So let’s talk about this weight thing
Sep 05 2010
I love topics that everybody else is afraid to discuss, so why not weight? Let’s just go for it. I will start. I have been lazy lately and I am up 10 pounds as a result.
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Here is my laundry list of excuses:
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1. I work a lot.
2. I’m tired.
3. I have a long commute home and don’t want to wait til 7 to eat, and that’s on the days I go home instead of going to the barn to ride.
4. And you know, I need energy if I am going to leave work and then go ride ’til 10 PM!
5. Quality food is more expensive and I’m still paying off my show bills from this summer so it’s more sensible to eat from the dollar menu. I’m actually being fiscally responsible when I live on Taco Bell bean burritos and Jack in the Box grilled cheese!
2. I’m tired.
3. I have a long commute home and don’t want to wait til 7 to eat, and that’s on the days I go home instead of going to the barn to ride.
4. And you know, I need energy if I am going to leave work and then go ride ’til 10 PM!
5. Quality food is more expensive and I’m still paying off my show bills from this summer so it’s more sensible to eat from the dollar menu. I’m actually being fiscally responsible when I live on Taco Bell bean burritos and Jack in the Box grilled cheese!
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Sound familiar? I bet it does. I have said for years that if we fed and exercised ourselves as carefully as we feed and exercise our horses, all of us good horsepeople would be smoking hot! True, isn’t it? They get the best of everything, but we simply don’t prioritize our own nutrition (or exercise programs!) the same way. I always joke (oh wait, is it a joke if it’s true?) that I do far more complicated food prep in the barn than in the kitchen. I’ll bet I am not the only one.
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And yet, amid all of these excuses, there are those people who ruin it for all of us – ROTFL! – the women who have three kids, a full time job, a half dozen horses, and yet hit the gym every morning, eat right and look amazing. So, unfortunately, we have to admit it’s completely possible to do that. :)
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And let’s face it, as riders, we all know that even if we don’t care about it for any other reason, being fit makes it a lot easier to excel as riders, no matter what our discipline of choice.Â
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Now, do not misread that. This is one of those logical points – not ALL fit people ride better than ALL overweight people, SOME fit people are terrible riders and very hard on the horse, but it is true that the SAME rider will tend to ride more effectively and be able to handle more challenging horses if they lose any excess weight and become more fit.
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Many of us tend to get very, very defensive about this topic. I have read many rants about how judges shouldn’t discriminate against larger riders, defensive rants about how a heavy but talented rider is easier on a horse than a skinny harsh or unbalanced rider (true, but rarely relevant to what it’s posted in response to), etc.  Hey, we are all sensitive about the topic. It’s a real hot button issue in our society, and I will agree with those of you who say the current Hollywood version of “ideal weight” is far from ideal. It is about weight, not fitness or health, and most of the size zero 5’7 girls are doing some very unhealthy things to stay that way. And they feel like crap – they’re dizzy, they’re shaky, they certainly couldn’t ride a young horse!
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What I think most of us want is not some specific weight or size. What we’d like is to be whatever our “normal” size is but firm and fit. We want to feel “tight” on a horse no matter what he does and have good balance and flexibility. We want the kind of fitness that leads to confidence in the saddle and the ability to shake off any fears and totally enjoy riding the way we did when we were 16.
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So how do we get out of that I’msodamntired rut and start moving again and stop stuffing ourselves with crap? That’s what I want to talk about.
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First of all, raise your hand if you eat because you’re bored, angry, or just need a reason to get up out of your desk chair at work and do something. OK, so that’s everybody, right? I know they say you are supposed to replace food with some other reward, but what? I mean, food is so easy. I had a job once where I was so stressed out that I was absolutely convinced that justified a huge frappucino with whipped cream every afternoon. What we all forget is that we might as well be whacking ourselves in the head with a board. A 600 calorie drink is not a reward. All it does is give us one more source of stress – extra weight and that super unpleasant feeling of not knowing WTF to wear because 75% of our clothes don’t fit. We wouldn’t let one of our horses eat a bag of sweet feed just because it tasted good, so why the heck do we do it to ourselves?
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(I don’t have the answer. That’s why I want to talk about it!)
