Mental Health and Life Lessons

Here's How Amanda Lost Visceral Fat and Improved Her Health with Love of Dogs

A sedentary, poor, and anxious person’s experience of long walks reveals remarkable health, well-being, and financial benefits via serendipitous encounters.

Amanda’s Fat Loss Journey with Lovely Dogs

A German Shepherd dog named Hope brought hope to Amanda’s life.

It would have never occurred to me that a dog and a smartwatch could be the catalyst to a transformed life, said Amanda emotionally when I met her during a joint dog walk session.

Since childhood, Amanda had developed a special bond with dogs, particularly German Shepherds, that she first encountered on her grandparent’s farm in Shepperton, a small town in Victoria state, Australia.

Amanda’s parents used to live in the Western suburbs of Melbourne, operating their small family fish and chips shop. She had to help her parents during the school holidays.

However, she constantly desired to visit the farm, where she felt lively and joyful watching the animals grazing and playing with dogs. City life was not appealing to Amanda. Conversely, her parents preferred to live in a city, so she had no choice.

Amanda grew up as a chubby and introverted kid affecting her self-esteem. She couldn’t make friends. Even her best friends disappointed her several times, criticizing her physical look overtly.

Finally, she broke up with them and kept her distance from other kids in school. She did not want to go to college, to her parent’s disappointment. Her older brother, who became a mechanical engineer to their parent’s pride, was just the opposite of Amanda.

Since she did not go to college during the recession times in the early 1990s in Australia, Amanda couldn’t find a job. The only option was to work in her parent’s fish and chips shop. She did not like doing the same thing every day.

The smell of frying oil always disturbed her subconsciously. S

Amanda always dreamed of living on the farm. Unfortunately, in their late 80s, her grandparents couldn’t operate the farm anymore, and they had to sell it and go to a retirement home. Amanda’s dreams were shattered.

Setbacks never left Amanda alone. A few years later, her mum was diagnosed with breast cancer, and her dad had to have coronary artery bypass surgery, so they had to close their family business.

With his German girlfriend, her brother moved to Frankfurt, Germany, for an executive engineering job as there were no good-paying jobs for mechanical engineers, even good ones like his, who graduated with high distinction in Australia.

Amanda has become a carer for her parents surviving her life with a pension paid by the Australian government. One day her neighbors invited Amanda to visit the lost dog home in Burwood, a leading animal welfare charity in Australia.

When Amanda saw rescued dogs in the shelter, she couldn’t stop her tears. And suddenly, she noticed a German Shepherd looking into her eyes which put her in a euphoric state. This particular moment opened a window to a new life for Amanda.

With a small donation, Amanda adopted this beautiful German Shepherd dog which she fell in love with at first sight. Her neighbors put the dog in their semi-trailers and brought it to her home.

Nothing so far has made Amanda so happy in her life. She found a soul mate she connected with spiritually, mentally, and physically at multiple levels. She named the dog Hope.

It was Amanda’s 21st birthday. Her uncle, who worked in a tech company, gave her a smartwatch as a birthday present to her. 21st birthdays are special in Australia.

Her uncle afforded this expensive watch as he purchased it at a discounted price given by his company. This was another window opening to a new life for Amanda.

Her neighbor’s 12-year-old kid, Alan, loved playing with dogs. He visited Amanda frequently to play with Hope. Alan was a gifted kid who was tech-savvy. He helped Amanda use the smartwatch effectively, collect data, and see details in graphs on her mobile phone.

When she was watching the website of a smartwatch company, she came across an article about the benefits of 10,000 steps for fitness and how one can implement it in life. This article opened another window to a new life for Amanda.

She followed the suggestions in the article and started walking at least 10,000 steps with Hope daily. This new regime turned out to be a habit motivating Amanda to walk consistently with joy and happiness. After a few months, Amanda’s fitness significantly improved. She lost a few kilos of fat and felt terrific.

Moreover, while walking with Hope, she met many dog owners with whom she started building friendships. During these meaningful interactions, her social skills improved. She was not shy anymore.

Dogs are lovely animals that help people connect easily. Whenever people saw her while walking with Hope, they greeted her by saying, “a beautiful dog,” and started a conversation. Hope was a docile German Sheppard who behaved affectionately.

At the age of 15, Alan became a young digital entrepreneur. Then, one day when they were walking with Hope, Alan gave a brilliant idea to Amanda. He offered her to create a free website to advertise a new dog walking service for Amanda. This serendipitous conversation opened another window to a new life. The beautiful dog Hope was bringing hope to Amanda’s life.

In addition, Alan designed a pamphlet advertising Amanda’s new dog-walking service for neighbors. Amanda and Alan distributed the pamphlets to neighbors’ mailboxes in the adjacent suburbs.

Interestingly, there were only a few dog walkers in the suburb, especially German Shepherd dogs, as they were perceived as vicious dogs. But Amanda had a special connection with these types of dogs. She particularly found them as gentle companions.

Within a few months, she had many inquiries. Amanda set a small fee of $10 per hour for her service. She started by walking three German Shepherd dogs per day, giving her a chance to complete her three-hour walking, giving her at least 10,000 steps each day.

Her fitness substantially improved. Her anxiety reduced, and she became a more joyful and cheerful person.

When I shared a scientific paper from the Metabolism journal on a clinical study of the efficacy of a pedometer-based physical activity, Amanda studied it in detail and understood the health benefits of a disciplined walking practice daily.

At the age of 18, Alan started a new company and offered Amanda to scale her small dog walking business as a partner with him. Another remarkable window was opened, predicting a new life for Amanda.

The beautiful Hope and brilliant Alan were bringing luck that Amanda lacked in her childhood.

Alan designed a start-up dog walking and training company for Amanda employing several dog walkers and trainers. They later extended it by integrating with dog rescue organizations.

While the business grew and made her financially independent, Amanda’s health and social life significantly improved. She was not dependent on a government pension anymore.

After several years, Amanda’s small business started booming and became a unicorn company. Then, her mum and dad got older and needed special care. So, with her growing funds, she managed to secure a luxurious retirement home for her parents.

Over the years, when Amanda gradually increased to 20,000 steps a day with daily dog walking, she transformed her health to a new level giving her excellent fitness and astounding physics. Her fitness and physic also improved her mood and overall mental health.

Amanda shared this beautiful story and elaborated on it during our dog-walking sessions. My special dog, Gingo, a mixed Dingo and German Sheppard, got along well with Hope.

We walked and talked a lot about serendipitous encounters in life for several years. Unfortunately, my beloved Gingo died from a terrible accident, giving me emotional trauma for several years. However, Hope lived many more years, bringing hope to Amanda’s life.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

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