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For whatever it’s worth, I miss the old/original set-up, too. I kind of enjoyed that it was a little all over the place. The advice that was being given toward the end was far different than what was being suggested 5 years ago. I loved that because, in the end, no one really knows. I found it crazy interesting to have different and contradictory information floating around. I can understand how people may have perceived that as confusing, but life is confusing and bodies are complex.
Oh, well. On the upside, I have more free time now!
Hi CChristenbery,
The reason I asked about the post-competition weight gain is because that seems to be a decent indicator of if, and how badly, someone beat their body up during the prep phases. Your intentional weight gain is absolutely not what I was talking about; I was referring to the crazy 20 pounds that a lot of people who compete put on in the first week post-competition. The fact that you didn’t experience that either time is great! I just wonder if your thermometer is off.
Sorry, I’m sure you already knew what I mentioned above, I just wanted to throw it out there. Are you working with a strength and conditioning coach? Have you run all this by him/her/them?
Cheers!
Also, are you sure your thermometer is correct? I would buy a new one just to compare. If your current thermometer is incorrect, you could be concerned over nothing.
Hi CChristenbery,
Do you blow-up (so to speak) after competitions? What kind of post-competition weight gain do you experience?
My goodness, those are some substantial improvements! Very cool.
These are probably some silly questions, that I’m sure you’ve thought about; this is just in case.
Did anything change from 2012 to 2013, where you didn’t see improvement? Maybe this year you will see another jump up!
You said you take a calcium supplement, what about magnesium? (This is obviously specific to the needs of the individual.) Also, what about Vitamin K2? Is your diet wonderfully high in Vitamin C?
Bone broth is probably one of the most awesome things you can do for your bones. As I’m sure you know, eating more is generally a great thing for your bones as it can create an anabolic (building) state. Is your temperature good?
Do you sleep OK? Bones do a lot of their building when we sleep. If your sleep sucks, I would do anything and everything possible to improve it (I acknowledge that doesn’t always work). I would also suggest to try and manage stress, but I understand life doesn’t always permit that.
Are you on any medications? The list of drugs that can harm bone is long.
What about exercise, specifically weight bearing. For safely increasing bone density in the spine, I think the best bet are extension exercises. You can even do these at home without ANY equipment. To increase the density of the femoral neck, or the femur, doing exercises that either pull on the muscles that attach to the bones, or exercises where the force goes straight up through your heel. Examples: high impact jump work (please get an OK from your doctor before doing this, as not everyone is a good candidate), or training on a high energy, lineal, whole body vibration platform. Obviously, not free, but depending on where you happen to live, it can be affordable. (If you’re interested, and close to one of his studios, Lloyd Shaw has studios called Vibra-Train. He is good people, and also happens to make the best machines in the world.)
You don’t have to answer back, I just wanted to throw this out there, just in case any of this would be helpful!
Hi Kirkie,
Even though my urine PH is way better, it still tends to fluctuate (not having anything to do with the time of day, or what I’ve eaten). I would be curious if it was the calcium supplement, not the probiotic, that raised your PH. From my perspective, that would make more sense being that it’s a strong alkaline mineral. If you wanted to track your PH, I would just buy some inexpensive PH Paper Strips at a natural food grocery store. It costs about $15.00 USD and seriously lasts forever.
I really don’t know how PH ties into Matt’s stuff. That’s a good question, but I’m always hesitant to recommend that someone overhaul their diet. If you’re drawn to WAPF, I would be inclined to stick with that (at least for the most part).
If you can’t afford to work with someone (which I SO understand), I still think you could get some solid results on your own. I know this sucks right now, but an unfortunate number of young people are walking around with bone mass that is sub-par, and they have no idea. They will probably not know for decades. The good thing about knowing is you can take steps to improve your bones now, instead of getting a DEXA, for the first time at 50, and thinking, “Oh, Shit.” It’s not that it’s ever too late, but being that you are so young you will see improvements more quickly (and with less work, and often without pharmaceuticals).
Is there any chance you can get two tests covered? In the US, it’s difficult to get covered, but not always impossible. They are referred to as NTX and CTX. I would do a little reading on it, and see if you think it would be beneficial to you. If so, I would see if insurance will pick up the tab. Obviously, no medical test is close to perfect, they just may provide a different perspective. (They are two separate tests.)
Also, probably an elementary question, but is your Vitamin D status in good standing?
Cheers!
