Last week I had a bone density scan. The result? My back is fine but my left hip (they test one, not both) has some loss of density. Not osteoporosis but the milder, early stage called osteopenia. As I said to Mum on Saturday night, I might look fine on the outside, but I’m getting old on the inside. (Well, except for that whisker I discovered a few days ago and promptly yanked out!)

According to the government health site, women lose 10% of their bone mass in the few years after menopause. The only non-hormonal way to slow it down is to consume heaps of calcium and vitamin D and do lots of weight bearing exercise. Fortunately, the up side of menopause is that I have more energy so feel more like exercising, and the female problems that made me feel drained aren’t cramping my style (pun intended).

If anything, the energy I have has led me to exercise too much too quickly. We went for an hour long, hilly walk on Thursday and it left me sore and exhausted the next day. I still have achy hips, thighs and back two days later.

Slowly. Must take it slowly.