One Step at a Time
- Thread starter AnnSparks
- Start date
AnnSparks
New member
@Cate Glad you think so! I'm definitely feeling more relaxed than I have in a while which results in me feeling happier too.
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Update!
So, I didn't post this earlier since I wanted to work through some stuff on my own before deciding to post anything. But I did weigh myself on Sunday or Monday and I weighed 218. I was 2.5 lbs away from being back at my starting weight. I think it was cause for the first couple days or almost week after being laid off, I was floundering a little and just sat around for the most part and snacking which made me gain weight a bit faster.
Since Sunday/Monday however, I've started to spend more time with the horses which I've started to post about. Not being pressured about time or the arena being used for events or anything like that has also made it easier for me to go out and just enjoy my time with my boys. And by doing this, I tend to spend around 3 - 5 hours with them without even realizing I've been out there that long. Each time I'm out there, I'm on my feet the whole time, walking, jogging, or riding. I also spend time cleaning up their paddock which is a huge undertaking right now, plus grooming. So while I'm out there, I'm working my legs, arms, and core muscles a lot in several different ways. And because I'm so focused on the horses, I don't even realize how tired or sore I might be getting until I'm home and have sat down for a bit. So it's honestly the best way for me to get exercise in and be able to spend several hours doing it at that.
Anyway, that's all a build up to say I weighed myself again today, just a day or two short of it being a week since the last time I weighed myself and as of this morning, I weigh 215.5 lbs. So in nearly a weeks time, I've gone back down 2.5 lbs.
Now, one thing I've also noticed is that I have more energy during the day as well. I've also still eaten some ice cream and cheetos, but because I'm not restricting myself to purely healthy food, I'm finding I'm only picking at it once in a while. Like, with the cheetos, I eat maybe half a handful every couple of days. Ice cream I eat a little more often just cause it's warming up and I only have a wood stove for heat and my small cabin gets quite warm at times since it's too cold to go without a fire, but it's also warm enough out that it feels almost like a sauna in here at times. So ice cream is a good way to cool down. I also usually eat in the morning, before I go to the horses, so then that way, I burn off the calories right away when I'm working the boys.
So I hope you guys don't mind more horse focused posts to come. I find that writing down things I did with my horses helps give me inspiration to keep going and do more. Of course it's all going to be tied into weightloss as well since as you guys can see, in a week alone I've dropped 2.5 lbs thanks to going out and spending time with the horses.
And to finish things off, another pic of the boys from today.
- - - - - - - - -- - -
Update!
So, I didn't post this earlier since I wanted to work through some stuff on my own before deciding to post anything. But I did weigh myself on Sunday or Monday and I weighed 218. I was 2.5 lbs away from being back at my starting weight. I think it was cause for the first couple days or almost week after being laid off, I was floundering a little and just sat around for the most part and snacking which made me gain weight a bit faster.
Since Sunday/Monday however, I've started to spend more time with the horses which I've started to post about. Not being pressured about time or the arena being used for events or anything like that has also made it easier for me to go out and just enjoy my time with my boys. And by doing this, I tend to spend around 3 - 5 hours with them without even realizing I've been out there that long. Each time I'm out there, I'm on my feet the whole time, walking, jogging, or riding. I also spend time cleaning up their paddock which is a huge undertaking right now, plus grooming. So while I'm out there, I'm working my legs, arms, and core muscles a lot in several different ways. And because I'm so focused on the horses, I don't even realize how tired or sore I might be getting until I'm home and have sat down for a bit. So it's honestly the best way for me to get exercise in and be able to spend several hours doing it at that.
Anyway, that's all a build up to say I weighed myself again today, just a day or two short of it being a week since the last time I weighed myself and as of this morning, I weigh 215.5 lbs. So in nearly a weeks time, I've gone back down 2.5 lbs.
