Is your boyfriend helping you GAIN weight instead of LOSE weight?  Most couples like to meet up for the 3 detrimental “D’s”: drinks, dinner, and dessert.  At first, he was sweeping you off your feet, and now he’s sweeping your crumbs! Where butterflies once roamed in your belly, now lies happy-hour french fries and late-night frozen yogurt treats.  Ok, I think you get it….I’ve fallen into the same trap.  Here are a couple tips to think about when starting to get your love layer…

1. Don’t compete to see who can eat more. I’m extremely competitive, and I like to feel accomplished in any activity I participate, and unfortunately, it includes eating sometimes.  So don’t feel like you have to beat him at EVERYTHING, let him win the food war.  You should eat about 3/4 or less than what he’s eating.

2. Cook at home more. It’s fun, and you have more control of what you’re eating!  Use olive oil for salads, and even use a crock-pot in the morning if you are short on time! Best part about a crock-pot is that you can come home to the smell of sweet onions and eat immediately!

3. Sunday Morning Bike instead of Sunday Morning Brunch: As yummy and delectable a Sunday morning brunch can be, the calories ingested might leave you with a roll over your jeans.  Not to mention, you will be hit by a massive food-coma and probably spend the rest of your Sunday sedentary on the couch.  Make plans to bike on the boardwalk, or around the neighborhood, or to a coffee shop for a healthy breakfast.  The sunshine and fresh air should leave you feeling amazing!

4. Talk to him about your weight goals: Most boyfriends (hopefully) will say you look beautiful at any size.  But we all know he wouldn’t be too happy about you putting on 20lbs.  But that’s besides the point.  Your health and fitness goals are for yourself, and you have to make your health and weight-loss goals as important as him.  Time can slip by, and 10 dates later, you are +7lbs.  Talk to him about wanting to eat better and ask him to help you stay on track.  The more open you are, the easier it will be to say no to his Cheeto-puffs, or midnight pizza snack.  Which leads me to….

5. …Just because he’s hungry, doesn’t mean you are too! Some men have a ferocious appetite, and some even have a hard time keeping weight ON!  Unfortunately, man and women are NOT created equally when it comes to their ability to burn off fat!  Listen to your body and stomach.  If you are tempted by his constant eating, keep handy snacks like carrots, or apples, or even gum, so you can munch along with him.

7. You will eat again, I promise. Somethines people feel deprived when eating healthy.  Just tell yourself that your next meal will come around sooner than you think.  We eat 3 times a day.  Besides driving or checking email, there isn’t much else in our lives that we do that consistently.  So when your boyfriend wants Taco Bell as an afternoon snack, just say, “No Thanks. I can wait until dinner to eat”.

I hope this blog post will help keep you on track, and your Love Layer off.

xo,

jacquelyn