It sounds too good to be true: losing weight without having to do anything for it? If there’s anything we all know, it’s that losing weight does not happen automatically. Losing weight means that you have to change your lifestyle by eating healthier and exercising more.
Although there are many different diets and sports programs available, there are more people who are not eager to get started. Changing your lifestyle is hard work! But scientists from the University of Connecticut have good news for those people: You can lose weight effortlessly by having your partner do the heavy lifting.
According to the University of Connecticut’s research, you only need a partner in order to lose weight. An important detail is that you must live together and that the partner is working to live a healthier life. That means they pay attention to what they eat and have an active lifestyle. Your partner will, therefore, be the one making the effort to change their lifestyle, and you simply tag along with their success, without you yourself having to follow the diet or exercise intensively.
How is this possible? It’s actually quite simple. If your partner starts to live healthier, a ripple effect will occur. Think about a stone that falls into the water, creating circles on the surface that continue to expand outward. The change in behavior of your partner has a direct effect on their environment, according to the ripple effect. For example, you will be less inclined to eat an entire bag of chips if your partner does not participate. Or, opening a bottle of wine on your own is less attractive than doing it together.
Because your partner is healthy, there are fewer temptations for you. The research shows that this leads to an average weight loss of two kilos in six months.
Unfortunately, the ripple effect also appears to work in reverse: Those who live with an unhealthy living partner will be more likely to be tempted to also live unhealthily. So, encourage your partner to live a healthy lifestyle so you can too.
