10 Tips For Losing Weight As A Couple

We've all been there. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy takes girl to dinner. Boy and girl enjoy a delicious courtship filled with weekend brunches, impressive candle-lit dinners and double spoons for dessert. We love this period don't we? Exploring fancy restaurants and putting on our chef's hat to prepare that impossible dinner that even Ina Garten would applaud.

Then one day, we wake up to go on yet another blissful brunch date (instead of hitting the gym as we used to), only to find that our jeans don't fit. But the weight gain is well worth the love we've found. Then comes marriage or perhaps a committed relationship and priorities begin to shift.

As one guy stated, "I'm not in the market anymore, so I'm more relaxed and not so concerned about the physical part." In other words, once your search for love is complete, it's easy to get a bit lax in the looks department. Married or cohabiting people also tend to settle into routines and become more sedentary than their single dating peers.

But here's the good news: since gaining weight also comes from a tendency to pick up your spouse's eating and exercise habits, it's also easier to use your partner as a weight-loss buddy and motivate each other to lose weight together. This isn't just good news for your waistline, it's good news for the health and vitality of your relationship. A happier you means a happier love life, after all.

More from YourTango: Staying Healthy Is Like Buying Toilet Paper.

Creating a weight loss plan as a couple increases your chances of sticking to it and being successful. Here are some tips to jumpstart you on your way:

1. Share WHY it matters to you. As you discuss your feelings and desires to get to a healthier place together, try to be open and kind. Talk about why it's important to each of you that you stay fit, trim and healthy and try to think long-term for your overall health and longevity together. 

2. Make sure you believe in your goal for YOU. Getting healthy for someone else is a short-term fix. Make sure that YOU have your own clear reasons for wanting to be healthy, regardless of your partner. The Weight-Loss Secret That Saved My Life

3. Go Green. Instead of driving, walk or ride your bicycles. The simple act of choosing to walk to your favorite spot instead of driving can take pounds off your waist line in the long run.

More from YourTango: The Most Effective Way For Couples To Lose Weight

4. Avoid "Mr. Jiggle." While we all love giving our partner's body part's cute names, it may not always be cute. Be mindful that weight gain can be sensitive for some, so try placing kisses NOT comments on your partner's bodies. Let them know that you support their efforts to be in shape.

5. Have a Menage a Trois. That's right, it's a party for three! Look at the relationship you have with food and encourage your partner to do the same. Create your own beneficial relationship with food as a couple so that food supports your body goal's in a fun and nutritional way instead of one that, well, weighs you down.