You know about the freshman fifteen right?

Well, now I’m coining the term for relationship weight gain: The twosome twenty.

I’m sure you’ve seen it time and time again, either in other couples or in yourself when you get into a relationship. You’re eating out more than you would as a single person. You’re feeling more comfortable in the relationship. yada yada yada.

Enough with the reasons… Let’s look at the solutions:

1. Always split a meal

This is the best piece of advice here. And with recession times like these, it helps not only the waistline, but the wallet!

I don’t remember the last time that Nate and I didn’t split a meal. It’s just been fantastic doing it this way.

You ever go to a restaurant and order something and end up having buyer’s remorse when the person next to you orders something sizzling and decadent, the aromas wafting through your nose as the smoky succulent goodness passes you in a fog? When the dust settles (or the smoky goodness) you’re left staring down at your order wondering why something that looks so drab even made it on the menu…

Well, you’ll never have to deal with that again when you go out to eat with your significant other!

Cuz you’ll be sharing the same thing.

The shared experience is nice too. Since you’re eating the same thing you can compare your take on it. I know after one of us takes the first bite (usually me heehee) the other person always says, “What do you think?”

Then we into great lengths and describe what we’re eating, comparing it to other foods we’ve had in the past, wondering if we could make the same dish at home, making the judgment call if it would even be worth making it at home, making decisions as to whether or not we should make another apprearance at the restaurant, contemplating missing ingredients, guessing what ingredients made the concoction, etc…

So when sharing a meal, as you can see, the very meal becomes quite a conversation piece. It really makes the meal more enjoyable. I also notice that we slow down our pace of eating as well, trying to talk about all these things. We end up savoring the meal instead of rushing through it.

And lastly, by sharing the meal, we’re able to frequently split dessert as well! Win-win-WIN situation!

Nate and I also always share everything on the same plate.

He cuts up the meat and cuts up everything in bite-sized pieces. It’s also been nice introducing each other to our favorite things- like Mataar Paneer (my favorite Indian dish– it has farmers cheese and peas in a creamy sauce!) and Eggs Benedict (his favorite breakfast dish- poached eggs, canadian bacon, toasted english muffin, all drenched in hollandaise sauce.Yum. See picture above)

And let’s be honest, when they bring you your order of Fetuccine Alfredo at Olive Garden, or your burgers and fries at Chili’s, doesn’t that huge plate look like a serving dish that could feed a small family of four in Somalia? yeah. exactly.

2. Do active things together

Yes, pretty much a given… but how many couples end up watching tv at night after work day in and day out? Then going to the movies and dinner on the weekends? This does not have to be the norm! It’s too easy to veg out when you don’t have any ideas for active things. So here are some that Nate and I do:

Go to the local community center. It’s free! Last weekend we played ping pong, basketball, and even took out our hockey sticks and rollerblades and played some street hockey. They also had pool tables, foosball, and air hockey.

Go for a run together. It’s nice to run with this fall weather! Plug in your ipods, buy Nike Drive Crystal Method. It will motivate you to run faster and longer!

Take a ballroom dance class together. No more sitting down during wedding receptions! (Or if you’re a mean girlfriend like me, drag him to a hip hop class! lol)

Buy some rollerblades. Mine were 29 bucks. Nate found his pair at a garage sale for 5 bucks!
We like to go to the downtown area of our cities and wake up early saturday or sunday morning and rollerblade all through the downtown area. When we get tired, we grab some coffee and warm up. I must say, it’s a lovely way to spend a weekend morning.

The point is, get out of the house and do something active. Even if it is just strolling downtown and checking out the shops or taking your dog to a dog wash place where you wash your dog yourself. Or learn a new sport together. Tennis. Golf. Nate and I want to learn how to fence! For more date ideas, check out this post.

For more information: Read about why weight matters Read about whether or not you should lose weight for a guy.