Dieters Find Success With A Spouse
Marriage: Medicine for Weight Loss
-- By Mike Kramer, Staff Writer
The secret to weight loss may be closer than you think. In fact, it may be sleeping in bed with you.
In a recent poll of SparkPeople.com members, we found out that a number of couples are dieting together. In fact, 14% are going through their weight loss programs with a spouse.
Many couples suggest that they're finding a kind of accountability and support that they couldn't get anywhere else. Perfect examples of how this can work in action are Matt Tausig and his wife Denise. They see their joint weight loss program as a way to accomplish something as a couple. Each has lost more than 25 pounds since January.
"It's one of the best things we've ever done together," says Matt. "If I slack off, I'd feel even worse for letting her down than for letting myself down."
Holly Little, SparkPeople personal fitness coach, hopes more couples follow this trend because "losing weight with a spouse works." She cites a recent Indiana University study in which couples going through a fitness program together were 5 times more likely to stick with it than if they tried it alone. Researchers believed that the results held for unmarried couples as well.
