10 Nov · 6.00pm GMT · FreeTuesday 10 November · 6.00pm GMT · Free
THE LIVE LOUNGE
FREE LIVE ONLINE EVENT
Understand how hormones, movement, nutrition, restrictive dieting and the last few decades shape your bones, and what you can do now.
You may be walking, doing Pilates, gardening, eating reasonably well and generally feeling that, on balance, you’re doing a pretty decent job of looking after yourself.
You probably are.
The slightly inconvenient bit is that your bones have their own criteria.
They’ve been responding for decades to your hormones, nutrition, medications, family history, periods when you may not have eaten enough, and the kind of physical challenge you’ve given them.
We learnt about calories. We learnt about cholesterol. We can now have surprisingly detailed conversations about protein, HRT, sleep and whether cortisol is responsible for absolutely everything.
Somehow, nobody thought to mention the skeleton holding the whole operation together.
Tuesday 10 November
6.00–7.00pm GMT
Live Q&A until 7.30pm
Live on Zoom · Replay sent to everyone who registers
Whether you have osteoporosis, osteopenia, a family history or have never given your bones a second thought, you’re very welcome.
YOUR BONES HAVE A HISTORY
Our bones have been responding to what is happening in our bodies for decades. Hormones, health, nutrition and the experiences of those years all form part of the picture.
Menopause, particularly when it happens early, and other periods of lower oestrogen can form part of your bone-health history.
Family history, previous fractures and some health conditions can all add useful context.
Periods of very low body weight, restrictive dieting or simply not eating enough may also form part of the picture.
Certain medications and medical treatments can influence bone health and may be worth understanding more fully.
This isn’t an invitation to conduct a forensic investigation into every Ryvita or stick of celery you ate in 1987.
It’s about recognising that your bones have a history, and understanding that history can help you make much better decisions about what you do next.
THE IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
Walking is fabulous. Pilates has enormous value. Swimming, cycling, yoga, gardening, dancing and tennis all contribute something useful to our physical health.
Wonderful for everyday activity, cardiovascular health and stamina.
Bone stimulus on its own: may not provide all the challenge bones need.
Wonderful for cardiovascular fitness.
Bone stimulus: relatively limited because they are not weight-bearing in the same way.
Wonderful for strength, mobility, control and balance.
Bone stimulus: may not provide sufficient progressive loading on their own.
Useful for muscle strength and bone loading.
The amount and type of challenge needs to suit the individual.
Different movement does different jobs.
Once you understand that distinction, the picture becomes much clearer. You can stop wondering whether everything “counts” and start looking at what your body is actually being asked to adapt to.
Balance and reaction need opportunities to practise doing their jobs before the loose paving stone appears halfway down a Tuscan alley.
THEN THERE’S FOOD
Nutrition is often the first place women go when they start thinking about their bones.
Calcium, vitamin D, protein, magnesium, collagen and a supplement somebody mentioned on Instagram that arrives in a tub large enough that you’d think you were feeding an entire rugby team.
Supports muscle and also contributes to the structure of bone.
Calcium is an important building material for bone and vitamin D helps the body absorb it.
Our bodies need sufficient energy to maintain and repair tissues. Years of restrictive dieting or under-eating can be relevant to the bigger picture.
MOVEMENTprovides the signal.
FOODprovides the building materials.
Both deserve a place in the conversation.
Supplements can be useful in the right circumstances, but I don’t want you leaving the Live Lounge with another shopping list. Understanding how the pieces work together is far more useful than collecting another bottle for the supplement cupboard.
IN THIS HOUR
01
We’ll look at menopause, family history, nutrition, medication, medical treatments, under-eating and health conditions, so you can recognise which parts of your own history deserve attention.
You leave with context, rather than another reason to worry.
02
We’ll look at what common activities ask your body to adapt to and where there may be gaps if stronger bones, muscles, balance and physical resilience are the goal.
You leave able to look at your own week with much more clarity.
03
We’ll look at strength, appropriate impact, progression and nutrition. The right challenge depends on your starting point, health history, confidence and what you want your body still to be able to do.
You leave knowing what deserves your attention next.
WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY
Women over 50 already have enough advice coming at them. We should apparently walk 10,000 steps, lift weights, eat more protein, sleep eight hours, reduce stress, take vitamin D, protect our pelvic floor, improve our balance and maintain meaningful social relationships.
Presumably there is a small administrative team available to organise all this.
Bring a pen and something to write on. We’ll work through this together.
WHY I CARE ABOUT THIS
40
Shortly after having my daughter and going straight into early menopause.
60
Despite teaching Pilates, walking regularly, eating well and considering myself pretty healthy.
That result frightened me. One day I was happily walking on the moors and riding my moped. The next, I found myself wondering whether I should be more careful about things I’d never previously thought twice about.
My bones hadn’t suddenly changed overnight. My understanding of them had.
I began looking much more closely at what my body actually needed, particularly progressive strength, appropriate loading and nutrition.
+4.8%
Spine bone density at my latest DEXA, moving from the osteoporosis range into osteopenia.
That is my personal result, not a promise of anybody else’s.
We shouldn’t need a worrying scan result before somebody explains how our bones work.
You do not need a diagnosis to belong here.
Our understanding of menopause has changed over recent years. I’d love women to understand their bones in the same way, before a diagnosis forces the subject onto the agenda.
There is no prize for waiting until something goes wrong.
Please come.
The principles are shared but the dose is individual.
Having a diagnosis doesn’t mean you should become frightened of movement, although the type and amount of challenge needs to suit the person doing it.
If you have experienced vertebral or other fragility fractures, are recovering from surgery or injury, have a significant medical condition or have been given specific restrictions by your healthcare team, this Live Lounge cannot tell you exactly what exercise dose is right for you.
What it can do is help you understand the principles, make more sense of the advice you’ve been given and ask better questions.
The Live Lounge is educational and does not replace individual medical or physiotherapy advice.
THE REAL REASON WE’RE TALKING ABOUT BONES
I’m not trying to turn you into somebody who discusses her femoral neck over dinner. Bone health becomes much more interesting when you think about what it helps make possible.
Carrying your own luggage, even after packing two pairs of walking boots and the extra-large shampoo and conditioner.
Thinking about lunch, rather than whether the 470 steps will finish you off before the antipasti arrives.
Gardening, walking, travelling, dancing, getting down onto the floor and back up again, and continuing to say yes to things.
Looking after your bones also means thinking about muscle, balance, strength and physical reserve.
That is the bigger picture.
Understand how hormones, movement, nutrition, restrictive dieting and the last few decades shape your bones, and what you can do now.
Tuesday 10 November · 6.00–7.00pm GMT
Live Q&A until 7.30pm
Replay sent to everyone who registers.
