‘Prevention is always better,’ says Karen. ‘And you have to be realistic. You are not going to have the figure and muscle tone you had two decades ago, but you can definitely halt the deflation and pump things up a little.’

‘Short-burst exercises, like squats and lunges, will be far more beneficial than running or cycling.

‘You need to ditch sugar, cut back on wheat and starches and make sure that proteins make up two-thirds of any meal you eat.’

So my mission is under way. I will rebuild my bottom. I’ll never have a flat stomach or Michelle Obama arms. But I’m damned if I’m going to be a bum-free zone as well.

The plan is to power-walk, lunge and squat until my best feature is once again behind me. I want to ask the question ‘does my bum look big in this?’ and hear a resounding: ‘Blimey, not half.’

'So my mission is under way. I will rebuild my bottom. I’ll never have a flat stomach or Michelle Obama arms. But I’m damned if I’m going to be a bum-free zone as well. The plan is to power-walk, lunge and squat'

'So my mission is under way. I will rebuild my bottom. I’ll never have a flat stomach or Michelle Obama arms. But I’m damned if I’m going to be a bum-free zone as well. The plan is to power-walk, lunge and squat'

 

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