Ep.168 Reversing Osteoporosis: My Midlife Bone Health Blueprint with Michele Folan

The day my DEXA scan results revealed osteoporosis was a wake-up call I dreaded. No symptoms. No warning signs. Just a family history of poor bone health. The casual “take medication and see you in two years" was a no-go for me. Like so many women in midlife, I knew there had to be another way.

In this episode, I share my personal journey of reversing bone loss and improving my DEXA scan results—without relying solely on pharmaceuticals. If you are being presented with an option of drug therapy, please have the conversation with your doctor about what steps are best based on the severity of your disease. 

From strength training with proper form and lifting heavier weights, to increasing protein to 110–120 grams daily, optimizing supplements like vitamin D3, K2, calcium, magnesium, and collagen, and making lifestyle shifts around alcohol, sleep, hormones, and daily sunshine—this holistic approach has transformed my health in many ways.

You’ll learn:

• Why osteoporosis is called the “silent disease” (and how to catch it early)
• The nutrition, supplements, and workouts that actually support bone density
• How lifestyle choices—sleep, stress, and hormones—affect bone remodeling
• The real results from my follow-up DEXA scan

If you’re a midlife woman worried about osteoporosis, fractures, or staying strong and independent as you age, this episode will give you practical strategies and hope. Don’t wait for a fracture to get serious about your bone health—start building stronger bones and a stronger future today.

Supplements/Hormone Therapy I am taking: (Please consult your healthcare provider before adding any supplements.)

Solaray Magnesium Glycinate https://amzn.to/4oCSXwR 

Solaray Calcium Citrate with D3 https://amzn.to/3HFEzTI 

Thorne Zinc https://amzn.to/4mLwATU

Osteo-K Minis - NBI Health https://amzn.to/45UnNtf

Collagen Peptides - Healthy Bones Co. https://amzn.to/419VNPL

Estradiol 0.05 Transdermal Patch

Progesterone 100 mg

Testosterone 5mg. - Transdermal (compounded)

Past shows on Osteoporosis
Ep.21 Kevin Ellis -  The Bone Coach

Eps.63 & 118 Rebecca Rotstein - The Buff Bones Method

Ep.126 Dr. John Neustadt - Osteoporosis Research & NBI Health

Ep.156 Dr. Doug Lucas - Orthopedic Surgeon and Osteoporosis Specialist 

_________________________________________
Are you ready to reclaim your midlife body and health? I went through my own personal journey through menopause, the struggle with midsection weight gain, and feeling run-down. Faster Way, a transformative six-week group program, set me on the path to sustainable change.
https://www.fasterwaycoach.com/?aid=MicheleFolan

Have questions about Faster Way? Please email me at:
[e-mail]

Sign up for Michele's weekly newsletter for more health and fitness tips and insights. https://michelefolanfasterway.myflodesk.com/i6i44jw4fq

RIMAN skincare finally gave me real, visible results—restoring my glow, firmness, and confidence in my skin at 61. RIMAN Korea's #1 Skincare Line - https://michelefolan.riman.com

*Transcripts are done with AI and may not be perfectly accurate.

**This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

Episode Transcript

Michele Folan (00:00):
Hey friends, Michele here.
I bring over 25 years of healthindustry experience to
everything I do as a certifiedfitness and nutrition coach and
host of a top 2% global women'shealth and wellness podcast.
And I don't just share theseconversations on the mic, I
bring them to live audiences.
I've moderated women's healthpanels, interviewed top experts

(00:21):
on stage and spoken to women'sgroups about thriving in midlife
through metabolic health,strength and longevity.
My mission is to help womenfeel strong, capable and in
control of their long-termhealth.
If you're planning an event onwomen's health, midlife wellness
or personal growth, I'd love tobe part of it.
Reach out through LinkedIn orthe link in the show notes.

(00:44):
Let's make your next eventunforgettable and meaningful
Health, wellness, fitness andeverything in between.
We're removing the taboo fromwhat really matters in midlife.
I'm your host, Michele Folan,and this is Asking for a Friend.

