Healthy habits for the couple/family

[Firiel]

Okay, so I'm getting married in a couple of months. My fiance and I have been long distance for most of our relationship, so we haven't really had the time to cultivate healthy habits together. He plays a lot of sports, and I work out every day, but if we kept our workout habits like they are, there wouldn't be much overlap.

 

So, what are some good habits/activities/whatever for us to help us have a healthy lifestyle as a couple and not just individually? Any tips are useful... even if they involve kids, which we won't have for awhile. I've always been curious about how parents cultivate a healthy family lifestyle.

[renaissancewoman101]

can you guys join a gym together and work out together as a couple?

 

Join a sports league together could be another suggestion.

[Firiel]

The sports league thing will probably happen. And the gym thing would hopefully happen... just the actual "working out together" might not because I love swimming and running and he hates it. We could lift weights together, though.

[sophie274]

I guess the obvious is planning leisure activities that are healthy (hiking, rock climbing, walk in the park) or even just leisure activities that aren't centered around food (museum, concert, even a movie if don't get food). A lot of the social things that people tend to do are calorie-centered: going to get drinks, dinner, coffee (who can resist having a muffin at the same time) ... I know when I'm in a relationship my boyfriend and I tend to have dessert together, order pizza - that really adds up, especially when you're eating the same as he is with his stupid guy-metabolism!

 

So yes, the other thing - keep eating as you eat, not as he eats. My last boyfriend could eat four cookies with each meal and be very thin (athlete), so I had to work to remind myself that that didn't mean I could have 4 cookies too. Sounds silly, but when you're all goo-goo gaga and out for a romantic dinner it seems a lot harder to not have dessert. I've always had trouble with this!

 

Make healthy meals together, keep healthy food in the house instead of junk food. A lot of married couples I know are really into gardening, although I don't personally see the appeal. You can also just go to the gym at the same time to keep each other "accountable" or give each other motivation. Working out is so much easier with a buddy.

 

Even if you don't have the same athletic interests, you could take up a new active hobby together. Doesn't even have to be as athletic as a sports league, could be a dance class. And then when you have children: spending a lot of time actually playing with them, running around after them, showing them nature (so many things outside to fascinate infants and toddlers and kids of all ages!), feeding them the same healthy food that you eat. I know some parents who give their children fish sticks and hot dogs and chips because the children are so picky, and then start eating what the children eat themselves. Not the best idea.

 

Congrats on your wedding! I'd love to hear about details of the day, and see some pictures, if you ever feel inclined to post about it. I hope your parents have come around.

[Sky-Cherries]

Don't base your whole marriage around your workouts, my first advice.

 

There's other things in life apart from lifting weights or keeping fit.

 

My fiance and I are in our 8th year together. We go on walks together, go to dog shows together, work on cars, attend rockabilly dance classes, go to biker club meets, go to gardening shows, spend an entire weekend doing custom My Little Ponies, raid the comic book store, or play Mario Kart.

 

A marriage can't be solidified on a single event. Find a range of things you like doing, or things you haven't even considered trying yet.

 

He knew nothing about horseriding, I was a state champion barrel racer, we went horse riding together.

I knew nothing about cars, he was a mechanic, we changed the shocks and springs in his car together.

 

He's large and clumsy, I have epilepsy which causes me to fall sideways at random moments.

We took up rockabilly dancing. {with hilarious results, I might add}

[Firiel]

sohpie, thanks for the advice. Trust me... I know the dangers of eating what he eats. It's just a matter of actually being as careful as I know I need to be. I like the idea of cooking healthy meals together. Maybe we could take a cooking class together. We both love food, so it'd be cool to turn that into a positive thing rather than a negative thing.

 

Sky-Cherries, we are both very involved in other things as well. I just know that he and I are the same in at least one way-- we both can be either really good about working out and being healthy (which makes us both feel better) or we slack off amazingly. I like the ideas you gave about a dance class, or even going to (whatever our interests are) shows on the weekends. It's a good way to stay active and doing things without having to go "work out."