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To me it’s like this big vicious cycle that most women repeat throughout their lives. How many of us are on a constant yo-yo cycle with weight? 10 pounds, 20 pounds, more? And of course that’s the worst thing you can do – it ruins your metabolism and makes it tougher to lose the weight each time. Again, none of us would subject our animals to a feeding program this harmful! Why do we do it to ourselves?
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I know you can talk all day about making peace with yourself and being okay with your size, but let’s face it – how many of us can honestly say that if we got three wishes, one of them wouldn’t be an eternally fit body? Yeah, right. I know.
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And many of the riding faults we’re all fighting have to do with lack of fitness. I lean forward – that’s lack of core strength. If your horse is rooting and dragging you around a jump course, again, lack of core. Wiggly legs? Bouncy feet? Poor form without stirrups? All fitness related. Can’t sit that trot? Twisting in a funky way in order to avoid bouncing? Flexibility issues. This is not a discussion about trying to fit some unrealistic bikini-model ideal of appearance – what I want to talk about is getting fit with the goal of becoming the best rider you can be. So let’s talk about what works and what doesn’t and if you’ve found a way to consistently motivate yourself to care for yourself as well as you care for your horses, please share, because many of us need some help!
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For the purposes of this discussion, no bashing of others. I hate to moderate but do try to be civil. If someone has shipped horses to slaughter, then fuck ‘em, I feel no compulsion to be nice to them, but when it’s your fellow readers/posters, let’s keep it constructive. Being overweight or unfit doesn’t make you a bad person. Shipping horses to slaughter, oh hell yes, that makes you a bad person and you deserve whatever commentary the Internet dishes out to you. Oh, and the other thing I don’t have any patience for is the “shut up unless you’re X pounds overweight” competition. You have a totally valid concern if you’re not overweight at all but just are not fit enough as you need to be to reach your riding goals.
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238 comments to “So let’s talk about this weight thing”
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I’ve battled my weight since childhood and a few months ago I suddnely hit a realisation, I’m active I’m fit I can walk all day and ride all day. I used to trya nd lose weight without success then I had the sudden realisation that I was perfect and the fact that I was ona strictly regimented diet and excercise program for 6 months and didn’t lose a pound attested to the fact that I was who I was, I love riding and yeah my skinny friends loook better on board but i don’t mind, my horse behaves for me and many of my skinny friends just can’t ride her. This is me and my Mare taken this afternoon
Keep in mind that I used to hate my body and couldn’t ever post a picture of myself online, this is a big thing for me.
[IMG]http://i56.tinypic.com/2i24prn.jpg[/IMG]
excuse the bike helmet I lost my riding helmet and just quickly grabbed this one. lol better a bike helmet then no helmet
sorry wrong link oops
Your horse looks so happy!
this is probably none of my business, but have you seen a physician? A strict diet and exercise program for 6 months with NO weight loss is highly unusual and could be a symptom of some underlying health issue, like thyroid problems. Sorry, it just jumped into my head as a red-flag.
I think you look great on your horse, though. And she’s super cute! What a great photo.
I was about to say the same thing! What was your diet and workout program like? Were you working with a personal trainer and nutritionist?
I buried my brother last October and my sister yesterday. If there is one thing I can say it is to start eating healthy not only for your own sake but for the people who love you. Their deaths could have been avoided if they had just taken care of themselves and their diabetes.
Do it for your spouse, your siblings, your children, your grandchildren and for yourself before it is too late.
My horse loved me before but he loves me even more now that I am 25 lbs lighter.
