The Ten Truths of Slimming as a Couple!
As those who have followed my slimming journey for some time will know my boyfriend Stuart also follows Slimming World. We met through a mutual interest in losing weight. However, we had both started our journeys independently. Slimming as a couple is interesting at times!
Stuart had got to target with a loss of 22 Stone 9lb. I was a fair way through my loss when we started dating. Now a few years down the line, we have been following the plan as a couple.
Sometimes we are both on the plan, sometimes one is and the other isn’t, and sometimes neither of us is! Here I will share the truth of my experiences of the good and bad aspects of slimming as a couple!
Who do you dress up for anyway?
I guess when you are comfortable with each other and happy you are more likely to chill out at home in leggings and lounge pants (or is that just me??). So it is so easy I have found to then let the weight creep on because hey the clothes still fit!
Then when they don’t fit anymore the fun and games end and the weight is there! It is easy to slip into the bigger sizes of clothes you own and in my experience, it is only when the choice of those is limited that panic sets in!
Eat together, lose together
If you are living together, or even just eating/preparing all your meals together then it makes it so much easier to stay on plan and eat the right things.
Though for me it is the times I am not with Stuart that sometimes the treats sneak in because “he won’t know so it won’t hurt him”.
On it together
This is the best part of slimming together when we are both “on it” and determined we spur each other on. We eat on the plan and we are both happy and feeling great.
Competing against each other
Despite this sounding negative, this is quite a good aspect of slimming with my boyfriend. If I know he is really determined one week it makes me more determined.
I cook all the food so if he is being strict then I know he will get a good loss this gives me the extra motivation that week to lose as well as Stuart does!
Using his excuses!
When I know that Stuart is not as “on plan” as usual, for example when he has a work night out, it makes me less motivated. On weeks like this I allow myself to almost use his excuses.
I sneak odd extra things in thinking that it doesn’t matter because he won’t be losing either! The reality is our journeys are separate. I shouldn’t use him as my excuse but in my head I still often do!
You can exercise together
Before Stuart’s arthritis in his knee got so severe there were times when we went running together. We both completed the Great North Run and Mansfield 10k. This was great motivation for me and I loved going running with him.
I loved the fact we both did the same races and I was competing not just against myself but against him too. I am not competitive really I promise.
Though in case you are wondering I beat him in both! Admittedly because he was suffering from an injury due to his arthritis before it got worse and stopped him from running at all. However, this is not the point, I WON!!!!!
We lead each other into temptation
There are so many times when we have been both a little tempted by junk food. Instead of both saying “no let’s be strong we don’t need a tube of Pringles each or big bread rolls (cobs or whatever you call them where you are from!)”, we each encourage each other.
We end up with the, I will if you will, kind of rationale, which at the end of the day isn’t actually helping either of us!
Love is blind
We both really do love each other for the person inside. Soppy I know but it is true actually we are both happy.
Therefore I guess we don’t really encourage each other to lose weight. By still being happy and showing each other the same love and attention we always have!
Copying each other
It is so easy to copy each other and think less for yourself. I have noticed my portion sizes creeping up because I serve myself the same as Stuart.
However he is a man, he is taller than me and needs more than I do. By me copying him without even realising it I am eating too much!
Doing everything together
We are not the kind of couple that spend every waking moment together. Stuart and I, in fact, spend most of the day apart due to work etc.
That is not even considering the time spent on individual hobbies/interests. However, that said, when we are together, especially at weekends and late evenings we tend to eat things together.
If one of us is peckish and gets a snack, the other does too. There must be many times one of us is easing just because the other one is. Tragically often we don’t realise this, do we?
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