Too fat to ride! Time to get back in the saddle... literally.

@2fat2ride1 good luck with your journey. I remember the first time I logged into MFP years ago and saw the number of calories I was snacking on, I was mortified. The more you log, the more conscious you become of what you are putting in your body and I think that helps massively. Investing in some nutritional scales (around £/$/Euro10-15) is a big help as you sometimes don't realise the weight of foods and it can have a massive different calories wise and logging regardless of whether you've had a good day or a bad day is a must if you want MFP to work for you. Hopefully you will be back in the saddle soon.

Wait, 15 stone is just 210 lbs. That should be well within the realm of any horse to carry on the flat, and many horses to carry over low jumps, if that is what you are aiming for. Are these like Welsh Mountain Pony For Twelve Year Old Girls schools or something? Do they not allow men to ride? Do they not know the glories of the heavy hunter? Or maybe they are just being over protective or don't want to take on additional students? I can understand why your soul is crushed.

It sounds like you have made amazing strides in your weight loss thus far, and starting to track what you take in is a wonderful next step. I would also encourage you, once you feel like you have tracking under control, to look into doing some resistance and core-strengthening workouts, both to preserve your existing muscle and to prepare for riding in a few months time. It's easier for a horse to carry a strong, well-balanced rider who is heavier than a lighter rider who is flapping around like a bag of potatoes and can't find the center of gravity, and if you work on your strength now, your riding skills will come back quicker.

You might also want to consider setting up a tour with a couple of the stables that you think have the most potential and building a relationship, to show that you are serious about riding, because someone who is THAT dedicated would be a very attractive long-term student. (Do it soon, before the fair-weather riders start showing up...winter riders are the hard core ones. )Have a chat with them about the target weight you should be before you start riding. You could even ask them if they would be willing to give you an assessment lesson if you have previous years of riding experience to draw on. Dress like a rider to express competence--not tall boots and breeches, but a good pair of paddock boots, practical but nice jeans or pants, etc. Make it clear that down the road you may also be a boarder. They will be judging you, but you are judging them also, and it's important to find the right place where you are comfortable.

If you are looking for friends, feel free to add me. Also, I second the equine athlete group mentioned above--there are a lot of knowledgeable people on there.

What really helped me with the mindless grazing was getting into the habit of logging everything before it went into my mouth. That let me see the calories before I ate or drank so that I could change my mind about how much I wanted to eat and if I really wanted to eat the item right then.

Getting in the habit of logging your food will help you get control over the mindless eating.

ronjsteele1 wrote: »

French_Peasant wrote: »

Wait, 15 stone is just 210 lbs. That should be well within the realm of any horse to carry on the flat, and many horses to carry over low jumps, if that is what you are aiming for.

It's easier for a horse to carry a strong, well-balanced rider who is heavier than a lighter rider who is flapping around like a bag of potatoes and can't find the center of gravity, and if you work on your strength now, your riding skills will come back quicker.

No kidding! My husband is 220 and horses carry him just fine! Not like he's a regular rider or anything, but really? That sounds kind of hoakie to me.

I had to laugh at the bolded part. My DD has loved horses her entire life. She read everything she ever could to learn about them but we could never do lessons. Last year we were able to start her with riding lessons. She is 15 and 5'6" and last year when she started she was 105lbs. You are NOT kidding when you say "flapping around like a bag of potatoes!" She was so light that when she was racing through barrels or poles there were times I was sure she was going to go flying off because she was so light! The instructor specifically taught her to hold herself a certain way to help keep her on the horse. LOL! Thankfully, she's up to 120lbs this year so I'm thinking she will not fly off as easily!

Great suggestions for OP that you gave @French_Peasant!

Sadly, this OP never came back after the initial post in January, to my disappointment, but my Spidey senses were tingling too.

My daughter started riding at 8 and from day 1 her little butt was tacked to the saddle like she was Dale Evans in a past life. Plus she has monkey-legs whereby she just clings. I am super jealous. I hope your daughter enjoys her lessons...it is such an awesome sport, and as I tell my husband, I'd rather have my daughter obsessed with horses than with boys!

That's utterly ridiculous. What kind of sissy horses do they have?? Time to get your own horse! .......and BONUS, you get your own horse out of the deal! WOO HOO!