Animals, weight update, and rain. Lots of rain.
I have no excuse for not writing regularly. It seems like I’m either not busy enough and don’t have anything to say or I have so much going on that it gets overwhelming and I have no time to write.
I guess I’ll start with my current schedule. I am now working one of the Shires at the draft barn along with a friend of mine, and we are going to be riding in the Equine Affaire! For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a horse festival located in West Springfield, MA. Pretty much every horse person I know goes there. I am riding in the Shire breed demo. We just found out last week and poor Quinn is so not in shape. He has such a long mane that we finally untangled and now he looks like Fabio. I, however, call him Fattio. He’s a good boy. So different than Seamus, where he’d rather stand there and not move. He hasn't been in full work for a while and first time sitting on him, we had no fireworks. So we have about 3 weeks to get them in shape for New England to see. We won't be as prepared as I would personally like, but he's already improved quite a bit.
I also have my boy, Seamus, who has to be worked very consistently to gain muscle to support his hocks. It’s not hard work, just a lot of long nights going between the drafts and the kid. Staying on is key for me with Seamus, hah. Going from the big bus of Quinn to the relatively thin-boned Seamus is WEIRD. My guy actually responds to leg, which Quinn does not do yet.
School is...school. It’s going. I need to find my motivation to really be proactive instead of settling for B’s.
Diet has neither been good or bad. I am much more lenient than where I started but I am still losing weight miraculously. I am currently sitting between 222 and 225. It’s slowed down but I think I’ve found the balance between deprivation and gorging. Last night, I decided to start on a trial basis of Metformin. It is supposed to help regulate blood sugar levels. I am not sure if I previously mentioned this, but the reason I even started this low carb diet is because I am pre-diabetic and there is a chance I have PCOS. This med would help with a lot of my PCOS symptoms. I didn’t want to start the med right away because I wanted to see if the diet alone could help my symptoms, but now I think it is time to give it a shot. I still really need to concentrate on healthy eating though.
WEDNESDAY
It's a night later now and has been a very animal-filled day. Throughout the night, I kept waking up because my cat, Jasmine, was sleeping right next to my side. She is usually there when I go to sleep for some snuggles, but since cats are nocturnal, she ordinarily roams the house, eats, drinks, uses the litterbox, etc. But when I woke up, she was still in the same place, in the same position. Even when I got out of bed, opened her canned food and put it down, she didn't budge. I had to physically remove her from my bed. This isn't typical behavior. She is an older cat with heart, kidney, and GI tract issues, so I wasn't going to take the chance if it's something serious. I called the vet and we set up an appointment for 10 this morning. Of course, my chemistry lecture was at 10. She is more important though. so off we went. The other problem is that the vet we use is 40 minutes away, located right near my parents. Those vets are people I truly trust with my animals and I know they'll do everything to ensure we are pursuing the correct treatment plans. They are worth the drive. (Shoreline Animal Hospital for any of you CT residents). We go in and they find nothing. They take blood and we agree that if anything changes, I'll call. Then I rush to my chem lab that starts at 12.
After that, I grab lunch at Whole Foods, which is between my school and the barns/home. It's been a great source of variety for me with lunches, and I don't limit myself to low-carb/carb-free items. If I want something, I take a little bit. So far, it's been working well. My eyes were bigger than my stomach today, and I was able to place the lid on the take-out container and listen to my body rather than eat all of the carbs. Actually, a lot of what I left was carb. Then I go to the drafts and Jordan and I ride.
Quinn and I cantered up the hill in the field. We got a few canter steps up in the paddock as well, but I think we will stick to walk-trot for the demo. Then I decided to take the saddle off and walk him out bareback. Took me 2 tries to actually launch onto his back, but he took it like a pro. He didn't bat an eye as I asked him to go down to the back field with Sedaris (other Shire going to the Equine Affaire) and Jordan (rider). I had planned on just walking him out, but as we went up the hill, I grabbed mane and asked for a trot. He felt under control so I asked for a canter. For the first time since I galloped Seamus a few months back, I was cackling and giggling. Words cannot express how grateful I am to have Quinn in my life for the times when I just need to know I can get on bareback and not worry about any sort of acrobatics. I also truly love that horse.
Then I run to my barn to lunge Seamus. He hadn't been out in a couple days due to the rain, so he was feeling his oats, which I expected. We worked in the upper paddock, where there is a nice slope. The vet said to integrate hill work, so this was the best of both worlds. After getting some of the kinks out, he ended on a good note and we went out and grazed while I talked to my barnmates. Then it was back to the Draft barn for chores. Today was long, damp, and heavy, but overall, filled with my favorite animals.
I hadn't snacked all day, and decided to stop and Subway for a sandwich because, well, I am lazy. The sub was high (50g) in net carbs, and I can't make it a habit, but I am not going to feel guilty about it. I didn't have cookies or a sugary drink with it. When I got home, I ate some granola to prepare my stomach for the Metformin. Then I forgot to take it within the half hour, so I ate even more unnecessary carbs to line my stomach. It was just popcorn that I pre-bag, but it's around 15g net carbs. Oh well. I will do better tomorrow. Admittedly, with a breakfast sandwich this morning, this was not my best eating day.
Oh. One more thing. I weighed myself this morning. I was 221lb. Two more pounds and I will be the lightest I have been in 6 years. When I break back into the hundreds, I will cry. It won't be for a while, but it's a phenomenal motivator for me currently and doesn't seem quite as daunting as before.
