I’m going to talk about weight loss dog food today. Yes, it’s a bit of a detour around my usual topics, but it will make sense to you in a moment.
Bree and I got a dog a while back. He’s a Labrador Retriever and his name is Max. Max absolutely loves to eat. He’s a vacuum cleaner. He also loves to go for walks. That’s not necessarily a problem, except that Bree and I made the mistake with our dog that many humans make about their own lifestyles.
Your Exercise Won’t Stop Weight Gain from Overeating
If I’ve said this once, I’ve said it a million times. Powering through a great workout doesn’t make it possible for you to overeat. At least not by much. If you go for a great run, then stop for fast food on the way home, your “reward” contains far more calories than you burned off during that great workout.
Still, despite the fact that I know that, I preach it and I live by it, Max started to max-out, so to speak. Since Labs are at a high risk of obesity and that disease is just as dangerous for dogs as it is for humans, Bree and I knew we needed to get him back on track. Cutting back on his dinner by a lot seemed pretty mean when there are weight loss dog food options out there that we could feed him instead.
Our intention is to use the weight loss dog food to start him off at a similar quantity, then gradually scale it back until we can switch him to his normal food in a smaller amount. Throughout that time, the training is for us – fewer cookies and treats for the dog all the time!
The Weight Loss Dog Food We Chose
Our veterinarian recommended either cutting back on the current product we’re feeding Max or switching him to a weight loss dog food. Naturally, our first question was about the option he’d recommend. He recommended Wellness Core’s Reduced Fat Formula, which has about 25 percent less fat than the original.
The vet had heard that many people liked Blue Buffalo BLUE Life Protection Formula Healthy Weight. That said, we’d previously had Max on a food from that brand and let’s just say it made his bathroom habits messy and leave it at that. You don’t need the graphic details, but it reacted in Max like it was far too rich for him. As a result, the Wellness Core was our weight loss dog food of choice.
We started Max on that, and he liked it right away. To be honest, though, we can feed him next to anything, and he’ll like it right away. He just loves to eat anything, whether it’s meant to be edible or not. We’ve added a second walk to his day, and the pounds are coming off.
We can all use this as a reminder that our workouts aren’t enough if we’re seriously overeating. The biggest deciding factor in your weight loss or gain is your food, whether you’re a dog or human. Keeping that in mind will help you stay where you need to be and won’t derail your efforts to reach your goals.