Have more energy whilst out riding!

For the past couple of days I've kept myself at home with a strange bug (an illness-type bug, not one with legs). Although this has caused me to be freezing, shaking, aching, and with stomach cramps, one good thing that has come out of it is the free time at home which I never, ever have! Finally, I can clean, organise various bits of paperwork, write my blog (yay!), clear out the junk I hoard in my 'wardrobe room' (aptly named for being a whole room dedicated to housing my clothes... hey, I'm a girl), biology work (God help me) and just do those things that we always have on our mental list but never get around to doing.

Since I have started writing about health and fitness in relation to riding (a particular interest of mine) I have actually had a few people ask me to elaborate on a few points. I love the feedback, and really welcome any of you to give me a comment or a wall post on Facebook and ask for more detail on any part that you want to know more about. For example how to improve core strength, which is an absolute essential to riding and something I do a lot of in the gym with James. I also had a request to elaborate on my healthy food shop which I blogged about the other day and what kinds of things I was looking for that would allow me to eat healthily whilst out riding all day.

So I am going to address the food question. When I walk into a supermarket the things on my mind are fresh, clean and straightforward. I have never been one to eat muesli bars and other packets of things with millions of ingredients... God knows what's in them. Sadly lots of these processed goodies are the simplest things to eat when us horsey people are on the go as they are easy to grab and eat in a rush (again the same old story of how we give our horses the best quality feed whilst we eat a bag of crisps). Well, with a little planning and self-discipline it can be just as easy and a whole lot healthier.

If it is a big shop, I buy lots and lots of meat. Not just any meat though - healthy, lean meat like chicken breasts, turkey breasts/steaks, pork (if you cut the fat off before cooking), salmon, mackerel, and those very convenient packets of sliced ham and chicken. I buy so much because you can freeze it all and then you will never be caught without a supply of protein. This is also where the planning comes in. Once or twice a week (on a day off or free evening) cook up a suitable amount of meat that you can keep in the fridge in a container and add to any meal or have has a snack. Personally, I like to cook extra every time I cook dinner and have it for lunch the next day, so that way I save time by cooking dinner and lunch at the same time.

Next I head for the vegetables. You can never have too many veggies! The veggies I always buy are broccoli, spinach, runner beans, sweet potato, and asparagus. Peppers and tomatoes are always in the basket too because of their high antioxidant levels. Carrots are essential for snacking, like putting with peanut or almond butter, houmus and cheese (more about snacks below). Root vegetables are a bit higher in sugar, but they are still vegetables so if you don't mind go for it. So like with meat, steam up a load of veggies and put them in containers in the fridge. I mash a whole lot of sweet potato because to me it adds some substance to the meal and is a good mixer, if your the type that likes to mash the veggies into the potato.... or is that just me?

Depending on how much carbohydrate you want in your diet you can always get your supply with healthy low GI carbs like brown rice, pasta, beans/lentils and wholegrain bread. To make a meal, you should have a third of protein, a third of veggies and a third of low GI carbs. So this could be a 100g of chicken, a bunch of veggies and a couple of scoops of rice. To add some excitement you can flavour the meat with herbs or mexican flavour pouches, or chilli if you like your spice. Balsamic vinegar (not dressing) tastes great on almost anything too I've found. All of this is pre-cooked so I just whip out a tupperware container, throw it all in, put it in a tesco bag and whack a fork in there.

I don't tie the bag up until I've put my snacks in though. I've always got apples, blueberries (freeze them, they last longer and defrost by the time you eat them! A handy tip from James Ellis), a little bag of carrot sticks, and often just bring the whole jar of peanut/almond butter for convenience. The trick is with snacking that it must have protein in it, but personally I don't like it too carbohydrate-heavy. So veggies (carrots/celery) or fruit with a bit of protein like nut butter, cheese, houmus, natural unroasted nuts, or coconut oil (which is actually solid and tastes great, a super alternative to butter or regular cooking oil!).

So now I'm ready to leave the house and I have my Tesco bag full of healthy energy for the day. I may not put many carbs in, as I always prefer sweet potato over rice/pasta, but I get my energy from fat. Yes, fat! No, I don't deep fry my meat and make tempura-style veggies, I eat lots of healthy fats that come from the protein sources I put with my snacks. If you notice, they can all be relatively high in fat (cheese and nuts - definitely) but its not the kind of fat that will actually make you fat. Does eating lots of sugar make you sweet? No, I wish it did, but it doesn't. Fat is the same, eating fat does not make you fat (in moderation of course, and with the right combination of food, eg. not eaten with high-carbohydrate foods).

So my final tips which I personally live by:

• Every meal should contain protein, I choose healthy fats over carbs though - they have more energy per gram than carbs. In fact, according to my A-level biology book, fats give 37kj of energy per gram and carbs give only 16kj of energy per gram. So if its long lasting energy you are looking for, go for fat I say. Different if you need an instant hit, in which case you need carbs.

• ALWAYS eat breakfast! You wouldn't expect you horse to perform for you if the last time it ate was 8pm the night before, would you? And no, breakfast doesn't mean 3 cups of coffee/tea. That doesn't mean the whole scrambled egg with tomotoes and mushroom situation, I never eat a big breakfast because I can't handle that in the morning but I might have a tasty protein shake, some fruit, always a coffee (just one!) or a piece of toast with a bit of peanut butter. That metabolism has to be kick-started for the first horse, and saves you pigging out during the day or reaching for a chocolate because your energy plummets after your 2nd or 3rd horse.

• My sugar cravings for a chocolate often come on the way home from the yard when I'm driving and scared for my life I will crash without the energy (pffft). In this case, I try and drink loads and loads of water (ALWAYS have a big 1.5L bottle of water with you, there is nothing worse than being dehydrated!) to make sure its not just dehydration that is making me tired. If that doesn't work, I'll often resort to coffee and only sometimes give in to that amazing chocolatey taste of galaxy... mmm :)

• Shop smart and don't shop hungry. Don't buy anything you know your not supposed to eat eg ice cream, cookies, chocolate, crisps etc. Because you will eat them. I know if I have it in the house it is all gone within minutes. So I just don't buy it. If I'm desperate enough I will end up getting it some way or another, but I try not to make it easy! Your trolley/basket should be colourful because of veggies, not because of packaging.

So, for anyone that was wondering how I manage to eat healthy while out riding and what I learnt from James on our food shop, there you go. James actually wrote a good article which pretty much says all this in short and simple step-by-step terms. Read it HERE, and remember eating healthy is not all about losing weight, its about feeling good. Hope it helps and you have more good long-lasting energy :)