Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Day 60: Cutting the cheese.

I've been noticing something about Sissy. You remember Sissy, don't you? She's my SUPER-AMAZING-INTELLIGENT-MAJESTIC Boston Terrier. And she's getting fat. You may remember that she had some pretty serious health problems about six weeks ago  and at that time she lost a pound or so. Since then, she found those pounds and added ANOTHER pound. When you weigh 12 pounds, to begin with, and gain a pound, you've increased your body weight by 10%. Think about that! Today I took Sissy to the Pet Medical Center to visit Dr. Hill (he's GREAT and pictured on the left). It was time for her vaccinations, trimming her nails, and to discuss her... WEIGHT. I was chatting away (I know it's hard to believe) and I told Dr. Hill and his assistant about yesterday's video blog. Dr. Hill said "you might want to watch the cheese..." WHAT? Every dog I've ever had is in love with cheese, right??? Then Dr. Hill grabbed a chart about animals and food and it BLEW MY MIND. Here's the chart (my wonderful husband scanned it for me):



One ounce of cheese, for a dog, is equal to 2.5 cheeseburgers. I believe Sissy happily ate her weight in cheese last night. And one hot dog is the equivalent of THREE cheeseburgers! How many times have you fed your dog a hot dog, thinking you were giving them an extra-special treat? This information was SUCH an eye-opener for me. And it makes sense- I am usually aware of how many calories I'm consuming with my 200 pound body. Now pass the same food along to a little 12 pound body... that's a BIG difference.



Thanks to my visit with Dr. Hill today, I'm making some changes to Sissy's diet and exercise. We're going to cut out the table scraps for Sissy. And the cheese. (sorry, Sissy... I'm feeling your pain. Really.) And we're going to be taking Sissy on daily walks. Sissy loves to go for a walk and I've been bad, in the past, about taking her. But walks are good for dogs. And children. And mommies. (daddies, too, but sometimes daddies enjoy a few minutes of silence after a long, hard day...) 

IN CONCLUSION: We're going to be more aware of what EVERYONE is eating, in the Hempel house, including Sissy! And taking a walk after dinner is a good thing in so many ways... It's 20 minutes of quality time spent with the people/fur-people we love that results in better health. Why wouldn't you want to do that?? 

Today was a great day that included visiting our favorite vet, an hour of cardio, and hanging out with some of my best gym-friends! Hope your day was just as good! See you tomorrow! 

6 comments:

andrea said...

Goldie is allergic to dairy.. but man oh man do I give her a lot of human food! That is VERY informational, thanks for sharing!

Beth said...

Our beagle was so scrawny and pathetic when we got her from the pound that we were happy when she gained weight. It's now six years later and she is still on the upswing. The chart has some really good info. Perhaps I'll finally start making good on my New Years resolution to take her for more walks.

Alison West said...

AWESOME INFO !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anything to get us motivated works for me !!!!!!!!!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE MY WEBER GRILL !!!!!!!

Cupboard Love said...

Hmm, that is food for thought (no pun intended). I have the world's tubbiest tabby cat - she doesn't really eat human food, but as I've started to think about my weight, I've also started to think that maybe I need to help with hers.

The Duckworth Family said...

K, so I have a topic of discussion for you lady. Where do you shop for clothes and what is your method in finding ones that fit! With all the many body shapes out there, I am finding it more and more impossible to fit clothes that are not cotton stretch knit, full of lycra or spandex! Not to mention those elastic waistbands. Those are terrible for weight loss, but golly I feel comfortable in them! Share with me your secrets!

Anonymous said...

Camille... I like that idea! I believe tomorrow's post is going to be about clothing! I can't post tonight... I'm so tired... but will tomorrow! FASHION! Thanks for the idea!

Amy