Fit for Love Part 4: Getting on Track

By Ashley McIlwain

Despite recent studies showing that couples are two times as likely to become obese after marriage, there is hope. While comfort, inactivity, and crazy lifestyles can lead to couples collectively packing on some extra pounds, there is the flipside to that. Couples can work together to lose weight and stay fit, accountable, and healthy.

Team Up

There is a tremendous amount of potential to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you and your spouse are willing to team up. Tackle the goal of healthy living together. When one of you is struggling to stay motivated, the other can be a source of strength and encouragement. Set specific goals by putting your heads together to come up with the best plan of attack. If you have children, one of you can watch them so that your counterpart can go work out, make a meal, or just do some personal grooming and care. Come together for healthy meal planning and developing an exercise schedule. Keep each other accountable while affirming one another with their efforts.

It’s important to encourage one another on this journey. In my own weight loss and fitness excursion, it always meant so much to me when my husband would tell me how good I looked. Those comments kept me going on the days where I felt like I was getting nowhere or that the whole thing was pointless. Knowing my husband cared and appreciated my efforts to take care of myself meant so much to me, and you can be that source of encouragement for your spouse too. Keep spurring one another on remembering the goal is to be healthy and the best version of you possible.

One of the many benefits of marriage is that you have the advantage of always having two of you working together on something. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says it this way, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, it two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.” Use the unique and wonderful relationship you have with your spouse to maintain your health and care for yourselves in the way you deserve to.

Be Aware

When I first started my fitness plan, the biggest surprise came with counting calories. My eyes were opened wide to how ignorant I previously was about what I was feeding myself. Sauces I would douse my food with were 140 calories for a tablespoon. Snacks I was sitting down with were high in fat and low in nutrition. There were so many things I would eat that were terribly unhealthy and fattening for me, but I didn’t even realize it because I had never paid attention.

Once I started counting calories and coming up with a meal plan I could stick with, I quickly realized how vital being aware was. Simply taking the time to look at the nutrition information quickly proved to be my first and best line of defense in moving toward a healthy lifestyle. Why would I choose a barbecue sauce that is 120 calories a tablespoon when I could have an equally delicious one for forty five? Opening my eyes and paying attention to something as simple as labels made a world of difference in my selection of foods, condiments, and beverages.

The great thing is that there are a lot of options out there these days to help you to eat healthier and smarter. The best part is that most of these healthier alternatives may cut the calories but not the flavor. It’s just a matter of taking the time to examine and think about what you are putting in your mouth. Awareness is a crucial and extremely beneficial step to living a healthy life, especially when it comes to the nutrition portion.

Experts Weigh In

On Is Your Marriage Making You Fat?, a recent Dr. Oz episode, a Weight Watchers representative listed three keys to a couples’ weight loss.

  1. Focus on Percentages Not Pounds – Men and women lose weight differently because our bodies are created to function differently. This can discourage a lot of women who attempt to lose pound for pound with their male counterpart. Instead, Weight Watchers suggests a way to “even the playing field,” by setting your weight loss goal in terms of percentages not pounds. For example: John weighs 210 pounds and Jane weighs 166 pounds. Their weight loss target is 10% of their overall weight putting John’s goal in pounds at twenty-one and Jane’s at sixteen. Now they are facing the same target with allowances for their appropriate biological differences.
  2. Livability and Flexibility – Figure out a plan that’s practical that the two of you that can fit into your everyday life. If you need a little boost getting started, a program like Weight Watchers helps create a specific yet tailored meal and exercise plan for you while providing a support group to keep you encouraged and accountable.
  3. Plan as a Team – Communicate with one another, work at this process together, and develop the skills necessary to accomplish your goals as a collective unit.

It may be easy to gain weight as a couple, but it can also be easy to lose weight as a couple. Together the two of you can tackle your nutrition and exercise plan in a way that motivates, excites, and benefits you both. Two are better than one when it comes to getting and staying healthy.

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