At this time two years ago, I was in probably the best shape of my life. I was eating super healthy food (and loving it) and getting tons of exercise. The exercise fit in perfectly with my lifestyle and I felt weird if I went longer than a day without exercising (running, biking, yoga, etc.).
And then, a little over a year ago, I got a new job. This job was more corporate, more time-consuming, and definitely more mentally draining. (On the plus side, it was in a field I truly was interested in, paid a heck of a lot more, actually challenged me, came with great perks, and so on.) In that year, I’ve been slowly and steadily gaining weight – at least 10 pounds, maybe 15 or even more. I don’t own a scale so I can’t say for sure, but some of my clothes don’t fit and I can tell just by looking that I’ve chunked up.
Back before I had the new job, I wondered why people with super busy, corporate jobs complained of gaining weight and being too busy to take care of themselves. If you’re that busy, wouldn’t you just not have as much time to eat? Yes, I actually thought that. Now I know that after a mentally draining day at work, it’s way easier to grab a prepared meal than to spend the time and energy cooking something from scratch, which is what I always used to do BNJ – Before New Job.
Plus, my old office was located in the middle of nowhere, so I had to pack my own lunch or go hungry. Now, I’m surrounded by vending machines, cafes, grab-n-go lunch places, etc. And even though I still have almost as much free time as I did while working my other job, it seems to be harder to make myself get out there and go for a jog, or a bike ride, or the yoga studio. What’s up with that?
I started riding again roughly around the same time I started my new job. I remember, even back then when I was lighter, that I wanted to lose some weight for the sake of the horses and my own fitness and riding. Not only has this not happened, but I’ve been gaining weight.
I could definitely stand to drop about 20 pounds. Maybe 25. Maybe more? This might not sound like a whole lot, but it’s still a significant amount of weight and I think it could make a difference in my riding. I don’t think I’ll suddenly be blessed with perfect equitation and balance if I drop 25 pounds, but it can’t hurt. And now that I’m riding Mae I want to be good to her – and that means not putting extra weight on her.
This is all easy to say, and it’s something I’ve been telling myself for a long time now. The question is, can I actually make it happen?
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