Mmmm…. touchy subject and one that needs to be addressed. Our culture has become so sedentary, but our drive to eat high energy (fat) foods has been hard wired into us. I’m not able to ride much, but when I do it becomes pretty apparent how much my riding fitness has slipped. I rode every day as a kid and teen and didn’t think much about fitness. I lived on a farm and that required lots of activity. Now as a 32 year old desk jockey I took a bunch of dressage lessons and holy cow! After 30 min my legs nearly gave out when I hopped off. And that was just doing some w/t circles. On a lunge line. Good lord. But most would consider me to be in good shape. I run 3-6 miles 5 days a week plus biking, kayaking and hiking. I’m 5’8″ and 125lbs. So my weight isn’t an issue, but fitness is. Being in riding shape is so different then running or biking shape. I love to eat and I do eat alot (especially when I kick up my mileage). But I’ve been vegan for the past 14 years so that and the running allows me to eat and stay slim. I try to eat well but do eat fried food once or twice a week and sweets daily. But the vegan thing limits my ability to gorge on office doughnuts or hit McDonalds on the way home from work. I plan my eating so I always have breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack (fuel for my post-work run) and dinner. I have to eat about every 3-4 hours or I get grumpy, headachy and shakey. And I eat as much as a man 75lbs heavier then me (my husband). I sit at a desk all day so running has become how I destress and get blood moving. It sounds weird, but that’s my “me” time and I become irritable and grumpy with out it. When starting a new fitness routine no matter what it is, the first few weeks are brutal. A couple of times over the 13 years I’ve been running I’ve had a lay up due to injury/illness and getting back into shape is pure hell. But it helps to realize this and accept the fact that the first 2-4 weeks are not fun. But once over the hump it gets better and (dare I say) become enjoyable. We are all busy and juggling life leaves little time. But we have to prioritze our health. I don’t say I don’t have time to brush my teeth or do my laundry. I make time and do it. It’s easy to make excuses to escape things (I’ve always thought humans are capable of justifying anything). Being in shape for me is about 1)health and longevity 2) functionality (I’m fit enough to do what I need to/what makes me happy) and 3) I look and feel better about myself. My animals still get better care then I take of myself, but I make a effort to maintain at least a base level of self care so I can be there (and healthy) in the future. Sorry about the novel. This stuff is important. Eat sensibly, find a activity you enjoy and keep at it. We Americans need to take better care of ourselves.
I have a weight problem and I know I do. I dont stick my head in the sand and try to beleive that I dont. I am 140 lbs over weight and I know this. I dont deny it and I dont wear tight fitting clothing or what have you trying to deny that I am fat and must shop in the plus sized section of the store. I hate to shop esp for clothing. I have decent clothes but none of them fit and have resorted to the only 2 pairs of jeans and a handful of shirts I own that do still fit. It is extremely hard for me to lose weight. I tend to nit pick at things and I dont get that full feeling very often either. Sometimes once I eat it triggers a “forage” response in me that I know is bad but cant seem to stop it. I am a single person in every aspect of the word. Its easier and even more economical for me to throw in a frozen meal in the microwave than spend a half hour preparing a meal for one person. Im am very tight with funds right now and have had to give up on some of the more nutricious foods and resort to the foods that will last the longest over a period of time. Carbohydrates are low in cost for the most part and have a longer shelf life. I will get fresh roughage when I can and if its on sale. For 2 dollars I have an etire meal in one of those frozen meal things than spending 5 to6 dollars on a meal that I have to prepare and worry over.
I feel like whats the point. I am a miserable person right now. I am a grocery stocker at Wal-Mart and its demanding physicaly and I cant seem to get with the rythym of this thrid shift ranking. We have a time limit to get out all of our stock and meeting that time limit is hard esp when more and more freight is being brought out to you. Then your on your feet for min. of 8 hours. I hurt in ways unimaginable. My joints scream at me the whole time and I can bearily move when I leave at the end of my shift. on my days off I will sleep for nearly 15 hurs on the first day of being off. My feet hurt and swell so much I worry about it and my hands swell my rings dig into my fingers unable to be removed. How can one hurt this bad and not be miserable. I am miserable emotionaly. I lost 45 lbs when my late mare was alive. I felt I had a reason to better myself….even if it was for my horse and her comfort and my ability to keep balanced. I got an education so I would not end up stocking shelves at Wal-Mart. Gee look at were I am. I need a job and the horse farms arent hiring any time soon and I put in resumes and etc for each one I see posted. But I have always had a weight problem, my entire life. Its just worse now that it ever has been. I mean I have the weight of another entire person riding my shoulders and I know that if I could lose it I probably would not hurt so bad. Arthritis is a problem in my family and I have been hit hard by it already and I know that this excess weight can realy play havoc on my joints. I also take medications that hinder weight loss. I am Bi Polar in every essense of the word and suffer from Depression in ways I would only wish upon my worse enemy. If I dont take the meds I fall…big time. When my late mare died something in me died with her. Something left me that I cannot explain in in the past 9 years I have not been able to get it back. To many things I love in my life have been taken away from me and I just dont seem to care any more. Even God has gone away.
