About 10 years ago my mom decided to go to the doctor for a physical just to see how she was doing in general. She had a full body evaluation which included a Dexa-scan (test that measures bone density). The Dexa-scan results came back indicating that my mom had Severe Osteoporosis. She was in her early 50's, and needless to say, this came as a shock to her and to me. I figured, well I better go get a scan as well, because Osteoporosis takes years to develop. I was in my early 30's and figured I had plenty of time if there was an issue (not that I thought there would be). So I scheduled my appointment and about week later I received my results….Osteopenia, the beginning stages of Osteoporosis. What???? I couldn’t believe it. Well actually, the more I thought about it the less surprised I was. What was actually more surprising was the fact that I would drink on average, nothing less than 32 oz of soda every single day. Never drank milk, but thank God for that because my bones would be worse, yes worse. Milk is horrible for your bones – actually makes bones brittle, but that is a different blog altogether.
So, I stopped caffeine cold turkey. It actually wasn’t hard for me at all, once I know something is wrong I work with my body to fix it, I don’t work against my body. I went to the store and bought yogurt, and calcium tablets, and any other dairy product I could put my hands on (aside from cow's milk) and I incorporated it into my daily routine. I was determined to make my bones better. Over the next year, my body rejected everything I put in it including all dairy, and calcium vitamins. What do I do now? I felt helpless and had no idea how to move forward with reversing the Osteopenia. So, I did what I always do and I researched and educated myself on alternatives. Unfortunately I wasn’t all that successful. I did add in the dark green veggies, but blah that was boring. I started going to the gym because I read that weight bearing exercises helped significantly with bone density.
Two years later I had another Dexa-Scan, and the results were not good, the density in my bones was slowly getting worse.
After trying to become somewhat healthier I found my body was rejecting other foods, and I developed multiple food allergies, including esophageal allergies. I hit an all-time low with my health and was utterly lost. I was invited to a photo-shoot from a photographer friend of mine, and at this shoot were bodybuilders. I couldn’t believe how amazing these people looked, and I wanted to look like that. I have always been thin, but never had muscle tone. I pursued a fitness coach and at the same time enrolled in a health coaching program. I was desperate to “heal my body” naturally. The diet my coach put me on was not necessarily the best or the healthiest however it was easy to adhere to as it did not include any of the foods my body had been rejecting and irritating me.
After about 9 months, I finished my health-coaching program, incorporated what I learned, changed my eating even more, and finished off my first season of competing. I was on cloud nine. I learned that what was best for my body was clean eating and weight training.
One year later, I had another Dexa-scan, and my bones improved significantly. I was no longer in the red, and no longer diagnosed with Osteopenia.
I did not have any dairy in my diet, nor Calcium tablets to help reverse the damage. I simply increased my Vitamin D, dark green leafy veggies and of course, I worked out daily with weights.
This is a testimony on what fitness and weightlifting can do your for body and bones. It is amazing. Please understand though, that competition prep can be very hard on your body and dangerous if not done correctly. I pride my coaching on healthy prep, with balanced macronutrients and micronutrients, supplementation and REST.
After about 9 months, I finished my health-coaching program, incorporated what I learned, changed my eating even more, and finished off my first season of competing. I was on cloud nine. I learned that what was best for my body was clean eating and weight training.
One year later, I had another Deja-scan, and my bones improved significantly. I was no longer in the red, and no longer diagnosed with Osteopenia.
I did not have any dairy in my diet, nor Calcium tablets to help reverse the damage. I simply increased my Vitamin D, dark green leafy veggies and of course, I worked out daily with weights.
This is a testimony on what fitness and weightlifting can do your for body and bones. It is amazing. Please understand though, that competition prep can be very hard on your body and dangerous if not done correctly. I pride my coaching on healthy prep, with balanced macronutrients and micronutrients, supplementation and REST.
