So, there’s a lot of controversy about weight gain and relationships. Is this true? What can we do to avoid being part of a statistic? According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a study conducted on how marital satisfaction impacts weight gain in early marriage and presented the conclusion that spouses in satisfying relationships tend to relax their efforts in maintaining a healthy weight because they are no longer motivated to attract a mate. However, there are things that we can do to prevent a situation where weight can take over your life and which can cause long-term health problems.
Activities with your significant other….
Instead of turning to food when enjoying the company of your partner, you can choose to be proactive and find physical activities to participate in together as a way to spend quality time together. This can be a bit challenging for most couples when one person is active or athletic and the other one is not. There are many options out there which range from low impact to high impact so couples can find activities which provide common ground. Activities that can engage both couples are things like; hiking, biking, taking a leisurely walk in the park, attending classes such as yoga, meditation, pilates or even cycling. There are a ton of classes that are available which are offered inside and outside of the gym.
Eat out less…
Yes, this can be easy to do during the week but when the weekend comes it can be tricky. So, to bypass this temptation try to plan and make your meals ahead of time so that you can dodge the fast food places or restaurants. This can be fun at the same time trying to do dinner or meal prep with your partner plus you save money in the long run.
Try to spread the word out….
Sometimes motivation is lacking, and you say to yourself, “I’m comfortable in this relationship the gym can wait.” This will just cause weight gain and feeling guilt after taking the last bite of a hamburger or seeing the scale just go up in numbers. Maybe the solution is to make a change for yourself and start being proactive about things instead of waiting for a health issue to occur. Pick a day out of the week and start a group workout session with your family or friends and get everyone involved. This can be a simple as a walk for an hour at the park or biking from one point to the other.
Ultimately, we live in a harsh society where we are judged at times because of our appearance and when we have gained weight because of the relationship we are in. We as people can make a change individually and influence others that may need help. Let’s try to make a change and not be that statistic that states the weight gain and relationships have a link. A healthy relationship is a pleasant relationship.