So I enjoy nothing except my food and most of the time I dont realy “enjoy” it because most times I dont even taste it or even realise I am eating. Maybe I just hate my life so much I have essentialy become an alcoholic that drinks to rid the crap that one wants to be free from even if it for a while. Except I am a food- aholic.
Is it my fault I am fat? Yes. Who wants a fat person riding thier horse? I bet very few of you would. Granted I watch the size of the animal in comparison to mine. I dont want to tax the poor animal.
I cant even enjoy TV….I no longer have TV. No cell phone, no luxuries and bearily internet access. Land Line….better than nothing though. Walking is boring and working out leaves me in to much pain and gets boring also.
My will and drive has pretty much gone or left me long ago. So continues my weight problem. This has become more of a “tell all your problems” session than not. I applogize. This is just a surface of me and I dont want ppl to shun away from me for it. I would be happier in a decent barn setting working my butt off there than Wal-Mart busting my ass there for big conglomerate corporation. They realy dont appreciate you. At least a horse seems to appreciate a clean stall….by pooping or rolling in it the minute they enter it. LOL
I so feel for you and the place you are in right now. Find a good support group or person who doesn’t buy into that whole “I’m a victim” crap, who all have positive outlooks and attitude and pretty soon it will start to rub off on you and maybe make it easier for you to make the necessary changes for your heart. Not easily done, but I will send good thoughts your way and hope that you will find the inner strength you need. Don’t give up.
I feel for you. When I was working my three jobs and still in bad financial shape, I told myself, “work is noble.” People may not give you the credit or prestige you deserve, heck, you may not give it to yourself, but work IS noble. I hope things get better for you.
The only other thing I will say about work is that I stayed way too long at a job that I hated. I transferred within the company and loved the new position, which was similar, but my new coworkers were a much better group of people. If you haven’t found a job outside of WalMart, do you think it would make a difference to transfer to another store or another position within the company?
I actually know how you feel…. I found a trick for myself that is helping me slowly lose weight. I have now started replacing protein milk shakes with fresh fruit for my dinner and cutting down to only one soda a day.
I have lost 30lbs so far, and hope that with the more weight I lose, the more I can do, which will lead to losing even more. I work in a warehouse and do all of the horse chores here at my 30 acre farm. I spend about 6-7 hours a day on my feet at work, then come home and work on the farm. During my free time, I volunteer…. 
Find a little bit of personal sanctuary for yourself by combining your passion for horses with your need to lose weight. Look for a rescue nearby who needs some extra volunteers (which is pretty much all of them). Mention to them that you’d like to help out in any way possible, and they’ll help provide a wonderful work out for you. However, being around the horses, seeing the changes in them as they blossom at the rescue, and knowing that you’re really truly wanted and appreciated, I think you will be amazed at how much it will help to motivate you. Maybe not to work out exactly, but motivate you to get out there and help out which will result in you losing weight. Then the way you will start to feel, not hurting as much, will drive you even further.
Don’t give up, because so many are in the same boat. Just try to find something that you love that encourages you to be active. Good luck.
I figure that after this distressing news, we all need just a tad bit of humor to cheer ourselves up.
Here’s a real race call… wait til you hear the horse’s names. I think we all can figure out who wins
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/e30b2054e1/best-horse-race-call-ever?playlist=featured_videos
Thank you, FHotD. I started reading your blog (and all the archives) last week and this’ll be my first comment.
I’ve been riding since I was a toddler, and I’ve ridden everything from Chincoteague ponies to monster OTTB’s in all sorts of disciplines and activities. I’ve been off horses for a while with college and getting married, but I’m working for Hidden Springs Horse Rescue (the rescue that took in the starved Arabians in this post http://fuglyblog.com/?p=467 … the old girl pictured is Madaha and she’s doing really well. Turns out she’s older than 22! You can see her pictured on our site, http://www.FloridaHorseRescue.com . It’s taken her a lot of Succeed supplements and rest but she is looking pretty darn good for a previously starved mare pushing 30.)
