A Candid Look at Relationship Weight Gain

When love blooms, changes tend to take place. Some good, others not so. One common—and clearly unwanted—change that many new couples go through is a bit of weight gain. It often starts slow, only to worsen as the couple settle into a long-term relationship. So why does this happen?

As it turns out, relationship weight gain is no mystery. The causes behind it are numerous, easily explainable, and fortunately, reversible. Those who want to go back to how they looked before they committed to their partner need not fret, as we explore both the causes and the ways couples can slim back down:

1. Complacency Surrounding Fitness

When people are single, it’s easy to keep up with whatever workout routine they have. Once they shack up with a partner, however, priorities shift and making a trip to the gym can fall by the wayside. Due to how simple this is, the best way to reverse one’s complacency is to re-affirm one’s dedication to fitness in spite of the new relationship developments. Who knows? Maybe your new partner may even want to join in.

2. Unintentional Bad Influence from Your Partner

There is a tendency for couples to pick up on each other’s habits, whether they are good or bad. When it comes to the latter, it can be a myriad of things, like a change in diet or lifestyle. As easy as it can be to start melding identities, you may need to take a step back and reassess areas of your life your partner is unintentionally influencing you in. This works both ways, too.

3. More Frequent Eat Outs

It isn’t hard to imagine couples going out frequently for dates. More often than not, dinner would be on the cards. High calorie meals and large portions are obvious causes for those extra numbers that show up on the scale the very next morning. While fun, perhaps the eat outs can give way to healthier alternatives, such as creating a weekly meal plan for the both of you.

4. An Increase in Alcohol Consumption

This last one may not apply to teetotaler couples, but many may find themselves doing more than just eating more and exercising less. The more a couple socializes, whether with their friends or even just with each other, the more likely it is that they’re also drinking more. Remember that every drink you take adds even more calories, and empty ones at that. If this is yet another unhealthy habit picked up from either of you, then it’s best to recognize where to draw the line.

Without that infamous relationship weight gain, can you even claim to be in love? Jokes aside, we’ve just established that it is as real as they get and that there are clear-cut solutions to get you and your partner back on track. Now, it’s all a matter of consistent effort from here on out.