6 Ways to Avoid Weight Gain in Your Relationship
The majority of women enjoy being in a relationship, but a large number of them also gain weight in relationships. Research has found that although relationships cause weight gain in women, it causes weight loss among men, especially within the first year of the relationship. 6,000 women were followed for ten years in a study recently mentioned in the New York Times. Women with partners who had children gained an average of 20 pounds, while women in relationships who didn’t have children gained an average of 15 pounds. The single women who were compared to the women in relationships gained considerably less than that within the ten years followed. Having children of course risks all women’s chances of gaining weight. However, this could not explain what happens when women are childless and gain weight within relationships.
The researchers of this study offered reasons for weight gain among women when they are in relationships:
Social life: when you are in a relationship there is a higher likelihood that you go out with friends, and eating out is linked to more calories. Women love to socialize and many times when they’re engaged in conversation they also eat mindlessly.
Being in a relationship with kids means more cooking, and dealing with other household chores for women. These chores cause stress and women may manage stress with snacking.
Working moms may not be able to go to the gym with the same consistency as when they were single.
Are women in relationships doomed? Does “with this ring I thee wed,” mean you have to pack on the pounds as well? Being aware that this phenomenon does happen and that it happens many times without your noticing is the first step. The second step is to make plans for you not to be in the statistic of weight gain in a relationship. The following suggestions can help you enjoy your relationship without gaining weight:
Cook healthy meals together. Both partners live healthier lives when they are eating healthy foods.
As much as possible combine exercise into your daily routine. Ten minutes in the morning, at lunch time and in the evening with a walk after dinner ends up to be 30 minutes of exercise each day. It becomes more manageable when we break it down into small increments of time.
Women who have hobbies or healthy ways to relieve stress turn less to food for comfort.
Make your time together more about doing activities with each other and friends rather than going out to dinner where you sit and eat.
Go through a healthy pregnancy together with your partner. You are not eating for two when you are pregnant. In fact, eating a healthy balanced diet is one thing you can do that will benefit your baby’s life. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy is harmful for your baby and you.
Mentoring a healthy life style including diet and exercise helps prevent childhood obesity. New obesity research reveals that if your child is overweight at age five, there is a higher likelihood that they will suffer from weight related illness throughout their life. Give your children the best start possible.
Weight gain for women in relationships is not inevitable, but is likely unless you take active steps and commit to a healthy lifestyle. When partners work together toward living a healthy lifestyle everyone wins.