Exposed!

As a horseperson, I like to ready “horsey” things. Some books, yes, but I really enjoy getting my monthly Practical Horseman magazine, and I tend to read it cover to cover. One of my favorite columns is Jim Wofford’s “Cross Country Clinic.” Its always educational, and usually witty. Right up my alley. A few months ago he shared a story about a woman he taught in a clinic who—Jim made clear—was too large for her horse, quickly tired, and eventually had an unplanned dismount. Oh! The letters that were written to PH afterwards! Were people really taking Wofford to heart? Did they think he was calling them fat ladies? Sheesh… get a life folks!

In January of this year, PH published an article about eventer Becky Holder, and her success with a commitment to better eating and fitness. I could relate to both Jim’s point-- that riders (like the one he wrote about) shouldn’t put undue weight on their horses, and to Becky’s point of view… that fitness isn’t about a size, its about being healthy and strong for ourselves and our equine partners. So I wrote to PH, and shared my thoughts with them about these two articles…. And thought nothing more of it.

Until yesterday, when I flipped through my newest PH that had just arrived in the mail and saw my name in big bold letters in the “Your Turn” section of the magazine. CRAP! What have I done!?!? Now the entire equestrian world knows I am a fat, fat pig! I thought that information was just between me and the three of you who actually read this blog!

I paced around and panicked a few minutes… then franticly texted a couple members of the ME Team. They actually thought it was cool. Cool? COOL?!?! Are you kidding? Well.. now wait… let's stop and think about this a minute. Maybe it is cool. Afterall, I started this blog to share my story and my life. Why am I complaining about it appearing in a magazine where I’m a faceless nobody? Shouldn’t the appearance of my letter in a nationally published magazine be even more motivation for me to carry on with and stick to my goals?

Yeah, it should be. So see it for yourself here. Click on the blue “inside” button. I’m “Amanda F Smith, Georgia”. Its not anything you haven’t seen here, really, but it is kinda cool to see it somewhere... you know... real.

Now… here’s another issue… with my recent... *ahem* notoriety... do I really and truly go public with the blog? I’ve shared with a few friends that I have this wacky little project going on. But do I let everyone know? I’m not sure…


Weight Loss Update
One of the things I love about WW online (remember, that’s Weight Watchers) is all the little tools it gives you. Oodles and oodles of food items you can search for to make tracking your Points easy, a Points calculator, and even a recipe builder (!!). But I particularly like this cart:

Yup, that’s where I’ve been. The purple line is where I want to go. Where the chart dead-ends is where I am now. 171.2lbs. Periodically you get a little colored star that denotes different milestones (first 10 pounds lost, additional 5 pounds lost, etc) to keep you motivated. It is worth mentioning that this chart represents the entire length of time I have been on WW, about a year and a half. The steep bit at the beginning of the chart looks scary, but was really only a loss of about 2 pounds per week, which is good and healthy.

Hopefully I'll continue a downward trend, and not so many more "uphill" sections will show up on the chart!


Alfie Update
It was absolutely, drop dead, unbelievably gorgeous here in Georgia this weekend, so I took the time to visit and ride my horse twice! Saturday and Sunday the temps were in the mid- to upper-60’s and the sun just beckoned one to be outside. And that’s where I was!

Alfie was a little more relaxed and focused than usual, and I was very pleased about that. Considering he’s (a) still fairly green and (b) really done nothing but eat and poop all winter, he was good as gold. I couldn’t have asked for more. His birthday is March 1st, so look for a little post all about the little guy next week!