Anyway, I have the opportunity to train at HSHR and help to start some horses under saddle and I’m ecstatic. Problem is, ever since I learned I could work with the horses at the rescue, I’ve been freaking out about losing weight. I used to be fit a few years ago, but between taking birth control and the Freshman 15 (or 50) I’m even worse than when I started losing weight in high school. Combine that with a cross-country move a few months ago and adjusting to a completely different life, and a 2 hour commute every day and I’m wiped. But you know what? I’ve read through the previous 180-something posts and I’m ready to kick my own ass and get back into shape. It’s my fault that I let my weight problems catch up to me, and I’m nervous as hell about worrying about my own personal shortcomings when I should be focusing on the horses around me. I can’t train them if I can’t even train myself. This post came exactly when I needed it and I thank you. Also I thank the 98% of the positive comments to this post for finally giving me some motivation and to stop feeling like a complete failure because other people worry about their weight and riding as much as I do.
I would just starve myself skinny again if it were not for this insulin problem.
I am currently dieting so that my horse can carry me easily. He finds it easy enough now, but I want him to stay sound and healthy for the next 10 years so we can go have fun together! He is 18 now, and he is my motivation for getting into shape. I am fit, but fat. Not for long!!
We all know what choices we need to make individually to make ourselves more healthy. I had started another post about the BMI index being crap, that it is possible to be strong and fit and still be in the “obese” category, etc., but it’s all been covered. Some of us are completely aware that fat does not equal lazy and gluttonous – we don’t sit in front of the TV all day eating whole pizzas, buckets of fried chicken, cheeseburgers in bulk, and enough sweets to rot our teeth out – even though that is society’s view of our large-bodied population. For those of us who make decent food choices, stay active, and still stay big, it’s obvious we’re dealing with a slower metabolism than most. It’s tough. However it’s still possible to make changes and get healthier.
Want to know something that helps? SUPPORT!
Find some friends, do it together. It’s much easier to be motivated if you’re meeting a girlfriend for your evening walk rather than rely solely upon yourself. Share recipes, discuss what works & what doesn’t, be there to provide some positive reinforcement. My co-workers and I are doing our own version of “The Biggest Loser” in our office. There are five of us & we weigh in weekly. For every pound we gain from the previous week, we have to put a quarter in the jar. Whoever loses the most over the pre-set period gets the money (OK maybe enough to buy a good salad, but it’s fun). We’re seeing some ups & downs, but in the three weeks we’ve been doing it, we’ve all lost overall. I myself am down 6.5 lb in three weeks. Since that’s accumulated to a total of 50lb now since last summer (My sister got married summer ’09 & I was horrified at how I looked in the pictures), I’m rewarding myself with riding lessons again starting tomorrow! (I own 4 horses & can’t ride any of them: one’s too arthritic, one’s not rehabbed yet, one’s still too young, & the other’s my son’s tiny pony. – Go figure) Oh, and I’m in the lead so far!
Ok, I completely agree with most of your sentiment, but I have to stand up for the BMI just a little bit because it gets such an undeserved bad wrap. When the BMI is taken into consideration WITH a waist/hip circumference ratio, it is very informative. No health care provider should provide you with just a BMI and tell you you’re overweight or obese. The waist hip/ratio is pivotal, because it clues you in on where the fat in your body is distributed. Visceral fat sitting on the organs in the anterior of the abdomen is very dangerous and is linked to weight related diseases (cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, etc.) If a patient has a high BMI and their waist/hip circumference ratio is also high, there is no getting around the fact that that they need to lose weight. If you have a high BMI but a small waist circumference and a low waist/hip ratio (ex- pro football player, heavily muscles athlete, etc), the high BMI is due to muscle mass and not visceral fat, and this is not a concern. Generally, fat concentrated on the hips (a “pear shape”) has less coincidence with cardiovascular disease so is considered less worrisome, although an excessive amount of fat in any area of the body is not beneficial to anyone.
You don’t think about it when you aren’t moving that way all the time. I just hate to think about how much riding is going to hurt when I do have the time and money to buy another horse.
