RIDER weight loss. Experiences and advice please

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you-name-it

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Ok, I have decided to create this thread becuase there does not seem to be any (well I cant find them) weight loss questions/answers about losing weight when it comes to horse owners and riders.

I would like to loose 20lbs. I would not say I am over weight but beacause I am short and aged 21 I would rather not carry the extra pounds :)

Having recently brought a horse I would like to know peoples experiances and if horse riding/owning has helped them.
Any exercises that would help me and my horse to get fit?

I will be sharing the horse with my sister so only doing half the work. (DIY)

Thank you :)
 
Best weight loss I've figured, is eat less and exercise more as boring and unoriginal as that sounds. Riding is great for toning up and weight loss if you're riding a few times/constantly all day...but one off individual horses, doesn't do a lot for weight loss I don't think.

Lots of walking and jogging. I take my baby out in hand with me and jog round the village with him, and I make a point of each morning walking checking the fields [mile to the last one, then mile back again] and then at night, I've been jogging that same route every other night also to feed them and check them again.

Then all the normal stuff like mucking out/shifting feed bags/muck heap/etc.
 
It's a bit more complex than "eat less move more" (although for a great many peop[e, this is the case!) as some people find that their hunger increases with the more exercise they do! This is the case with me and I already eat pretty healthy!

With my body, if I ate any less, I would faint and I feel poorly ill tired (for those who read my blog, you will know the struggle I've been having with my health)- it depends on your body and how it operates. I find with me, I need lots of small meals and often with some sort of protein as fruit and veg, even in vast quantities just don't fill me up or give me the energy I need. I'm never going to be slim but I too, would like to lose 1- 1 1/2 stone. My OH on the other hand, can survive on air alone and gets full just from eating some fruit (he goes to the gym and runs) but if I do that, I feel faint.

Don't drink sweet drinks, I don't touch them and find when my energy is starting to flag, drinking water gives me a bit of a boost. :)
 
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Thank you very much sidesaddlegirl :)

I know its as easy as eating less and doing more exercise but I find it very difficult to not give in too hunger or boredom(I love my food)

:)
 
you will probably find that you lose weight to start off with as your body will not be used to the additional exercise, but watch out because your body will soon get used to what you are doing and you will then need to either eat less or exercise more to get the weight off. The classic mistake is thinking that cos. you are out in all weathers getting exercise you can eat what you want, yes you can ! if you dont want to lose weight !

I found jogging through winter after doing horses (as couldnt ride as dark) helped a bit with weight and hugely with fitness.
 
I lost over a stone at uni a couple of years ago by aiming to eat 7-10 veg/fruit portions a day. This meant that my meals were bulked up by healthy stuff and I ate less 'rubbish'. For example, I would have a small piece of pizza with a large salad (portion of lettuce, pepper and cucumber) a yogurt and then an apple and orange as a snack later on then for dinner I'd have 2 portions of veg min with every meal.

Then unfortunately I put it back on when I moved home - got back into my parents eating habits.

Lost 3 stone then on slimming world. I didn't go to meetings but got a few recipe books and cooked meals from them. Also ensured I did 30mins-1hour walking every day.

Then again, I put that weight on due to difficult family times when eating seemed a solution.

Am now just starting losing weight again by counting calories and by trying to do at least 30mins exercise each day if not more :) Sometimes I get a bit reliant on riding as exercise but as said above - one horse doesn't do much. So am going jogging/walking lots. Only 2 weeks in and have lost about 5lb. To get to my healthy BMI I unfortunately have a lot more than 20lbs to go - nearer 100. However, even after losing 3 stone before I looked and felt so much healthier. There's pictures of me in my competition clothing and I just think - WOW is that me? Now I try and avoid going to competitions so I don't have to wear my jacket as it hugs me too much.

I've done it twice before so I know I can do it again. But for me, it's just the motivation to start I struggle with - once I get going I'm generally fine to keep going.

Good luck :)
 
good luck, i lost 2 stone on slimming world and have kept it off. Finding quick food was the most difficult, mainly I cut right down on bread, milk and cheese.:)
 
I've lost a stone recently and not really found it difficult - it's come off so gradually that only my clothes and the scales have noticed - theres been no "wow you've lost weight" moment. I was 11 stone and I am now 10 stone and would like to get to 9 stone. I've lost it over about 10 weeks. I rejoined the gym that I had left about 2 years ago, but whereas I used to almost make myself sick because I put so much effort in, a bad back has made me slow down a lot. So I just do enough to make me work, but not so much that it makes me feel ill. So generally 30mins of cardiovascular work, followed by a few light weights and then a stretching session. I only go 3 times per week, rather than the 5/6 times a week I used to go and I've found I'm enjoying it much more than I used to.

I have cut down on what I used to eat - I was a binge eater and could happily eat a multipack of mars bars (7 mars bars) followed by a multipack of wotsits and then keep on eating all day. I still enjoy bread and pasta, but just smaller portions. I've had a few binge sessions, but nowhere near the level I used to do.

Good luck op. Take it slowly and steadily and you'll get there. If you have a bad day don't dwell on it - just start again the next day.

