Lately I've been experiencing more fluctuations in weight...gaining a pound or two and then losing it, I have read that especially for post-menopausal women, weight loss often is accompanied by bone loss. Losing a pound should not make much difference, but add that up over a year of losing a pound every week and maybe it does affect bone significantly.
A 2008 study at the University of Illinois found that eating a protein and calcium rich diet can prevent bone loss, even with weight loss.
With a goal of maintaining a steady weight, I've tried to prevent those sudden, unintentional weight gains by cutting down snacking and trying not to eat anything after dinner. Surprisingly, waiting until you are actually hungry before you eat can be a good thing for your bones. The hunger hormone, ghrelin, has been shown to regulate bone formation by increasing the number of osteoblasts (bone building cells) and has increased bone mineral density in rats.
Although I've also read about intermittent fasting for longer periods as having health benefits, I'm not convinced that fasting longer than 10 or 12 hours between dinner and breakfast is beneficial for bones. So I'm sticking to a protein, calcium-rich diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables and as little added sugar as possible, and eating in three meals with a snack if I'm really hungry. So far so good!
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