Is your mate ruining your diet? Have you started out determined to truly change your health and your life, only to be tripped up by the mate who wants burgers instead of vegetables, or ice-cream instead of fresh fruit? I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s witnessed this phenomenon, but for those who have lived through it, the mate/dieting dilemma can truly be a cause of stress. So how do you deal with a mate who’s ruining your diet?
The Dinner Table Fight: Is Your Mate Ruining Your Diet
There are two main ways in which your mate can ruin your diet when it comes to food: in the home and in the restaurant. When it comes to restaurants, try to steer your mate clear of fast food, or other “junk food” restaurants. Encourage healthier restaurant options, or at the very least, restaurants where you know you’ll be able to still maintain your diet. If money is a concern, try making the case for frugality, and eat at home instead.
Depending on who does the cooking, preventing your mate from ruining your diet at home could prove to be another tight spot. If your mate is usually the one doing the cooking, it will probably be up to you to set foot in the kitchen to prepare your own meals. Rather than making it a thing of contention, use the time in the kitchen together to bond. Make it a habit to prepare your separate meals together while taking the opportunity to catch up on each other’s lives. Looking for ways to celebrate your differences can end up bringing you closer together.
If you are the one doing the majority of cooking, try finding some new recipes you’ll both like, that will keep you on your diet. Or, take your old favorite recipes and tweak them – grilling instead of frying, using less oil, reducing sugar and sodium contents, etc.
To Run Or Not To Run: Is Your Mate Ruining Your Diet
When it comes to exercise, sometimes partners have drastically different ideas of what constitutes a workout. For one person it might be a nice six-mile run, while for another person it could mean a walk around the block. If your mate isn’t the type to get out and go, then your exercise routine will be up to you. Try joining a running group, or similar workout group for the motivation that you would otherwise receive from your mate. Or, make your workout your own special, personal down time. You can always find other activities to do with your mate while reserving your intense workout for yourself.
Any good relationship takes work, and requires understanding on behalf of both parties. Rather than becoming angry and upset at your mate’s behavior that is ruining your diet, get them involved in the solution-finding process. Ask them for ideas on how you can stick with your diet while they stick with their chosen lifestyle. The trick is to help your mate be the solution and not the problem.
