Join The Love Chub? No, Thanks!

When you’re in love, you tend to let go a little. Sure, that’s okay in the beginning, but skipping a workout and ordering a pizza for DVD night too often could lead to gaining the love chub – also known as the ‘boyfriend layer’.

I’ve gained about 10lbs since I’ve got in a relationship 4 months ago. When I shared my contempt about my weight gain on Twitter, the first reply I received was “You’re in love!”  It’s almost like a normal thing that happens to just about everyone else.

The first stage is 'feeling' the weight gain. You feel restless and too tired to do anything at all. Continue putting off your workouts and 2 months later, you’ll soon realize unbuttoning your favorite jeans feels a lot more comfortable after a meal.

Once you’ve gained the initial 5lbs, weight gain can take off like a runway and you’ll immediately realize that you’ve obviously been neglecting your body and have gotten used to some habits that were once an occasional treat. So how do you get back into the healthy cycle and keep the boyfriend layer at bay?

Here are 3 things you need to do and remember:

1. Be Happy And Stay content – Love Your Partner, Love Your Body

Contentment is what you hope for after the elation has worn off. Being in love makes you feel happy and whole. Putting on the love chub doesn’t. Feeling insecure about your body and yourself is not a healthy attribute in any relationship.  To stay content, you need to feel good about yourself and that begins with a body you can be proud of. Research shows that people who are more active and happier with their bodies have more satisfying sex lives. If that's not motivation, we don't know what is.

2. Fun and healthy activities don’t just happen in bed or on the couch

Staying up late on a DVD night and spending more time in bed sounds more appealing than a date with the treadmill. Make gym time part of your quality time together. People who do things together are more likely to stick to it and you have each other for motivation. Take Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake as an example; they both maintain a healthy relationship by having each other as gym buddies. Exercise your hearts together, a healthy heart is essential in every relationship.

3. His & Hers

Suddenly, your appetite grew. Your boyfriend eats twice as much as you because guys have more muscle mass, so they require more calories. Women burn 26% fewer calories than men do, so it’s best to stick to your regular petite portions and avoid stuffing yourself with those extra spoonfuls. It’ll eventually catch up with you.

If your boyfriend has a habit of eating chips from the bag or opts for a pint of ice-cream after dinner, it may be hard to resist a treat. However, keeping quantity control can prevent a diet disaster. Serve yourself a small portion of his snack in a small bowl or have a cup of delicious berry yogurt instead. It’s guilt-free and if they’re so good, who knows, maybe you’ll convert him.

Some fun activities you can do as a couple...

☑ Wakeboarding

☑ Pick up a new sport together (i.e. Surfing)

☑ Working out together

☑ Muay Thai

☑ Getting a group of friends together for beach volleyball

☑ Catch some sun

There are still a few activities we have yet to do together and the list includes:

☐ Golf/ Mini Golf
☐ Tennis/ Squash
☐ Roller-blading
☐ Sailing
☐ Pilates
☑ Hot Yoga

What activities do you share with your partner? Feel free to recommend some!