You’ve just met your partner on the best free hookup sites, and everything is going on as planned. But after a while, you begin to realize they are nowhere near maintaining a healthy lifestyle. While this sounds like a simple thing, you don’t want them to take that route. When you decide to have a healthy lifestyle, and your partner doesn’t, it can affect your relationship and further ruin your goals as a couple. And though a healthy lifestyle is a choice, don’t let lifestyle differences derail your relationship. Instead, try to get your partner on board with healthy lifestyle changes in the following ways.
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Talk to Them First
Many parties often overlook the first discussion about the need for a lifestyle change. This is mainly because we all take it for granted and think it’s an obvious decision everyone has to take. But while everyone can maintain a healthy lifestyle, not everyone is obliged to do so. It all comes to a personal decision and whether it will benefit you or not.
This is the same attitude you need to have when convincing your partner to adopt a healthy lifestyle change. You need to find out how they think about the whole idea and if they value the benefits. Additionally, it would help if you educated them on how a healthy lifestyle can affect their body.
In most cases, many people lose the point about living a healthy lifestyle and end up painting a notion of merely “losing weight.” While this may be true, there’s a lot more left out. How you talk to them will affect whether your partner chooses a healthy lifestyle and happiness or not.
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Allow Respect to Prevail
You could be wanting what’s best for your partner’s health and overall lifestyle, but that doesn’t give you any permission to impose anything on them. Like anybody else, your partner may question your motives, and they’ll want to know more about your proposal. Similarly, you need to be careful about your approach on the entire lifestyle topic, lest you create an impression that won’t go down well with them.
For instance, when you create an impression whereby your partner feels they’re being picked on, it can put a strain on your relationship. Asking them why they are not finding time for the gym or eating enough greens may be a respectful way to go. You can also offer to help them know where to start with their healthy lifestyle habits. However, always keep in mind that your partner can only make healthy lifestyle changes that they are ready for. And if their choices bother you, respect should always prevail.
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Emphasize on the Healthy Benefits Only
If you take too long to get your partner on board with healthy lifestyle changes, chances are you’re missing the point. The best and the only proven way of pulling this off fast is emphasizing the benefits of healthy living. Instead of being unnecessarily general and less clear about how a healthy lifestyle can make you happy, let them know of the simple things that’ll make the whole experience fun.
Even better, you can show them how a healthy lifestyle has affected your body since embarking on the journey. Other benefits, including how a healthy lifestyle affects mental health, should also be on your list.
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Manage Every Expectation
You may have told them about everything they need to know regarding a healthy lifestyle, but this doesn’t mean they’ll join the wagon and become as good as you are. Don’t expect your partner to follow suit just because you highlighted the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to them. The only option is to leave the ball in their court and allow them to make an informed decision.
Any elements of coercion will only affect your relationship and make it even more challenging to revisit the subject in the future. To avoid disappointments, you can make a proposal based on their passions and create a healthy lifestyle habit from it. For instance, if they love swimming, find a way to create a healthy habit out of the sport instead of bothering them to visit the gym.
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Begin With the Basics
Like anything else, living a healthy lifestyle also involves taking one step at a time. A healthy lifestyle for beginners doesn’t require making bold steps on the first day. Therefore, you need to educate your partner on the do’s and don’ts to prevent them from becoming overwhelmed with all your healthy lifestyle recommendations and other routines.
Remember that your goal is to make them fall in love with the newfound lifestyle and maintain it throughout their lifetime. And while a healthy lifestyle can be described as eating the right food and keeping fit, you don’t need to subject your partner to a sudden diet change and exercise routine. For better results, start by gradually incorporating healthy habits into their daily routine. That is, you can ask them to take a jog each morning and encourage them to drop their calorie intake.
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Encourage Your Partner in Every Step
Nothing drives one to work hard more than simple encouragement and celebration of their small milestones. It binds well in one’s mind more than criticism, making them want to achieve more. This should be the same case with your partner. Regardless of how long they take to achieve a given feat, always praise their effort.
If your partner stops eating a lot of calories, or they are keen to join you on your routine morning run, it means they’ve realized what’s in store for them. So, help them push even a little more by cheering their effort. Encouragement can also come in other ways, such as choosing activities that you can do together, like cooking at home or going for a hike. That way, you’ll keep them in the mood to explore even better ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
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Adopt New Lifestyle Changes as a Couple
As a couple, sometimes your whole relationship life may be centered on the things you do together. For instance, ice cream dates and binge-watching the whole day are some of the common ways most couples spend their free time together. Hardly do they go for yoga or swimming classes together.
While all these are perfect gestures for an ideal romantic relationship, it could be time to redefine the way of life. This does not mean you stop sharing some good moments. In its place, you can set aside a few hours during the weekend for a couple’s gym session. Even better, there are still many ways to promote a healthy lifestyle in society as a couple.
Final Word
Living healthy is a lifestyle choice we all have to make at some point in our lives. However, you can step ahead and help your partner commit to a lifestyle change in their preferred way. Not only will it benefit their health, but it will also open the doors to a healthy relationship.
What healthy lifestyle changes have you adopted and are so far working for you? Help us know by leaving a comment below.
