More Healthy Habits with Your Mate
3 Ways to Sneak Healthy Habits Into Your Relationship
For
the first time in my life I’m dating someone who is as passionate about
being healthy as I am and it’s making me wonder how I ever made prior relationships
work with exercise-averse junk food junkies. It’s not that I dated
total slobs in the past, but they certainly weren’t getting up at 5 a.m.
on the weekend to workout with me for an hour or excited about trying
my never-ending stream of healthy recipes (black bean brownies
anyone?).
Prior to meeting my current
boyfriend, Matt, I was single for about two years and part of the reason
I wasn’t interested in dating anyone was out of fear that my new found
healthy habits would be jeopardized. While it can be more challenging to
eat healthy
and stick to regular exercise when you’re dating someone who hasn’t
jumped on the health bandwagon yet it is possible to sneak some healthy
habits into your relationship.
1. Make a date night out of cooking at home. Matt
and I will often sit down together to pick out a few new recipes to try
out one weekend evening. Eating at home is not only more cost effective
than going out but it also allows you to control the nutrition value of
the meal. Mix in a glass of heart-healthy red wine and some old Jazz
music and it is a wonderful way to spend quality time together and
explore a wide variety of healthy cuisines.
2. Suggest you spend time together engaged in physical activities. No, not that kind of physical activity (although sex
does burn up to 90 calories in 30 minutes!) Try to make time after
dinner to go for a walk outside or plan on going to the park or taking a
bike ride on the weekend. My favorite mornings are the ones that
involve exercising outside with Matt. The fresh air wakes me up almost
as effectively as the giant pot of coffee that inevitably follows and it
gives us time to check in with one another and see what we have going
on for the rest of the day.
3. Make healthier choices when you go out. The extra calories associated with eating out often and going out for drinks can add up quickly. Matt and I both love food and
wine so we have to come up with creative ways to indulge in both
without adding weight. When we do go out we will often order a few
appetizers to share instead of one huge meal each. This allows us an
opportunity to try multiple items versus just one and, as long as you
make smart choices, sharing a few appetizers takes less of a caloric
(and financial) toll on you then a typical entrée.
Comments
Post a Comment