Skinny Cow

You don't actually lose weight by eating ice cream - who knew?

Skinny Cow ice creams are pretty yummy, but I wouldn't call them weight loss food. I speak from experience.

While I wouldn't say that I "struggle" with my weight in general, there have been periods in my life when I've packed around a muffin top, spare tire, and some junk in my trunk. I'm only 5'3" so 10 pounds either way are pretty noticeable.

I've never been one of those wispy, willowy girls as I've always been physically active and solidly muscled. As kids, we spent our afternoons riding bikes and roller skating. In high school, I ran track and rode my ponies throughout the hills and mountains of the Coast Ranges, mostly bareback. As an adult, I spent many years riding endurance races, often running along side my horse.

Even so, there have been times when my vertically challenged body has becoming horizontally challenged as well. My "club skinny" weight is about 118, but Hubby thinks I am way, way too thin at that weight. I have to agree, but I sure look good in clothes when I am that thin. My holy crap weight is 148. When I am there, I am bursting out of said clothes and looking for elastic.

It seems to take me about ten years to go from Club Skinny to Holy Crap. You've seen some recent photos of me, so you probably can guess where I am right now. Let's just say that there are no Skinny Cow ice cream bars in my freezer.

When my tall boots started to get tighter and tighter and a pair of size 30 breeches were feeling snug, I decided that something had to be done. So, for the past few weeks, I've been pretty damn hungry. And when I say hungry, I really mean cranky as hell. Hubby now has a slightly thinner wife, but she's too pissy to enjoy being around!

It started with a few stressful days at work. I simply lost my appetite completely, which is extremely unusual; I am a total chow hound. Realizing that I wouldn't actually die by living on fewer calories, I took advantage of my reduced appetite and started feeding a thinner body. By that, I mean I started eating what a skinny person would eat.

And wonder of all wonders, the pounds started slipping away. Now, when I say what a skinny person would eat, I am talking about my Club Skinny self. It's not much food, but at least it's healthy food. My meals have consisted of a hard boiled egg at 7:00 a.m. followed by a low fat yogurt or string cheese at 10:30. Lunch has been a very small meat portion with less than a half cup of low fat cottage cheese. Dinner has been a seriously reduced portion of whatever I've made Hubby (some roasted vegies, a piece of chicken, and a quarter cup of couscous for example). And that's it.

I start the morning with a cup of tea, no caffeine, to help me feel like I've at least had something. I get to work at 6:30 so by 7:00 a.m, I am starving. I also drink as much water as possible with no other beverages until I have my glass of wine and/or a couple of hard ciders. As of right now, I've lost about 8 pounds, and I am hoping to get 5 more off.

This is dressage related of course. Losing those extra pounds means my boots are zipping up quite easily and my breeches aren't bulging across the butt and thighs. I also feel lean and mean with more muscle and a lot less fat. All of this must surely improve my balance. And if nothing else, at least my boots are fitting better!