How To Get Through Relationship Troubles
Believe it or not folks, relationships are going to have a lot of hardships.
Today, we're going to guide you through some of those hardships and how to get over them
with your partner.
But first, make us your partner in health tips!
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Gaining Weight
When you're in love the world seems brighter around you, the sun shinier, the birds chirpier,
the sights.... uh... sightlier.
The point is that you're happier and nothing could possibly go wrong.
Your life has reached its peak and there's no way it could get any worse.
No way.
No how.
We might as well just end the video here because there's no way somethings going to come along
and change your perception of love.
Yes, love is a beautiful thing.
Hugging, kissing, laughing, holding hands and gaining weight.
Wait... what was that last part?
Today folks, we're going to ask and answer the question: Can Love Make You Gain Weight?
We'll just get right too it and say sorry to burst your bubble here, but you might be
gaining weight due to your recent fling with whomever.
This is especially true when you're newlyweds.
Often, as a new couple, you go out more, you spend more time sipping cocktails and looking
into each other's eyes and most of all, you stop watching your weight.
We mean, the whole point of staying in shape was to get a partner and now that you do you
can finally be comfortable, right?
This isn't just speculation, either.
Our friend and frequent collaborator PENNY GORDON‐LARSEN had this to say about this
fact: "The researchers concluded that living together increases both men and women’s
risk for obesity.
(The study only looked at straight couples, so the jury is still out on whether there
are similar trends in non-heterosexual couples.)"
PENNY GORDON‐LARSEN goes on to say: "One study that tracked the weights of over 8,000
people found that, on average, married women gain 24 pounds in the first five years of
marriage.
Women who cohabitate, but aren’t married, only gain 18 pounds, while women who are in
a relationship but living separately gain 15 pounds."
Men also tend to gain weight as well, but whether they were married or not didn't really
matter.
Whether they have a partner or a spouse, they gain the same amount of weight.
This phenomenon is called concordance: or gaining weight together.
It has everything to do with all that stuff we talked about a minute ago.
Going out more, staring into each other's eyes, yadda yadda.
About this happening, PENNY GORDON‐LARSEN said: "Women who live with a romantic partner
have an increased chance of becoming obese within a year, and men’s odds increase within
two years.
As a whole, married couples are most likely to experience this weight gain within two
years."
All in all, she found that weight gain behavior is contagious.
There's also a factor of happiness.
That's right, whether you have a happy marriage or not determines whether or not you might
gain weight.
The SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY discovered that: "Other research has found that young
newlyweds who are happy with their marriage tend to put on extra weight.
In contrast, couples who weren’t as satisfied with their relationship tend to gain less
weight."
So what can you do about it?
Well, our best advice is to work out together.
Take a walk after dinner, maybe find a fun activity that you both enjoy that's also exercise.
Marathons, sports, gym sessions, these are all great ways to shed those extra relationship
pounds.
There are other ways to prevent weight loss too– you could eat out less, for starters.
Making homemade, healthy meals is one of the best ways to lose weight.
Remember the old adage– abs are made in the kitchen.
Another thing you could do is to choose healthier snacks and meals, ones that you make at home.
Bottom line is this: be conscious of what you eat and make sure your partner is as well.
Remember, you're there to support each other.
Fights
So there you go.
You conquered the weight gain and now there's nothing that could POSSIBLY ruin your good
time in the relationship.
Nothing.
Nothing... at... all...
Alright, enough is enough, we're going to pop your little bubble here: sooner or later,
you're going to get into... a fight.
Don't panic, conflict in a relationship is a good thing.
Experts have found that: "When there are no conflicts in a relationship, there is no trust
in it either.
If you keep your feelings to yourself, you can’t change anything.
Arguments help let out the anger and tell your partner what you don’t like.
You’ll find each other’s weak spots and begin understanding each other better."
You just need to make sure that you don't have what we like to call "ugly fights".
Ugly fights are the loud, bombastic conflicts that are chalked full of criticism, defensiveness,
contempt and stonewalling come into play.
Some of these words might be confusing in the context of a relationship fight, so let
us go down the list and make sure you're on board.
Criticism.
It's okay to be critical of your relationship, even your partner's behavior and opinions
occasionally.
However, we consider those kinds of criticisms "complaints", whereas real criticisms are
a completely different thing.
When complaints turn into criticisms, that's when you have an issue.
Confused?
Well, PSYCHOLOGY TODAY explains it a little better: "A complaint focuses on the event
or behavior you want to change, while criticism attacks a partner’s personality.
When you find yourself generalizing that your partner “always” or “never” does something,
you are falling prey to criticism.
For example, I may want to let my husband know that I find it annoying that we don’t
travel very often.
I could just tell him that I wish we traveled more.
Or I could blame him for this problem and say, "We never travel because you are always
so selfish and don’t care about my interests.”
So what do you do about criticisms?
Don't blame when you complain.
It's easy to remember too because it rhymes.
Defensiveness.
When you're fighting with your partner and they have a... complaint about you, how do
you react?
Do you take the complaint in, internalize it and think about how you can change?
If you do, then wow you're awesome.
For the rest of us, there's being defensive– when you find an excuse immediately in order
to defend yourself in an argument.
And that's not the only defining characteristic of defensiveness either.
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY says that: "Defensiveness also occurs when you respond to a partner’s
complaints with complaints of your own: When your partner lets you know they find it annoying
that you leave empty shampoo bottles in the shower, you respond by pointing out that you
find it annoying when they don’t make the bed."
So what should you do about defensiveness?
Just take some darn responsibility.
Do that and apologize and we can guarantee that your fights will be a lot less catastrophic.
Contempt.
This is one of the worst things you can do during a fight and frankly, its one of the
surefire signs a relationship is on it's way out.
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY describes contempt as: "the feeling that you are better than your partner,
and it comes out when you make derisive comments with the intention of being insulting.
If you are calling your partner names, mocking your partner, and being sarcastic or rolling
your eyes at him or her, you are likely feeling contempt."
Keep in mind that some teasing in the relationship is fine, but it can go too far.
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY warns about this: "if you find yourself teasing in a mean-spirited way,
such as making fun of something you know they are sensitive about, that is a sign of contempt.
(And calling your partner an idiot, and meaning it, is a surefire sign your relationship is
in the dumps.)"
So how can you stop feeling contempt towards your partner during a fight, or in the relationship
in general?
Think about all the things you like about them.
Think about what your life would be like without them in it.
That should help you feel a little better and if it doesn't well... then maybe it's
time to move on.
Stonewalling.
Finally, we approach the subject of stonewalling in a fight.
Stonewalling is... well, it's acting like a stone wall.
If you're fighting and staying quiet, giving one word answers, stuff like that, then you're
stonewalling.
Apparently, some experts say that "this happens in response to feeling overwhelmed by your
partner’s strong negativity".
Some psychiatrists find that men do this more often than women, so gentlemen, pay attention.
How can you stop yourself from stonewalling?
Well, PSYCHOLOGY TODAY says you should try this: "Instead of disengaging as a response
to being overwhelmed, try letting your partner know that you need to take some time to calm
down and plan to return to the conversation when you feel more relaxed."
If you stop all four of those practices, plus you start working out together, your relationship
will be much stronger.
And when your relationship succeeds, you succeed.
At least we hope that's the case.
And so, our little expose about love and gaining weight is over.
What did you think of our video?
Did you learn something about the correlation between love and getting bigger?
What is your experience with relationships and gaining weight?
Let us know all about it in the comments section below!