And Ainsley Harriot does a fantastic lentil dahl in a packet which you add water to. Fantastic with rice, really low fat, and you'll never be constipated again once you've eaten it.........
 
i lost over 3 stione when i got my mare - and i ride so much better for it - that alone is a motivation. i also think she goes better - just think of jockeys/racehorses and weight handicaps - it really slows the horses down (watch Phar Lap if you raelly ant to see what a stone or so will do to a horses performance) and as i expect her to carry me i feel it only fair to be a lighter weight for her as well as me.

i have a 'allergic' reaction to refined sugars - ive been tested for diatetes but i dont have it - i just have a really extreem reaction - i go hyper/hypo and faint. problem is the more i eat it the more and need it to stop the hypos. so i go cold turkey - cut it out all together and yes its awful for a few days - headaches, shakes, feel sick, faint etc - but after that i really being to feel better (yes i've dont this a few times - mostly after xmas and new year - i do love sugar so i do allow myself to have it occasionally)

anyway - until i wean myself of sugar i can not diet - if i do i cant sustain it at all - as with SSgirl above i just get hungrier and hungrier and feel faint and weak.

so for me dieting is two phase - first cut out sugar - then and only then - once i feel normal again - can i begin to reduce calories slowly. i eat good GI foods - whole grains, oat cakes, proteins, proper wholesome soup etc.

i also have to over come my mental addiction to food - im a terrible comfort eater - and if i feel fat and unfit i feel depressed and say ****** it and eat more - however if i feel positive and have a goal - ie a competition etc then i can diet. feeling bad does not motivate me at all - feeling positive and happy does. i can not diet if i do not have self confidence - that's a difficult one to get over but over the years i have managed it - but it also means that when lifes tough for one reason or another i have a half stone buffer - allow myself to put on half a stone in comfort eating - knowing exactly what i need to do to get it off again - this takes the panic out of needing to eat if i need the comfort it that makes sense? and no i dont class this as yoyo dieting as i always plan on 1lb a week loss - nothing extreem as i simply can not maintain that.

i also have IBS so i have trouble on salad/fruit etc - tends to upset my stomach. and i dont like potatoes which helps lol! but i also find that force risen bread causes havock too (think any sliced stuff in packets ;)) - not only to my stomach but also to my sugar intollerance! so i only eat proper bakers slow risen stuff - i find it so much more filling and i eat far less without thinking about it.

i dont really change my fitness/activity routine - i am already active - i just slowly reduce my in take of food - and if i feel hungry i have an oatcake or a highlights hot chocolate (yes i know terrible for the aspartame :o so unhealthy for you :o but i so love the tast of sweet :o - i limit myself to a couple a day and also take it half strength ;))

you can do it - it takes far more than just eat less and move more though for many people - me being one of them - it takes determination, positive attitude and a above all a sincere want to do it for yourself not just as a pressure from feeling guilty etc.

good luck :)

bugger - sorry that was an essay :o
 
posie-honey, it was like you were writing about me!! Yup, sugar just makes you feel worse but it's oh-so-tasty! I as tested for diabetes too but that came back normal so just have to severlely limit it too. I hate feeling hungry all the time as well so will have to look into high GI foods too. My belly grumbles so loud that my family laughs at me but they don't understand how hungry I am all-the-time and even the doc didn't believe me as I'm "overweight". I know how horses feel!!
 
Slimming World all the way! I've lost almost 6 stone on it, it is really easy and it works! My instructor told me to ride heavier in my last lesson as my maxi cob is ignoring me now I'm so much lighter for him. I nearly fell off laughing. :D:D:D
 
yup when i was reading yours i thought it was me too! sound very very alike!
i find that protein and whole grains are the answer to my stomache and diet. i can pretty much eat the same thing day in day out though and not get bored :o
so bran flakes and raisins for breakfast
oatcakes and cheese for lunch
bionica organic rye bread with pumpkin seeds with butter and vegimite for supper
hot chocs inbetween and oatcakes to nibble on
oh and i treat myself to 90% lindt chocolate for a chocolate fix :o
forgot to say no bleached flour too really helps me - the bleaching agents sem to upset stomach - as does caffine etc
funnily enough when i am eating healthily and on good high GI food the hunger goes from rumbling tummy and feeling sick/faint to a different tollerable kind of hunger - its not something i have to panic about (used ot panic about fainting in public after i did it a few times in dramatic style so would eat more to stop it = gain weight) and it feels nice to feel empty and i dont want to fill my belly again... i just want enough to feel refueled rather than full... does that makes any sense?

eta - yes on papaer my diet is pretty poor - but i've gone from high dose omeprozole and mebeverine 3 times a day to being fine - so it works for me ;) i do also eat 'properly' more at weekend - i like vegitarian food so often do vegetable bakes, soup, gratins etc as cooked veg i can cope with - never ever feed me raw veg - results are really not very pleasent :o
 
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Another "cut the refined sugar" here too.

I don't eat lots but I have stopped having sugar in coffee and cocoa and I've cut down the biscuit intake (major weakness). I have a small amount of G&B choc every so often. I sweeten my coffee and cocoa with xylitol now (Holland and Barratt sell it), natural very low GI and non of the nasties that come with artificial sweeteners. Was never one for sugary soft drinks so that wasn't a prob (now wine.....!).

I wasn't overweight but I was gaining more than I would have liked around the middle, largely due to lack of exercise having lost my old boy 2 years ago (then having a baby) and the aforementioned biscuits.

I have taken a horse on part loan and I've been following the dietary measures above and my middle is gradually becoming more recognisable after only 4 weeks. It definitely does not hurt as much to do my breaches up!
 
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