Having trouble losing weight? You may have more success if you get your spouse or significant other to join you in your efforts. Research shows that couples who live together often mirror each other in terms of weight gain and taking the extra pounds off may be easier if they approach losing weight as a team.
Losing Weight is Easier as a Couple
According to a study carried out in Australia, couples who join forces to lose weight were more successful than those who tackled the challenges of weight loss alone. They came to this conclusion after following couples for 4 months that had recently moved in together. The couples that lost weight together were not only more successful at taking off the pounds; they were more likely to have maintained their weight loss a year later. This is true not only for weight loss but for other healthy lifestyle changes. Approaching it as a couple increased their chances of success.
Why is weight loss easier as a couple? Couples usually eat together, and if one person is enjoying a pizza and an order of French fries, it makes it harder for the other person to stick to eating healthy, especially if one person cooks the meals. Exercise is another part of the weight loss equation, and it’s more difficult to get motivated when your partner is curled up in front of the television munching on a bowl of popcorn. One person in a relationship can even feel threatened by their partner’s commitment to losing weight and subtly try to sabotage their efforts. It creates a more supportive environment when both parties make positive lifestyle changes that lead to weight loss. Trips to the gym together can also bring a couple closer, and they may discover fitness activities such as running, cycling or tennis they enjoy doing together.
Weight Loss and Marriage
People often joke that marriage makes you fatter, but there’s truth to this idea. According to a study published in the Journal of Obesity Research, people do gain weight after marriage. This is partially because married couples don’t feel the same urgency to stay slender to please the opposite sex once they’re in a committed relationship. They feel more secure having found a mate and may be less inclined to exercise and eat healthily. Couples that live together without marrying are less likely to gain weight, and couples who divorce often lose weight as they re-enter the dating pool. Marriage does significantly boost the odds of a couple gaining weight.
How to Approach Weight Loss as a Team
Turn weight loss into a game, but instead of competing against one another see how much weight you can lose as a couple over a 3-month period. Add your total weights together, and see how much you can take off of the total over 90 days. Take photos as a couple before you start, and re-take them every 3 months to monitor your progress. Find more active ways to spend time together. Instead of going to a movie, go out dancing on the weekends. Take up an active sport such as hiking, bicycling or running. Train for a marathon together. If you don’t agree that you want to join a gym, get exercise DVDs and work out as a couple at home.
Explore new restaurants that offer healthier fare and grocery shop together while learning to choose healthier food alternatives. Take a healthy cooking class together, and discover the joys of preparing your own healthy gourmet dishes at home.
Weight loss may be a challenge, but it’s more fun to approach it as a couple. It also increases the chance of taking the weight off and keeping it off permanently. Do it as a team.
References:
Weight Watchers. “The Link Between Couples and Weight”
Health Educ. Res. 1999: 14: 269-88.
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