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Women have generally been considered to be at higher risk for bone loss and osteoporosis than men. And it is true that the average woman’s peak bone mass isn’t quite as high as the average man’s, and that bone loss generally starts earlier in women than men because of menopause. But as we get better at understanding and diagnosing low bone density, I think we’ll start finding that many more men would benefit from building or maintaining bone mass. After all, the risks listed in this chapter, in the main, don’t discriminate based on sex. Right now, we don’t generally look for osteoporosis in men; as we do start looking, I believe we will (unfortunately) find it. The good news is that once we find osteoporosis—or increased risk of it—we now know what to do about it in order to preserve not just life, but also lifestyle.

AGE

The older you are, the more likely you are to have already lost bone. But drastic bone loss is by no means a foregone conclusion if your diet and exercise habits have been sound over the course of your life, and, if you are a woman, you began taking HRT as you entered menopause. The biggest age-related jump in risk for women is menopause, during which bone loss accelerates for several years before settling down to a slower pace. For men, the rate of change doesn’t pick up until around age 65. For both men and women, after ages 30 to 40, bone for the most part isn’t being built up, it is slipping away.

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In my experience, clients who succeed the most are those who attribute a special significance to the defeat of their binge-eating disorder. Taking on this challenge represents more than changing one facet of their behavior. Taking control of their eating becomes symbolic of taking control of their lives. They become passionate about change and from this passion comes commitment, motivation, and determination. They strongly believe they can do it and this strong belief makes them try even harder to change, especially when temptation is the greatest.

It is also important to realize that change must be worth the effort. You cannot simply be motivated by the desire to escape from the negative consequences of your problem. Of course, the frustration, guilt, and negative self-esteem that come from binge eating, as well as the disillusionment of repeatedly losing and regaining weight, are reasons enough to want to change. But, change must bring about positive changes as well. There must be significant changes in your day-to-day quality of life or you will not be able to sustain your motivation over the long run.

The promise I make to you is that defeating binge eating is definitely worth it in spite of the fact that you are giving something up. You are letting go of a demon that perhaps has been haunting you for many, many years. The most immediate result that I see in client after client is that they are free, finally free, from their dependence on food. They can now lose weight, keep it off, and get on with their lives.

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