(01:09):
More than 10 million Americansare living with osteoporosis and
80% of them are women.
By age 50, one in two womenwill break a bone because of it.
The scary part, most have noidea their bones are weakening
until it's too late.
When I got my DEXA scan results, I found myself face-to-face
with this reality.

(01:29):
In today's episode, I'm sharingmy personal osteoporosis
journey what my diagnosis was,the exact steps I took to start
reversing my bone loss, and howyou can take action now to
protect your strength, mobilityand independence for decades to
come.
Welcome to the show, everyone.
I wanted to do another solo showand I'm going to be doing them

(01:53):
on occasion, so don't besurprised.
But this one is really afollow-up to.
A couple weeks ago.
I let you all know on Instagramthat I got the results of my
Texas scan, and I was veryexcited because when I was first
diagnosed with osteoporosis, Idid not get the answers that I

(02:20):
wanted from the doctor, and Ihave to say that you go through
these different feelings, so atfirst I was like, oh shit.
And then I was a little fearfulbecause I wondered gosh, what
does this mean for me long term?
Am I going to be able to turnthis around without being put on

(02:44):
some kind of a pharmaceutical?
And so there was a lot to allof this right, but when I
mentioned this to my audienceout there, I got so many
responses and questions that Ithought, okay, maybe I need to
do a show about this.

(03:05):
But it also brought to lightthe fact that there are so many
women out there in midlife thatare facing this and, honestly,
many don't know that they haveosteoporosis.
So I'll share exactly what I'vedone since my diagnosis to
start reversing my bone loss andhow you can take steps today to

(03:27):
protect your own bone health.
I do want to add, as I always doI am not a medical professional
and some of the things I'mgoing to tell you to do really
are based on the severity of mydiagnosis or lack of severity.
There are people out there thathave far worse bone health than

(03:51):
I do, and for some folks, yes,maybe doing a pharmaceutical or
a biologic is the necessaryfirst step, but for me, even
though that was offered, Ideclined and decided to do this
on my own.
Of course, the first step wasto have the conversation with
the doctor.

(04:11):
Now my normal nursepractitioner was out on medical
leave.
I had the opportunity to speakto her partner and he doesn't
know me, so, in all fairness, hedoesn't have any ownership of
me, but I did expect to get morethan well.
We're going to have youincrease your vitamin D and your

(04:33):
calcium, we're going to haveyou on a bisphosphonate like
Fosamax, and we'll see you backin two years.
That was the conversation and Idecided okay, that's not good
enough.
I have no idea why you thinkthat's a great idea for me, but
my goal is to avoid fractures,to stay mobile and independent

(04:55):
until I'm in my 80s.
So I decided my approach wouldbe multi-pronged.
This was not just one thingthat I had to fix and it
certainly was not going to befixed with a bisphosphonate
because I was not going on adrug.
Now I will say this If you havean osteoporosis diagnosis, it

(05:16):
has to be based on the severity.
I clearly was not in a statewhere the bisphosphonate was
absolutely mandatory, but if youhave really poor bone health
and you need to be on abisphosphonate like a
pharmaceutical or a biologic,then that is up to you and your

(05:36):
doctor to make that decision.
I decided that I would move frommore general health type of
goals to being a little morebone specific in my health
habits, and one of the very,very first things that I did was
I went to a physical therapist.
So I thought working with a PT,she could show me proper form

(05:58):
to make sure I wouldn't hurtmyself and to show me some
exercises that would be good,specific, for building bone,
particularly in my lower lumbar,which is where my osteoporosis
was.
I wanted expert guidance onform and safety.
I didn't wanna just go outthere on my own and think I knew
everything, because I didn't.

