Greetings!
We are two weeks into our challenge and I have been so pleased with all the great responses we have gotten from readers and they just keep coming! Cheryl and I (one of my challenge partners) have stepped up our walk up “butt hill” every morning and as we huff our way up the mountain, we have been mulling over your comments and ideas.
I was most impressed to have our humble little challenge joined by someone who had just celebrated the loss of 100#. Wow. Here I am whining about trying to lose 5 pounds and you have achieved an unimaginable milestone. And yes, I have spoken with several other riders who have lost 50-100# about how that affected their riding. All have reported to me that they had to re-learn balance on the horse; and some have commented they had to re-learn how to use their aids (seat and legs) because they could now feel their seat bones. I suppose as your body changes in shape, your center of gravity changes as well. I am not sure of the mechanics of drastic weight-loss as it relates to riding, but it is interesting to me. I’d love to hear from you about exactly how weight-loss (in any increment) has affected your riding.
Many of your comments have included personal tips for dieting and ideas about rewards. Cheryl and I have been mulling over these ideas as we walk up the hill. For some, it is not a challenge for weight loss as much as a challenge to get more fit. Take Cheryl for instance; she’s a waif. She really cannot afford to lose 5 whole pounds since she had already lost 2# before our weigh-in where she tipped the scales at a whopping 113. But she wants to be more fit—so how do you quantify a fitness challenge? And, it has lead me to ponder this question: is it easier to lose 5# if you have only 5# to lose or if you have 100# to lose? I’ve thought about this a lot over the past two weeks and have come to the conclusion that they are equally hard, but for different reasons. What do you think?
For me, I am holding steady at a loss of three pounds—only two to go! But this weekend we are headed into dangerous waters and I am really worried I will be set back in my challenge. Rich and I are headed up to Granby, Colorado, with Dually and Diggs, to the C Lazy U Guest Ranch www.clazyu.com , where we will attend a three day Versatility Ranch Horse clinic and competition www.nvrha.org . The ranch is a 5-star resort, complete with gourmet full-course meals in copious proportions. I am really good at not buying high-calorie food and can maintain some semblance of self-discipline at home and when traveling—but put it right in front of me and my determination dwindles.
Rich and I have discussed our strategy to try and overcome the temptations of the weekend, with a little in-put from my challenge buddies, and we have decided on a multi-pronged approach. First, we are going to not eat potatoes and bread; that should help a lot but it is a hard push for me since I could live on bread alone (as long as I had butter). Secondly, we are going to remind ourselves to slow down and only eat until we’re full—not until we hate ourselves and fell sick. I personally subscribe to the theory of wearing tight pants to dinner so that there’s not too much room to over-stuff. We decided not drinking was unrealistic since this is a hugely social event but I am going to forego my beloved martini for a wine spritzer (which I won’t consume much of since I don’t really like wine). Plus I will take my regular walk every morning. If I can survive the weekend without gaining any weight, I’ll consider it a success!
Anyone have ideas for maintaining a healthy weight when you are vacationing or partying? Do in-between-meal snacks help you eat less when you sit down to the dinner table? And if so, what’s your favorite healthy snack?
I hope those of you that have signed-in on our challenge are having some success. Please let me know how it goes.
Enjoy the holiday weekend!
Julie
For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html
I love the tight pants trick!
ReplyDeleteThis post made me think of my college days showing IHSA. One of the barns that frequently lended their horses to the shows (in IHSA you draw a horse to show that you haven't warmed up or practiced with and you don't have to have your own horse) decided that their horses had weight limits. That's fine, as you've talked about before horses can carry about 20% of their weight and I do believe riders should look at this as a sport and put an emphasis on health for horse and human. However, the riding coach decided that her horses could carry 200 pounds if the rider was male and 175 pounds if the rider was female. This made no sense to me--a horse doesn't know whether the rider is male or female, but can feel the weight. I weighed right at 175 then--but I'm 6'1" and that's what I was supposed to weigh. I'd look anorexic at 150. Reading between the lines, I think that this coach was attempting to say that some of the female riders from other schools needed to pay a little more attention to being fit and athletic. She also needed to keep her best male rider who was a stout-but-fit football-build. Oh, hidden agendas. . . .
