Moday's Weekly Goals

Okay last week:
1) Lose 1 -2 lbs. a1 lb.
2) Along those lines, do the body test on Wii fit and exercise every day for at least 30 min. aMostly meet. I did a lot of extra hard work outside and I am including that.
3) Read That Winning Feeling by Jane Savoie for at least 20 min at night. Over all goal to finish book by the end of the month. aWell on my way to being done.
4) See Kinsey 3 times this week. I have a hard time getting out there because she is so far away, which make getting anything done with her difficult. Failed miserably. I didn't go see her at all this week. I was too damn cold! I also really had to stuff I had to do, like get hay for the horses here. Still this reminds me of a quote from Ellen DeGeneres:
I gotta work out. I keep saying it all the time. I keep saying I gotta start working out. It's been about two months since I've worked out. And I just don't have the time. Which uh..is odd. Because I have the time to go out to dinner. And uh..and watch tv. And get a bone density test. And uh.. try to figure out what my phone number spells in words.

So for this week.
1) Lose 2 lbs. by drinking h2o and tracking my WW points.
2) Finish That Winning Feeling
3) Try some different exercises this week.
4) See Kinsey and ride CJ. I want to ride Kinsey next month. . . mostly so she'll be a little more fit and I will be a little more thin!

Excuses, excuses!!

Ellen's quote from tomorrow [don' task that is just the way it worked out] got me thinking, she seems to always hit the nail on the head doesn't she? I know keep saying I want to lose weight, workout, write more, and so many other things and yet where does the time go? By the end of the day I can not figure out when I did all day. I mean I watched a little tv, ran to the store, fed the horses, played on the computer, etc. You get the picture. Sometime it really does seem like I have been busy, but sometimes that is all it was, being busy. Not really getting anything done, but doing a whole lot of it.

Recently I actually had a reason, I was tired all the time. I would get up and within half an hour I wanted to go back to sleep again. I would slug around and eventually make it up to do something physical, which would really wipe me out and I would want to sleep again. The whole day went on like that. I eventually went to the doctor.

I have a great Doctor, she is not a MD but an DO, or doctor of osteopathic medicine. An DO differs from a MD in a few ways, although equally trained the DO is more holistic. They evaluate the whole person both physically and emotionally. They don't just exam the body in parts but also look at the body as a whole. So when I went in for a physically I had fasting blood work done, plus a few other things. My blood work came back with great results for cholesterol, triglycerides, and all that other stuff.

Surprising though, I found out I have very low vit D levels. Where we should have levels around 50, mine were around 14. For me, my muscles were weak, and hurt when I exercised, but that happens when you are out of shape and starting to exercise, except for me it didn't go away. I was tired. So tired, especially after I broke my wrist and was not outside. But I was a little depressed, I mean I fell off my horse after I was trying to make such gains in getting back to riding.

I am so happy that I finally went to doctor and got and diagnosis. I am an nature girl. I am outside a lot, so the idea that I would have a vit d deficiency did not even enter my mind. I found out though that if you are over weight, have a BMI of 30 or more, the fat takes the vit. D and alters it. I also don't drink fortified milk, if I drink milk it is my own goat's milk.

Now, after taking a vit. D supplement for 2 weeks, I have energy. My muscles ache, but not in the same way and mostly because I am exercising. I can not believe that I went so long without seeking medical advice. I was having nightmares about horrible diseases and then going to the other extreme of thinking I was just lazy.

Excuses are bad, but sometimes it is important to see if there is a reason. By the way, I still need to go in for a follow up check up. I just assume my weight is the reason for the deficiency, but there could be other reasons too.

Oh if you want to know more about Vit D Def. check out WebMd. A lot of people are deficient and just don't know it. Most doctors suggest a vit D supplement as well as a multi vitamin.

This is the rider I want to be again.

I found some old pictures from when I was a kid. These are of my friend from high school, Lora, and her horse, Nappy. I am on the sorrel, Rebel's Hope. I must have been a senior in high school and this was the Lake Geneva Holiday Parade.

What I remember about being a rider from that time was not that I was brave, Lora was always braver than I, but I was confident on my horse. I trusted Hope with my life and in turn she took care of me. She was not a really good parade horse but even still we did this and she was okay, a little hot. She did not bolt and take off though. I believe one reason was because I never thought that she would.

This is what I loved about riding. Sharing a good time with a friend. Lora and I rode together because we had a good time and we both loved our horses. We laughed and just had a good time. It was not about winning ribbons or out doing each other. We did care who rode better, or who had the better horse, or any of that stuff that it seems goes on between rider in barns all the time. We just loved our horses and having fun with them.

I want to be that rider again. The one that is confident on her horse. Happy to ride, no matter what we are doing. Just to have those moments of feeling at one with my horse and being willing to go off and try different things, just because it will be fun. To share those moments with a friend. Laugh and cry and know it is all okay because we have friends and our horses.

I mean look at those two kids. They are just happy to being riding their horses.

By the way Lora as a blog of her own on her horse and his life with navicular. http://lopinon4.blogspot.com/

"Do or Do not, there is no try"

Master Jedi Yoda wisely told young Luke Skywalker that in Return of the Jedi of the Star Wars movies. I was young at the time. I did not get it. I had always believe that trying was a good thing. We should try. Right?