i’ve been overweight since i was a kid as many others on here have been…i’m only 23 but already have Rheumatoid arthritis in my hands and have always had bad knees…i broke my ankle in high school so flexibility in that leg is wanting and the soft tissue damage never fully healed (yay for th follies of youth) so i guess i have a lot of excuses too lol
there have been times in my life where i was thin…when i was 17 my stomach went on strike and i couldn’t eat anything except soy milk and mac n cheese (soy milk went out the window by the end and so i was miserable because rice milk was gross and the store didnt carry almond milk oh orange county suburbs how you kill)…that lasted 2 years and i was thinner then than i have ever been…but i was sick and i hated every minute of it…
the second time i was “thin” was in college when i joined the rowing team my jr year…since i hurt myself rowing (tennis elbow and pulled pectoral muscle…the only person my coach knows who has ever managed both of those injuries) they stuck me as coxswain…i dieted and worked my ass off down to 128 (still too heavy by coach’s standards for a rower much less coxswain) and i loved the way i looked…my ass was toned and my core was rock hard…my arms were guns and i couldn’t fit into stringbean clothes because i had muscle tone…as a late bloomer i was in love with my body…but the stress induced stomach problem started to rear its ugly head so i had to leave off…now i’m back up around 150 when my body’s preferred weight is closer to 136-140 (i’m just shy of 5’5″ so overweight by some standards but healthy for me according to both my dr and my body)
i took an Eastern Concepts of Health and Healing class my Sr year of undergrad as a filler course and learned a lot about nutrition…so i could change my habits and lose the weight and be much healthier…but i do have a natural tendency toward laziness which is why instead of working out or helping my mom clean the house while i’m home from school i’m sitting on the computer with a snuggly kitten >.>
however…reading all of these posts has motivated me to start working out (i actually did core exercises that we used to do for rowing this morning and took the dog for a “jog” or as much of one as my poor knees can support) because i am hoping to feed lease a horse over my break and don’t want to be tossed on my ass when i know my ass can’t take it…its sad that i don’t bounce like a 23 year old should but abusing my body with sports as a kid is what did this to me so i guess its time to start being nice to the poor thing *sigh*
little lifestyle changes are the most important…the atopic dog with the hypothyroidism could use the jogging as much as me (he has a waist! its amazing at 7 he has more energy than he did as a 4 year old) and when i finally get out to the barn i know both me and the horse will appreciate my core exercises…medicine balls are amazing…teaching my mom how to eat right might be harder…but since her dentist has told her basically to cut all tough food from her diet i think now is the time we can swing it…time to start scouring the internet for good recipes
I completely forgot…i meant to post about my friend’s cousin but got all narcissistic on y’all
http://www.facebook.com/jackdagger?v=wall&story_fbid=156858290998230&ref=notif¬if_t=feed_comment_reply#!/group.php?gid=139514339421021&ref=share
he started out about as big as a planet…bedridden and couldn’t fit through a door…he has dropped enough weight that he can actually get up and walk and we are all ecstatic…if you are on facebook it would be awesome if you could join the group and follow his progress ^_^
he was at close to 600lbs when he started and is down to 340 as of august…its about doing what your body can do…he has no magical diet and no workout equipment…he hasn’t seen the inside of a gym…he is lucky that he doesn’t have too many serious complications but being bedridden was a pretty good excuse to not exercise…i think its an amazing story
once he gets to the point where he can walk long distances hes going to fly out to so cal and his cousin is going to take him to disneyland…talk about a reward system ^_~
Holy crap, good for him! That’s awesome.
everyone i know is proud of him ^_^ we can’t wait till the disneyland trip
That’s amazing. I joined his FB page and will share it on my page.
Another suggestion I’d like to make is if people feel they are too unfit to ride, or their horses are too old/too young, that there is a newer book on ground work for horses of any age:
Horse Training In-Hand
A Modern Guide to Working From the Ground
work on the longe. Long Lines. Long and Short Reins.
by Ellen Shuthof-Lesmeister and Kip Mistral
They worked very hard to break the tasks down logically and at a level that’s accessible to everyone, with troubleshooting sections to help keep the user on track. Kip is a technical writer when not writing horse-related articles and books. She did the photos since there was no budget to bring me in.
Anyway, I did ground work with my girl for a year while she was recovering from laminitis and it did good things for me. When I started riding her we were out of the arena and on trail after the first 3 rides, then after 10 we shifted to driving her in a jog cart which she loves, and that foundation has served her very well.
This is a great topic.
Let me start by saying this is ALL MY FAULT. I have a note of warning for you ladies out there who aren’t fit. I want to mention a liver disease called NASH, or non alcoholic steatosis. I am obese, and I didn’t think about losing weight until I got this diagnosis. Essentially, my liver is so full of fat cells that it can’t burn the fat off in my body until it burns the fat off in itself. This is very painful for me, my gut hurts all the time. At this point I’ll never be able to lose weight, and eventually my liver will become cirrotic.
