Rider weight is understandably a very emotive and often raw subject. For some reason it seems we can talk about menopause, periods, confidence, anxiety, mental health and many other quite personal topics but when talking about weight or even sometimes fitness, many people find this quite triggering and can become very defensive about the topic.
With confidence, anxiety and mental health – it is not easy to explain to our brain how we can feel better, and yet rider weight causes more negative conversations than confidence.
Is it because deep down we know it is something we can potentially control ourselves, but perhaps choose not to commit to?
Or is it because it is really hard to lose weight and takes such a huge amount of time and commitment to see any kind of improvement – which can then be reversed very quickly when we don’t commit?
I know from a personal point of view I get cross with myself when I let myself eat rubbish food, put on weight and lose fitness. Maybe that is just me!
Or is it because we don’t know what to do about it and are confused by the information around us?
I’m not sure why it causes so many issues – we are all different sizes and shapes (which is perfectly OK), and ultimately the best we can do is to be as healthy and strong as we can, to help us enjoy our life and our horses to the maximum. We can all be guilty of putting our needs way down the list – but we need to invest in ourselves – for me I had to make a conscious decision in order to do this.
Obviously, there are lots of people who suffer from health conditions which make controlling their weight and exercising very difficult. No-one should tell anyone they must weigh ‘this’ amount, or how you ‘should’ be living your life – it is your life, and you are responsible for your own choices.
So many weight guidelines – even from the NHS and our own government are outdated and very inaccurate. BMI for instance although it can be used as a guide – a fairly muscular person could well be listed as having a high BMI or even be classed as obese.
All of these labels can be very hard to hear, and everyone should remember they are an individual. People respond differently to different foods and different types of exercise.
Who do we believe?
Working out what to eat for a healthy balanced diet can be so confusing, with the government saying one thing and then other experts saying something else. We should eat ‘x’ amount of this or ‘x’ amount of that.
It is a little bit like finding a coach or your support team – find someone you trust, that isn’t making excessive amounts of money from your decision, understands that everyone is an individual and helps you to find what works for you.
When you read that some research papers into nutrition and diet that the government rely on for the advice they give us, are funded by food companies, it does make you question their authenticity.
The more research I do into what we eat, the more I hope we can return to using more common sense and eating food that is actual food and not a chemically produced product. Food that makes us feel good and gives us energy.
A few months ago, we talked to Maeve Sheridan about a post about weighing yourself including your tack to work out how much your horse is carrying. This caused a lot of controversy – the research about what a horse can comfortably carry varies so who is to say what is right. But it did also open up a lot of conversations.
We just want everyone to be healthy and happy, and their horses to be comfortable.
Being fit to ride is not dependent on your weight, although they can be linked, they can also be two very different conversations.
Choosing to improve your fitness
Our EquiTeam members benefit from a new workout each week from Equestrian Fitness Scotland, with a great variety of cardio and strength workouts designed specifically for riders.
Interestingly – some of the most viewed downloads on our website are our GetFit2Ride Plan and our Beginner Workout Plan. We did have quite a bit of chat in the safe space that is our EquiTeam community, about people joining in with the plans, but not compared with how many times the plans have been downloaded – which provokes the question – why?!
People it seems who are at the beginning of their fitness journeys prefer to keep quietly working away. I totally understand this, when I started trying to live a healthier life, I kept quiet too. Now I use my friends to motivate me. I share my goals, but with a select few.
Over the last few years I have re-educated myself, lost two and a half stone and most importantly am a much healthier and fitter version of my former self. I have no desire to be a size 8, for me my weight loss journey I just want to be fit and healthy to live my life, keep up with my small person, keep dementia and Alzheimer’s at bay and enjoy the odd cake or two.
My advice would be – don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today, don’t be afraid to start, it is tough, it does require determination and it isn’t easy – but the difference I feel for investing in myself is more than I can put into words.
Lou x
