How did this woman lose weight? She got a dog!

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
May 5th 2007 9:48AM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation

I'm always interested in hearing about the unconventional ways people have lost weight and here's one: Patti Lawson dropped pounds almost by accident when she got a dog. She's even written a book on her transformation, not surprisingly called 'The Dog Diet.'

A lot of overweight people have dogs and haven't lost a pound, so just what makes this relationship one that lead to weight-loss. Well, for starters, daily walks gave Patti some much-needed exercise. Because the dog was interested in everything she ate, Patti started making healthier choices. And lugging around dog food hasn't hurt either. But the real change was an internal one -- having a dog caused her to slow down, take it easy and spend more time looking after herself.

There's no denying that having a dog is great for you emotionally and physically, but is it really a legitimate weight-loss tool? What do you think?

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Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

orthac 11-21-2007 @ 12:42PM

it's pretty irresponsible to cite dogs as weight-loss tools, given the huge responsibility they are, and the number of the them already in shelters because people get them for the wrong reasons and find they don't have the time, money, patience or skills to care for them. you could really do some damage with a post like this i hope you'll consider taking it down.

Crabby McSlacker 5-05-2007 @ 11:12AM

I have a cat, and I'm pretty darn sure no one's ever going to write a book called "the cat diet." Unless sleeping all day turns out to have unexpected metabolic benefits.

I think getting a dog, for someone who really wants one anyway, could be really helpful--it's harder to make excuses to your new best friend who's dependant you for his or her own exercise.

But just like people buy gym equipment and never use it, it could also be a Really Bad Idea for someone lukewarm about a dog to get one just hoping it will magically melt off the pounds. Not fair to the dog. And like you said, there are plenty of overweight people with pooches.

PS--looking forward to when it's your turn on "meet the bloggers." Martha's fitness secrets revealed!

Crabby does her grousing at http://crankyfitness.blogspot.com/

Crabby McSlacker 5-07-2007 @ 10:56AM

Orthac,
Though you have a good point about the problem of people who adopt dogs and don't have time for them, I don't think Martha is advocating that. (Or me either). She's just reporting on a book someone's written about the ways dogs may help people lose weight. And Martha doesn't seem to me to be endorsing it one way or another. (In fact she sounds skeptical to me).

It's awful when people run out and buy dalmations or whatever based on a movie they saw, without really thinking it through. But do you ban movies about cute dogs? To say that dogs can help people lose weight isn't irresponsible, if it's true. I think the responsibilty lies with the people who actually do the dog dumping, not the people who talk about the benefits having dogs can bring.

Martha 5-07-2007 @ 11:09AM

Hi there,
Crabby's right ... I don't condone buying a dog to lose weight -- doing so would be irresponsible, in my opinion. But the article and the book it's based on will still exist regardless of this post, so I don't think removing it is necessary.

However, I think this woman's story is an exception -- in most cases getting a pet won't lead to weight loss. Too often I see dogs that are neglected, overweight, under exercised or all three. Such cases are incredibly sad, so I would never encourage someone to get a pet unless they are willing to take on the responsibility of having one.
Thanks for reading!
Martha