5 Ways To Stay Healthy In A Relationship

So you’ve changed bad habits and committed yourself to leading a healthy lifestyle and it’s all going great. That is until you find yourself in a relationship. Relationships aren’t always hunky dory and many often find staying healthy to be tricky. Spare time becomes less frequent and eating out becomes a regular thing. Although this prospect doesn’t sound particularly bad, staying fit and healthy often takes a back seat. Rather then letting relationship be a recipe for disaster, here’s a helping hand:

1. Just keep exercising (sounds simple right). Getting into a relationship is often referred to as ‘settling down’ and this can often be quite literal. Besides the blatant benefits to this, it can easily result in months, years (and possibly decades) of lazing  around and junk food binging.

If you were healthy prior to beginning your new relationship the chances are this was because of your healthy eating and exercise habits. Although the lure of time with your new partner may seem too appealing. Try to maintain the exercise routine that you previously spent years developing.

2. Do it together. If you find yourself emotionally attached to you partner and don’t like to leave their side then get them to join in! Not only will this help to motivate you but the support of someone else will probably make exercising more appealing. Go for a walk, run or hiit step class… just get active.

3. Don’t always compete. So you’ve ditched the single status and are now part of a relationship where a bit  of healthy competition can be good. However I’m not talking about your board game nights or who can clean the dishes better I’m talking about meal times and in particular portion control. Although this goes for everyone its probably more relevant for women dating men. Typically men are bigger and have a faster metabolic rate which isn’t the greatest news for some women who spend time busting their ass in the gym whilst their  partners are at home unintentionally losing weight. However aside from how fair or unfair the genetical differences are between men and women, the size of your meal compared to your partners is not something to be competing about. If seeing your partner indulge in a gigantic pizza whilst your nibbling away at your half of one is enough to turn your eyes green then a helpful tip is to use smaller plates than your other half. Whilst your plate will seem fuller it will stop you staring at a half empty plate whilst your partner feasts on their larger portion.

4. Staying in isn’t all bad. Everyone loves to be wined and dined, but making the most of cozy nights in saves on both money and calories. Slaving away in the kitchen might not sound appealing, however, making into a an activity for you both can make it a lot more enjoyable. Whether you want to turn this into a huge bountiful meal or be super savvy, make this into something enjoyable for you.

5. Set your stall out. We aren’t all blessed with a partner who is concerned about their health and is raring to go and join in with us. As unfortunate as this can be, this isn’t something that should put you off staying/getting fit and healthy. The best thing to do in this situation is set out your goals and make clear your intentions.  Putting this out plain and clear sets boundaries in your relationship – i.e as much as we all love chocolate you don’t want to be visiting Cadbury world everyday.