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My Dog's Weight Loss Success Story

Molly (left) has a svelte new figure after a month on a low-carb, higher-calorie diet. I radically changed her diet after noticing that the Taste of the Wild kibble she eats is high carb and low fat--and that Molly was putting on weight, constantly begging for food, and spending less time on the treadmill.

When Molly started her new diet, I could pinch an inch of fat on her waist and back. Now I can pinch 1/4" on her waist and I can grab fat on her back only when she's lying down or sitting up.

Her old diet was two cups a day of Taste of the Wild dog food and a snack such as a carrot. Her new diet is, on a typical day, 1/2 cup of TOTW dog food, 2 tablespoons of rice protein powder, a magnesium tablet, and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil for breakfast and 1/2 cup dog food, a cooked chicken thigh with skin and without the bone, and a carrot for dinner, and a handful of nuts and 2 tablespoons of olive oil for a snack.

Macronutrient balance before:
carbohydrate: 50%
protein: 32%
fat: 18%

Macronutrient balance after:
carbohydrate: 19%
protein: 21%
fat: 60%

I haven't restricted Molly's calories: she's eating around 1,330 calories a day now opposed to 765 calories a day before. Yes, I've checked and rechecked the figures--this was a surprise even though I already knew that restricting calories isn't necessarily useful in losing weight. Anytime Molly begs for food, I feed her--usually some nuts or olive oil if it isn't meal time.

In absolute terms, Molly is eating a lot less carb (130 calories per day less), about the same amount of protein, and a lot more fat (660 calories per day more).

Molly's energy has been great. She's still not running on the treadmill as much as she used to, but last weekend, after walking a few miles around Washington Park, we came home and she wanted to go on another walk.

Molly's new diet isn't hard to prepare. For dinner, I usually give her some of whatever meat or eggs I'm having--chicken, a lamb burger, fritatta, etc.--along with 1/2 cup of kibble and some cabbage or a carrot. Yes, cabbage--it's just not dinner for her without a crunchy vegetable and she won't leave me alone until she gets some.

UPDATE 3/15/2011 We've ditched the rice protein powder since Molly doesn't like it and I've gone on a new diet to heal my cavities. She gets meat or eggs instead. We're a grain-free household now. If she's still hungry after a meal, I give her a tablespoon or two of nuts, half-and-half, coconut oil or olive oil (sorry, Anonymous).
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Anonymous said…
She needs exercise and stop giving her snacks
February 24, 2011
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