Picture this: Your thoughtful neighbor from across the street decides to make some delicious, but not-so-healthy, donuts for you and your significant other. By the end of the week, there is one donut left– do you offer it to your partner or do you eat it yourself?
Answer: This is a trick question. Neither of these scenarios ends well.
First, donuts are not a healthy breakfast option for anyone. However, instead of eating them all yourself, a better option would be to bring them into your office and split them between all of your coworkers. But more importantly, offering the last donut to your partner might seem like a nice gesture at the time, but you’re actually hurting him or her in the long run.
We might not be doing it intentionally, but our every day decisions could be damaging our partner’s weight loss journey.
These tips will help you and your partner become a strong support system for each other – instead of being a cause for each other’s weight gain.
Be encouraging and supportive.
This is one of the best things you can do for your partner. Losing weight can be an incredibly stressful and gut-wrenching process– being there to listen, encourage, and support is priceless.
Tip: Tell your partner how much you believe in him and how proud you are of his progress. Leaving a post-it note with an encouraging message on the bathroom mirror for your partner is a fantastic way to start their day on a positive note.
“Wow, honey. I’m so proud of you for not skipping a workout this week!”
Make sacrifices.
Relationships are all about give and take. In order to make a relationship last, you need to able to sacrifice for the other person. This goes hand-in-hand with maintaining a healthy lifestyle – you have to sacrifice certain foods you used to love for more healthy alternatives. You have to hit the gym instead of watching your favorite television show, and the list goes on.
If your partner is having trouble losing weight, or maintaining a healthy lifestyle, be a strong example. Do not keep processed and unhealthy foods in the house that might tempt your partner and do not use a dinner date as a cop-out (cook healthy meals together). Do not give your partner a reason to cheat the weight loss plan.
Listen.
Sometimes all a person needs is someone there to listen. Pushing your partner to workout or telling them, “No. Don’t eat that cookie!,” will do way more harm than good.
So if your partner seems extra stressed or discouraged, offer an open ear. Let them tell you their obstacles and concerns – then give advice when appropriate.
Hit the gym with your partner.
Sometimes we get caught up in our own routine and forget to include our partner. Easy fix? Get on a workout and diet plan together.
Having someone to keep you accountable for your daily workouts is very helpful. This is why we encourage working out with a friend or a trainer – you set a date and a time, which makes it more difficult to skip or make excuses. And who doesn’t love more quality time with their significant other?
Bottom line: Weight loss is hard. There is no doubt about that. But being able to become a support system for your partner will make the process a lot more successful and enjoyable.
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The challenge can be getting one to start and make it a life long habit.