Want to gain weight? Move in with your boyfriend or get married. I’ve seen this happen numerous times with my newlywed female clients as well as from those women who have moved in with their boyfriends. The reasons are pretty clear. Most of the city girls I know (myself included) keep minimal food in their apartments - no chips, cookies, ice cream, etc.  If we aren’t hungry for dinner, we’ll  eat really lightly. Exercise is a regular part of our lives. Now you move in with Mr. Right and the food orgy begins. Pizza on Friday nights and  Chinese on Sunday nights - and I am not talking steamed Chinese! (Check this out for calories in Chinese food). Tempting snacks appear in your apartment. Exercise may fall by the wayside as you want to spend more time with your guy. Soon enough, your clothes aren’t fitting so well.

Study associates marriage with weight gain
While I have personally witnessed this phenomenon, it’s  now backed up by a study. A recent study demonstrates that young couples who marry or move in together are more likely to report gaining weight than those who stay single. “The results suggest that sharing a household environment with a romantic partner may predispose individuals to become at risk for obesity and obesity-promoting behaviors,” write Natalie The and Penny Gordon-Larsen, PhD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They presented their findings in New Orleans, 10/07,  at The Obesity Society’s 2007 annual scientific meeting.

Hightlights of the study:
-Data came from nearly 8,000 men and women who were studied from 1995 to 2002, as they matured from teens to young adults.

-Participants reported their height, weight, physical activity, screen time (time watching TV, using a computer, or playing video games), and relationship status in the mid-1990s and in 2001-2002.
 
- In the mid-1990s, none of the participants was married or living with a romantic partner.

- By 2001-2002, 16% were living with a romantic partner and 14% were married.

- Married or cohabiting men and women were more sedentary than their peers who were single or dating. For instance, married or cohabiting couples were more likely than people who kept dating to exercise less than five times per week and to get more than 15 hours of weekly screen time.

- Women who married or moved in with a partner by 2001-2002 were more likely to be obese than women who were still single. The same wasn’t true of men. 

Of course, getting married or moving in with a boyfriend doesn’t mean you have to gain weight or exercise less. Just be aware that weight gain is a possible consequence and plan ahead.

Tips to decrease your chances of gaining weight
1. Stick to your exercise routine. You could also find an activity that you and your bf/husband could do together - play tennis, join a gym together, take salsa lessons, etc.

 2. Keep healthy snacks in the house. If your guy insists on junk snacks, ask him to buy foods you don’t love. 

3. Try to cook dinners a few nights a week. Ordering in or going out for dinner tends to pack in more calories.

4. Keep tabs on your tv viewing. Studies have linked increasing weight with increasing “screen time”.

For more tips on how to avoid gaining weight with your husband or boyfriend, check out my previous post “Is your boyfriend making you gain weight?”

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