What’s the Best Way to Help Your Partner Lose Weight?
What if you’re not the one trying to lose weight but rather your spouse or partner is trying to diet. How can you best support them without putting any wedges between you? Trust me, I know this isn’t easy. My husband has been wanting to lose weight for years, and contrary to popular belief, living with a registered dietitian isn’t a slam-dunk for weight loss. If you want to help your partner with their weight loss efforts, but aren’t sure where to start, here are some ideas that have worked for us:
How to Help Your Partner Lose Weight: Learn to listen. This is probably one of the hardest suggestions. So many of us like to give advice and find a way to quickly fix things for the people we love. Way too often we don’t stop and simply listen to what they have to say.
Sometimes your spouse may simply need to vent and unload about the weight loss obstacles they’re facing. They don’t need you to come up with fixes; most likely they already know what they need to do. Especially be careful of ticking off examples of what you think they could have done better unless they specifically ask for that advice. Listening without commentary may be hard, but it really is the most helpful.
Excerpted from U.S. News
