Can Dieting with Your Dog Help You Lose Weight?

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions people make is to lose weight and get healthier. Unfortunately, by now, many of us have already forgotten about or given up on that resolution. But what if there was a way to make keeping that resolution easier? What if there was a way to better motivate us to stay on target with our weight loss plans?

Your Dog May Be the Perfect Weight Loss Companion

It is estimated that as many as 50-55% of our dogs are either overweight or obese. And being overweight or obese puts our dogs at risk for a variety of health issues, many of which are the same things we ourselves need to worry about as a result of carrying extra pounds.

So your dog is carrying an extra pound, or two or three? That’s not much, right? Wrong! Did you know that an extra 3 pounds on a 15-pound dog (such as a Boston Terrier) is comparable to 30 pounds on a 150-pound person? (Source: 2010 Pet Obesity Study by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention)

Your dog may be the perfect motivation to get you off the couch and out for an afternoon stroll around the neighborhood. The exercise will help both of you toward your weight loss goal. And you won’t have to go it alone.

Dieting with your dog is becoming a popular notion. So popular in fact that Nestle Purina has partnered with Jenny Craig to offer Project: Pet Slim Down, a program aimed at helping you and your pet lose weight.

Dieting with Your Dog

This week, I had the opportunity to speak with pet owner and author Peggy Frezon. Peggy’s book, Dieting with My Dog, chronicles Peggy’s weight loss journey with her dog, Kelly. We spoke about Peggy’s motivation for starting her journey and she shares some of her best tips for dieting. Listen in.

All photos courtesy of Peggy Frezon