After having spent a very long and tiring weekend at the Bath & West Horse Show with heavy horses I was more than ready to get started on my journey. Since I had my children I have always struggled with my weight and tried various diets. Nothing seems to work long term, probably because the head isn’t in the right place and complacency. My youngest son has a vegan girlfriend who seems to come round for supper more often than not , so the vegetable intake has gone up, even though I really enjoy meat and fish. Not too good with beans and pulses! I started on Tuesday and was surprised how full I felt. I eat according to the menu suggestions, but the rest of the family have bread/ wraps for lunch and the odd potato or pasta with their tea. I had already got some lamb koftas for their tea tonight and must admit one look at them today and I am quite looking forward to my fritata!

I am conciously trying to drink more water, and quite like the taste – it is just remembering to get into the habit! We are off to a wedding this weekend, but I think that the menu choices were fish, so I hope that will be OK.

Over the winter I put on a few pounds, and when I put my show jacket on it was a bit tighter than I would like. Our next show isn’t until mid July when we go down to Devon. I fully intend to fit into my jacket!

My main problem at shows is eating and drinking. We get up really early, usually leaving the yard at 5am, so I need to be up by 3.30 so I can get the lorry loaded with harness and horses ready. It is a couple of hours to the show, and when we arrive we land running as the heavy horse classes tend to start at 8.30. I have between 2 and 3 horses to plait – manes and tails we cannot travel them plaited as they are so big. If some kind soul gets food and drink it is usually cold by the time I get to it. Then after the in hand classes we need to get ready for the harness class. This can take up to an hour to “dress” the horse before going into the ring. When that is finished and everything packed away it is usually the afternoon. If a burger comes our way it is eaten! You tend not to taste it, but it is food. We have to stay on for parades at the end of the day, so cannot leave until late afternoon. By the time we get home food and drink is the last thing on our minds.

I have tried taking a packed lunch with me, but by the time I remember it it does not appeal or we just don’t have time to sit and eat it. We don’t have a fridge on the lorry, so keeping things fresh can be a problem. A cool box is not always ideal.

I would appreciate any suggestions for how to get through a show day.

Hi Steph
the horses sound lovely!
I haven’t been to any of those county show things for a while, but I can imagine they present a challenge – I guess that even if there’s a salad option, it’s drenched in mayo or other dressing.
If no fridge, things like carrots, apples and nuts would travel well – but I think you can get insulated lunch boxes or bags that might be more convenient than a clunky cool box. I was working yesterday and took an ordinary lunch box with tomato, grated carrot and cottage cheese – it didn’t go in the fridge, but it was great several hours later. If I’d put it in an insulated bag with an ice pack it would have stayed fine for ages.
For protein, a hard boiled egg would be easily portable, or supermarkets do those mini pots of hummus – I got some from sainsburys last week that have about 40g in each individual pot.
If you do have a burger, leave the roll – or maybe look out for those hogroast type stands, where you know that you’re getting just meat, it’s always difficult judging exactly what is inside a burger – and again, leave any bread or dressed salad that it comes with. Other options might be veg curry if there are those streetfood type stands – but leave the rice.
If there are food producers at shows, you could see if it’s possible to buy a small quantity of cheese to eat there and then – although it sounds as if you might be too busy to look around at other exhibitors!

Hi Frog – I think the girls are wonderful, but I am biased! 2 Percherons and a Suffolk Punch. Having said that hopefully soon to increase as Freya goes to stud in the next few weeks! Thank you very much for your suggestions. Carrots and apples tend not to last to long as the girls can sniff those out at 20 paces! I will certainly try your suggestions – if I remember to take them out of the fridge at stupid o’clock! I very rarely get out of the horse lines. Unless we are staying over and have stables the girls are tied to the lorry, so cannot really be left unattended. Public are often allowed into our area to learn more about the wonderful horses, which is great, but not everyone has the sense they were born with! Last week I turned round to find that a lady had positioned her little sweetheart UNDER Freya’s tummy so that she could take a picture! She didn’t ask if it was OK, as these are animals that do move, and had Freya stepped on the said child it would have been a very nasty accident that would not have been her fault. They are mostly very gentle, but like us, they can have their moments! You would not go up to a racehorse and stand under it (sorry off target there).
Hog roasts do come my way and I never chose the stuffing option, so that could also be the way forward. I think my main issue is to actually stop an drink and eat – when you are busy it is all to easy to just think “I will do that in a bit once this class is over” then something else comes along. I did manage to up the water uptake yesterday, so hopefully this will also help.
Had the mushrooms and goats cheese for breakfast today – still not quite sure about goats cheese.but it made a difference to cereal. I am a huge fan of porridge and in the summer I soak it overnight, add a spoon of yoghurt and fruit but I need to look at alternatives there too maybe.

I just googled images of Percherons and Suffolk Punches – they look amazing – good luck with the baby! Poor Freya, having a squealy thing underneath her! My sister did a course at Wimpole hall a few years ago on handling heavy horses that she really enjoyed (she doesn’t have any, only a dog, but likes horses)
I think the answer is making sure you get a share of the carrot and apples!
there was a thread about porridge yesterday – the jumbo oats that you soak overnight are OK in moderation.
30g contains around 17g of carbs, so a bit highish for everyday – and 30g of oats is lowish until you get used to it, I think the recommended portion on the packet is 40g (and I used to ignore the portion size mostly, or look at it an laugh or thing “Really??!!”)

Freya absolutely adores foals – infact there is no better mother than her – and she will “tell” mares and foals that they are not doing a proper job! She lives on a polo stud,She is either in a field with the mums to be, or with the yearlings looking after them. (they can hide behind her if there is something scary!)
I am thinking that potentially the food intake is going to be off kilter on show days a bit of porridge will keep me going until I find the right food. 30g of oats at stupid o’clock is actually quite a lot! come the winter I may change my mind though. However, whenever I eat porridge I have two dogs that tell me they need to share. If they are poorly it is their comfort food. so basically if the horses don’t want it the dogs do! (they also love carrot and apple!)

Hi Steph
I make allowances with meat, fish and dairy that my cat will want to share! Cutting some for her and putting it to one side doesn’t work- she thinks its special if it’s mine.
By the winter you’ll be used to smaller portion sizes – I find that I am after three and a half weeks! If the show days aren’t too frequent it won’t matter too much – once new habits are ingrained you’ll find it’s much easier, and you may be starting to think about 5:2 by the time the next one comes around.
I was in M&S yesterday, and they had really compact thermal lunch bags for about £2

If we have burgers/bacon butties the horses eat the bread. Having said that Freya will mug people for anything. Ice cream is a favourite and if they put s glass of beer under her nose. After all she does have a weight issue to keep up! She weighs just under a tonne! I have got quite a good thermal lunch bag so will have to remember to take it. We have a quiet month show wise as we are usually gisling but come July it is every werkend and some midweek shows through to October. Then we start ploughing matches! So 5:2 would be very handy.

If I was a superhero my superhero name would be Freya.