For those working on maintaining weight

[shootingstar]

Shootingstar, Evista is a medication for osteoporosis. I have osteopeinia; I can't take Fossamax, so this is an alternative. It's estrogen based, like bc pills. I was getting all kinds of bad side effects, and since I don't want to get a blood clot or have a stroke, I quit taking it. I am going to look into getting the new treatment, which is an IV infusion you get once a year, with very few side effects.
Back to the weigh maintenance....

Hope you find a medication that works for you.

I know what you mean about becoming accidentally underweight. It's just life at times, becomes busy. I am 5'1" and prefer to be around 98-100 lbs. This is genuinely normal...for me..if you compare me against Asian women who grew up on similar diet as myself. There are actually medical studies which provide a different BMI for Asians which is abit lower. They've found this in determining levels cardiovascular disease risk, obesity, etc. and to get people to correct unhealthy habits earlier.

Prior to cycling (meaning prior to 31 yrs.), I was not physically active, except for walking around everywhere (because I don't drive). However my metabolism was quite high . 2-3 bowls of white rice as part of supper, was the norm for me. And I was usually around 94-98 lbs. at that time in life, with eating huge meals on par with what a bigger guy would eat. Except I seldom had desserts at that time.

I have small bone frame which will never change and hence, it's how the weight is distributed on a person, due to genes, etc. Without my boobs, I am 30 inches. No wonder why bra-buying is a lifelong headache.

It truly is how the weight sits on the bone frame.

Redhodie (and cyclegoddess, if I can recall her history), you are a great example for hellosunshine

[cylegoddess]

Thank you! It wasnt easy but it worked in time. I felt for her, when she said she felt fat in her shorts. I get that now and then. But I go and watch Tour de France and think, your so little next to those guys! If you want to ride in bunch with the Big Boys( who do rides around my city), your going to have to eat!

A note, having bloating from meals can be a sign of food allergies or possibly, gluten intolerance( or dairy). Its a good idea to go get blood tests for those.
I had some and found out that all the foods I ate most, were bad for me
Once I got those out, life improved( with the exception that people often commented that they were worried I was using it as a screen for eating disorder.)
I feel for you eating out., Try going to any place, and all you can eat is steamed veggies!! Its hard to get people to understand, NO I dont want sauce, no I cant have rice and NO! No, please dont order me food ahead of time!
This weekend , I was so hungry on trip to Sydney( eating out,for a wedding), I had to go next door to the other rest. and order some beans, as all they had for me was steamed veggies and that wasnt cutting it. I had to sneak the bag in!

[cylegoddess]

Redhodie is right. Ballet ruins you, sadly. Yoga is SOOO good and its full of pretty balances like ballet but better for you. Its also good for riding( Cadel Williams found this out. He swears by it and he did come in second at the Tour once.)

[Crankin]

I don't have any food allergies; except shellfish and peanuts... not gluten intolerant either (I've been tested for celiac disease). Dairy doesn't agree with me, but only certain things. I can eat cheese and small amounts of yogurt and cottage cheese. But, I absolutely cannot drink milk. Probably why I have the osteopenia. Besides, I hate the taste of it, too.
Generally, the higher protein, "good carbs" way of eating is best for me, but I have to add in more carbs when I am doing a lot of riding or running.

[cylegoddess]

Believe it or not, milk does NOT help prevent oesteo.
Milk is acidic.Any thing acidic, PULLS calcium from your bones , to settle your bloodstreams ph.
Dairy, alcohol, sugar,coffee, tea meat, soy- all these cause your blood to become acidic.( acidosis)
Countrys with HIGHEST rates of dairy consumption, have the highest hip fracture rate( finland for example).Countrys without much dairy - or meat for that matter ( sub saharan africa ) the lowest.
I got all this from a English book( ye gods what was that title?).

Did more research, and yes - its true. Odd that. Youd be better off eating non dairy calcium( along all your other things). My mum drank heaps of milk every day, along with her....coffee. She has it too.

[shootingstar]

Believe it or not, milk does NOT help prevent oesteo.
Milk is acidic.Any thing acidic, PULLS calcium from your bones , to settle your bloodstreams ph.
Dairy, alcohol, sugar,coffee, tea meat, soy- all these cause your blood to become acidic.( acidosis)
Countrys with HIGHEST rates of dairy consumption, have the highest hip fracture rate( finland for example).Countrys without much dairy - or meat for that matter ( sub saharan africa ) the lowest.
I got all this from a English book( ye gods what was that title?).

Did more research, and yes - its true. Odd that. Youd be better off eating non dairy calcium( along all your other things). My mum drank heaps of milk every day, along with her....coffee. She has it too.

While I agree that drinking milk with coffee or tea, probably is not helpful for calcium benefits, not so sure I would go so far as to discount everything dairy, including milk, causes acidiosis. We, including medical researchers, haven't exhausted research on how different combinations of food eaten in 1 meal, degrade or increase nutrient benefits.

Got any links to some sources to read up more about all this?
As for the studies about hip fracture rates, well depends how large the study populations were, what time of study period, study subjects level of fitness/weight, and lifestyle of these peoples.

Come to think of it, I wonder what are the common causes of hip fractures in later years are?
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By the way, I agree with redhodie and you that ballet is a physical activity that probably might increase probability of overfocusing on weight issues leading to eating disorders. Probably gymnastics and figure skating can cause these tendencies for girls/young women, where the body aesthetic becomes more important as one rises through advanced levels of competition.