Now, one thing I've also noticed is that I have more energy during the day as well. I've also still eaten some ice cream and cheetos, but because I'm not restricting myself to purely healthy food, I'm finding I'm only picking at it once in a while. Like, with the cheetos, I eat maybe half a handful every couple of days. Ice cream I eat a little more often just cause it's warming up and I only have a wood stove for heat and my small cabin gets quite warm at times since it's too cold to go without a fire, but it's also warm enough out that it feels almost like a sauna in here at times. So ice cream is a good way to cool down. I also usually eat in the morning, before I go to the horses, so then that way, I burn off the calories right away when I'm working the boys.
So I hope you guys don't mind more horse focused posts to come. I find that writing down things I did with my horses helps give me inspiration to keep going and do more. Of course it's all going to be tied into weightloss as well since as you guys can see, in a week alone I've dropped 2.5 lbs thanks to going out and spending time with the horses.
And to finish things off, another pic of the boys from today.
alligatorob
Respected Member
Good for you, it appears horse exercise is your solution! Nice pictures, as always.
AnnSparks
New member
@alligatorob
It really is! Helps when exercise is actually enjoyable lol.
@LaMaria
I do have some frozen berries for smoothies and such, but icecream also gives that little bit of sweet as well. And by eating only a little at a time once in a while, it helps prevent me from getting any big cravings for chocolate or anything else I could potentially binge on. So I'm just playing around with things to figure out what works the absolute best
It really is! Helps when exercise is actually enjoyable lol.
@LaMaria
I do have some frozen berries for smoothies and such, but icecream also gives that little bit of sweet as well. And by eating only a little at a time once in a while, it helps prevent me from getting any big cravings for chocolate or anything else I could potentially binge on. So I'm just playing around with things to figure out what works the absolute best
AnnSparks
New member
Mini Update
I ended up weighing myself again today. Kinda forgot I did that 2 days ago since time feels weird without having work to keep track of the days.
Anyway, I was rather surprised when I stepped on the scale. I'm now apparently down 203.5 lbs! Only a few more and then I'll be under the 200 lb mark which is super exciting. I think if I keep going with working the horses and still doing small portion sizes, I'll be able to reach 198 lbs or close to it by the end of next week.
I do plan on having today as a rest day to help my body rest and recover from everything since I noticed yesterday my knee was starting to feel sore a little sooner than before. And the horses could use a rest too since they've been doing pretty good as well. At most, I might go for a short walk today, but that's about it.
So ya, that's about it for my update today. The lowest I've managed to weigh before is 195 lbs so I'm hoping that by mid to end of April, I'll be under that. I'm super excited at the fact I'm getting closer to that and seeing how things are going now just give me more motivation to keep going! Especially considering I haven't been restricting myself to what I can or cannot eat. I'm still eating some of the baked goods my grandma makes, have some ice cream or cheetos on occassion when I feel I want a little something different. And yet I'm still losing weight
I ended up weighing myself again today. Kinda forgot I did that 2 days ago since time feels weird without having work to keep track of the days.
Anyway, I was rather surprised when I stepped on the scale. I'm now apparently down 203.5 lbs! Only a few more and then I'll be under the 200 lb mark which is super exciting. I think if I keep going with working the horses and still doing small portion sizes, I'll be able to reach 198 lbs or close to it by the end of next week.
I do plan on having today as a rest day to help my body rest and recover from everything since I noticed yesterday my knee was starting to feel sore a little sooner than before. And the horses could use a rest too since they've been doing pretty good as well. At most, I might go for a short walk today, but that's about it.
So ya, that's about it for my update today. The lowest I've managed to weigh before is 195 lbs so I'm hoping that by mid to end of April, I'll be under that. I'm super excited at the fact I'm getting closer to that and seeing how things are going now just give me more motivation to keep going! Especially considering I haven't been restricting myself to what I can or cannot eat. I'm still eating some of the baked goods my grandma makes, have some ice cream or cheetos on occassion when I feel I want a little something different. And yet I'm still losing weight
alligatorob
Respected Member
That's great! Good to see you losing weight, I know that is making you feel better. Good horse picture, better scale picture!
