It’s a well known fact that chronic dieting can slow down your metabolism over time (by “dieting” I mean significantly decreasing daily calorie consumption). A lesser known result of chronic dieting (and potentially deadly in it’s worst form) is weakening of your bones. Just what a “boomer” in mid-life doesn’t need!

According to a study out of the University of Missouri, women who were put on a very low calorie diet for three months experienced a much higher rate of bone turnover (the rate at which bone is broken down and replaced). This bone turnover pattern persisted even when the dieting women went into a weight maintenance phase and increased their calorie consumption a bit.

“Rapid rates of bone remodeling, regardless of the balance of breakdown and formation, can increase bone fragility”, said Pam Hinton, associate professor of nutritional sciences in the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences.

This is not a good thing for any woman, but especially we boomer women. There aren’t many of us who are making a lot of new bone these days. We need to protect and hang on to what we have.

So what’s a boomer gal supposed to do if she’s trying to lose weight?
-Don’t severely restrict calories
-Plan on losing weight gradually
-Add resistance training to your workout regime
-Add some impact to your cardio workouts (see previous post for ideas)
-Get adequate calcium through food and/or supplements

We’ve known for a long while that crash dieting is bad for your metabolism. Now we have some proof it’s also detrimental for your bone health.

Fresh, whole foods eaten at regular intervals throughout the day combined with a good exercise routine that involves weight lifting and supplies a little impact is the best way for boomer gals to get lean and avoid osteoporosis.

Let’s hear it for strong boomer women!

To read more about Professor Hinton’s study, click here

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