One Step at a Time

Glad you guys are still enjoying the pictures. There's definitely some more to add today, though sadly they're kinda blurry.

Anyway, so today I worked Sam pretty hard since he was being a turd. We actually worked enough that I ended up sweating pretty much just as much as he was lol. Definitely got my workout in with him. But by the end, he was much more relaxed and mellow which was great.
I also worked with Jack, but Jack is nicer and behaved himself quite well. In fact, we ended up moving onto the next step where I actually got on him and rode him around for his first real official ride! It was so exciting and he did amazingly. We simply walked around a bit but for his first ride, he handled it all as well as could be expected. I can't wait for more rides on him.

So ya, today's been pretty amazing and filled with a good workout.
And here are pics of me on Jack.

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Good pictures, as usual! Even if not as clear.
 
Well, I weighed myself this morning and I'm down to 209.5 lbs it looks like, so that's awesome. That means I'm down 10 lbs! Can't wait to lose another 10 and I think once I reach the 200 mark, I'll post side by side pics of how I looked when I started this journey, versus how I look at 200 since I'll be down 20 lbs at that point.

I'm also going to be starting a new workout regime. I looked into a few things and found some exercises that some equestrians do to stay in shape and work muscles that help with balance and such that help when it comes to riding. And while I'm not going to do as many as they do (to start off with anyway), it's definitely something I want to start doing.

What the workout will look like:

15-30 sec plank - 15 squats with weights - 10 leg lifts per leg - 10 cross crunches - 10 fire hydrant per leg - 30 sec flutter kicks or 30 sec figure 8's - 10 bicycle crunches - 10 cross heel taps in plank - 8 hip lifts with weights - 10 russian twists with weight
Then a short break and repeat 1-3 x

I'm thinking what I'll try to do is to do that one day, then the next I'll just do a couple of 30 min sessions on the exercise bike, then the day after, do that big workout, and just keep alternating like that. Depending on how I do, I may cut back a bit with that big workout so I don't die right away lol and just add more to it as I get better at it. And Sundays will be a full rest day and I may do another rest day somewhere in the week, but not sure yet.

Anyway, for today, I used the bike for a bit and also worked with my guy, Sam. Got him and I both sweating with the workout we had but I couldn't work Jack since the weather got rather sour again so I'm just putting in some extra time on the bike instead to make up for it. But ya, today has been going well and I'm pretty happy with how things are going. Hopefully when I start doing a bigger workout, it'll help me to lose weight a bit more as well as to tone up and make it easier to work with the horses.


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I don´t know much about horse-riding so I can´t tell you if the exercises are any good for your goals but I can say that I´m not a fan of static planks. If they should be unpleasant for your back (they often are and you don´t want to get hurt) you might consider doing them on your knees and elbows at first, instead of on toes and elbows. If your knee allows, that is.
 
@LaMaria Ya, I don't much care for planks either lol. So I'm definitely starting off easy with them to build up the core strength I need to hold it better.
 
Alright, so today was another good day. A little different though. Went out to the horses early in the morning instead of in the afternoon and worked Sam. Him and I are making progress in his training which is great so I'm not having to run all around the arena after him anymore lol. Or at least I didn't have to today. But I still spent about an hour or two with him. After that, he had his own chiro session and by the end he was falling asleep and making me want to get chiro work done on myself lol. I do actually need to get adjusted since my lower back is out badly enough that it's too painful to do sit ups. I can do crunches, but it feels like a knife is being stabbed into my lower back if I try doing a proper sit up.

Also, I ended up skipping breakfast because I wanted to be able to work Sam before the chiro visit since after a horse chiropratic work done, they have to be left along to just relax for the rest of the day and the next. And I had a late lunch which just consisted of 2 cookies and some carrots. But I'm doing some cooking/meal prep stuff so supper should be more decent and I'll have food ready for tomorrow.

I also plan to start that workout thing on Monday since we're already at the end of the week anyway. I'm both dreading it and looking forward to it lol. Dreading because I hate sweating cause I sweat really easily (it's a genetic thing with how quickly and badly i sweat). Looking forward to it since it's a step closer to getting in better shape and getting a slimmer/more toned body. Also trying to figure out how to stay motivated to get that workout in and not put it off with excuses which seem to be really easy to come up with.

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Sam decided to hold the lead rope himself lol.
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Today was another good day. Despite planning on it being a bit of a rest, I did end up giving my big guy a bath today and mucked out some of the paddock which is a huge job right now xP
I've actually got 1 blister for sure from that, and a few spots that are a little red and angry, so I'd say I definitely got a bit of a workout there lol.

I also went on a mini walk since I didn't want to put Sam back in his paddock while he was wet cause he'd likely roll if I did that and then there'd have been no point to the bath. So we walked around the stable a couple of times and even jogged a little which was nice. I would've kept working on the paddock too but after all that, my rubber boots were on the verge of rubbing my heels raw again so that kinda cut things short. But I was still out there for a couple hours which is better than nothing.

Also kinda dreading the workout for tomorrow but oh well. I gotta do something if I want to change. Just sitting around and talking won't make things happen. Gotta get proactive, no matter how difficult it is.


And here are the pics from Sam's bath. Compared to the pics from last time, he's definitely a lot cleaner and very shiny now :D

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Looking very sleek. Is his winter coat thinning out already? About exercise: try the routine you´ve chosen, look up easier versions if you need to, and if it still feels like too much after that maybe just pick 4 exercises you could do every other day so you only have to do two a day (plus a 10-minute warm-up). Or 6 you could do every third day. It´s all about finding things you´ll actually do long-term, not about following anyone´s strict rules.
 
