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- Today, a trim 145 pounds, Sandy shows in multiple Western events with her trainer
My riding career almost ended before it began. There I was, 50 years old and close to 100 pounds overweight, trying to mount a horse for the first time. I couldn't do it! I had a threestep mounting block, and it still took me about 10 minutes to haul myself on. Talk about embarrassing.
Today, at 55 and a trim 145 pounds on my 5-foot, 7-inch frame, I find mounting a breeze. My joint problems are gone, my blood pressure is down, my congestion has cleared, and my skin looks better. Best of all, I have more energy than many women half my age. My secret? Not a miracle diet, or surgery, or a draconian exercise program,although I did learn to eat properly and work out. No, the key to my success has been motivation: a burning desire to change my life and make my dream--riding and showing--a reality.
Sharing my story isn't easy (just look at that "before" picture below). But if I can help even one reader to do what I've done, it'll have been worth it. I was an overstressed, out-of-shape size 24. I became a fit, athletic size 6/8, who rides and shows horses. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it.
If you're overweight, take a page from my notebook. I've kept the pounds off for five years and am happier than I've ever been. If I did it, you can, too. Read on.
Overweight & Overwhelmed
I'd always wanted to ride, but my mother thought it was too dangerous, too expensive and "not appropriate for a young lady." Although I did well in school and participated in things like Girl Scouts and church activities, I wasn't physically active. I was a "chubbette."
After college, I landed a job with Johnson & Johnson, the health care company, becoming a senior finance professional. By then I was yo-yo dieting, with my weight gradually creeping up. I married and had a daughter, then never lost all the pregnancy weight.
When my systems-engineer husband and I were living in central New Jersey in the early 1990s, our daughter Alison began taking riding lessons. That would've been the logical time for me to get started, too, but I was just too heavy. My job was high-pressure, requiring frequent travel to Asia Pacific. I was trying to be both a super mom and super employee, and neglecting my own needs. Eating was how I soothed myself.
How bad did it get? I weighed from 230 to 240 pounds for much of my adult life. It's not as if I didn't attempt to slim down, either. Over the years, I tried everything--group programs, diet drinks, pure protein plans a la Atkins, low fat/high carb regimens, even fads like the vinegar-and-seaweed diet. I also often skipped breakfast and/or lunch. All of these enabled me to lose at least some weight, sometimes. But over the long term, none of them kept the weight off.
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- Before: More than 80 pounds overweight for much of her life, Sandy says sharing her tale is a little embarrassing.
After an early menopause that began in my early 40s, I began gaining weight at the rate of 10 to 15 pounds per year. By the time I turned 50 in 2000, I was pushing 300 pounds. Health problems loomed--high blood pressure, aching joints, constant colds and the flu. A surgeon told me I'd need knee replacement surgery if I didn't lose weight.
I also read a quote at the time that frightened me: "Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork." That's exactly what I was doing. I thought about two 50-something people I know who work hard to stay fit." Why do I think I don't have to do that, too?," I asked myself.
As a finance person, I knew there was no such thing as a get-rich-quick scheme. (You get rich by working hard and building assets over time.) I also realized--as most people do deep inside--that losing weight was going to require the same long-term commitment and steady work.
And now I was ready to do it. My motivation was bigger than a class reunion or a friend's wedding or a certain size dress I longed to wear. I wanted to build a better life, a more balanced life. One that would finally include horses...for me.
