“Carbed Up” Cats and Canines – Why are Fluffy and Fido so fatigued and fat – and us too?

admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:09:15 +0000

Hi – its Gracie the Cat again with another installment of the weight loss adventure my owner Carol has me on. It’s been about a month when we both started to alter our eating habits and exercise routines, and I must say some things have changed for me.

I’m not in a coma anymore.

Before, I was grazing all the time on Meow Mix, with the pretty colors and tasty little mouth-fulls. But then I would have to nap the rest of the day until it was time to get up and eat again. Eat-sleep-eat-sleep. That was my routine. And my belly was dragging. Now she has me on Taste of the Wild grain-free cat food, with no carbs and just lots of protein and healthy vegetables. It took a bit of transitioning for my taste buds to adjust, but now I love it! I am more satisfied and don’t have those carb cravings anymore.

I’m losing weight.

This food amazes me. I am full faster, don’t eat as much and best of all, am starting to lose weight! I can see it in my face – those chubby cheeks are receding, and my sides don’t stick out so far. I know I have more to lose and it will take awhile, but so far so good.

I have more energy.

A bonus to all this is that because I’m not sleeping all the time, I am awake much more and have more interest in moving around. Carol has provided me with some fuzzy mouse-like toys sprayed with catnip, and boy are they fun to attack, throw in the air, and roll around on the floor while I hold them between my paws. This exercise is also why I seem to be losing weight.

Now I’m going to turn this over to Carol who has some tidbits about this whole carb thing for humans.

Thanks Gracie. Did you know that much of the reason we humans have those carb cravings is because the fast food industry is interested in getting you to eat lots of foods high in sugar, fat, and salt. And when you get “hooked” on these food-like products, it acts like an addiction just like cigarettes and alcohol, and it is very hard to break away. Here is what is going on.

Restaurants and fast-food chains are encouraging over-eating to make more money.

Most of us spend half of our food dollars in restaurants and in drive-thru eating places. In order for these establishments to make more money, they need us to “really love their food” so we will return often and buy more. And to get us to really like their food, they load it up with lots of sugar, fat and salt so our taste buds go wild and want more.

Restaurants and fast-food chains purposely layer foods with FSS (fat, sugar and salt) to make them “hyper tasty”.

These taste sensations of food-likeproducts act more like a reward and thus the reward system of the brain gets involved and over-rides the part of the brain that stops us when we are full. Evidence shows that weight gain is primarily due to over-eating. Here’s an example from a rat study:

Rats fed a high-fat diet did not over eat.
Rats fed a high-fat and high-sugar diet overate and became obese

When we eat a high-fat, high-sugar, and high-salt diet we will eat excessively. I know you know what I am talking about! So watch out – the food industry is manipulating our palates and our minds to get us to eat more so they will make more money!

Hyper-tasty foods are designed to impact emotions to over-ride the brain’s natural “balance” system.

The food industry understands the connection between the brain and food. Here’s what happens when you eat something sweet or have something chocolate.

Your brain’s pleasure pathways are stimulated
Endorphins are released, your body’s natural pain reliever
This gives food its pleasure and helps keep us eating

That’s why the food industry focuses so much attention on taste. The amount of sugar in today’s food goes way beyond what we have experienced naturally and causes us to desire it even more. So READ THOSE LABELS and check out the sugar and carb content, especially with cereals that we and our kids all seem to be addicted to. I wonder why?

Here’s a great tell-all book if you want to explore this issue further. The End of Overeating by David Kessler

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=end+of+overeating+by+david+kessler&sprefix=End+of+O%2Cstripbooks%2C412

Check out this resource on my website if you want to come to grips with sugar addiction. We have another group starting March 5 if you want to join.

www.resetweightlosscoach.usana.com

Thanks for reading this important information because the health issues for pets and their owners are the same based on this overload of “high-glycemic” carbs. Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease. Looks like we really are in this together!

Stay tuned for our next installment.

Gracie and Carol Ebert

carol@creatingwellnesscultures.com

www.resetweightlosscoach.usana.com

Join Carol’s FAN page on Facebook by clicking http://tinyurl.com/wellnesscultures

A New Weigh for Carol’s Cat

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:39:17 +0000

Thanks for watching this.

Gracie Ebert

(I’m the cat’s meow!)

Here’s how to connect with my weight loss buddy Carol Ebert.

carol@creatingwellnesscultures.com

www.resetweightlosscoach.usana.com

Join Carol’s FAN page on Facebook by clicking http://tinyurl.com/wellnesscultures

Gracie Cat Has Rude A-weight-ening!

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:02:43 +0000

Hi and Meow!

My name is Gracie and I live with Carol and Bill. I know they love me dearly because they show it by feeding me endlessly and letting me eat whatever I want and whenever I want. This makes me very happy! HOWEVER, I have noticed that my hair-clothes are fitting more snugly, and my belly swings when I try to run. Actually, I don’t try to run much because I don’t seem to have the energy for it. In fact, I’m tired all the time and sleep most of the day. I’m a slug! Just look at me!

So – I decided that maybe if I lose a few pounds I can get my energy back and get more exercise, and maybe feel better. Plus I would like to be more fit so I can win more battles with that younger cat Annie who pesters me all the time, and is quicker than I am right now so I can’t catch up with her after she bops me.

So I have decided to open up my personal life to you and blog about my 30 day weight loss journey that will start soon. Carol created a very interesting program for the 2 of us to lose weight together. It’s called Paws 4 Wellness (Get it? I have 4 paws!) Carol is a wellness specialist and has helped humans successfully lose weight for years so she knows what works. Now she is going to take her expertise and add it to the La Crescent Animal Care Veterinary Clinic here in Minnesota who know how to help pets lose weight, and they are going to help me slim down while Carol and their staff do the same. How cool is that?

Please stay tuned and I will share my journey with you.

Oh yes – if you want to join in with me, just let me know and I will help you get started as well. Tell your pets all about this too, because you need to have a buddy to join. Deadline to join Paws 4 Wellness is January 18!

Thanks for reading this.

Gracie Ebert

(I’m the cat’s meow!)

carol@creatingwellnesscultures.com

www.resetweightlosscoach.usana.com

Join Carol’s FAN page on Facebook by clicking http://tinyurl.com/wellnesscultures

Boomer Wellness Retirement Zone

“Carbed Up” Cats and Canines – Why are Fluffy and Fido so fatigued and fat – and us too?

A New Weigh for Carol’s Cat

Gracie Cat Has Rude A-weight-ening!