Wednesday, July 29, 2009

I'm shortie...

Many years ago - so long ago I cannot remember when - I got my height measured and I was five feet, seven and three-quarter inches. I've never bothered to get it re-measured. However, the other day I had a bone density test done through work. The lady who did the test asked if my height had changed at all (a possible indication of osteo-arthritis or osteoporosis) - and I said no. However, I kept thinking about this answer and later in the day decided that really I had guessed - since I hadn't been re-measured for many years! So, last night I got my other half to draw a pencil line on the wall (!) and measure my height... Imagine my shock horror when the tape measure said I was five feet six and a half inches!!!

Then I remembered the well known fact (see link above) that the average person's height diminishes by at least half an inch during the course of a normal day. This is because of compaction of the vertebrae causing shrinkage of the spine (due to gravity). So, we went through the height meauring process again this morning and my height came out at five feet, seven and three-eighths of an inch. This makes me three eighths of an inch shorter than I used to be, than I thought I was. Now, while this small amount of shortening does not make me a true 'shortie', and it is too little to indicate any problems such as osteoporosis etc, it does have an impact on my BMI - all previous calculations were done on the basis of me being five feet eight inches.

So, I've done all the calculations and updated my weight loss ticker and here's what has changed:
1. My original BMI was 43.6, not 42.4
2. To get to my target BMI of 22.5 I have to get to 10 stone 5 pounds, not 10 stone 7 pounds
3. To get to my minimum BMI target of 25 ('normal') I have to get to 11 stone 7 pounds, not 11 stone 9 pounds.

So all in all, not as disastrous as I'd feared - it only makes a difference of two pounds. Last night, thinking I was only five foot six and a half, I thought I was going to be looking at losing an extra stone or something - phew!!

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2 comments:

  1. DebiSeptember 13, 2009 at 6:06 AM

    Hi Theresa,

    I am a newbie from California. I am being banded by years end. I thought this post was funny in that you thought you were taller. I have always gone on the assumption that I was 5'3". At my Surgeons office, they measured my height for verification & found that I am actually 5'3.4". Not much difference, but I am actually "slightly" taller than I thought. I am 54 yrs old & figured that I would have shrunk instead of gained in height. Anyway, keep up the good work!

    Debi

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  2. TheresaSeptember 13, 2009 at 1:45 PM

    Welcome Debi! Excellent news for you - probably an extra pound you won't gave to lose! Good luck with the op when if happens - I really hope it is very successful for you.

    Thanks for reading and commenting on the blog.

    All the best, Trees x

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