Don’t believe me? Look it up. Most obese people have this disease and don’t even know it. Please take care of yourselves. Don’t let this happen to you.
I am 41 this year , and I look and feel my best this year. I have 5 ponys at home , and i shovel poop feed and change watr everyday. So for me keeping my horses at home where I have to do ALL the upkeep and shoveling keeps me in good shape. I also run a hotel , so i am on my feet running around all day. I could never have a desk job where I am sitting on my duff all day long. In the Alps we dont have fast food, it doesnt exist. This helps a lot. wish i could send a photo…dont know how sorry.
This topic is near and dear to me, as I come from a very large family.
I am no lightweight by any means, but I have found several lifestyle must-do’s in order to beat my family legacy.
1. You have to cook. I make big pots of stuff so I can eat it every day at lunch. Busy is no excuse.
Fav recipe right now: Box of dirty rice, Turkey breast burger, 3 cloves of garlic, a whole bunch of cilantro, 2 cans of rotella tomatoes and chiles. YOU WON’T EVEN KN0W YOUR ON A DIET. It’s just like ordering off the mexican menu.
2. Lift weights. Muscle is the only tissue in your body that is metabolically active. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn doing your same everyday routine.
3. Eat good 3 days a week. Don’t cheat. Then eat whatever the hell you want on the weekends. We all love pizza, beer, and icecream.
4. Check your birth control hormones. When I was on the depo shot, I gained 30lbs, was depressed, and always sick.
I now have an IUD and lost all the weight.
OK-I admit that I’m 30 pounds overweight…..never had a problem with my weight until I hit my 40s…..Last year I started the couch-to-5k program to get fit. Yes it really does work. I downloaded podcasts from http://www.kissmyblackass.org really helpful. Lost 15 pounds, ran in 4 5k races and even placed 3rd in my age group once. Then once again the unexpected happened, I stopped running-and I gained all that weight back. This year I’ve joined Team In Training, and am raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I’m training to run 15k (thats over 9 miles) in November. Ran around the block yesterday—about 4 miles in just under 45 minutes. So the weight is slowly coming off again. I WILL maintain the weight loss this time around. I’m 5’4″ and SHOULD be around 130 pounds. I knew that as people age they tend to gain weight…..so when my 1/2 arab saddlebred had to be retired, I bought a draft pony-he could easily support my weight even if I gained 75 pounds! Love those Haflingers:) Easy to mount from the ground, and can carry a lot of weight without any probems.
I do endurance, so weight is a big deal. I am 5’7″ and hit 218 last month. That was it for me. It isn’t fair to my horse to have my fat ass flopping around all over the place.
I have a friend who did the Take Shape For Life program. When she started, she was pushing 300 (at 5’4″) and was fed up. On the program, she lost 50lbs in less than 5 months. She is still chipping away at her weight and has become a health coach for TSFL.
And now she’s my coach. I’ve been on the program for only a week, and I have lost two inches off my waist. My friend was dubious when I said I wanted to lose weight for my horse, but I have found that riding is what motivates me. It wasn’t enough to want to look pretty or get healthier. It was the day that I realized that my riding would never get better if I didn’t slim down and tighten up.
I know I have a long way to go with this, but I’m done with excuses. I love Jack in the Box and Panda Express, but I love my horse more.
Back pain and horseback riding: who hasn’t dealt with it? Whether from a past fall or other injury, or just the wear and tear of your daily ride, your spine (especially the lumbar region) may not be as big a fan of your horse as you are. I’m currently in physical therapy school, and back pain is a huge emphasis of our curriculum because it is so prevalent in the population. The awesome thing is, good research shows that moving and exercising your core has shown to be INCREDIBLY effective at minimizing or even eliminating back pain. For all of you who swallow half a bottle of ibuprofen at every horse show, this could be a great alternative. My biggest motivator to hit the gym even if I’m exhausted or would rather be watching The Office is the knowledge that letting my core workout go for even a week means my back pain will slowly creep back into the picture. I don’t have a “six pack”- not even close. Hell, I don’t even look that good in a swimsuit. But not having to cringe on the backside of a jump or when dismounting is so worth the time and energy spent on a strong core. I’m sure you take every measure to ensure that your horse’s back is pain free- take care of yours as well!