I wanted to bring this article to my buddies' attention and see what you guys think.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/06/21/gym_contest.html

Basically, the article is about a competition at Gold's Gym based heavily on the Biggest Loser television show, which, for those of you who don't know, inspires its contestants to lose significant amounts of weight through vigorous exercise and healthy eating.

The article features two contestants of the Gold's competition who said they lost a great deal of weight for the competition, competing against one another and others in the gym for a prize check of about $1,000.

After the competition had ended, though, they did not receive their checks and have a bitter taste in their mouth for Gold's.

In my opionion, yes, it is terrible to have the potential for $1,000 cash dangling over your head as you push your body in a challenge with the prize in mind. But these two achieved their weight loss goals and then some, and they are concerned about scolding Gold's in the news?

I think they should be proud of what they have accomplished, and though Gold's should not be proud of making empty promises to these people, they should be proud that they helped transform their lives.

What do you think?

I thought I would share the following with you buddies so that you know you are not alone, and even man's best friend could drop a few pounds.

Dr. Grace Long is a veterinarian and director of veterinary technical marketing for Nestle Purina, the popular dog and cat chow maker, out of St. Louis, MO. She is involved with a new challenge that asks veterinary clinics to encourage their patients, both cats and dogs to lose weight.

According to Long, about 40% of cats and dogs are overweight, which can lead to a plethora of problems for your pets. "It's not recent, it's just getting worse," Long said. "It's sort of like people."

Like people, she said, when an animal is overweight it can have significant damaging effects on their health. What sort of health effects? In dogs, she said being obese can lead to arthritis, joint problems and mobility problems. In cats, obesity can actually lead to Diabetes.

The Diabetes cats can have as a result of obesity is very similar to adult onset Diabetes in people, Long said. However, there is hope for your fat cat. "If you can get them to lose weight, it can go into a remission and they would not need insulin," she said.

Long said the trouble is that in cats, obesity is less recognizeable, or perhaps less of an alarming issue.

"They just think it's sort of cute," she said of cat owners who do not realize their pet's weight can be damaging to their life.

Whether you have a dog or a cat, there is a few things that you, as an owner can do, Long said."The pet owner controls how much food they put in the animal's bowl," she said, "When we're on the diet, we can flip to the refridgerator whenever we want."

Another suggestion is to exercise your pet (which actually exercises yourself at the same time-what do ya know!). "Just like people, the more you exercise, the mopre calories you're going to burn."

Long said this is also a really good opportunity to bond with your pet.

Like with people, Long also recommends monthly check-ups with the veterinarian to make sure your pet is on a healthy weight loss track.

So, what can we learn from fluffy and spot? All of us should shoot for a healthy weight to avoid future problems, whether we have tails or walk on two legs :)

For more information on the Purina weight loss challenge, visit www.purinaveterinarydiets.com.