(06:19):
I followed Buff Bones, which isit's Rebecca Rothstein.
She's been on my show twice.
I followed Kevin, the bonecoach, which I had already
followed him anyway because hehad been on my show, and then I
also followed Dr Doug Lucas.
These are all super greatresources for you if you have

(06:40):
osteoporosis or you just reallywant to work on your bone health
.
I learned exactly what I need todo to stimulate bone growth.
So you know compound lifts,impact posture training, making
sure I am sitting correctly.
And then I decided at thatpoint too, I needed a more

(07:00):
structured program.
I had been looking at FasterWay and the timing worked out
perfectly.
I joined Faster Way around thistime because getting more
intentional about my strengthtraining, structured, more
progressive overload, because Iknew I was going to have to
increase my weights.

(07:20):
And then also nutrition Proteinwas absolutely the goal right,
because I needed to up myprotein to get at least I go for
110 to 120 grams per day, butbalanced macros with healthy
fats and plenty of fiber,because I want to make sure that

(07:41):
I'm absorbing all my nutrients.
Looking back at, like thephysical piece of this, I want
to make sure that I'm absorbingall my nutrients.
Looking back at like thephysical piece of this, I wanted
to learn more about squats anddeadlifts and lunges and
push-ups and weighted carries,impact balance.
You know doing step-ups, youknow single leg work.
I really wanted to challenge mybones, challenge my muscles, to

(08:04):
try to do this the most naturalway that I could.
On top of the macronutrients,like protein and fiber and all
that stuff, we should talk aboutmicronutrients and we all know
calcium is important for bonehealth and you can get that from
food and from supplements.
I do both, and you can get thatfrom food and from supplements.

(08:26):
I do both.
There's also vitamin K2, whichI take a combo K2, mk4 that has
D3 in it that I get from NBIHealth.
Again, I had the founder of thecompany.
He is a big researcher inosteoporosis and bone health and
I decided to take that productbecause of the data that he had.
I will put that in the shownotes.

(08:47):
I take a collagen with Fortaboneand there are quite a few
brands out there that useFortabone as part of their
components.
I just choose to do thisparticular combination because
I'm like all right, you know,there is some data that shows
that this particular type ofcollagen is beneficial for bone

(09:10):
health.
There's also magnesiumglycinate that helps with bone
mineralization, and then zinc.
You don't want to take a ton ofzinc I think I take 25
milligrams per day but that alsohelps with healthy bone.
As a disclaimer, I need to saythis Do not add any supplements

(09:30):
to your current regimen withoutasking your doctor, because I
have no clue what else you'retaking and what may interact.
So again, please, I am not adoctor, I'm just telling you
what I take.
There's one more thing when youthink about bone health is
hydration.
Hydration is incrediblyimportant beyond just getting

(09:51):
your eight glasses a day.
What I tell my clients is thattake or drink half your body
weight in ounces every day.
That is a great starting point.
You'll feel better if foranything, and it helps with the
transport of nutrients to yourbone.
There are some other lifestylechanges that I've made that I
believe are worth mentioning.

(10:12):
I want to talk about alcoholfirst.
I don't want any eye rolls, butit's important to mention.
I went from being a dailyalcohol drinker even if it was
just one glass of wine Iprobably drink almost every day
to occasional.
Alcohol does affect boneturnover, it affects hormones,
it affects your sleep and it canmess with your gut microbiome.

(10:38):
Back to the absorption piece.
I want to make sure that my gutis in tip-top shape to ensure
that all these wonderful macroand micronutrients that I'm
taking are getting absorbedproperly.
I just feel like there's somuch data out there now to
support cutting back on alcoholor quitting altogether that this

(10:59):
made great sense in terms ofthe osteoporosis diagnosis and
for those that have listened tomy podcast, you all know that I
have had my sober, curiousmoments from years ago that have
now translated to me reallyhaving a much better
relationship with alcohol, andI'm very happy where I am right
now.

(11:19):
Something else that's to thinkabout is getting outside,
getting daily sunshine to helpboost your vitamin D production,
and also it helps with yourmood.
Try to get outside and enjoythe sun, particularly early
morning, where that resets yourcircadian rhythm.
So sleep is also the otherpiece of this.
Right Bones remodel at night.

