It was about a week or so ago that I saw my gynecologist for my yearly checkup.
“Step up on the scale,” said the nice nurse. “Okay,” I said as I took my jacket and shoes off.  I always take off whatever is easy to remove whenever I have to get weighed.  (At home, I always weigh myself in the morning before I step in the shower and before I’ve eaten anything.)

“You weigh 115 pounds,” said the nice nurse.  (Whew, didn’t gain any weight this year.)

“Now turn around so I can measure you,” said the nice nurse.  I did not remember getting measured during previous years’ visits.  Why was she measuring me now?  Was this a new routine?

“You’re 5′ 2-1/2″ tall,” said the nice nurse as she pushed my hair down and lowered the metal bar on the top of my head.

“What do you mean?” I said to the nice nurse. “How could that be?  I’ve been 5’3″ for the past 35 years.”  

“Well, I guess you are starting to shrink,” said the nurse, who I didn’t think was so nice anymore.

“I don’t think the nurse measured me properly,” I said to my doctor when she walked into the room.

“When you hit menopause, you can start to shrink,” said Doctor S.  “It is true.”

I knew my mother had shrunk in recent years.  She was always 5’3″ or maybe 5’2″ when I was a kid and now she is barely 5′.  But she is 88 and walks with a walker so she is permanently bent over. 

Now, at 52, it is starting to happen to me…I am shrinking.  No wonder the petite skirts at Nordstrom fit me so much better than the regular Misses size, it is because I am shorter than I was last Fall.  I am shrinking.

How much more will I shrink next year and the year after, I thought to myself.  This has major implications for the rest of my life.

What will I do when someone asks me how tall I am? I will have to say I am 5′ 2-1/2″.  I am shrinking.

What will I do when I buy pantyhose?  I can no longer  look for my standard height and weight.  I will have to look at a different set of proportions to see if I need a smaller size…or perhaps larger size. I am shrinking. Yes, I am.

What will I do when I measure my Body Mass Index and Body Fat Percentage? I am shrinking.  It will never be the same again.  I am shrinking.

On a positive note, I may find that I can now fit into the entire petite line of clothing when I shop.  Normally, I buy separates because I need the petite jacket and the regular pants.  Now I may only need the full petite size.  I am shrinking, shrinking.  Yes, I am.

“I want you to have a bone density test,” said Doctor S.  “Let’s see if you need to add Calcium supplements or not.”  (I was concerned about taking Calcium supplements after a recent research study linked Calcium supplements to a potential increased risk of heart attacks.  However, my friend L, who is a very smart dietitian, said as long as I take Calcium supplements with Vitamin D, it is okay.  So glad I asked my friend L.  I do like the Viactiv Calcium plus D soft chews. They taste like chocolate caramels.)

Next week, I am scheduled for my bone density test. (As well as my yearly mammogram.)  I have never had a bone density test, but at 50+ it is time to give in and see how I measure up. 

According to “The Wisdom of Menopause,” author Dr. Christiane Northrup says that research has shown that “the average woman loses 2-4 percent of her bone mass per year in the first five years after menopause.  After that, loss slows down markedly or disappears. In men, accelerated bone loss is more apt to begin in the late sixties.” 

Am I at risk for osteoporosis?  Oh, I hope not.  I think I’ll wait and see what my bone density test says, before I get all excited.  On second thought, maybe I should just start to rev up my bone building program a little more each day…just in case.  It can’t hurt. 

Where are those weights?

Oh, yes.  There they are.  Wait a minute. Can I lift them?  They are very heavy.

Yes, I can. I can lift all 726 pages of the September Fall Fashion issue of Vogue magazine.  (Ooh, ahh, la, de da.  Lift with the right, lift right again. Turn those pages.  Turn them fast. Lift again.) 

And for the left arm, I have my ‘hot off the press’ InStyle magazine with 600 pages of Fall Fashion!  (Ooh, ahh, la, de da. Lift with the left, lift left again. Turn those pages. Turn them fast. Lift again.)

What great exercise, for the body, the soul, and my fashion form.  Sure hope they have lots of fashions for petites this fall.  I may be shrinking, but I’m mighty big when it comes to Fall fashions.

Judi

P.S. – To all my readers and followers.  I will be taking a blogging break for the next week or two to read all 1326 pages of my Fall fashion mags or shall I say, do my annual Fall fashion exercise program.  I’m going to get back to the gym too and lift some real weights…as soon as I get this sore tendon all healed and am able to put my trendy new black Nike sneaker back on my right foot instead of the black boot and ace bandage I’ve been wearing the past two weeks.  Have a great rest of your summer.  Looking forward to catching up and sharing more news, views and results about my bone density test with you in September.