It turned out to be a mess and caused a lot of problems. I wish that there had been a more direct statement or mandate from the top that said riders needed to focus on their personal health and true fitness. That's tough to demand in a sport that isn't always varsity and where anyone can jump in. It's not about the weight as much as your strength and balance and ability to ride well. I do believe putting an emphasis on fitness instead of weight makes sense.
That said--my challenge status reflects my story. I've been riding, jogging and eating right. I've now lost 3.5 inches off my waist, but only lost 1.5 pounds. . . . I'm OK with that. I'm just not sure how that scientifically works! Muscle weighs more than fat!
Heidi
Here's an interesting link on how much your horse can carry: http://equisearch.com/horses_care/health/anatomy/weight_carry_062608/index2.aspx and another good link on why it's important for riders to be fit... http://www.localriding.com/fit-to-ride.html
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hungry-girl.com has a lot of info, recipes, tips and tricks for losing weight/eating right.
ReplyDeleteAs far as quantifying a fitness challenge, you could monitor inches lost and/or body mass index instead of or in addition to weight. These will tell you when/if you are losing body fat. If better fitness is your goal, you basically want to lower your BMI (less fat, more muscle), not necessarily just lose weight.
On whether it's easier to lose 5 when you only have 5 to lose or when you have 100 to lose, for me anyway, it's a lot easier to lose 5 when you have 100 to go... I don't have quite that much to lose, but I need to lose a lot, and in my case anyway, it's safe to say there's some unhealthy eating going on. If I start drinking a bunch of water, cut out a bunch of calories, fat and sugar, and just choose healthier foods, I drop 5-10 fairly quickly. If I add exerise to that, so much the better. The trick as we all know is sticking with the plan!
I never did sign in on the challege earlier, but I'm in. I've lost 10 pounds since the beginning of the year and 1 since your first challenge blog. I am on my way to a goal of 60 lost and your challenge is spuring me on after a slump. I thought for a reward I would allow myself $1 a pound lost and use the money to purchase your Refinement and Collection video when I make it that far. Other smaller milestones and goals will occur along the way. Thanks for the challenge!
Julie, it was great being at the clinic in Kansas!
ReplyDeleteI lost 40 pounds a couple of years ago on a widely advertised weight loss program and have kept it off (well nearly all of it!) pretty well.
The thing I noticed is that I can just control my body and my balance better. When my trainer says to do something, I can do it and hold it for more than a few seconds! Also it makes doing chores and everything else around the horses so much easier. When I carry a bag of feed it amazes me to think I used to carry almost that much around all the time!
Everything is easier without that 40 extra pounds. For me losing weight was the right thing to do to improve my riding and my health.
Laurel
I'm an old, ex-hippie in California. Yes, sprouts, tofu, etc. HOWEVER, after all these years (almost 35 years vegetarian) I really believe the best diet is to eat 80% raw food, avoid processed foods whenever possible, avoid white flour and refined sugar. If a person just did those things she'd be a whole lot healthier. As I approach 60 I see the benefits paying off (I don't do the 80% raw part but really believe in it)compared to others my age-low cholestrol, low blood pressure, good bone density, etc. Now to keep up with the fitness part!
ReplyDeleteHey, Julie: That's great you've lost 3 pounds! As hard as it is to lose the last 2, keeping the goal in sight is what's helped me lose 101.2 ... even that .2 makes a difference! They say that the last few pounds is the hardest to get off so whether it's five pounds or 105 pounds, it's important to accomplish the goal! Just keep plugging away and it will happen sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteAs for snacking, I'm a HUGE fan of eating many times throughout the day. I generally have about five or six small meals. This keeps me from getting too hungry and going off my diet at meal time. If I spread out the food, I can get in front of the hunger and not let it over take me.
I also plan, plan, and then plan again! I take a lot of food with me, call ahead to find out what we're eating if I'm going to someone's house, etc. I know that seems like over kill to some but think of it this way. If you had a food allergy to peanuts, it would be a life and death thing that you know what you're going to eat. It's the same thing with someone that struggles with weight. The only difference is that being overweight kills a little more slowly than a peanut allergy.
Anyway, I think it's great that so many people are getting involved in this challenges. Our horses all thank us (and you), right? :)
http://wendyweightlossjournal.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your help........I even bought an exercise bike to help keep those lbs at bay! You would think that farm work would be enough. Not enough cardio on gaited horses I guess! Oh well, my little trotting horse will be ready to start next summer and maybe I'll be in shape for him by then.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your blogs and look foward to our episodes.
Anne