QOD 24-02-2013. How do you keep yourself fit?

clare123

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2004
1,239
30
48
at the yard
Visit site
Prompted by me getting rather puffed out in my first jumping lesson for probably six months yesterday!

As busy people, how do you keep yourself fit/manage your weight, and how does this fit into your schedule?

Does riding and stable chores achieve this or do you fit in other sports, gym, classes, swimming etc?

Is a busy lifestyle conducive to healthy eating?

Discuss :D
 
Short answer at the moment is, I don't! Since selling my horse and taking a break the weight has piled on, so previously the day to day horse care was keeping me fit!

Bit of a catch 22 at the moment, too heavy and unfit to ride but riding helps me lose weight and keep fit!

Trying to eat healthier now and get to the gym as much as I can, hoping to be riding again this summer!
 
I do Pilates, Zumba and walk the dog everyday. Bob is on full livery but at the weekends I go and muck out 5 or 6 stables on the yard. Mainly for the exercise but also to help out YO as I always think its nice for her to have a break on sat and sun.

Before BC I kept my weight pretty steady, I'm now doing tonnes of exercise but I still have 1.5 stone to shift and its not going anywhere very quickly :( We have a cross trainer and bike in the house which I really need to get on several times a week but its finding the time as I'm back to work now 2 days a week too. Just not enough time in the day!!
 
I bought my horse partly as a way to help me lose weight. I hate gyms, I like my exercise to be functional - that way it's more likely to happen regularly. I don't agree with spending hours in the gym, even in cold weather.

On saying all of that, I found I wasn't losing enough weight with just mucking out and walking or riding my horse. I took up running in January last year, but incorporated it into my yard visits. I ran from my house to feed my horse and took a wee detour as I got more and more fit. When I started to ride again, I had to take my saddle to the field in better weather and couldn't run there anymore, I just seemed to want to keep doing it, so I was riding, then going for a run and then poo picking during the summer. Four or five times a week.

I managed to lose a stone and can run up to six miles without stopping (actually stopping makes it feel so much worse!) I had to stop over the winter for about a month as I got injured and the hoof of my horse (little sh!t stood on me!) and the snow was just too bad at times.
I've been trying to regularly run at least a couple of miles lately to get my fitness back up but for the last month, life has been well and truly getting in the way and its p!ssing me off big style. I helped a friend with her animals while she was away for a couple of weeks and tried to incorporate running to her house to walk her dog, but when my dad got ill and I had to work for him and all the crap that's going on at my work recently, I've not been sleeping and I'm just a mess.

The upshot is that I know how good running makes me feel. It has replaced what I used to get from smoking. If I'm stressed it totally refreshes me, if I'm angry it relaxes me and it helps me sleep. Sorry that's a bit of a essay answer. But I never can keep up any exercise just for weight loss, so I'm feeling very smug that I've been realising other benefits of it that I enjoy more. I've now been diagnosed with over active thyroid, so hopefully that will help my incredibly slow metabolism!
 
I do quite a bit of walking about during my day job, but I find riding, mucking out, and especially poo picking my field (side of a steep hill) plus pilates keeps me reasonably fit, certainly fit enough to do anything I'll ever want to do.
Weight wise I just eat little and often and usually healthy food, I've been eating 'healthy' for so long now I don't actually like fatty/stodgy/sugary food anymore.
My one weakness is smoking - I'm almost ashamed to admit that I love a cigarette when I finish work, but I know it's so bad for me. I will give up one day but I need to want to first.
Had a old person health check at my doctors in November, you know the sort of full MOT for the over forties with blood pressure/cholesterol/weight/fitness etc
The only thing they could find wrong was the fact that I smoke everything else came out with better than expected results so I can't be too bad.
 
usually play hockey although stopped that due to the pregnancy. Hope to get back into it over the summer though.

Generally im just never a sit down and do nothing person. I used to ride 6/7 times a week, play hockey twice a week, walk the dogs every day...i would never eat massively badly but never eat like an angel too, i was always a pretty stable size 12.

Over this winter due to the pregnancy i have not been playing hockey, only riding 3 times a week and exercising the dogs at the yard rather than walking them....i only think i have put on baby weight as such (about a stone total), so i dont think i am drastically having a massive effect from lack of exercise as such....although i am looking forward to working on having a flat stomach again at some point in the future (thats being hopeful that i can get it back flat!)
 
Apart from all things horsey, I occasionally do a bit of running and pop on my cross trainer. It is only occasionally though but when I run I can still do over 5 miles a session without getting puffed and run out of time before i tun out of fitness so I must still be fairly fit.

I started off running when i was still losing my weight on Cambridge with the couch to 5k programme (C25K) on my IPhone (Zen labs is free and you can put your own playlist through it) which does what it says on the tin. I literally thought I'd die trying to jog for the 1min interval needed in that first week.

Diet wise, I'm still a strict calorie counter and record everything. I'd been overweight my whole adult life and losing my weight didn't mean I was suddenly cured! I try to stick to low fat, low sugar, low GI foods but nothing is out of bounds for me as long as I'm prepared to compensate for any extra calories I've eaten. I also aim to have my 5 a day most of the time.

I've been a normal BMI since beginning of June last year and have lost over 6.5stone to get here. I've tried relaxing on the calorie counting but I don't feel as relaxed and confident to not be a diet nazi so I'm happy to calorie count for the rest of my life if needs be.

I don't input any exercise into my calorie tracker as when I've lost weight before I've used exercise as a way of eating more and more. It was unsustainable and I regained my weight as a result. I've been careful not to fall into that trap again. My maintenance calories are 2100 a day but I aim to eat 1900-2000 a day to leave a margin for days where it all goes a bit pear shaped!

