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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Impact! Yes. IMPACT. Now, please understand I’m not suggesting that every baby boomer woman run outside right now and jump off her back porch or run for an hour straight.

However, every woman who wishes to remain healthy and maintain her bone mass as she ages needs to consider whether her current exercise program is placing enough demand on her bones. You boomer gals who are avid swimmers, walkers or “spinning” enthusiasts–take note!

At this point in our lives, our bodies aren’t making any more bone. We “banked” it in our youth, up until we were about 30 years old. It’s imperative that we KEEP what we currently have. We can do this by making sure we get enough calcium** and by doing weight bearing cardiovascular exercise and full body strength training.

Back when I was in graduate school, we were taught that walking produced enough of a “stress” on the bones, but recent research has shown this is not the case. Cardiovascular activities that provide a little impact (not necessarily throughout the whole workout) are proving to be the best choices for helping women maintain bone mass. Weight training, especially exercises that target the back and hips, has also been shown to help maintain bone mass in women.

Again, it’s not necessary for your whole cardio workout to be impactful. Studies show that just a few jumps or hops here and there can make a big difference over time. As with any significant change in your workout program, you should always check with your primary health care provider to see if adding a little impact to your exercise program is safe for your particular situation.

For my female baby boomer customers here in San Jose, I include in their workouts strength exercises for the hips and back (like dead lifts and squats) and I add just a little impact to their cardio routines. For instance, I suggest they simply jump rope, do jumping jacks or jump up on a porch step a few times after their cardio workout. We start with 5 jumps and work up from there (over time) to about 10 or 15 jumps 3 times per week.

One need only look at an elderly osteoporotic woman to see the devastating effects of severe bone loss. We can’t control the hormonal changes that happen to us over time, but we can control the amount of impact our bones get and the type of bone building nutrients we put in our bodies.

Are YOU getting a little impact in your workout?

Leave me a comment here and share how you challenge your bones each week.

Let’s learn from each other!

Yours in health,

Becky

**Nutrition experts recommend 1,000 mg. of calcium a day for pre-menopausal women, and 1,200 mg. a day for post -menopausal women. Check with your primary health care provider to find out the ideal amount of calcium intake for your situation.

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