I guess I’ll start with my current schedule. I am now working one of the Shires at the draft barn along with a friend of mine, and we are going to be riding in the Equine Affaire! For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a horse festival located in West Springfield, MA. Pretty much every horse person I know goes there. I am riding in the Shire breed demo. We just found out last week and poor Quinn is so not in shape. He has such a long mane that we finally untangled and now he looks like Fabio. I, however, call him Fattio. He’s a good boy. So different than Seamus, where he’d rather stand there and not move. He hasn't been in full work for a while and first time sitting on him, we had no fireworks. So we have about 3 weeks to get them in shape for New England to see. We won't be as prepared as I would personally like, but he's already improved quite a bit.
I also have my boy, Seamus, who has to be worked very consistently to gain muscle to support his hocks. It’s not hard work, just a lot of long nights going between the drafts and the kid. Staying on is key for me with Seamus, hah. Going from the big bus of Quinn to the relatively thin-boned Seamus is WEIRD. My guy actually responds to leg, which Quinn does not do yet.
School is...school. It’s going. I need to find my motivation to really be proactive instead of settling for B’s.
Diet has neither been good or bad. I am much more lenient than where I started but I am still losing weight miraculously. I am currently sitting between 222 and 225. It’s slowed down but I think I’ve found the balance between deprivation and gorging. Last night, I decided to start on a trial basis of Metformin. It is supposed to help regulate blood sugar levels. I am not sure if I previously mentioned this, but the reason I even started this low carb diet is because I am pre-diabetic and there is a chance I have PCOS. This med would help with a lot of my PCOS symptoms. I didn’t want to start the med right away because I wanted to see if the diet alone could help my symptoms, but now I think it is time to give it a shot. I still really need to concentrate on healthy eating though.
WEDNESDAY
It's a night later now and has been a very animal-filled day. Throughout the night, I kept waking up because my cat, Jasmine, was sleeping right next to my side. She is usually there when I go to sleep for some snuggles, but since cats are nocturnal, she ordinarily roams the house, eats, drinks, uses the litterbox, etc. But when I woke up, she was still in the same place, in the same position. Even when I got out of bed, opened her canned food and put it down, she didn't budge. I had to physically remove her from my bed. This isn't typical behavior. She is an older cat with heart, kidney, and GI tract issues, so I wasn't going to take the chance if it's something serious. I called the vet and we set up an appointment for 10 this morning. Of course, my chemistry lecture was at 10. She is more important though. so off we went. The other problem is that the vet we use is 40 minutes away, located right near my parents. Those vets are people I truly trust with my animals and I know they'll do everything to ensure we are pursuing the correct treatment plans. They are worth the drive. (Shoreline Animal Hospital for any of you CT residents). We go in and they find nothing. They take blood and we agree that if anything changes, I'll call. Then I rush to my chem lab that starts at 12.
After that, I grab lunch at Whole Foods, which is between my school and the barns/home. It's been a great source of variety for me with lunches, and I don't limit myself to low-carb/carb-free items. If I want something, I take a little bit. So far, it's been working well. My eyes were bigger than my stomach today, and I was able to place the lid on the take-out container and listen to my body rather than eat all of the carbs. Actually, a lot of what I left was carb. Then I go to the drafts and Jordan and I ride.
Quinn and I cantered up the hill in the field. We got a few canter steps up in the paddock as well, but I think we will stick to walk-trot for the demo. Then I decided to take the saddle off and walk him out bareback. Took me 2 tries to actually launch onto his back, but he took it like a pro. He didn't bat an eye as I asked him to go down to the back field with Sedaris (other Shire going to the Equine Affaire) and Jordan (rider). I had planned on just walking him out, but as we went up the hill, I grabbed mane and asked for a trot. He felt under control so I asked for a canter. For the first time since I galloped Seamus a few months back, I was cackling and giggling. Words cannot express how grateful I am to have Quinn in my life for the times when I just need to know I can get on bareback and not worry about any sort of acrobatics. I also truly love that horse.
Then I run to my barn to lunge Seamus. He hadn't been out in a couple days due to the rain, so he was feeling his oats, which I expected. We worked in the upper paddock, where there is a nice slope. The vet said to integrate hill work, so this was the best of both worlds. After getting some of the kinks out, he ended on a good note and we went out and grazed while I talked to my barnmates. Then it was back to the Draft barn for chores. Today was long, damp, and heavy, but overall, filled with my favorite animals.
I hadn't snacked all day, and decided to stop and Subway for a sandwich because, well, I am lazy. The sub was high (50g) in net carbs, and I can't make it a habit, but I am not going to feel guilty about it. I didn't have cookies or a sugary drink with it. When I got home, I ate some granola to prepare my stomach for the Metformin. Then I forgot to take it within the half hour, so I ate even more unnecessary carbs to line my stomach. It was just popcorn that I pre-bag, but it's around 15g net carbs. Oh well. I will do better tomorrow. Admittedly, with a breakfast sandwich this morning, this was not my best eating day.
Oh. One more thing. I weighed myself this morning. I was 221lb. Two more pounds and I will be the lightest I have been in 6 years. When I break back into the hundreds, I will cry. It won't be for a while, but it's a phenomenal motivator for me currently and doesn't seem quite as daunting as before.
People over at a Weight Watchers group refer to it as getting back to "Onederland" -- I know your excitement and am so proud of your success!
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