Riding to lose weight

[Scribbler]

I find that when my body adapts to a certain level of work, I stop losing weight from that work. So I can do my regular barn work and ride every day, and stay at a stable weight. But if I end up doing an unaccustomed job like stacking a lot of hay, I feel like I am burning calories.

That said, I have certainly put on weight since I started riding full time again. I no longer have the time, the energy, or the incentive to do aerobics classes, long hikes, swim laps, etc. that I did for fitness before I started riding again. Also, while my horse gets all her meals and her supplements measured out, I end up grabbing fast food more because I don’t have the time or energy to cook. On the other hand, I feel like I am probably stronger overall, or at least stronger at using a shovel and wheelbarrow!

I have tried jogging with the horse in hand, out on the trails. A bit hard on my feet, when I’m in paddock boots.

I do think ideally I’d have a nonhorse fitness program going on as well. But I tire myself out at the barn, and find it hard to fit in anything else.

[FatCatFarm]

It really is zippering your mouth shut and not giving into the temptations of sweets and carbs. It takes over your life counting everything you put into your mouth and accounting for condiments i.e., dressings and butter. It’s a HUGE PITA but unless you are going to buy into Nutrisystem or Weight Watchers, counting calories is about the only way to do it on your own with good results. Basically you diet to lose weight and you exercise so you can eat a little more. Emphasis on “little”. Because unless you are like training for a triathalon, especially if you’re older and the glycemic index is definitely not your friend, you’re going to need to be very careful about what goes into your mouth. Get used to saying NO, A LOT! It sucks, but it’s the truth.

I have a husband and daughter at home who are not into healthy and who are not dieting. Guess who does 95% of the cooking? Super hard to cook it and then sit down and not partake and eat yet another small shitty salad. :mad:

[BigMama1]

@Sparrowette

This^^, and muscle weighs more than fat, so be aware of your fitness level rather than just the scale.

I have not lost a pound since starting to ride again three years ago, as well as mucking stalls 2-3 times a week. I console myself by thinking about how fat Inwould probably be if I weren’t riding!

Keep the heart rate up so whatever does that for you - gallop sets, no stirrup work etc. But agree with the above poster who said the majority of the magic is in your food choices.

[ParadoxFarm]

@soloudinhere

Negative.

You can get fat eating 4000 calories a day of salad.

80% of losing weight is in not eating more than your energy expenditure. If you want to lose 1lb a week, you need to eat 500 calories per day less than you need to be at -3500 for a week. If you don’t want to eat like that they you have to create the defecit with exercise.

“clean eating” not required.

I may have been unclear. I don’t mean you can eat clean AND 4000 calories and expect to lose weight (unless you’re Michael Phelps! :)). And I think if you’re eating 4,000 calories from salad, it’s not likely a healthy salad! Yes, clean eating WITHIN your caloric limit is what will help you lose weight. I totally agree that you need a deficit of 3500 calories to lose a pound. But most folks who JUST exercise do not hit that deficit simply by burning a few extra calories a day. I more often see folks eat using poor decisions and wonder why they’re not losing weight as fast as they want to. So, diet ALONG with exercise works best. And I think I, personally, do best on a clean diet with no extra sugar, no white pasta, white rice, white potatoes, etc. That’s what I meant about eating clean. I want my “X” amount of calories to consist of clean food, not Cheetos (which I dearly love, haha.)

So figure out how many calories you need a day to maintain your weight. If you want to lose weight, eat less and exercise more. Good luck, OP.

[Scribbler]

@ParadoxFarm

I may have been unclear. I don’t mean you can eat clean AND 4000 calories and expect to lose weight (unless you’re Michael Phelps! :)). And I think if you’re eating 4,000 calories from salad, it’s not likely a healthy salad! Yes, clean eating WITHIN your caloric limit is what will help you lose weight. I totally agree that you need a deficit of 3500 calories to lose a pound. But most folks who JUST exercise do not hit that deficit simply by burning a few extra calories a day. I more often see folks eat using poor decisions and wonder why they’re not losing weight as fast as they want to. So, diet ALONG with exercise works best. And I think I, personally, do best on a clean diet with no extra sugar, no white pasta, white rice, white potatoes, etc. That’s what I meant about eating clean. I want my “X” amount of calories to consist of clean food, not Cheetos (which I dearly love, haha.)

So figure out how many calories you need a day to maintain your weight. If you want to lose weight, eat less and exercise more. Good luck, OP.

It’s actually an interesting question, whether it is the calories per se or something about the source of the calories, that adds weight, or at least makes it hard to take off. The scientific answer is it’s just the calories per se, but certainly everyone has experienced that the source of the calories matters too. Perhaps it has to do with some people’s tolerance to glycermic foods. It might also have to do with the fact that refined carbs are easy to overeat, or that they are such excellent carriers of sauce, gravy, butter, jam, peanut butter . . . I mean how many slices of plain naked bread can anyone eat, even wonderbread? Or dry baked potatoes with no topping?

When I have done real, honest, calorie counting along with a daily aerobic exercise, I have lost weight. But the calorie count I need for that doesn’t allow any frills, if I want to get all the protein and vitamins and minerals in. I really do need to measure out my meals, just like I do for the horse. So I couldn’t get my calorie count without eating only whole foods, and probably very little meat.

[sophie]

I’ve never lost any weight from riding alone. And I used to event, so lots of cantering / jumping in 2-point etc. Even now, still riding (mostly dressage, some jumping, lots of core work, and my horse isn’t an easy ride whatsoever) AND doing barn chores, unless I pay attention to what I eat - I am not losing any weight.
Walking (very briskly) for an hour / day on hilly terrain does more for me than riding for an hour.
Watching what and how I eat is key. What works for me: eating less or no bread / pastry products, smaller portions of everything, very light dinner and nothing after 7 pm.

[SendenHorse]

dressage work with biomechanics. for real- wow. I have a much flatter tummy. Course I also went GF, low sugar, dairy free. But the new training program really helped. though riding doesn’t alone keep me fit.

[Guilherme]

If you eat more than you burn you’ll gain weight. If you burn more than you eat you’ll lose weight. There may be some “quality” issues but those are on the perimeter of the question. The central core is pretty clear.

Riding, and the associated ground tasks, burn calories. If you’re intake stays steady but you add this activity you might make go from net gain to net loss. Even a 100 cal./day deficit equals a pound a month or so. Over time that’s not an inconsiderable amount.

Conversely, a 100 cal./day surplus is about a pound/mo. Also not inconsiderable over time.

The math isn’t that hard, nor is the science.

G.