I weigh daily so fully appreciate that the scales don't reflect fat levels. I just go by the general trend but tbh the scales are pretty redundant with the calorie counting, unless I'm not prepping my own food or eating pre packaged foods so can be sure of my calorie intake.
 
I do as many yard chores as possible daily - and walk lots. Where we are there are nothing but hills - so poo picking keeps me quite fit. When it isn't snowy underfoot I try and do a 3 mile walk each evening down the farm and back. I am a terrible fidget too and am never still for long in the house. This means I nearly always end up hoovering and dusting and just generally moving about. I'm a size 12 on the bottom which I think is about right for me. I am a 14 on top and I can only think that is due to my arms (they are like Popeye arms due to lifting and lugging constantly). None of my old blouses and shirts fit since keeping the horses at home and they are tight around the upper arm. Maybe I am just a funny shape?! lol. I did put weight on a while back but that has gone more or less simply by not being as greedy portion wise and stopping buying snacks. I do have a graze box tho - full of nice nibbles once a week! In summer I go through phases of digging my mountain bike out but it never lasts cos I am rubbish and keep falling off it.... hehehe
 
I cycle every day from 14- 30 miles. Occasionally I have a crazy day where I just go out on my bike to somewhere random, last year I went to London at 5am lol, cycled all round till 11am, cycled home and went to work! Guessing I probably covered about 50 that day. Guess I just love cycling lol. I also try go swimming once a week and do walk quite alot. I love things like badminton and tennis too but have no one to go with!

I don't really eat very well but am now making the effort to since my mum had breast cancer and my dad had a heart attack. I haven't eaten sweets since New year, cut back on chocolate a lot and eating more veg and homemade stuff now.

I have a healthy BMI, I'm under 9st and recently had my blood pressure taken and they said it was very healthy so I am pleased with that. Exercise is part of my life as I have no car anymore so don't really have a choice, but that's a good thing I guess!
 
My job! All the exercise I need to be fit comes from just doing my job every day. Nice and easy!

I used to be a runner, and when I was 18-22-ish I was marathon-fit. I used to fit in a daily run alongside uni, my share horse and 2 part-time jobs - I actually found it easier to motivate myself to exercise when I was busy. I usually got in from uni, got changed straight away and went for an hour's run... the danger is if you are tempted to sit down for 5 minutes, it then becomes difficult to motivate yourself to get up again!

As for the health eating, well I have to say that I have been a healthy eater all my life, regardless of how busy (or not) I was. I think a lot of it is down to how you were brought up, my mum always cooked us proper nutritious meals with lots of vegetables so I think I just got used to eating good food.
 
Last edited:
I am shamed into eating properly and exercising by My Fitness Pal. :eek:

I try and do at least 25 minutes on the exercise bike at 27-30 miles per hour every day, and doing as much on my feet (walking, yard work, etc) as my hips will stand. I've lost 5 kilos with another 10 to go. It's getting harder!

Food wise I try and eat well, never really been one for junk-food, apart from pizza and chips once a week.

I keep a very close eye on my daily calorie intake on MFP and 6 days out of 7 I am generally well under my goal. The 7th day is Friday, my busiest and most 'hungry' day! I always end up over on calories then. :(
 
Since having Galaxy on full loan, I am heavier and less fit than before!

I am pretty sure this is down to eating more junk as I run out of time to plan things properly, shop, cook etc.

Also I no longer go swimming or to the gym, or to weight watchers!

I want to lose some weight and get fitter but am diet-clubbed out, so thinking of trying to build in a gym trip or two during the week and just try and eat less rubbish. Don't get me wrong, I eat healthy nutritious meals, its what else I eat that's the problem!

I think running would be good, as in free and easy to fit round life, however I want to lose some weight first as would not do my knees any good currently!
 
I try to cycle to work when I can.
However I have hardly cycled for a long time due to excessive rain (don't like getting to work waking wet) & more recently ice. This last week has been good as I cycled 3 days out of 5. Felt like going to the gym today so got ready only for me to remember my trainers are at work. I hope it stays dry so I can continue cycling as I enjoy it & I feel better for it when I get to work.
 
Since having Galaxy on full loan, I am heavier and less fit than before!

I am pretty sure this is down to eating more junk as I run out of time to plan things properly, shop, cook etc.

There's lots of healthy quick meals out there!
 
I don't make any special effort. I find the yard work and riding and walking the dog keeps me in reasonable shape.

This cold snap has been excellent for my fitness, I have taken to running round with the wheelbarrow (loaded) in an effort to keep warm. That must be doing something lol.
 
I walk 40 miles a week. My walking boots have a shelf life of three months!

That's some walking - and I thought I was good doing 3 miles or so a day!!! Hehehehe. What walking boots do you have? I'm only on my second pair of Loveson ones - they have lasted quite well. I am silly though and often end up walking in my horse boots because I am too lazy to change.............
 
That's some walking - and I thought I was good doing 3 miles or so a day!!! Hehehehe. What walking boots do you have? I'm only on my second pair of Loveson ones - they have lasted quite well. I am silly though and often end up walking in my horse boots because I am too lazy to change.............

Currently Explorer from Mountain Warehouse, tried most up to £90 and still after 3 months they give in. These are also yard boots-I don't ride or do groundwork in them though, I have another pair to wreck for that.

I do 6miles on Sunday,more if she won't come to call its twenty acres, but I wave the headcollar and she runs.
I do add leading out in with that mileage-she does about 4 miles of that with me.
 
newrider.com