Gaby
With each passing year of marriage, many of us find ourselves looking in the mirror and not recognizing the person staring back, often scolding ourselves for the extra pounds gained during family meals.
Many women say their husbands’ habits make it harder to stick to diets and contribute to weight gain. Add in snoring and poor sleep, and it’s easy to see why health professionals warn that a settled family life can raise the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes. Below are tips to prevent those changes and improve overall fitness and health.
The Problem: You’re Gaining Weight
If your favorite jeans no longer fit and you dread stepping on the scale, the culprit might be your established family routine.
A 2012 study by the American Obesity Association of 8,000 participants found that women gain an average of more than 10 pounds in the first five years of marriage.
Meanwhile, a 2013 study of Texas residents showed that the happiest couples tend to gain weight the fastest. The reason? A happy marriage often reduces the motivation of both partners to maintain their fitness. They become content and less driven to stay in shape.
What’s the Solution?
Leading British dietitian and nutrition coach Rob Hobson noted that men and women require different amounts of food and energy. He recommends that men consume no more than 2,500 calories a day, while women aim for about 2,000.
Psychologist Jen Bateman, who specializes in nutrition, says we sometimes unconsciously match our eating to our partner’s. As we adapt to married life, we can end up eating everything on our overloaded plates.
Experts advise discussing with your partner how this eating style has become a problem for you and how it’s increasingly challenging to stick to your healthy habits.
The Problem: We’re Missing Nutrients Due to Shared Meals
Regularly dining out and indulging together can lead both men and women to miss out on essential nutrients.
“Women of reproductive age need more iron than men; the daily recommended intake is about 18 mg for women and 8 mg for men,” explained Hobson. He added that men require more zinc and protein due to their greater muscle mass and higher caloric needs.
What’s the Solution?
Enrich your diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, fish, and sources of lean protein.
“Lycopene, found in red vegetables like peppers and tomatoes, is beneficial for men as it helps combat stroke and prostate cancer,” said the dietitian. “Nuts and seeds are excellent sources of zinc for men and magnesium, which many women lack in their diets.”
Beans contain phytoestrogens—plant compounds that have a structure similar to estrogen. They can be helpful for women during perimenopause and menopause and are also a good source of fiber, which helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The Problem: Your Partner’s Snoring Disrupts Your Sleep
Sharing a bed with your husband can sometimes be less cozy than you’d hoped. A 2021 study found that men, unlike women, typically sleep better under shared sleeping conditions.
However, getting less than five hours of sleep a night can lead to health problems, including heart disease and diabetes. Sleep deprivation is also a factor in weight gain, especially for women. “Lack of sleep causes fatigue, which affects our motivation to eat healthily and stay active,” noted Dr. Bateman. She explained that when a person feels tired, they are more likely to reach for high-calorie foods for an energy boost.
What’s the Solution?
“Sleeping on your back often worsens snoring, so suggest that your husband sleep on his side. Elevate the head of the bed a few inches to prevent the tongue and soft tissues of the throat from blocking the airways. Try to go to bed before your snoring partner falls asleep,” advised Jen Bateman.
To combat snoring, your partner may need to make lifestyle adjustments. At minimum, losing excess weight through a balanced diet can help. Avoid alcohol before bed, since it contributes to snoring.
Ultimately, experts suggest you might consider sleeping in separate rooms. That can ensure quality sleep for both of you, the Daily Mail reported.
The Problem: Your Husband is Sabotaging Your Diet
Working on your health together makes sense. When you’re a team, it’s often easier to avoid unhealthy foods, overeating, and excess drinking. But sometimes the opposite happens.
When one of you is more active and reaches goals faster, the other may feel insecure, noted Jennifer Jill Harman from Colorado State University.
What’s the Solution?
If both partners want to be healthy and lose weight, try a hunger scale. This technique can help maintain self-control, said Dr. Bateman.
How does it work? Each partner should listen to their stomach and rate their level of fullness (or hunger) on a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 means feeling completely full.
The pause when partners ask each other about their hunger levels lets each person decide whether they should refill their plates. This practice also helps reduce snacking between meals.
If snacking is unavoidable, keep healthy options on hand, such as sliced fruit. Also monitor how both of you eat throughout the day.
