Marriage/life partnership can be an amazing journey for many. The hard times and good times that occur along the way, often lead to the strengthening of the relationship.
Changes also happen as couples get older together. One of the things that can change is body weight- namely of the gaining variety.
This post will go into unwanted weight gain/body changes throughout marriages/life partnerships and how it can be remedied-together.
Weight gain/body changes: Getting comfortable
When many people are at the beginnings of their romantic relationships, appearances are usually maintained to keep the other person interested. Once the relationships have been going on for a while, they may feel as though they can loosen up a little.
Then a little becomes a lot.
This leads to gaining weight because a person may think, “she/he/they already loves me so it does not matter what I look like.”
Weight gain/body changes: adulting
As we get older, many of us get settled into our careers. Most of the days then become taken up by working and doing household things after the workday is over.
We also may make some not-so-good choices when it comes to lunch during the day. Something quick may be chosen which might not always translate to being healthy.
When it comes to exercise, workouts may not happen as much (or at all) due to working. They also may have a job that involves a lot of sitting which means less calories are burned throughout the day.
Because of all of this, couples may come home from work and be too exhausted to do a workout.
Weight gain/body changes: pregnancy
Many couples want to have children. The idea of raising a little one and watching them grow, tends to be very exciting.
If a couple chooses to have a child through pregnancy- bodily changes will occur. It takes a lot to grow a baby in the womb! The changes that happen include weight gain, hips widening, breasts increasing in size, stretch mark formation and of course a growing belly.
After the child is born, the changes may remain for at least a few months. For some women though, the changes can last for even longer than that. Stretch marks may not fade completely, weight may be really slow to come off, breasts may become saggy and the abdomen may have loose skin.
Another way pregnancy can cause weight gain/body changes is by the couple becoming very busy taking care of their child once it is born. This can take the focus completely off themselves which allows good nutrition and exercise to go out the window. In these cases, both individuals (not just the woman who grew the baby!) may gain weight.
Weight gain/body changes: health issues
There are health issues that cause weight gain/body changes. These can arise as couples keep moving through life together. The following are some examples:
- Stress- Couples may have to endure a lot of stress due to familial, relationship and/or career related problems. Stress can lead to overeating in some people which leads to weight gain.
- Depression- Dealing with depression due to a variety of reasons can cause overeating and/or less of a physical activity level.
- Hypothyroidism- The likelihood of having an underactive thyroid increase as we age. One of the symptoms can be weight gain.
- Diabetes- Many people become diabetic (type 2) later in life. This can cause weight gain.
- Menopause/male hormonal issues- Hormones change as we age which can lead to weight gain.
- Medications taken to treat illnesses- Some of the medications we have to take to treat illnesses, have weight gain as a side effect.
Ways to remedy unwanted weight gain/body changes
Couples can work together to get their bodies back in shape. These are some things that they can do:
Exercise related
- Make it fit into your day/week: This can be done by going over schedules. If a couple has a child (or children), they may have to take turns having one take on the childcare while the other one works out.
- Figure out workout routines: There are a ton of different ideas for workouts that can be found online. It would be wise for a couple to seek the ideas out and choose what will work for them. They can even workout together!
- Get home gym equipment if it is in the budget: Since a lot of gyms are closed and/or unsafe in these times, it could be a good idea to purchase some home workout items. A couple can have access to the items whenever they want which may help them stick to their workout routines.
Diet related
- Look at what they are consuming: Taking a look at the kinds of food they eat on a regular basis, can help them figure out where they are going wrong and what needs to be changed.
- Figure out each other’s dietary needs: To lose weight, people need to figure out the amount of calories and types of food they need/want to eat so that can happen. Two people in a relationship will most likely have different dietary needs when it comes to getting the scale to go down. They can help one another with this. If this seems difficult, there are weight loss programs out there to look into.
- Meal/snack planning: It is a good idea to plan out meals and snacks. This is so that the right food that fits new dietary needs are always in the kitchen and pantry. Couples should also make sure to have a “cheat meal” once in a while which could mean getting takeout food.
- Get on the same page with the new diet: If only one of the people in the relationship is changing up their diet, the other person needs to understand what they will be eating and be supportive. They could even enjoy the same meals together.
Healthcare related
- Keep track of concerning symptoms: If one or both people in the couple are dealing with mental and/or physical symptoms, it may be a good idea to write down these symptoms daily in a journal. This can possibly help to see if there could be another underlying issue going on which could be causing the weight gain.
- Attend tele-health appointments together: Since many clinics are limiting the amount of people in the rooms during appointments and the infection cases are increasing rapidly, having a tele-health appointment would be good. The couple can be in the video together and help to make sure all concerns are being covered.
- Help each other in the management of illnesses: If one or both people in the relationship get diagnosed with a condition that is causing the weight gain, they should support each other in the management of it. If their diagnosis is successfully managed, weight loss may be able to happen easier. That could mean helping make sure that they take their medication daily if they are the kind of person that forgets.
- Attending counseling sessions- If mental health and/or relationship issues are causing behaviors that lead to weight gain, a couple should consider counseling. Counseling can be done through Zoom now due to the pandemic.
- Possible medication change: If any medication that is being taken causes weight gain, it might be a good idea to see if a change to it is possible. This could mean reducing the dosage or switching to an entirely different medication that does not cause weight gain (or less of it). A couple can support one another if any side effects occur from weaning off or tapering down on a medication.
One more thing that a couple can do that does not fit into the above categories is using a reward system for getting into better shape. An example of this could be that they can buy something they have been wanting only after a certain weight loss goal is reached. Doing something like this may provide a lot of motivation for the couple.
It can all be done together!
As we get older, our appearance changes. That is just life. Some of changes cannot really be helped.
Weight gain is one of the things that can be fixed though. If a couple is truly devoted to each other and wants to lose some, they will be able to work together to get it done.
There may be bumps along the way of their weight loss journey, but the relationship will end up being even stronger in the end and they will look amazing!
Have any of you been in a long relationship where you found yourselves gaining unwanted weight? If so, did you work together to get it off? I would love to read about your story!
Thanks for reading!
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