(11:40):
You want to protect your deepsleep.
Try to adopt some good sleephygiene habits, going to bed at
the same time, cool dark roomlimit screen time at night.
That's a big one.
We could talk about sleep forhours, but just know that there
is a benefit to making sure thatyou guard your sleep because

(12:03):
obviously bone is part of thatwhole equation.
The next important step washormone optimization.
After my hysterectomy, you mayremember, I was on vaginal
estrogen and testosterone.
That was it.
My next GYN decided to put meon estrogen.

(12:23):
We opted to do oral at the timeand estrogen is very important
for bone preservation and itdoes help us build bone.
The testosterone I think wekept me at the same dose, but
again testosterone for musclemass and strength.
Progesterone now I don't have auterus, but progesterone does

(12:45):
help with bone health.
So, being on all three of those, I feel really good about where
I am.
In regard to my hormonereplacement therapy and I know I
talked about this on anotherpodcast, so we don't have to
dive too deeply into this but,yeah, see a hormone specialist,
see a doctor that can reallyhone in on what you need if you

(13:06):
have osteoporosis.
Now, when I look at where I am,you know, having gotten the
recent DEXA scan and seeing thatI've had positive growth in all
three segments, so I'd be bothhips and my lumbar.
I technically still haveosteoporosis, but I am starting
to see some light at the end ofthe tunnel where I could

(13:26):
possibly reverse this.
That's very exciting to me Now.
I was talking to a client theother day.
She also has osteoporosis.
They also do a DEXA scan of herwrist.
Wrists are interesting becauseit's a bone that women most
often break first, because as wefall, we break our fall with

(13:47):
our wrist.
So that is just another datapoint to get in terms of the
DEXA scan is doing your wrists.
One other little tidbit thatyou may not know you want to get
scanned by the same scannerevery time, if you can.
Maybe you move and you can't dothat, but it is important to

(14:07):
have that consistency in thecalibration of the equipment.
So just an FYI there.
I'm feeling much stronger in myworkouts.
I am lifting much heavierweights than I ever thought I
would, and some of that iscoming from the encouragement
from Dr Dave DeMarco, where Idid the whole body scan and

(14:29):
realizing that I really neededto work on building more lean
body mass.
I'm a very small person and Ineed that muscle mass to protect
my bones and joints as I getolder.
That was some of the bestadvice that I've gotten was look
, you need to be a little soreafter you work out, and I wasn't

(14:50):
.
I wasn't getting super soreafter I worked out.
I was probably getting a littlecomplacent with the weights
that I was using.
I recommend you work with theguy at the gym.
There's trainers, there'speople out there that can help
you feel confident about liftingheavier weights.
But you want to do it slowly,over time.

(15:11):
It's not something thatovernight you're going to be
throwing around 25 pound weights.
I feel like my posture isbetter.
I'm working on my balancebecause of course, that's going
to be important.
As we age.
You want to make sure thatyou're staying firmly on both
feet.
I will retest my DEXA in anotheryear and this time I'll be

(15:36):
excited about going, because Iwas nervous apprehensive
whatever you want to say aboutthis last one because I really
had no clue what the outcome wasgoing to be.
Bone building is slow, but I'min this for the long game, as I
am with every part of my health.

(15:56):
What I want women to hear isthat osteoporosis is common, but
it's not inevitable.
You can take action even afterdiagnosis.
This is not a death sentence,and knowledge is power.
Know your numbers and startbuilding habits now.
This is about future-proofingyour body so it carries you into

(16:19):
your 80s and beyond, and youknow if you follow me at all.
That is my main goal.
So get your DEXA scan, don'twait for symptoms.
Pick one or two bone buildinghabits to start this month and
then, if you could share thisepisode with a friend who needs
to hear this message andcontinue to follow my bone

(16:43):
health journey on Instagram.
And if you want structuredsupport, you can check out my
six-week metabolism reset, wherewe work on your strength, your
nutrition and lifestyle, because, trust me, all of those things
matter when it comes to youroverall health, your bone health
and aging for longevity.

(17:05):
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