So, on a lighter note, instead of doing my regular food post, I thought I would take the opportunity to do a fun post on exercise. Yes, I used exercise and fun in the same sentence! No groaning; hang with me here - there's something for you at the end ;)
Many of us feel the need to have an exercise buddy when we first start a fitness program. I'll admit, I had friends lined up almost every day of the week to go for a walk with me when I first began to include exercise in my weight loss journey. It was nice to have company and helped keep me accountable. As I would walk on the fitness trail near my home, I noticed that quite a few people had their dogs either walking or running with them. It never dawned on me before that my dog, Rocky, could have been my exercise buddy, too! We all know the benefits of exercise for ourselves which include weight loss or weight maintenance, heart health and stress management. Turns out, those same exercise benefits apply to our pets, too.
I recently came across this article on Sparkpeople and this article on Weight Watchers.com about exercising with your dog. There was a study done by the University of Missouri-Columbia that discovered their participants that walked with a dog on a regular schedule, building up to 20 minutes per day, 5 days per week ended up losing an average of 14 pounds per person! And let's not forget about the pooches! Another study done at Northwest Memorial Hospital's Wellness Institute found that obese people who tried losing weight with their overweight dogs lost an average of 11 pounds in a year and their dogs lost 16% of their body weight!!
We can bring our dogs along for any outdoor physical activity whether it's hiking, backpacking, jogging or running. We'll get some heart healthy exercise and so will our dogs; plus we'll have a fun time and lose weight! So, in honor of May being Physical Fitness Month, my uber cool friends at DogToys.com offered to do a giveaway of some items to encourage you and your pup to get fit this month! The items included in this giveaway are...
How awesome is that??!! We got a chance to try out a Zisc with our dog, Rocky...
We ran around the yard with it, playing fetch, chase and tug of war...
He won! 
He had a blast and so did we! Plus, we got all got some good heart pumping exercise in!
Now, all you have to do to win this fabulous giveaway(worth over $30) is...
- Leave me a comment telling me what kind of dog you have and his/her name,
- For an extra entry, link back to this post on your blog(make sure to send me an email to margizz@comcast.net with the link to your post)
- If you don't have a blog, no worries. Just send me an email.
I'll choose a winner via Random Number Integer on Friday, May 8 @ 12:00 p.m. EST. Again, USA only (sorry guys!). Good luck to everyone!
Have a great night and I'll see you tomorrow for my regularly scheduled program ;D
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28 comments:
That's a great giveaway! I've been walking my labs a lot in the last few weeks. They were such troppers walking all the way from our house to their grandma's house on the other side of the city 4 miles away! I was suprised how well the did even with the traffic, starts/stop, other dogs, etc! They are getting sooo good at walking with me now.
That is so cool, sorry no dogs here but thought the stuff was neat :).
This is great! Toby & Andy (cocker spaniel & husband respectively) come with me every Monday on my walk to my WW meeting!
Thanks for the awesome giveaway, Marisa! My new puppy's name is Charleston and he's a Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier. :) I will link back in my next post and be sure to email you!
Thanks again!
Kaneil, balanceisbest
What a great giveaway! I have a Collie named Shannon, a sheltie named Brisbie and a shih tzu named Rusty. :)
Mr. Bones and I would love to win this great prize!!! He loves to frisbee.
cool giveaway! I have 2 pups....a silky terrier (Coco Chanel) and a Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix (Emma LaRue)! That's funny because just the other day my mom was saying Coco looked heavier, so I've been walking about 30 minutes with the dogs every day.
The dogs look soo cute!
What a great idea! Love it! I've posted a link on my blog.
We have a lhasa-poo (more poo than lhasa). His name is Bailey. We got him right after DH's accident and he became like a little therapy dog for him. Now he is totally our "baby" and definitely the leader of the pack in this house!
What a cool giveaaway! I have a 1 year old mini dachshund named Chloe, who loves to walk with me around our neighborhood.
We have a Chihuahua named Bambi. He likes to go on walks somethings but hates his collar. It sounds like a wonderful giveaway.
What a great giveaway! I get in about 3,600 steps a day from walking my dog. He requires the walking though, so I never count it as excercise.
BTW-Ya'll have an AMAZING yard! Someday I hope to have a big huge yard for my Sammie (a rescue dog-Anatolian Shepherd mix) to run around on :)
You have tasty eats on your blog everyday too lady! I'm always getting great ideas from your posts, especially about actually eating my leftovers.
What a wonderful giveaway! My dogs (2 goldens and 1 lab mix) love Frisbee! They each carry around the outer shell of the only Frisbee we have left in the house (they like to tear out the inside sometimes...). Thanks! Julie
I don't have a dog so I cannot enter the giveaway. But, I couldn't resist commenting on how CUTE Rocky is!! I am allergic to all animals - booo, but, always wish I could "rent a dog" to exercise with :)
Great post!
Thanks for adding me to your blog roll and good luck in my Annie's Mac & Cheese Giveaway!
What a great giveaway!!
My dog is a minature schnauzer who quite honestly may be offended that he could win a "dog basket"--he is a little unaware that HE is a dog!!. However Jaxson Bo would most likely "come around" :~)
ajlivingit@yahoo.com
Such a cool giveaway..and I just found your awesome blog :) My dog is a 14 month old Weimaraner (giant grey baby) named (New) Jersey :) She's feature on my blog 'drinking' a beer :)
Sara
ps) Jersey's longest run so far was a 6 miler at about a 9min mile pace. She was basically walking, I was hauling tushy! :)
I have a lab her name is Chloe and she is only 6 months old. She is a hand full but I love her.
Love the giveaway idea! My girl Cecilia is my walking companion. She's a mix, but I call her my coyote dog.
Sorry to hear about your friend's dad passing away. So sad. (((hugs)))
I don't have a dog, but my neighbor's pooch likes to walk alongside me when I go around the neighborhood. His name is Buddy - although I call him Seven - and he's a mix of this and that. Heh.
I don't have a dog. But Rocky is SOOOOO cute!!! Great post!
ohhh sign us up! by us i mean me, my entlebucher mix puppy penelope, and my basset hound randy. i also have a shiba inu (ronin) and a pit/lab mix (nalla) that live with me. it is a full house of dogs! i will link back to this in my next post. :) thanks for doing a pooch giveaway!
That's a fantastic giveaway. I have a black lab, Jazzy and a German Shorthaired Pointer, Greta. They both love to swim and be outdoors.
My Dog is a lab mix. He is almost one and this is his first summer! His name is Zuko and he and I would love to win!!!
ooooh! what a great giveaway!
I have a white-is shih-tzu named lilly!
I have a chocolate lab-her name is Mocha. Thanks for the giveaway!
What a great giveaway!!
I have a Pom-A-Poo (mix of a Pomeranian and a poodle) and her name is Abby and she loves to run with me!!
I have a pitbull mix named niblet...she's so cute she has a hairlip:)-monica
rideit4@comcast.net
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