It is not for lack of trying that has kept me off my horses. I tried a lot. I tried ground work and tried getting ready for a ride. Heck, I even got on Abby and tried to ride her. I was trying my heart out. Same could be said for weight loss. I know all about different diets and why so many of them don't work. I understand the role that exercise plays in weight loss. In fact a lot of my goals in life go unmet, even though I try so hard. I didn't understand Yoda.

Then thanks again to Jane Savoie, I learned that I should not try. Just as Master Yoda says, I should do it. If you tell yourself that you will try, what you are really doing is giving yourself an excuse to fail. "Well I tried and I couldn't." "Well at least you tried." Perfect, I tried and I'm off the hook now. My conscience is free because I did my best. . . well at least I tried to do my best.

Luke: I can't believe it.
Yoda: That is why you fail.

Why did I try? Because I didn't think I could succeed. I don't say I am going to try to drive to work. I know the way and I know how to drive a car. I don't have to try and drive to work, I just do it. A few weeks ago was a different story though, we got a lot of snow. The roads were bad. As I was leaving I was asked, "Are you going to work?" I replied, "I'm going to try." I did not know what the roads were going to be like or if I would succeed in getting to work or end up in a ditch.

All this goes back to positive thinking. If I try I am admitting I might fail but if I just do it, I am assuming I will succeed.
I am not going to try and see Kinsey this week. Nope. I am going to see her.
I am not going to try and trot on CJ this month. Nope. I am going to trot CJ this month.

Even saying, "I am going to trot CJ," my stomach gave a little lurch. I didn't feel anything when I said I would try. "I am going to trot CJ," is a much more powerful a statement. I don't have the out of saying, "Well I tried." It is assumed that if I say I am going to do it that I will. Even my brain realizes this and frankly the more I say and write, "I will trot CJ." The less my stomach lurches and the more confident I feel that I can.

"Try" has been put on my naughty word list from now on and we learned that Yoda really was wise.

May the force be with you.

Monday Morning Goals

Monday seems like a good as time as any to set goals for the week. I am so afraid to post goals that I won't meet them, but I'll be brave this week and see how it goes. If it goes well I'll post them on Mondays.

1) Lose 1 -2 lbs.
2) Along those lines, do the body test on Wii fit and exercise every day for at least 30 min.
3) Read That Winning Feeling by Jane Savoie for at least 20 min at night. Over all goal to finish book by the end of the month.
4) See Kinsey 3 times this week. I have a hard time getting out there because she is so far away, which make getting anything done with her difficult.

I think that a good number of goals for this week.

I am thinking of starting another blog for weight loss. It is all consuming of my mind right now as I am getting started and yet at the same time it is pivotal to being more comfortable on a horse.

Book Review: Chosen by a Horse

Anyone who is really a horse person, not just an equestrian, but a true horse lover, knows the powerful impact our horses can have in our lives. They, in that special way they have, heal us, give us freedom, and just touch us in a way that no other can. There is just something special about being able to work with, even be a friend with, a 1,000 lb animal that goes beyond words.

In this book, Susan speaks to us as horse lovers. She tells the story of Lay Me Down, an abused standardbred brood mare. Lay Me Down heals Susan in a way that only a horse could and she tells about the journey with this mare in a humorous and heartfelt way.

Not only do we learn about Lay Me Down, but the other horses Susan shares her life with and how they help her through out her life. Heart lifting and heart wrenching, this story really touched me. I was heal by a horse and I found a kindred spirit in Ms Richards.

I don't want to give the impression that this was a sugary sweet story though. It is real. Susan has real issues. She faces real problems and in the end it ends the way you think it would. Even still, it is a touching story.

Happy New Years

It's that time, isn't it? That time when we look back for a moment before we jump into making plans for the future year. I tend to just let December 31 flow into January 1 without much notice. No staying up until midnight and then sleeping until noon. Just a quiet reflection by myself.

After reading several blogs and what those people had accomplished in the last year I started to feel sorry for myself. what did I really do this past year? I did not write down plans for this year, mostly I was just hoping to make it through another year. Then I stopped and thought for a moment. I did have things I accomplished this year.

1) Start a weight loss program. I started Weight Watchers and I really find it one of the best ways to loss weight. Mostly because it is not a diet, but a new way to eat that takes in individual preferences into account.

2) Not only did I start, but I actually lost 10 lbs!

3) Start riding again. I actually did get on a horse in the past year. I came off and broke my wrist, but let's not dwell on the negative. I also found a horse that I really think I can ride and may have a buyer for Abby.

Okay there are other more personal goals I met, but those two are the ones that are most important here. Two goals is not that bad, especially for not having formally made any. Next year though I think it would be fun to look back and see what I have done.

Goals for 2010:
1) Start riding my own horse.

2) Ride my own horse walk/ trot/ canter.

3) Start working with Kinsey on Training level dressage work.

4) Take a few lessons from a dressage trainer.

5) Lose at least 4 lbs. a month. That is really low. I am actually hoping for 8lbs. 4 lbs a month and I will be half way through my weight loss by the end of the year, 8lbs and I will be done.

I am sure that I will add to that list, but it is a good start.