Weight, Bones and Age
This month in the Beacon Acupuncture classes we’re covering the theme of bones through yoga, meditation, and other self care tools.
The topic of bones (in the form of arthritis, osteoporosis/osteopenia, stress fractures, falls that impact alignment and cause fractures, tooth pain and decay) comes up a lot in my clinical practice too which is why I devote so much time teaching self care tools and yoga devoted to Bone health.
One common thread these ailments have besides having to do with our skeleton is that they also have a lot to do with aging.
I’m concerned. I think people are getting the wrong idea on what to do to heal and maintain their bones because quite frankly the information out there is so misleading.
I was struck by the title of this article, “Middle Age Spread Can Shave 5 years off your life.” They’d have you think that being thin is the best option for your aging body.
In reality, if you look at the fine print, the group who has the best health is the group who is overweight, but not obese, when they reach their fifties and beyond.
I think this is an important distinction. Losing weight should not be the goal as much as building and maintaining muscle. Having more and denser body mass is what encourages our bones to be the strongest.
Why this matters is that most of us want to maintain functional independence as we age. If we don’t have strength to balance we are at fall risk, which could lead to more and sudden loss of that precious functional independence.
What prevents us from falling in the first place is strong muscles particularly in our core which I consider not simply your abdominal muscles but those big stabilizing muscles that comprise your butt muscles.
Some folks have special challenges in the genetics department or life experiences that hamper the development of strong stabilizing muscles. Or, maybe you have a family history of joint and bone disorders, or your bones are small and delicate. All the more reason to maintain the muscles that you have, build the ones that you don’t and support good alignment in your body.
Gaining muscle depends on exercise that strengthens and fuel or food. As far as food goes, I know that there may be a lot of dietary needs as you age, but adequate protein usually factors into our ability to maintain muscle mass. I’m not advocating for a protein dense diet, consuming a pile of dairy or any sort of fad diet - simply that protein be a part of your diet and the goal not be to lose weight but to gain muscle.
You’ll have a hard time building and maintaining muscle mass if the building blocks aren’t there.
If this message from me resonates I hope that instead of shedding a few pounds you think about:
🧡 Eating enough food so that you have fuel for building and maintaining your muscles which helps to maintain your bones.
🧡 Timing of when you eat for muscle and strength gaining which ultimately leads to bone building
Maybe your muscle and bone building eating and exercising routines will also give you permission to:
🧡 Enjoy your food
🧡 Have functional independence for as long as possible.
If you need help with designing or practicing movement routines, our classes are a great place to start. In your 1:1 visits, I can provide guidance or referrals for supporting you with you nutrition needs.