Hey Kirkie,
Yea, I completely hear you on the acid/alkaline balance. I’m not necessarily sold on it either, but I really do feel better when my urine PH is in a good range. I played around with it for a long time (before reading Dr. Brown’s work) but my urine/salivary PH never seemed to reflect my food intake. What actually helped was a water alkalizer (I know, I know; and I’m not recommending anyone go out and buy one), and taking alkaline minerals which I probably should have been taking anyway (calcium, magnesium, etc.).
I actually haven’t looked at her website in years, but it used to be far more encompassing then just acid/alkaline balance. She looked at nutritional status, supplements, exercise, stress levels (high cortisol will often make the best of us pee out our bones, apparently), etc. She also really tries to figure out the cause of bone loss; she never looks at it as, “Oh, well, you should just take drugs and be done with it.” She believes in bone quality, not just quantity, and recommends specific medical tests to try and figure out if you’re currently losing more bone than you’re building (obviously a DEXA scan cannot tell you that).
Let me know if I can be of any more help. If her website is not informative enough, she does phone consults which could be helpful for your specific concerns.
Cheers!
Hello Kirkie,
I could type pages of information on this, but instead I would refer you to the work of Dr. Susan Brown PhD. Her website is betterbones.com and it is hugely informative (she takes a completely holistic approach). She also does consults over the phone.
Good luck with everything!
Hey spacekablooey,
My goodness, what a history; but I’m so glad that you are feeling better! For whatever it’s worth, I just wanted to second what Thomas said. I also feel you may be at a critically point (important stage).
I obviously can only speak from my limited experience, but I benefited greatly from the whole “eat whatever the hell you want and forget about exercise” approach. The problem occurred when I didn’t stop. I gained weight (not in a good way), and I sported a very sexy blood pressure of 160/100 that happened to hang around until I lost the weight. (I was never anywhere close to being overweight; I just weighed too much for me.)
It’s not that I regret trying this approach (well, I actually kind of do), but the real issue was that I didn’t stop when I knew that I should. I should have been more aware and mindful of what was going on, and listened to my body.
A cautionary tale. Good luck, and I hope you have continued success!
Hi mmmfood,
I’m on my phone, so bear with me. The first 4-8 weeks, in Miami, I actually don’t know how much weight I gained. It was definitely something, but when I got back home all of my clothes still fit (maybe with the exception of one pair of jeans that were probably tight before I even left). That was not the problem, it was actually a good thing.
The problematic weight gain occurred after that time frame. I think I topped out at a gain of 30-35 pounds. It took a while to accumulate, it certainly didn’t come on over night. For years, coupled with no/minimal exercise, eating 5000-6000 calories daily (occasionally when I needed a break, I only ate 3000 daily), I never saw a weight higher than the additional 30-35 pounds.
I don’t want to share this through rose colored glasses because I went through several years where I thought I wanted to die. I felt horrible beyond what I can probably articulate. But…there’s a but…things really are getting better. I’m still not where I was before I fell down this rabbit hole (my body/health are almost back, but this messed with my head a little bit), but I am damn close and I will get there.
Cheers!
I’m not going to comment on the validity of this because when it comes down to it, who knows? (I actually personally feel better when my urine PH is not too acidic.)
Before embarking on this, I would measure your PH (both salivary and urine). You might not even need this. If you do find your PH less than awesome (urine PH seems to be a better indicator then salivary), then you can go from there.
Good luck!
Hi TinaT,
I realize this makes me sounds nuts, but I actually heard, “And you’re done now.” It was also coupled with a very distinct feeling. Wherever that came from, it was perfectly clear that this had run its course (very successfully), and it was time to abandon ship. To answer your question, it was as simple as me ignoring that feeling. That’s it.
I too am a work in progress. I just wish I had listened to my body when it was so abundantly clear what I should have done. I will never make that mistake again….ever.
Best of luck, TinaT.
Hey Christinam,
You have not come across as combative, no worries. I really do wish you, and everyone else, good luck with all of this. Turns out, food stuff can be hard.
Good luck, Christinam.
I can’t speak to the comment about someone with an eating disorder. That is beyond my pay grade. You are right though about the relaxing effect. I learned to love that feeling a little too much, and it has taken me a long time to figure out ways around that. The funny thing is, I probably have the least addictive type of personality ever, and even I got caught up in needing that relaxing effect from food.
Also, I was never looking for permission from anyone. I am a grown ass person who has been making her own decisions for a very long time. (I’m not saying that in a combative way. It’s had to articulate tone on the computer.)
