I don't mean to make light of anyone attending OA meetings. (Over eaters anonymous) but my puppy girl, has a serious problem. Twice in the last two weeks I've come home to her gigantic poos from over eating. She got into her food bin twice. The first time she ate a good 7 cups worth of food and the second time..there was no telling.
In order to combat her not using the outside...inside, I set up a baby gate in the living room which locked the ancient old man out of his food dish. He's too old to hop a gate & to arthritic to crawl under it. After all he is 18. 19 come this August, if he can make it. Some days I think he'll out live us all...other days, I worry his pain might be too much.
Back to the girl. B was put on a diet last year. Her goal was to lose 13lbs. For a dog, it's hard. She's not overly rambunctious. She is every bit as stubborn as a bulldog can be. Therefore when B doesn't want to walk, she won't walk. She would stop and smell the roses, if I let her, all day. Never ever worried about when a squirrel enters the yard. Can hardly be bothered by other dogs that come to visit, B does not move. Except when she's excited.
But B likes to eat. To the point where she makes herself sick. Diet's are hard, they're really hard when you're a dog or a child with food allergies or someone who is suffering from binge eating, or an eating disorder. Even someone like me, who had pounds to drop.
Fooducate had a great blog post about how weight loss isn't just a marathon, but in fact is like learning a different language. Not only that, but it's as if you're in a completely different country trying to pick up on a language that's not native to your own.
In order to combat her not using the outside...inside, I set up a baby gate in the living room which locked the ancient old man out of his food dish. He's too old to hop a gate & to arthritic to crawl under it. After all he is 18. 19 come this August, if he can make it. Some days I think he'll out live us all...other days, I worry his pain might be too much.
Back to the girl. B was put on a diet last year. Her goal was to lose 13lbs. For a dog, it's hard. She's not overly rambunctious. She is every bit as stubborn as a bulldog can be. Therefore when B doesn't want to walk, she won't walk. She would stop and smell the roses, if I let her, all day. Never ever worried about when a squirrel enters the yard. Can hardly be bothered by other dogs that come to visit, B does not move. Except when she's excited.
But B likes to eat. To the point where she makes herself sick. Diet's are hard, they're really hard when you're a dog or a child with food allergies or someone who is suffering from binge eating, or an eating disorder. Even someone like me, who had pounds to drop.
Fooducate had a great blog post about how weight loss isn't just a marathon, but in fact is like learning a different language. Not only that, but it's as if you're in a completely different country trying to pick up on a language that's not native to your own.
"At first it seems daunting because there is so much to absorb and
master (losing 100 pounds). Initially, you can barely get by; you jump
on every opportunity to revert back to English (i.e. unhealthy food
habits). But you stick at it. You learn one word at a time, start to
construct basic sentences, and celebrate success (ice cream after losing
another 5 pounds). But you are still far from being conversational.
In order to effectively communicate, you need to build your
vocabulary and grammar, which in weight loss means calories, nutrients,
and ingredients, along with basic concepts of human nutrition. At first,
you’ll need a pocket dictionary with you at all times (calorie counting
app). With time, as you improve in fluency, you will rely less on the
dictionary and may even decide to dispense with it altogether.
To converse like a native-speaker in this new language (maintain your
weight loss) you will need years of practice. There will be
misunderstandings (that cheesecake has how many calories??). Sustained
weight-loss doesn’t happen overnight or in a matter of months. But the
effort to achieve it is worth it!"
It took me 6 years to get to my goal weight. I'm still learning new things. It's taking B some time to get to where she needs to be but we're learning together. I now realize she probably needs more food than she's been allotted to get, in order to keep up with her new energy levels. Which means, she may not chase the squirrel that shows up in the yard, but she definitely might sniff at it and saunter over in that direction...monetarily.
Upping her food intake just might also keep her from binge eating again too.
Remember, you are not alone in this journey. There will be hard days. I mean REALLY hard days. Come over to my house...if you speak dog I'm sure B would tell you all about it.
One step at a time, one paw at time...you'll get there. Persistence is key. As well as discipline and diligence.
On another note, today is Good Friday. If you are checking out the Christian faith and are curious about what Good Friday is, check out Sharefaith.com.
I send you love and light wherever you may be today.
Blessings everyone,
A
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