5 ways to stop relationship weight gain

Love’s great, but no-one wants a spare tyre as a result, so here’s Vickie Neave’s 5 ways to stop relationship weight gain!

1. Drunk in love
When in love we simple ooze hormones that make us positively giddy. Adrenaline, dopamine, fenylethylamine (I cannot say it either but get me and the science bit!), endorphin and oxytocin = happy hormones.

Your pupils get bigger, your heart rate races, your breathing gets faster but get this – this is a biggy – you are not so hungry because the digestive system starts to work slower!! In those heady first few weeks or months of a relationship we feel marvelous and naturally eat less. Bonus!!

The pleasure hormone Dopamine makes you feel so fabulous that life is as wonderful as a sanitary towel advert – Dopamine really gives you wings! But hold on – before long these wonderful hormones will just up and fly away. As you settle into the relationship the appetite will return as the adrenalin fades.

WAIT! If you are clever enough you can fool them in to sticking around….

2. Run the world
Those who train together, stay together. You can release tonnes of lovely hormones, which basically turn into happy fuel just by getting some exercise. Plan dates around exercise encouraging each other to get active. A bike ride to a pub or a simple walk instead of a lazy Sunday afternoon. A run along the river can be romantic, Le Seine maybe? Book a weekend away and run a 10K? Paris, Prague, New York, San Francisco? The world is literally at your feet – albeit slightly tired, sore feet!

3. Cater 2 U (Google it – Destinys Child so still Beyonce!)
What is wrong with a fabulous dinner, a glass of wine with the man of your dreams followed by snuggling down at the cinema? What is wrong!? Just about everything that is all! Sitting down while you become eating partners in crime. Sitting down while you mirror what your hunk of burning 6ft4inch love eats. Sitting down throughout the film while chomping your way through the pricey pick ‘n’ mix. There is a theme here. You need to get off your butt! You carry on like this and you will be saying tattybye butterflies and hi-de-hi muffin top. The trouble with full on loved-up coupledom is it is too easy to get lazy so instead of going out to dinner, learn to cook together. Spending time in the kitchen and working as a team can do wonders for your relationship, and also give you little doses of hormones through food!! Dopamine hides in protein such as fish, eggs and chicken. Avocados, almonds and sesame seeds and so much more! Ready, Steady, Cook!

4. If I Were a Boy
Your latest squeeze is 6ft4 (lucky you) but you are a petit 5ft4 Size 8 (cow) so you do the math!? He can eat more than you. Fact. Even if you are of a similar height and build he will still burn more calories than you. Fact. So stop matching him fork for fork, spoon for spoon. He may find it endearing that you are a ‘real woman’ who enjoys her food at the moment but mirroring his plate will cause the pounds to pile on and you may well become one of the Single Ladies. (Harsh I know but I really wanted to get that Beyonce song title in somehow). Combat this by using a slightly smaller plate when serving up. He will still love you like XO. #promise

5. Love on top
Just getting down and dirty is a fantabulous way to prevent weight gain in a relationship. A good bedroom workout can burn 144 calories every half an hour! An orgasm helps tighten the pelvic floor which put simply means when you get a bit older you will not wee at the very sight of a trampoline! #squeeze

Orgasms release lovely little oxytocins, which are gorgeous hormones linked to passion. Sexy-time will boost your dopamine levels and also release marvelous little endorphins – your own little personal supply of narcotics. Beyonce maybe Drunk in Love but you can be high as a kite simply by getting jiggy!