That is so good, and so truly exciting! We all know that there's no bigger a drop between 201 and 199 than between 209 and 207, but it feels so really, really major. (And it is - as it feels, so it is! To be out of the 200s - oh, go, Ann! Cheering you all the way!)
AnnSparks
New member
Thanks for the encouragement everyone! I really appreciate it and it definitely helps keep me motivated to keep going.
I thought about it a bit and I think part of the reason the scale was so low was because the day before, I was really tired since I didn't sleep well and went to bed early and ended up skipping a meal and in general, barely ate anything that day ><
But either way, it's still nice to know that even if I do weigh a bit more than that, I'm still lower than the 210 mark and that's all I need to know to keep going at this point.
Today sadly, I can't do much since winter decided to make one last stand and is giving us a blizzard. So I was only able to go feed the horses and pick up some groceries. I worked on some art that's for that potential job but I'm thinking I'm going to spend some time in a moment here to make use of that exercise bike and stepping thing and maybe a few other stretches and such to get at least a little bit of a workout in today as well.
I'm also thinking of taking some fullbody (as much as possible anyway) pics once I reach 195 -198 lbs to use to compare to my 220.5 lb self. I think that'll be an interesting comparison since there'll be roughly a 20 lb difference.
I thought about it a bit and I think part of the reason the scale was so low was because the day before, I was really tired since I didn't sleep well and went to bed early and ended up skipping a meal and in general, barely ate anything that day ><
But either way, it's still nice to know that even if I do weigh a bit more than that, I'm still lower than the 210 mark and that's all I need to know to keep going at this point.
Today sadly, I can't do much since winter decided to make one last stand and is giving us a blizzard. So I was only able to go feed the horses and pick up some groceries. I worked on some art that's for that potential job but I'm thinking I'm going to spend some time in a moment here to make use of that exercise bike and stepping thing and maybe a few other stretches and such to get at least a little bit of a workout in today as well.
I'm also thinking of taking some fullbody (as much as possible anyway) pics once I reach 195 -198 lbs to use to compare to my 220.5 lb self. I think that'll be an interesting comparison since there'll be roughly a 20 lb difference.
That's always a bummer when winter does a bit of a comeback, but it won't last and you'll be back playing with your horses soon I'm sure
Great idea to use some of your indoor equipment!
Well, skipping a meal is still reducing your intake - of course you want to be sure you're getting proper nutrition, but provided that happens I think skipping a meal (you could call it it OIF - Occasional Intermittent Fasting ) is a perfectly reasonable way to nudge the scales down a notch or two. (But not to go all day without eating!)
Hope your next weigh, after good nourishing eating, is just as pleasing!
) is a perfectly reasonable way to nudge the scales down a notch or two. (But not to go all day without eating!)Hope your next weigh, after good nourishing eating, is just as pleasing!
AnnSparks
New member
@liza ya, thankfully the cold weather only lasts a day or two before warming up. Today was already much better! But next week we're supposed to have some pretty cold weather again so it's a wait and see when winter really decides to leave lol.
@aiminglow I never really thought about it as fasting until you mentioned that. I think I actually do some fasting more than I realize since I often head out to the horses around 10 or 11 and am there for 3 - 4 hours and will totally skip lunch cause of that.
@aiminglow I never really thought about it as fasting until you mentioned that. I think I actually do some fasting more than I realize since I often head out to the horses around 10 or 11 and am there for 3 - 4 hours and will totally skip lunch cause of that.
alligatorob
Respected Member
I am looking forward to the new pictures, a few horses and a few of Ann!
Keep up the good work.
AnnSparks
New member
Spent more time out with the horses now that the weather had been better and managed to get some pics of me working Jack so you get to see me actually doing what I'm always talking about and not just the horses lol.
