Improve Bone Health
12 weeks · 4 milestones
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Bone density cannot be measured at home — that requires a DEXA scan and a medical referral. But the behaviours that determine bone health CAN be measured and changed: weekly weight-bearing exercise load, dietary calcium intake, and vitamin D exposure. These are the levers, and they are observable. This milestone captures your starting point on all three before any programme begins. Complete a 7-day diet diary focused on calcium: record every meal and drink for 7 consecutive days and estimate total daily calcium in milligrams from the NHS calcium food guide (milk, yoghurt, cheese, fortified plant milks, leafy greens, sardines). Calculate your average daily calcium across the 7 days. Separately, note your current weekly hours of impact or resistance exercise — any exercise where your feet strike the ground with force or where you lift against gravity.
Proof required
Submit (1) your 7-day diet diary with calcium estimates per food item and daily totals, plus your average daily calcium in mg; (2) your current weekly impact/resistance exercise hours before any programme; (3) one sentence on your vitamin D exposure (whether you spend time outdoors midday with skin exposed, or take a supplement). This is your baseline — you will compare against this at M3.
What gets checked
- The diet diary covers 7 full consecutive days — a single-day estimate is unreliable because calcium intake varies significantly day to day; 7 days gives an accurate average
- Calcium estimates use a food composition source (NHS calcium food guide, or Cronometer free tier) rather than guessing — portion-size estimates are sufficient, but source-referenced figures are required
- The exercise hours are specific — 'I go to the gym sometimes' is not specific; '2 hours per week: one 60-minute strength session and one 30-minute walk plus 30 min yoga' is specific