LaMaria said:
Looking very sleek. Is his winter coat thinning out already? About exercise: try the routine you´ve chosen, look up easier versions if you need to, and if it still feels like too much after that maybe just pick 4 exercises you could do every other day so you only have to do two a day (plus a 10-minute warm-up). Or 6 you could do every third day. It´s all about finding things you´ll actually do long-term, not about following anyone´s strict rules.
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Oh ya, the boys have been shedding out their winter coat for nearly a month now lol. He's almost done shedding which is nice cause then I won't leave the stables covered in large amounts of hair every day haha.
And I'll definitely adjust the workout as needed to make it manageable. But I tend to dread any and every workout really so I just gotta get myself to start doing it.
 
Today has been pretty good. Very tiring though but hopefully that means I sleep well tonight. Been a little restless for a few nights cause I keep getting too excited when thinking of all the new things I'm going to do with the horses lol.

Anyway, So I spent about 2 hours, maybe a little longer, working with Sam. This involved a lot of walking/running on my part as well since he wasn't wanting to listen. So by the time I got him to consistently do the right thing and eventually just stand with me, both him and I were covered in sweat. I could feel it literally rolling down my back. So that was a big workout all on its own.

Then I worked with Jack. Did a bit more walking, but thankfully he's just better behaved and I didn't have to do much running. And my session with him was maybe an hour or just under since he was listening so well.

I missed lunch during that time since I was busy with the boys, and I only had half an apple with peanut butter since I felt full with just that. But am definitely having a proper meal for supper.

Also did a bit of a workout at home too. Not as much as I originally planned on, but considering I got a big workout thanks to Sam, I don't mind. I still did about 20 squats, 30 crunches, roughly 20 bike pedal//kicks whatever you want to call them, and 30 russian twist. I also did several knee raises, but forgot to count. Just did it till I felt a burn, did several more and then called it good. Did a few lunges to stretch out the muscles and some other stretches in general to get my back, shoulders and legs stretched out. Oh, did a 30 sec plank and 10 knee push ups.

And that's about what I did for a workout today. Supper is going to fish with a few hash browns mixed in with veggies. And since I haven't had much to eat, I have plenty of room in the calorie spot that I may have a cookie or two later as a snack but that's about it. Maybe finish off the apple. I dunno. Either way I'll have room for it and then some.

I think I'm also going to take measurements again tomorrow morning to see where I'm at and try to track that a bit more again as well.

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Sounds like you're doing really well Ann. That sounds like a pretty intense workout today--hope you won't be too sore tomorrow!
Nice to have your horse buddies to keep you motivated and inspired to keep up all your exercise.
Beautiful pictures as always!!
 
It did feel like a lot but I'm pretty happy that I managed to finish the day with a bit of a workout at home. And my knee is a little sore that I hurt last month, but I think it's just cause I was on it for a bit during the knee pushups. It's not bad tho and otherwise I feel fine. And now it's time for another day of working with the horses and adding in a workout after. Should be interesting to see how today goes but I'm actually looking forward to it all.
 
AnnSparks said:
And that's about what I did for a workout today.
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And that's about enough, I should say! :D Sam and Jack were really keeping you hard at it. I'm eagerly anticipating hearing how the measurements pan out - my guess is that they'll be very cheerful news. :).
 
Alrighty, time for another update.

Of course, worked the horses again. Didn't take as long this time around though. While my session with Sam took about 2 hours yesterday cause of him being stubborn, today it only took 30 mins because he decided to behave and was catching onto everything very quickly. So all in all, between Sam and Jack, there was only about an hours worth of work with them cause they behaved so nicely. But I figured I'd work on cleaning up their pen some more and that took a few hours and my arms, shoulders, and back were a bit sore after that. I think I spent about 1.5 - 2 hours on that.

Then back at home, I managed 5 push ups but my arms were too sore to do more than that lol. I did about 10 jumping jacks, 30 crunches, 20 russian twists, 20 high knee steps, 20 leg lifts/back kicks, whatever you wanna call it, about 20 bike pedals, and a few side and forward lunges to stretch out the muscles.

It's been a few hours since then I still have some energy so I think I may hop on the bike for a bit after supper or do some running in place type of thing, or maybe do that workout all over again lol. I think all this extra energy is coming partially from the pills and it's so nice! In the past, I barely had energy or the want to do anything. Like, I could sit and mindlessly watch youtube all day for days on end without caring. Now, I find it hard to sit still for too long. And I love it! It so nice to finally have energy since it makes it so much easier to get into doing things.

As for measurements, I did do those. However, I forgot about it till after I'd drunk water and eaten a bit where is past measurements, I did it before breakfast. And I compared my measurements from today to the last time, and I'm over by .5 - 1 inch. So it's not bad, especially cause the last measurement I did, I weighed about 207 I think. And this morning when I weighed myself, I was at 208.5.

Neck: 15"
Arm: 12.4 "
Chest: 44"
Waist: 46.5"
Hips: 46 "
Thigh: 26.1"

And a few pics of me working with Sam to finish off this update :)
Also, I feel like my sweater is starting to look a little more baggy on me now that I'm down like, 11 lbs but maybe that's just me..

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5 kg is about a dress size around here so I'm sure you're right about your sweater feeling bigger. Wonderful to hear you've got more energy now! Do make sure to still take rest in time: I get awful food cravings when I overdo it.
 
Great pictures--looks like such a healthy way to be spending your days!
Really great about the increase of energy! It's really great that the medication really seems to be helping. Sometimes we need that to help us stay on a healthy track so using the meds along with increase in exercise and good food choices, and having strong emotional ties with your animals should all really work together in a very positive way!
 
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