Saturday, October 22, 2011

Does this husband make me look fat??

A reason I love my husband.  He brings me this:

A reason I hate my husband.  He brings me this:

He is evil and wonderful all rolled into one.  I think I'll keep him anyway.  

But this does bring up an important question: can a spouse bring us down in the health/zipping up our pants department?  

I was thinking about this when I stumbled across an article that came out today.  It was talking about the ways men and women are effected by marriage and divorce.  It seems to be that both events cause weight gain, however, women gain more weight when they get married and men gain more weight when they get divorced.  Additionally, women are more likely to be obese if they have lived with a man for over 5 years.  Apparently, cohabitation can be risky to the waistline, more so for women than men.

Do I buy this?  Do I really think marriage can effect your weight?  Yes, yes I do.  Why?  Well this is me 6 years after I got married:
To be fair, I was 9 months pregnant with our second kid.  Yeah, I think I gained roughly the amount of weight you should gain with triplets...plus 10 pounds.

Along these line, the article did site pregnancy along with the stress of running a household as two reasons women gain weight while married...and I totally agree with those two reasons.  But I don't think that is the whole story, at least not in our house.  While I can't speak for all the married ladies, I can say an issue at the Schmidt's is this:

I brought broccoli into our marriage and he brought Doritos.  It isn't that he loves junk food and I don't.  No, I love it too!  That is why I don't buy it!  When I lived on my own I subscribed to the theory of "you can't eat it if you don't have it."  My food supply was very produce and whole grain oriented.   My husband, however, subscribes to the "you can't eat it if you don't have it, so make sure you have it" theory.  And to make matters worse, he is one of "those guys" who can eat whatever he wants without ever gaining weight.  I am not one of "those guys."  Even working out diligently, I am not one of "those guys."   And there is the problem....a problem I think might be more common than not.


When temptation is around every corner and in every cupboard, sometimes it is tough to keep your calories in check.  Although this article suggested if I ditch my husband I'd lose some weight, there's not a chance I'm doing that!  Marriage (although it can make you chunky) has a lot of positives including, but not limited to, improving longevity and happiness.  Also, I kinda like him.


I really don't think that marriage is not fat sentence.  Just like genes can influence weight, so can environments...and you don't have to be a victim of either.  My husband bringing junk food into the house is not going to change...I have tried really hard for 8 1/2 years.  I even had him read this to the kids just hoping it would seep into his subconscious:

It didn't work.  Although I am faced with more temptations living with him, ultimately I am in charge of what I eat.  But Kevin, next time you get ice cream, I am begging you, get Rocky Road because I hate Rocky Road. 

13 comments:

  1. Girl, I'm pretty sure my 5-foot frame packed on AT LEAST 20 pounds living with my Southern Man in Sweet Home Alabama. I came home (Hawai'i) for US! I am here for so many reasons and the one at the top of MY list was to get back into my BEACH BODY! LOL!! Love this post!!

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  2. LOL!!! This is perfect!!! The first year my hubby and I were married, he lost 15lbs and I gained 10!!! I have called him the devil on more than one occasion for bringing in junk food! I have ZERO will power when it is staring at me in the face! I'm also with you. I look at bad food and I gain weight! The past few months though have been like a twilight zone since my hubby has decided to do a body building show. I kind of miss his treats!

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  3. LOL! Totally agree and although I don't like ice cream, I'm a sucker for reese's pieces and he'll bring those home from time to time! I know that we're in total control, but I know at the beginning of our marriage, I let myself go a bit! I think we get comfortable and with that for some reason, comes OVEREATING!!! Why is that? Ha! Now we're both in control so YAY for us!!!

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  4. This is so true. I am lucky that my husband is actually a healthier eater than I am. He likes good food, but not junk food--I'm hoping the kids take after him, not me. I think if I were married to someone else I'd be at least 20 pounds heavier.

    Maybe you could ask your hubby to hide the junk food? That way he can enjoy and you will be blissfully ignorant?

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  5. Thanks for stopping by my blog! Read your RR for the Denver 1/2..Awesome job! I agree with Jill the R'n'R course is harder so take the PR!

    Divorced here but most certianly gained weight when I first got married...My x considered corn chips a veggie. :)

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  6. oooh, this is so hard. I'm with you on this one. If I have it in my house, I EAT it! I have no self control. I like Terzah's suggestion about him hiding it. ha ha.

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  7. Interesting article. My s/o brings stuff like that home, its soooo hard to resist eating it.

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  8. I have zippy self control - I don't bring anything in the house that I don't plan on demolishing. And during the holidays, I never bring home leftovers bc I know I'll eat them. Same w/ when Caitlyn and I bake. We eat a couple treats that night, and then I bring the rest to work or school Its HARD to do, but I know I'll be more disappointed if I end up 20lbs heavier..

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  9. When Scott goes food shopping for us, he often asks me, "what the hell do you eat anyway?" Hee.

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  10. I also gained weight while my hubby lost our first year of marriage....NOT FAIR.

    Ok, first of all thanks for the Les Mis advice. Will read. Play not so much. Second I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Bernstein Bears. The one about telling the truth is the reason I NEVER lie. For real.

    xo
    Sarah
    Get Up & Go

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  11. Seriously! My husband totally makes me look fat! I'll be honest, my husband is as thin as a rail and as lazy as...something really lazy. Therefore my workouts and motivation come from me and only me. I am jealous of those with spouses who they can train with and run with and all that. I will easily skip a workout to spend some quality time with my husband, otherwise during my entire workout or run, I am trying to rush through it so I can maybe just get a few minutes of family time in before it's too late. It's a constant struggle. Those with active husbands, consider yourself VERY luck and blessed.

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  12. This is so true! Not only does my husband bring chips and ice cream and such into the house, but if I want it, he'll go out and get it for me!! Noooooo...I'm way too lazy to do that for myself, the only time that my laziness works FOR my waistline instead of against it.

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  13. Hahaha. You're husband cracks me up!!

    I don't think anyone has willpower, do they? Isn't there some law against it? I'm trying to start up a petition to ban Halloween candy, too - if interested in signing it. At least anyone training during the holidays should not be allowed to purchase crap - that should be illegal!

    I'm not sure there's any ice cream or candy that would make it more than a day in my house. And that pb ice cream would make it about an hour, tops!! :)

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