Can Cats Tell Us Something About Weight?

This was an interesting article from Jonny Bowden's Blog.

To read the full article: http://jonnybowdenblog.com/can-cats-tell-us-something-about-weight-you-bet/

Synopsis: Manufacturers never put the caloric content on the label of dog food or cat food. They do, however, tell you how many cups or cans to feed your animal companion, and guess what- it’s always more than they need. Animal food manufacturers are no different than human food manufacturers. They’re in the business of selling food and they want you to use a lot of it.

Based on health professionals around the country, the formula that keeps coming up for weight loss is really simple: take your goal weight and multiply by 10. A 145-pound woman who wants to lose a couple of pounds would be well advised to aim for no more than 1450 calories, and that’s with exercise! Most caloric calculators available on the internet would calculate the caloric need at 1700+ calories.

Remember, it’s a lot easier to feel full and satisfied- and get all your nutritional needs met- if you eat the human equivalent of you cat's or dog’s expensive chow rather than the cheap supermarket brand. That means high-nutrient foods like lean proteins, tons of vegetables, healthy fat (no trans-fats) and some fruits.

And before you say you’d starve on so few calories, think about this - every species studied so far has extended life by cutting calories by about 25%.

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I must admit I don't count calories, it's not intuitive to me. I've wanted to focus on changing my choices and habits so I naturally lose and maintain weight. I weigh myself every day so I can see when I'm fluxuating out of my normal range and then I can make small adjustments, not large ones. I do know that I eat much less now than a year ago. And I still indulge now and then in 'poison' foods. I still enjoy my wine. Mark and I will still have pizza now and then.

What's fascinating is that I don't walk around hungry, in fact, I feel more satisfied and feel like I have more energy.