My Dog-My Weight Loss Partner

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My Dog-My Weight Loss Partner

A tribute to my fur baby.

My Weight Loss Partner

Reposting as a tribute to my baby who left us for heaven today.

I am a mom of three kids; a son and a daughter who are my biological children and an adopted one who is a Black Labrador. The biological ones have grown up and are independent enough to handle their own daily life but the third one, I really doubt will ever grow up.

 

He is the most pampered baby of mine to the extent of causing heated arguments with my daughter when in place of listening to what she has to say I seem to be more worried about his “Sussu – Potty and Meal timings”. LOL  I have no shame in admitting that he is the best part of my life who listens to me, follows my instructions without answering back, makes me feel important and is my ‘Feel Good Factor’. when I look back towards my weight loss journey I realise that although I started every thing by being motivated by my daughter, was gifted and suggested weight loss apps and gadgets by my son but my third one ‘Cherub’ (meaning little angel) had always been the one who had helped me in this journey in different ways.

Now all those who are reading this and thinking “OMG! Poor woman, age is really catching up on her fast. See what she is talking now… Crazy old woman, going wonky.” 😉 to all those who have their thought process wandering on those lines, I wish to tell them that yes I am getting older day by day (despite of my refusing to accept it), I might sound crazy at times (blame it on my dancing hormones) but what I am saying here is all facts and I am 100% in my full senses. LOL

Research shows that when people embark on weight-loss programs with supportive friends, they do better. So what if that “Supportive Friend” turns out to be a four legged furry friend called dog! And here I testify this that dogs can be better walking partners than your best friends or even family. My pet had been assisting me mainly on two fronts:

  • Portion Control

  • Working Out

Let me begin with the first thing that is:

  • Portion Control

This is a fact of my life that when I become aware of something I start thinking about it in all directions. I started thinking about weight loss for every one and once was commented by my kids,”Mommy, how do you feel about this big round pumpkin? Any weight loss suggestions to this round watermelon?” 😛 LOL Yes, I want every one around me to lose weight.

And here I was aware of another fact that Labradors are prone to obesity and joints related problems at a later stage in their life. The cause of pet obesity is the same as human obesity: overeating and under activity. So I decided to handle food issues first of mine and my dog’s. It began with eating together, No not from the same bowl silly ;P but the timing had to be the same. Eat every two hours and eat healthy. So we both eat curd, cucumber, tomato and sprouts as snacks. Now the trick how he helped in my portion control was that what ever I was eating I was sharing with him. Had a craving for rusks and biscuits, my baby was always there to keep me under control. So basically I was and still am eating less than 50% of what I want to eat (I am really glad when I am craving junk). Look at this, Can you deny anything to such innocent eyes?? Awww!

My Weight Loss Partner

cherub-weight-loss-dogs

  •  Working Out

There was a research done on the topic if pet owners were better exercisers or not. Though the results said that there was no special effect seen on the work outs of pet owners yet I feel that personally speaking my work outs and walks improved when I started taking him along on my morning and night walks. At times when I don’t feel like walking briskly Cherub feels like running and ensures that I too run along with him. Now whether or not you feel like it, you have to do it. 🙂

 

One thing the research also proved that dogs made exercise more enjoyable. I can swear by my dog’s cuteness factor when he hears the familiar “Leslie Sansone beat and voice”, he can’t stop himself and stands in front of me asking for his favourite bed sheet which he loves to chew on the beat. Its amazing to find his musical sense as the speed of his chewing also increases and decreases according to the changing beat. 🙂 So this experience makes me do extra miles just to see him enjoying the beats. Every morning and late evening becomes fun with pets if you take them for long walks. They will automatically make you do Intervals. 🙂

In fact my suggestion to every one who is wanting to lose weight is keep a dog in your house and the breed which specifically requires a lot of exercise. I and my Cherub are genetically prone to arthritis and bone related issues so both of us are actually assisting each other in staying healthy.

And just in case if you don’t have a dog to walk with, borrow one. There is no harm in walking an elderly neighbor’s pet or exercise rescued dogs at a shelter. Believe me it will add value to your emotions as well as weight loss efforts.

Do you think this post has inspired you to keep a pet?

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