How to lose weight without losing bone mass

The percentage of adult Americans who are overweight or obese is staggering – according to the CDC, 71.6% fall into one of these two categories. It’s well known that losing weight is essential for gaining your best health, but not at the expense of your bone health. Studies have shown that dropping pounds, especially when older or if you’re a postmenopausal woman, can also result in reducing bone mass, critical for preserving bone health warding off osteoporosis.

One of the biggest factors for developing osteoporosis is losing too much bone mass. Osteoporosis literally means ‘porous bones’ and is a disease in which the density and quality of bone are reduced. The loss of bone occurs silently and progressively over time causing bones to become more porous and fragile, increasing the risk of cracks or fractures. This disease often arrives with no warning as there are few symptoms associated with it until a person breaks a bone.

Why weight loss affects bone density

When individuals set out to lose excess weight with the goal of improving their overall health, they unlikely consider the toll it may take on their bones. A 2018 study in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, composed of more than 1300 people, found that individuals who lost at least 5 percent of their body weight had lower bone density and greater deterioration in bone microarchitecture than those whose weights were stable.  Whether the weight loss was intentional or unintentional, the effect is speculated to come from a reduced mechanical load on bones as body mass reduces, along with hormonal changes, and a decrease in protein intake as fewer calories are consumed.

Basically as you lose weight becoming ‘smaller,’ your bones are not ‘stressed’ as much when you weighed heavier. When bones are ‘stressed’ as when performing lifting heavy weights, bone mineral density improves making the bones stronger and more resistant to breaks or fractures.

How to keep your bones strong as you slim down

The good news is you do not have to choose between losing weight and keeping your bones health. You can still slim down reaching your goal weight while preserving bone health.  Here’s a look at how this can be accomplished:

·      Engage in weight-bearing exercises

One of the best ways to achieve and maintain strong bones is to perform weight-bearing exercises. This includes lifting weights but also exercises such as hiking, jogging, jumping rope, doing jumping jacks, skipping, climbing stairs, or brisk walking. Non-weight bearing exercises such as bicycling, swimming, or using a stationary bike, are not considered weight-bearing moves but are excellent aerobic exercises good for heart health.

·      Lose weight slowly while strength training

It’s always tempting to want to lose weight fast. Why else do some diets promise lose 20 pounds in 10 days! Quick weight loss is not a wise way to shed pounds. Crash dieting or engaging in cardio-only workouts burning as much fat as possible in a short period of time, is not recommended. The quicker you lose weight, the more lean muscle mass you lose too. Why would losing muscle mass too quickly be bad for bones? The loss of lean muscle mass can hinder the bone remodeling process negatively affecting your bone mineral density.

The smarter way to lose weight is to lose it slowly – one to two pounds a week. During this time, be sure to mix in strength training by lifting weights two to three times a week.  This also helps burn fat in addition to preserving precious muscle tissue and bone mass.

·      Eat foods rich in calcium and vitamin-D

Two key nutrients for bone health are calcium and vitamin D.  Calcium builds healthy bones making them strong while vitamin D helps your body to absorb calcium. In fact when you pair both nutrients together at a meal, they work together better for bone health. Without sufficient vitamin D, your body will be unable to absorb calcium to build your bones.  

Both men and women should aim for 1000 to 1200 mg of calcium a day. Best sources for calcium include all dairy foods such as milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheese along with leafy greens like broccoli and kale.

The daily requirement for vitamin D is 600 to 800 IU.  There are not many foods sources rich in vitamin D but the best include fatty fish such as salmon and tuna, egg yolks, beef liver, and mushrooms.  But the very best source of vitamin D is sunlight. Be sure to spend about 15-30 minutes outdoors most days of the week to help your body absorb the sun rays that trigger the mechanism in your body to make vitamin D.

Dr. David Samadi is the Director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital in Long Island. He’s a renowned and highly successful board certified Urologic Oncologist Expert and Robotic Surgeon in New York City, regarded as one of the leading prostate surgeons in the U.S., with a vast expertise in prostate cancer treatment and Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy.  Visit Dr. Samadi’s websites at robotic oncology and prostate cancer 911.