Fruits and Veggies for Weight Loss: Fuel Your Day and Share Safely With Your Dog

How produce can help you build satisfying meals, fuel a walk or run, and offer your dog a safe little taste.

Hi Reader,

Yesterday we talked about carbohydrates and why they deserve a place in our bowls. Today, let’s head to the produce aisle. check out yesterday's post here....

Fruits and vegetables can help with weight loss because their water and fiber add volume to meals. They can help you feel satisfied, especially when they replace some higher-calorie ingredients or snacks. Simply adding fruit on top of everything you already eat won’t necessarily change your weight. What matters is how it fits into your whole day.

I’ve been vegan for years, but you don’t have to be vegan to make this work. Add berries to breakfast. Put vegetables in a rice and tofu bowl. Keep an apple handy when you want something sweet. Fresh, frozen, and canned produce can all make this easier.

For us: build a meal that satisfies

Please don’t think eating more produce means giving up foods you love. I’m from Long Island—I understand the pull of a good New York bagel! A bagel and a banana can both have a place in an active life. They serve different purposes, and the useful question is what you need at that moment.

Here are five easy ways to put produce to work:

Add volume to a meal. Mix vegetables into rice, lentils, or tofu. Keep the protein and a satisfying portion of carbohydrates.

Choose whole fruit when you can. An apple or a bowl of berries keeps the fiber that juice often lacks.

Notice the extras. A plain baked sweet potato and a sweet potato casserole are different dishes. Sauces and toppings are part of the meal, too.

Use convenient options. Frozen vegetables and fruit without added sugar count. Your produce drawer does not have to be perfect.

Enjoy portions that satisfy you. Dried fruit is handy, but a small amount packs more calories than the same volume of fresh fruit.

If you’re heading out for a run

Timing matters as much as the food itself. An apple or a bean-filled meal may sound wonderful earlier in the day. If I’m running within the next hour, I’m more likely to choose a smaller, familiar snack that’s easier on my stomach than a large salad or a lot of dried fruit.

There isn’t one fiber cutoff that works for every runner. Pay attention to what your stomach tolerates, particularly before a harder workout.

After a longer or harder run, produce can join the recovery meal, but it doesn’t have to do the whole job. I might have a baked sweet potato with tofu and vegetables, or fruit alongside a soy-based protein food.

Now, about the teammate beside the cutting board

Freedom may be interested in what I’m preparing, but we don’t need identical plates. A few pieces of dog-safe produce can be a treat. Her regular food should provide her main nutrition, and a dog who needs to lose weight deserves a feeding plan worked out with a veterinarian.

Some foods we can both enjoy—in very different portions—include plain cooked sweet potato, green beans, carrots, cucumber, banana, blueberries, and apple flesh without the core or seeds. Set your dog’s portion aside before adding sauces, salt, onion, or garlic. Wash produce, cut it into pieces your dog can chew safely, and introduce one new food at a time.

All treats and extras together should stay within about 10% of your dog’s daily calories. That means calories, not 10% of the food in the bowl.

The produce we don’t share

Never give dogs grapes, raisins, sultanas, or grape-derived currants. They can cause serious kidney injury, and there is no reliable safe amount. Check trail mix, baked goods, and even raisin bagels before a curious nose gets there.

Let me add even on walks...even though in the movie "You've Got Mail!, Tom Hanks character says his dog likes to find bits and pieces of if not mistaken bagels and pizza on the sidewalk- keep an eye out on what your dogs find on the sidewalk (I am sure his character- Joe Fox was aware of what his dog was sniffing out after all he was able to say bits of bagel and pizza!- So good job Tom Hanks by having your character, Joe Fox lead (pun intended) by example!)

Keep onions, garlic, chives, and leeks away from your dog, too. These can damage red blood cells, including when cooked, dried, or powdered. Cherry pits also pose a choking or blockage risk, so I’d choose an easier fruit to share. And although avocado flesh presents different concerns from grapes, avocado is one I’d be cautious of as the skin and pit can be toxic, the pit is especially dangerous.

If your dog eats grapes, raisins, or another potentially dangerous food,

contact your veterinarian or ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 promptly. Don’t wait for symptoms.

One healthy choice for each of us

For us, fruits and vegetables can help make meals satisfying while we work toward a healthy weight and fuel our activity. For our dogs, a safe piece can be a small part of treat time. We get to enjoy the routine together, with portions that fit each of us.

Your Turn, What fruit or vegetable do you enjoy—and does your dog wait hopefully for a piece? Hit reply and tell me what’s in your bowl and theirs.

One foot, one paw at a time,

Until next time have a happy and healthy tail wagging day,

Pam and Freedom

Doggone Healthy Choices

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