This evening, I was getting bored just sitting around and decided to kill some time on the bike again. I looked up some stuff while using the bike and found out that a person that weighs about 150 - 170 lbs burns 300 - 600 calories in about 30 - 45 mins of cycling. The more you weigh, the more calories you burn in that amount of time. So I figure something I can do is bike in the evenings when I get bored which is happening a little more frequently. So not only will it kill time, but help burn more calories too.
So between working with the horses for a couple hours and biking for a minimum of 30 mins every day or every other day should help burn more calories so that it's easier to lose weight. I'm thinking of looking up some of those workouts on youtube as well to make sure I work on my upper half as well, not just on my legs cause I do want a flatter stomach and if I can possibly avoid loose skin, then I want to do what I can and I've heard that doing workouts to tighten your mid section and whatnot help reduce the amount of loose skin a person ends up with. So I'll have to give that a try as well.
Last pic here is of Jack wearing little boots on his front feet for the first time (those white things on his feet). Sadly he never took any funny steps like most other horses do when wearing them for the first time so I got no funny pics of it. Just him acting like it was pretty normal.
This evening, I was getting bored just sitting around and decided to kill some time on the bike again. I looked up some stuff while using the bike and found out that a person that weighs about 150 - 170 lbs burns 300 - 600 calories in about 30 - 45 mins of cycling. The more you weigh, the more calories you burn in that amount of time. So I figure something I can do is bike in the evenings when I get bored which is happening a little more frequently. So not only will it kill time, but help burn more calories too.
So between working with the horses for a couple hours and biking for a minimum of 30 mins every day or every other day should help burn more calories so that it's easier to lose weight. I'm thinking of looking up some of those workouts on youtube as well to make sure I work on my upper half as well, not just on my legs cause I do want a flatter stomach and if I can possibly avoid loose skin, then I want to do what I can and I've heard that doing workouts to tighten your mid section and whatnot help reduce the amount of loose skin a person ends up with. So I'll have to give that a try as well.
Yes I remember that from when I used to live in a colder region--you think winter's gone, then it comes back...it always liked to fool all us gardeners
The excise bike sounds like a good idea--good for you!
AnnSparks
New member
So I'm still not sure why that one day I weighed myself that I was down to 203 lbs. I mean, it made me happy, but it seemed like a weird sudden drop to be 218 and then a couple days later, be down to 203. That's a big difference for 2 or 3 days. So since then, I've kept it realistic in my head that I probably just had a weird day and that normally, I weigh a bit more than that type of thing.
And sure enough, I weighed myself today and I'm at 215 lbs. I'm still down 3 lbs since last weeks 218 so I'm happy with that. I'm still lower than I was. But I have realized that I have been snacking a little more than I actually need to be. I tend to eat while I draw and such so I'm working now on not doing that and I'm going to try to count calories a little to help my brain realize how much I actually need to eat and that I don't need extra snacks all the time.
Also, I'm definitely having to battle a certain amount of boredom which I'm sure you guys can tell since I'm posting a lot more frequently here lol. But I'm working on trying new things to occupy my time and expand my skills. Mentally I'm not all that bored, but physically I am. So I'm definitely going to make use of my bike more.
And sure enough, I weighed myself today and I'm at 215 lbs. I'm still down 3 lbs since last weeks 218 so I'm happy with that. I'm still lower than I was. But I have realized that I have been snacking a little more than I actually need to be. I tend to eat while I draw and such so I'm working now on not doing that and I'm going to try to count calories a little to help my brain realize how much I actually need to eat and that I don't need extra snacks all the time.
Also, I'm definitely having to battle a certain amount of boredom which I'm sure you guys can tell since I'm posting a lot more frequently here lol. But I'm working on trying new things to occupy my time and expand my skills. Mentally I'm not all that bored, but physically I am. So I'm definitely going to make use of my bike more.
I definitely snack too much when I sit down a lot, too...