WOW! Just WOW! Monday Morning PSA...



NOT the enemy, although it bloody well feels that way some days.

 Ugh, I still have a bit of a travel hangover brought on by my business trip from last week and the whirlwind weekend of riding, soccer, and lacrosse combined with the lost hour of sleep didn't help. Damned Spring Ahead.  How 'bout we skip the springing ahead and just fall back in bed? Blech.

Anywho, had all kinds of things to share about the offspring, my first jumping lesson in over a month (Madame Mare was QUITE excited!) but have had very little time so that will have to wait.  Instead, I will share with you a very thought provoking post by my blogging buddy Emme, over at I Pick Crazy!

Many of us adult ammie riders struggle with our fitness, jiggly bits, and a habit of eating too much and exercising too little (who has the time and energy, what with careers, kids, and whatnot?)  We know too much weight and not enough fitness is bad for our health, and we know it affects our ability to be the effective partner we want to be for our horses.  It's the doing something with that knowledge that's the hard part.

My barn mate and lesson buddy Tamsin and I were joking about this very issue at our lesson this weekend, and then my buddy Libby and I were talking about it over lunch after we left the barn.  The irony here was that we were gorging on a Mexican orgy of burritos, Mexi-fries, and tacos while discussing the additional sub-cutaneous adipose tissue we'd accumulated and it's caseous appearance under our breeches.  Libby's a DVM/scientist/brilliant person, so if you'd like the layman's version, we were discussing our added winter layer of fat and the lovely cottage cheese-like ripples one sees under one's breeches.

Which is, of course, why I came home, got on the treadmill, and then made fried chicken, southern fried corn with bacon and cheesy mashed potatoes for dinner.  Followed it up with a sleeve of Do Si Dos and a sleeve of Thin Mints. Drat those Girl Scouts and my feeble willpower!  DUH!

So it was a VERY GOOD THING that I read Emme's post this morning, as I needed a bit of a shove back onto the path of healthy living.  I'll excerpt a bit here, and then you can link on over for the rest.  While we may not look like the one picture in the scan, it's not hard to connect the dots and deduce how the extra weight can affect our quality of life.  Again, there's no judgement here at AWIP.  I'm a product of Eastern European Sausage Snarfing genes, and have had eating issues my entire life.  Nobody is advocating thin = aesthetically pleasing, either for humans or horses.  My point, and I think Emme's as well, is that the best health you and your horse can achieve is good for both of you, and should be a goal for all of us.

Thanks, Emme, for the assist!

FATTY DEPOSIT SCAN BRINGS IT HOME

Recently an associate has had some unfortunate medical news, and the need for surgery has been proposed by doctors. Unfortunately this person is quite heavy, and with that comes several health factors. During a previous surgery complications arose, and so surgery at this point could be risky. Weight loss is imperative, might even effect the need for surgery in the first place, but will at minimum make surgery less dangerous.

This scan is of a 250lb female on the left, and a 120lb woman on the right.


Shocking right? Click here to read more.


Your's truly again.  Looks like I'll be having a salad for lunch.  Sigh.
Have a happy, healthy Monday.