It’s been just over four weeks. I haven’t fallen off the wagon, yet. Pat on the back. Well done.

This is the longest I’ve managed to voluntarily, not begrudgingly, not eat as much desserts like I always have, all my life. Seriously, I have been on a protein trail since my last medical screening. Even at the Christmas lunch buffet, I indulged yes, but I layered the desserts with some savoury salmon ceviche, pepper chicken and broccoli. I was pleased with myself as it was a first for me.

In all the years my husband and I have had Christmas lunch or dinner buffets, I’ve never had anything other than desserts on my plate. My goal was to savour every single dessert item on offer, and savour I did. I never left a buffet without eating my way through the sweet table and/or tables. Filling my stomach with non-essentials like turkey and seafood such as lobster, prawns, crayfish, and crab that people rush to pile on their plates was never part of my plan.

And, despite my insane eating and poor sleeping habits, I’ve been relatively healthy. My saving grace, I think, was and is, regular exercise. I’ve always found time to move and jump about, which probably helped reduce or negate, at least a little, my other less desirable lifestyle choice/s. That said, I’ve had enough tests including X-rays, blood tests, DEXA scans to confirm that my swollen joints are arthritis and my lower-than-normal bone density point to osteopenia and osteoporosis. I was aware of the diagnosis but didn’t care enough to do anything about it. Why? It didn’t seem urgent to me. I didn’t feel threatened by broken bones. The not nice side effects of medicines. I was less old.

So, what changed? Independence. The must have physical and mental independence as long as possible. That’s my motivation. The doctor at the medical screening emphasised falls, fracture, wheelchair, atrophy, loss of independence – to probably scare me. And, it worked, this time! The thought/image jolted me into action. Mainly because of my mum, and the elderly cohort that I know and hear about more and more as I get older.

I saw, first-hand, how my mum gradually lost her independence after she fell from her bed. It all started with that fall. Disorientation. Which meant she couldn’t walk independently. Water retention in her legs, stomach, and hips.  Which also inhibited mobility. It was very hard on my mum. This was the same feisty old girl who walked, inside the condo, with purpose, for no less than an hour each day. She didn’t have a step counter app or pedometer but she was determined to meet her target number of steps every day.

Once the regular movements stopped, her muscles atrophied. I remember doing simple exercises with her. Standing up and taking a few steps, forwards and backwards, while I held her. Throwing and catching a ball for hand eye coordination. Just moving her arms and legs while seated on her sofa. The exercises didn’t provide enough stimulation for her to want to continue doing them. Slowly but surely, she didn’t have the strength to stand up or walk on her own. And to be honest, I was terrified she’d fall so I didn’t encourage her that much. Thankfully, my mum read, watched her Tamil serials on TV, and was compos mentis till the very end.

As for the elderly cohort, I seem to come across them, more frequently. Being elderly myself, maybe it’s a case of the ‘moth to the flame.’ I digress. Anyways, older people who’ve had falls, invariably deteriorate both physically and mentally, without proper care and support. Hence, falling, ageing, losing muscle mass and independence all came to a head for me. 

Since the medical screening, I’ve Googled studies on the role of diet and exercise on muscle and bone building. And, my follow-up consultation with an orthopaedic surgeon reaffirmed that the right balance of protein, calcium and vitamin D plus correct strength training exercises are more effective long-term approaches to managing osteoporosis, and staying stronger/healthier than medicines. In fact, the doctor encouraged getting an app that accurately monitors daily protein, carbohydrate, and fat intake. As well as engaging a personal trainer to learn how to strength train properly. Hmm.

I’m now somewhat cognizant of the composition of my daily diet. I try to have 1gm of protein for every kg of my weight. I also include calcium, fish oil and vitamin D (thanks to nephew number 2) in the equation. It’s far from easy for ‘die-hard dessert me’ but I hope the effort will help improve my arthritis/osteoporosis or at least not aggravate it any further. Maybe, help with my AMD and sleep. And, stop or minimise any of my other organs from misbehaving.

I am counting on the food-exercise-supplement combo to work…