What is Relationship Weight Gain and How to Avoid it?
Entering a new relationship with your potential soulmate is a beautiful thing. Nevertheless, it brings numerous changes to your lifestyle, including your eating habits. Falling in love often causes those pretty and warm fuzzies and butterflies in your tummy, but it also causes weight gain. Relationship weight gain is now a real thing (and it may be more common than you’d think); many couples experience gaining weight after entering a relationship for many reasons. The primary one may be the fact that you don’t feel pressured to look perfect anymore, you start getting too comfortable with your significant other, and your health habits may end up flying out the window. Still, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to choose between being in a relationship and being healthy and keeping your weight under control.
To conquer this challenge, it’s vital to understand what triggers relationship weight and how you can prevent it. Medical experts from a weight loss clinic point out that weight gain shouldn’t be considered in terms of aesthetics only; moreover, the health of both you and your new partner should be a priority. They suggest you follow these following few tips to avoid gaining relationship weight:
- Don’t let your previous wellness routine slip away.
Let’s be honest; it can be quite tempting to switch your morning jogs for a stay-in-bed cuddle. And it is okay to skip a workout now and then if you feel like spending more time with your new partner. However, the women’s center suggests to stay conscious about it and not let your healthy habits slip away. Suppose you had established a healthy lifestyle (in terms of a nutritionally balanced diet and an exercise regimen) prior to entering the relationship. In that case, there’s no need to give it all up. Even if there’s no more pressure on you to look on point all the time and not gain a single pound, keep in mind that compromising both your health and appearance won’t do any good to neither you nor your significant other.Â
- Introduce that routine to your new partner.
In case your partner was on the opposite side before entering the relationship – meaning if they hadn’t been working out or eating healthy, you could start introducing them to your wellness routine. Your partner may prefer Doritos over a handful of protein-packed nuts, and that’s okay. There’s no need to criticize them or make them feel bad about themselves. Instead, you can use your meal-prepping skills and introduce them to a tasty version of each veggie, accompanied by some lean protein and healthy fats. By showing them how healthy can also mean delicious, you’ll increase the chances of developing an interest in a more nutritious diet.
- Prepare your meals together (instead of dining out repeatedly).
It’s not uncommon for new couples to start dining out more than usual; getting dressed up and ordering a meal in a fancy restaurant or simply ordering in often sounds more appealing when you’re in a relationship. However, keep in mind that restaurant food usually contains too many calories or too much fat and sodium. If you make dining out a habit, you’ll most likely start experiencing weight gain as well. To prevent it, you can switch some of your restaurant dates to stay-ins and prepare your own nutritionally balanced (and yummy) meals. By doing so, you’ll be in complete control of all the ingredients and portion sizes.
- Consider working out together.
Whether either of you had been working out before you entered the relationship or not, now that you’re together is a perfect time to start exercising together as well. That way, you’ll be spending some quality time while strongly supporting each other to achieve your fitness goals. Even if you feel like skipping the gym today, your significant one can cheer you up and motivate you to keep going.
